Estimated availability

[vvrok]

I am very very interested in iQue 3600. Was also considering Streetpilot III, but after I discovered iQue 3600 I decided to wait a little so that I can get this all-in-one wonder toy. Does anybody have any estimates on when this will be available in stores? Garmin says Q2, can't wait that long...

[stevevo]

I contacted Bob White at Garmin and there is no specific date yet and that they will be available in the Best Buy and Circuit City stores near you. I can't wait!!!

[tuffguy]

Any of you guys have a link with a good description? I too am interested, but would like to research a little more.

Thanks.

[stevevo]

Try this link http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/# That is the garmin site and you can see what all it does. Very good site Hope this helps you.

[6pack]

Originally posted by stevevo
I contacted Bob White at Garmin and there is no specific date yet and that they will be available in the Best Buy and Circuit City stores near you. I can't wait!!!

Anything about reroute time? Is it quicker than Streetpilot III? How much quicker? I am really interested, but this piece of information is missing from Garmin's page. Also can't wait for the first set of reviews!

Amazon also has it up so you can preorder it.

[stevevo]

I have contacted Bob White with several questions and as soon as I hear back I will put it in this message board. The questions is how fast does it reroute and if the whole USA map with all unlocks is included with the unit.

[ebisix]

Originally posted by tuffguy
Any of you guys have a link with a good description? I too am interested, but would like to research a little more.

Thanks.

Here's a link for you.

http://www.techtv.com/freshgear/products/story/0,23008,3414425,00.html

Hope that helps.

[6pack]

Originally posted by stevevo
I have contacted Bob White with several questions and as soon as I hear back I will put it in this message board. The questions is how fast does it reroute and if the whole USA map with all unlocks is included with the unit.

Sweet, thanks stevevo! (I believe the answer is YES to whole USA map, I remember reading that already).

[stevevo]

I contacted Bob White again and he said he would not have information on what it does (like the retoute time) till after it is released. He did say that the whole USA map is included and all unlocks.

[cvanhorn2]

Have been looking at the Garmin Streetpilot III deluxe which can be had for about $700. Now looking forward to seeing the manual and the talk after the iQue 3600 hits the market. You can already preorder it from several places for around $450 or less. Here is the reply I got from Garmin to a couple of questions:

At this time, we are not sure when the manual will be on the Website. My guess would be when we have an official release date. Keep checking the website out for that one. The only additional storage available for the iQUE 3600 is SD cards. I believe that it would take close to 1GB worth of space to have the entire US on SD cards. You should be able to manually create your route & download it to the unit, as you can with the rest of our GPS units. I am unsure at this time if you will be able to add Go Tos in the middle of the route. Once the unit is officially released, all of the features will be listed on the website, or in the manual. I would hate to speculate & give you the wrong answer at this time. Hopefully I have been some help with these answers.

For those of us who only want the GPS for vacation trips and routing to POI's (I use the Delorme Earthmate on a laptop and it does the trick, but hassling with a laptop in a crowded car is no fun) and really don't have a fulltime use for a PDA this sounds like a great solution. Use the GPS to route you there and then use the PDA to play games while the wife is shopping! :)

[6pack]

Amazon has updated their estimated ship date from Aug 1 to July 1.

[demiller9]

TVNAV.com announced yesterday that Garmin is now hoping for May delivery.

[inav]

My "reliable" sources told me that the launch is delayed until Q3. But keep in mind, even though it has an ARM processor, the Palm OS5 has a lot of limitations. This is different from the StreetPilot line.

1. Single-threaded
i.e. everything stops during a voice prompt.

2. Small heap-size (Tungsten: 128KB, Sony: 2MB, Garmin: ?)
i.e. can't load a large enough map to do a decent route.

3. Most OS5 applications will go through PACE in legacy mode
i.e. slooooooow

4. The picture on the website is nothing like the actual screen shot. (look for the Mapping link in the iQue3600 page)

5. At CES, Garmin couldn't even demo a route!

If you want real GPS navigation, please get a PocketPC...

[coop]

>>My "reliable" sources told me that the launch is delayed until Q3. But keep in mind, even though it has an ARM processor, the Palm OS5 has a lot of limitations. This is different from the StreetPilot line.

Yup, and I bet the StreetPilot line isn't too great at keeping your appointments straight or playing Mp3 files.

>>1. Single-threaded
i.e. everything stops during a voice prompt.

No big surprise.

>>2. Small heap-size (Tungsten: 128KB, Sony: 2MB, Garmin: ?)
i.e. can't load a large enough map to do a decent route.

I suppose that depends on what a "decent route" would be.

>>3. Most OS5 applications will go through PACE in legacy mode
i.e. slooooooow

Slower than my PalmIIIxe with a GPS sled on the back?

>>4. The picture on the website is nothing like the actual screen shot. (look for the Mapping link in the iQue3600 page)

So which is the actual screen shot?

>>5. At CES, Garmin couldn't even demo a route!

Software problems, prerelease hardware/software, product will never be ready for release, what?

>>If you want real GPS navigation, please get a PocketPC...

Hummm...

Do you sell Pocket PCs, by any chance?

;-)

Just wondering!

I expect that any device that packs as much stuff into one box will have some compromises. I'd like to know how much RAM will be available to the Palm OS, how long the batteres can be expected to work (with and without the GPS), how sensitive the "patch" antenna is, etc.

I don't know how well it will work, or when it will be released, but I think I'll wait untill it's released and there are a few of them in the field before I make my decision.

coop

[cvanhorn2]

I agree with the "wait and see". I wrote Garmin and tried to get them to loan me a preproduction model to try on our trip to Australia in a couple of weeks but they replied that the iQue was still in the "pretesting" phase. This was about a week or two ago.

[GPSWorldSupply]

I am sure every one is anticipating the great coming of the iQue 3600 and are looking forward to seeing exactly what it can do. There are limitations to every product and the rest is just rumor and hearsay. If you saw the iQue at the CES show that would be like trying to drive a concept car at a car show it just won't happen. Garmin is very particular that everthing will run smoothly and efficiently so that customers will be satisfied with the product and not return it all of the time! I would think that the Garmin dealers would have a sneak peak before any individuals would at this latest equipment. I think one of the issues will be the display and how it performs in sunlight for car navigation applications.
The GPS Experts (http://www.gpsworldsupply.com)

[justdavid]

"Wait and see" sounds like an excellent idea. I hope it does well enough that Garmin's next model includes Bluetooth, as that's the only thing I care about that it's missing.

OTOH, some random PDA + one of Garmin's water/weatherproof GPS units might work better for people (like myself) that aren't keen on buying an iQue 3600 AND a GPS that won't die on a hiking/camping/kyaking trip. Decisions, decisions...


D.

[demiller9]

I don't see much problem with the lack of waterproofness -- I carry my PDA with me most places now, and it is just a bonus that the iQue will have the GPS built into it. This will be especially handy when I am driving or walking in a strange city. For outdoors/recreational activity I am still going to be able to use the GPS's that I have now (eMap and GPS V).
Don

[justdavid]

Originally posted by demiller9
I don't see much problem with the lack of waterproofness -- I carry my PDA with me most places now, and it is just a bonus that the iQue will have the GPS built into it. This will be especially handy when I am driving or walking in a strange city. For outdoors/recreational activity I am still going to be able to use the GPS's that I have now (eMap and GPS V).
Don

For general use, its lack of environmental hardening doesn't bother me either. I'm just not that big a fan of spending money on duplicate pieces of equipment, a pair of GPSes in this case.

Though I might want to reconsider this stance: Yesterday someone asked if I really wanted to carry my normal cellphone around on an outdoor jaunt, even in one of those waterproofs. He suggested a triband for normal, everyday use[0], and swap its SIM into a trimode [1] when out in the wilderness. I think he has a point. Which plants me firmly on the slippery slope to buying an iQue and one of Garmin's waterproof models... :D

With the iQue there's still the lack of BT, but it's probably only a matter of time before TDK Systems comes out with a sled for it.


D.

[0]: Them being more likely to have BT.

[1]: On the theory that the analog capability could give me signal out in areas that haven't been deemed cost-effective for digital expansion.

[justdavid]

Originally posted by justdavid
[B]With the iQue there's still the lack of BT, but it's probably only a matter of time before TDK Systems comes out with a sled for it.

Or maybe they won't get the opportunity...

From http://www.brighthand.com/article/CES_EdHardyReport_Jan9 (http://www.brighthand.com/article/CES_EdHardyReport_Jan) :

... In addition, Ed reports that Garmin is working on a model with integrated Bluetooth but is trying to overcome some nagging problems with RF interference between it and the GPS receiver.

Though I should have anticipated the RF issue.


D.