My iQue roadtrip

[Motegi]

Just got back from my first iQue roadtrip today. I traveled to Miami and Ft Lauderdale for the first time and took my iQue along with a backup hardcopy printout from MapQuest. Needless to say the MapQuest printout was not needed.

Although I still haven't fully sorted out the battery life issues (see my prior posts) I equipped the iQue with the RadioShack Palm car charger and a Jabra a/c vent cellphone mount (also from RadioShack for only $1.99!!!).

The iQue worked beautifully for the duration of the trip and was a real timesaver for getting around the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area.

The only quibble I had was trying to locate the exact Courtyard Inn to which I was heading. A search would bring up dozens which was very time consuming and frustrating to sort through.

I had one episode of the oft discussed speaker "screech" this morning but it was eliminated by a simple switch off/on.

Late,
Motegi

[lycestra]

thanks for the report, man.

When i took mine to iowa, it was great the whole way, except the last turn. I don't know for sure if it would get us there, but the one we took, a block away, got us to the hotel quicker. The location of the hotel seemed a bit off too.

Also, one of the highways on the way, 151 in NE Iowa, had moved about 1/8 to 1/4 mile in one direction, and the iQue didn't know about it. reroute, reroute. Really want to change the voice to say "Driving in a corn field. Rerouting."

No screech issue yet, but i had a few of the volumes down all the way. I wonder if anyone has found out which volume control it is that controls that. if i get it, i'll try to do that. :)

Cheers.

[akpack]

hi, there. so you don't have trouble hearing the voice prompt without having a speaker? i don't own one yet but wanted to hear how others are making out.

it sounds like iQue is having some teething pains (broken pins, chargers, screeching, fading volume). do you guys feel like that too?

i don't want to wait another year for an improved model, but i wish fewer people had these issues.

[lycestra]

I kinda consider the issues i've had as minor, and i'm a Mac user. It only works with serial (slow) on a mac, even with VPC. If i were a palm fanatic tho, it might be different. Pin came out during my trip, called in the following monday, shipped overnight that afternoon, Garmin got it on tuesday, and I have nothing yet. But ive read of instances that there was a 2-3 day turn around.

I don't have the auto kit yet. For my trip, i was backseat navigator, and the driver could not hear it, and I couldn't completely understand what it was saying. So, don't expect to be able to hear it over normal amounts of road noise. In a normal room, it is quite audible at full volume.

It's a matter of weighing risks and what its worth to you. It's a great tool. Nothing else like it. I love it.

That's my experience.

[Hairy Potter]

The complaints you are hearing on this forum is from the "techno-geeks" (I am one). You aren't hearing from the thousands of people who are using the Que who have never heard of this forum and are happily using the Que.

I have had mine for three weeks without any problem and I believe that the overwhelming majority of users have had the same experience. I paid a premium to get the Que. I would highly recommend the unit without reservation.

[FoxHockey]

It has been hit and miss with my iQue. The dreaded modem noise has reared its head 3 times. And I have had well over a dozen hotsync's that have locked up. Gonna try a differnt usb port and see if that makes a difference. On the plus side, it did not fail us on our 500 mile round trip through Wisconsin. Never a problem with directions and the eta was almost spot on (provided I drove 10 mph over the speed limit;)

[Motegi]

My iQue was mounted on the front center a/c vents right between the driver and front passenger. Both myself (driver) and my passenger had no trouble hearing the voice commands with the radio at low volume. Irregardless I will be purchasing a Garmin auto kit this week.

As Hairy Potter mentioned most of us frequenting these forums are probably "techno-geeks" but that does not mean that the others who have purchased the iQue are not having some of the same issues. They either don't know where to get more info (these forums) or just call Garmin Tech Support.

I have used Infiniti's GPS nav system in my '03 G35 coupe and Acura's GPS nav in a family members '01 MDX. Comparing them to the Garmin they are all pretty much the same as far as the map data for my area. My entire neighborhood is still too new to be listed in any of the systems' map data.

Overall, the Acura touchscreen and OS is by far the easiest and most intuitive to use. The iQue is the most customizable but is the slowest to react/reroute. The Infiniti system is not very user friendly (mini-joystick control, no touchscreen) but definitely the most well integrated into the car.

Late,
Motegi