iQ Vs StreetPilot 2610

[dlipter]

I know it is not a Palm based device, but has anyone considered a Garmin SteetPilot 2610? The 2610 is $300 more than the iQ and features a touch screen, IR remote, and a landscape format that might fit an auto interior better than the iQ. The iQ has the advantage of the PDA features, higher res display, and portability.

Dennis

[u205]

Without a doubt, the 2610 is a much better product for use in the car (and boat in my case). I think in choosing between the two you have to decide what you are going to use it for. If you want a PDA, then the iQue is the choice. If you are not a PDA kinda person, and are going to use your unit for nav in your car almost exclusively, then the 2610 is a much better product....worth the 300 bucks. Thing I struggle with is why not have the extra capability of the iQUe...but then I remember how I keep buying the biggest baddest computer I can afford...and never really tap into it's capability. I for one am interested in the 2610...but the iQue sure looks sweet....and am debating whether I'll use a PDA or not. sigh.

[dlipter]

I am sure that with the iQ you can store 100's of addresses and easily look one up and "navigate" to it. The specs for the 2610 state that you can store 50 routes. If by routes they mean destinations, that might be an important limitation for me as 50 destinations in memory seems small to me.

U205,

Why do you think that the 2610 is so much better as a car navigator? Size, functionality,...?

Dennis

[Moose Man]

I like the idea of the iQue better than the 2610 because of experience with my Garmin V. You can configure it to landscape or portrait and then to track direction. Under these conditions it would be better to have a Portrait screen for seeing upcoming turns etc. And since most of the in car holders for the V and III are configured as landscape.

I'll stick with the iQue because of it's touch screen and dual mode PDA as well as a handheld GPS.

The 2610 may be the perfect car GPS but that's not my goal with the iQue.

[demiller9]

Originally posted by dlipter
The specs for the 2610 state that you can store 50 routes. If by routes they mean destinations, that might be an important limitation for me as 50 destinations in memory seems small to me.


'Routes' does not mean destinations! The 50 routes that can be stored are turn-by-turn directions from point A to point B; they could have been created on the iQue, created manually, or downloaded from Mapsource. The 50 routes can be used without recalculating them, but if you are not on a leg of the route when you activate it, the iQue will first direct you to the closest leg of the route.

Every entry in the address book can become a destination by selecting it and then "goto". This will trigger the automatic routing function to take you from the current location to that address entry.

(And the iQue specs also state that it has storage for 50 routes .)

Don

[cohenc]

Don't forget that some of these routes will be used by people like me for hiking, where there are no roads and the "saved" route can not be re-calculated.

Also, the 2610, which I am unfamiliar with, is that for car only or also good for hiking and boating? For someone like me, the SP3 is a waste because of its cost and inability to be used outside of the car. The 3600 has full functionailty as a "general purpose" GPS - meaning it has all the features of a hiking GPS, but without the physical protection some of them offer.

As well, if the included software doesn't meet your needs, there is bound to be a 3rd party solution or a free open solution on the market either already or soon. The API's are readily available for using the Palm OS with a GPS and there are tons of packages already available. Just because this HW comes with some SW doesn't mean you are stuck with using that (although added cost is a factor). This is NOT like any other stand-alone gadget, it's a Palm OS gadget that can do anything you can program it to do. You could write your own nav software if you wanted to!

Cheers,
Caleb

[CougerofEQ]

I asked Garmin about the differences between the sp3 and ique 3600 - not exactly the same but may add some insight:

Thank you for contacting GARMIN International. Both units will route you with very similar results. Keeping in mind the Street Pilot III is a true GPS receiver. The iQue is a Palm device that is GPS enabled. The pda will route you to a waypoint that you create as a contact, the gps will route you to a waypoint or address that has recently been looked up without saving as a contact/waypoint. The pda has a memory limitation of contacts, therefore waypoints. The gps has a waypoint storage of 500. However, if you would make more use of the pda and the gps, the iQue is the way to go. As you cannot do the Palm functions on the Street Pilot III.

Hope it helps - at least we have some nice options :)

[DeWat]

Thanks for the updated info Cougar. Unfortunately, this creates more questions than answers for me.

The pda will route you to a waypoint that you create as a contact

Does this mean that waypoints must be created as contacts??? If so, can you still create "arbitrary" waypoints; such as, bridges, trees, or caches???

The pda has a memory limitation of contacts

Does this mean that the expandable SD memory can not be used to store contacts/waypoints???

I'm really starting to not like what I'm hearing (reading), but I'm still going to "wait and see" to give the iQue a fair chance.

DeWat

[Moose Man]

Waypoints are created as any number of objects but typically you can create a waypoint at a cross roads or address. Cougar is probably stating that a contact would be the easiest way to create a "permanent" waypoint.

Based upon the desktop program - waypoints are fluid in the term that they are normally deleted when the route is deleted unless this waypoint is a permanent item such as a restaraunt or gas station or some other business. Waypoints are simply points of change in the driving directions.

For example: Your driving from Los Angeles to S.F. one waypoint would be at the interchange between I-5 and Hwy 99 going north. You have to exit to the right in order to transition onto I-5. This interchange is permanent but the waypoint is only part of the route for this specific trip. You'll be able to store these routes on the desktop - whenever the handheld limit is exceeded. You'll just have to chose which route is loaded and the corresponding route unloaded to the handheld.

According to Garmin (I can't find the post) you should be able to store multiple waypoints and routes to the SD card.

Because of the nature of the GPS/PDA initial device - we won't have a lot of questions answered until we get the unit to play with. My experience is based upon my usage of multiple Palm devices and the Garmin V unit that I'm still using.

I'm relatively certain that the functionality of all of the Garmin GPS units will be moderately incorporated into the iQue. Garmin is saying that the iQue is GPS enabled rather than being a GPS device but based upon what I've seen - I think it will be much easier to operate the handheld then anything that's a GPS device.

Planning a route on the V is a royal pain. It's easier to do it on the desktop and transfer to the device. I believe the opposite will be true on the iQue but till we get it..........com'n Garmin when are we shipping?

[CougerofEQ]

Sorry - didnt mean to add confusion. Garmin's answers are not alway the clearest. They also noted that the SP 2610 would re-route much faster than the sp3, another plus for the 2610.


Do you guys think(an no one can know) that the SP 2610 will really release in august or will have many delays like the iQue 3600? For anyone needed just a mapper and no PDA, the 2610 is sounding nice, but not if its a long wait.

[Moose Man]

Since the press release was from Garmin and they've probably learned lessons regarding release dates - yes I think that it will be August. These units mirror similar devices already in place III primarily and very little modifications required so Garmin's target date is probably accurate.

The issue with the iQue seems to be related to tweaks to the OS as required by the interface between GPS and Palm. They apparently have some "beta" units out there because of the cases from Covertec showing the unit and then also some early reviews. These beta units were probably one production run with secrecy being an operative word as part of the agreement to ship the unit to those testors.

I had similar experiences with Palm that required me to keep quiet about prerelease units. Still awiating my iQue.

I don't believe that the portability of the 2600 series is appealing to me.