Some advice for a newbie, please?

Hi. I'm heading to France in August, and I'm in the market for a GPS
too. Since I'll be in Paris mostly, I won't be using a car. It would
be great to refer to a GPS to see where I am and get where I need to
go without unfolding and folding that gigantic map all the time. When
I get back to the USA, I'll use it in my car like all the rest of us
jamming up American interstates.

I have a few questions, maybe someone here could share his/her
knowledge with a newbie?

1. Will I be able to carry around and use an automobile GPS rather
than buying one of those hand-held jobs? The auto GPSs don't look too
big and I'd like to carry it in my handbag. Does this make sense?

2. If the answers to #1 are yes, I'll need a unit with European
maps. I'm assuming the mapping functionality is about the same for
all the units with European maps, e.g. TomTom 920T and Garmin nuvi
670/770. But traffic reporting is important to me too for when I hit
the highways of the USA. Does one of these units provide better
traffic information that the other? Are there other models I don't
know about with North American and European maps? Also, does anyone
think I'm wise to shell out the extra 100 clams for a Nuvi 770 over a
670?

3. I like the idea of using the new Apple iPhone as a GPS, and saving
some money on a stand-alone GPS system. I'm hearing that iPhone's 3G
service will cover Europe. Anybody have any thoughts on this aspect
of the market?

4. What am I not considering that I should?


Thanks for your help.
B.A.

On 10/06/2008, BettyAnnBates@gmail.com wrote in message <9a471935-33de-


You are looking for two sets of functionality:

A. Unit designed for handheld use, with Paris maps.
B. Unit designed for car use, with US maps.

That's two different devices. The way the market works, if you try to get
one unit that's good at both these jobs, you'll pay more than the total
prices of the two different units. The two most expensive parts of GPS
units are

1. The cost of the mapping data in the unit.
2. The cost of the power-systems, charging wires, etc. for the system.

Car units have dashboard mounting plastics, internal batteries, and
circuitry for recharging them from cigarette lighters. Hand-held units
have comfortable hand grips, replaceable batteries and the expensive
plastic parts necessary to let you open them up and replace the batteries.

I would recommend you consider these as two separate items. Buy one for
your car if you want it. Buy another for your French trip if you want it,
and eBay it when you are finished with it.


The iPhone is not suitable for extensive use as a car GPS. For car use
you want something that will tell you (using sound) when to turn, and will
make routing choices based on traffic information. The iPhone doesn't do
that at the moment. On the other hand, it's excellent for walking around
in a city you don't know, and you have a built-in browser to look up the
postcodes and addresses of places you want to go to. So if the 'maps'
function of an American iPhone will work in Paris, it would suit you well.
I suggest you ask Apple or AT&T this question: not just whether it'll work
as a phone, but whether you'll be able to use the built-in Maps facilities.

Simon.
--
http://www.hearsay.demon.co.uk

Take a look at the tomtom devices. I have a go910 and it came with a carry
case. My be a bit cumbersome for hand use but I like the unit.
they may have others that might be better for what you want.

The nuvi 770 can handle both FM and MSN traffic data, and the 770 also
doesn't have the flip-up antenna of the 670.

I'd definitely go with the 770. The nuvi's are fine for carrying
around, but get one of the carrying cases to protect the screen when
it's in your bag.

And if your camera uses SD cards, you can more easily share your shots
(at the cafes, of course) using the nuvi's very nice screen & its
photo viewer.



On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:37:53 -0700 (PDT), BettyAnnBates@gmail.com
wrote (with clarity & insight):

I really don't think that a GPS would be very useful on foot in Paris
- certainly not so useful that you could do without a good map.
Getting around in Paris is mostly a matter of figuring out which metro
you need to take to get wherever you are going, and a GPS won't tell
you this. They are also not particularly good at pedestrian routing.
You can use them as a map substitute, of course - but they will only
show a very small part of what a paper map would show. Note, too,
that the battery power on a nuvi only lasts 4-5 hours, so you will
have to purchase the appropriate charging devices.

Having said that, since I already own a GPS, I would be tempted to buy
european maps and take it with me when I go back. But that's more for
the geek factor than for anything else.