Garmin at Cebit about the iQue

[jonasolof]

I had a short chat with a rep from Garmin UK at the Cebit fair. BTW, the 3600a whas not shown or mentioned.

I was told that yes, there is a different battery in the 3600a model, as well as a number of hardware changes in the design. It is not possible to change the design in the ongoing prouction of the standard 3600, so don't hope for better screen, better battery time etc. Nothing mentioned on an R4.

This rep, who knows a lot about the ique, was not aware (he said) of all the apps that have appeared for the iQue during the year. They're simply too busy.

I pointed out that the iQue has become popular because it can use several navigation programs and additional software created by users. This hardly impresses Garmin. They see it foremost as a business tool, a PDA with navigation as an added advantage. I interpret what was said as meaning, that even if there would be demand for a ruggedized iQue for outdoor use, this is not in the focus of the marketing people. They will aim for the main targets where the money is.

[Moose Man]

Originally posted by jonasolof
They will aim for the main targets where the money is.

Thanks for the info Jonas.......seems the almighty $ is the main point, which is ok.

[NewQ]

Originally posted by jonasolof
They see it foremost as a business tool, a PDA with navigation as an added advantage. ... They will aim for the main targets where the money is.
I don't think it comes with the right apps included to be considered a "business tool". I think they missed several boats there, the right apps AND marketing OF ANY TYPE. There's more marketing done on this forum (by us) than anywhere I've seen.
Thanks for the update Jonas.

[apersson850]

If their marketing people have made up some grand plan, they certainly can't revise that, just because some stubborn users keep on changing the characteristics of one of their products. If it's the plan, then it's the plan.

[NewQ]

Originally posted by apersson850
If their marketing people have made up some grand plan, they certainly can't revise that, just because some stubborn users keep on changing the characteristics of one of their products. If it's the plan, then it's the plan.

That's sad, isn't it! I teach some of the most techy equipment engineered by my company and the marketing guy responsible for it hasn't even been to class to see how it's actually "used." Preconceptions.... I mention that "it" doesn't do "that" and he asks why not and I remind him that he was the person that said no in the design stage.

Grand plans should be changed - especially if they missed marketing to the intended buyer!! This takes an ability to admit that "maybe there is a better way", unfortunately this is always conflict between engineering and marketing and then the "time to market" kicks in (or is threatened) and all goes to h... :mad:

[apersson850]

This story seems familiar. I wonder if I have heard it at work, maybe? :rolleyes:

[JMckie]

Did the topic of bluetooth enabled eTrex ever come up?

[jonasolof]

I don't know, they only showed car nav related GPS receivers. Moreover, there is already a third party bluetooth adapter for the etrex (also one combined with a 12 V power plug) so I don't know why you should need to wait for Garmin to inlude it.

[Bokkie]

Originally posted by apersson850
This story seems familiar. I wonder if I have heard it at work, maybe? :rolleyes:

I've heard it several times where I work. Not having a project plan is part of the project plan. I shall give my next project the code word Irony.

[Jola013]

Interesting ! I have never regarded the 3600 as having any value whatsoever as a business tool. It lives under my car seat (or on the dash), and often goes away with me on a plane. But business use, never ! I have an iPaq for that.

The iPaq takes SD and CF cards (incl 4 Gb microdrives), has replaceable batteries, lots of software, is much faster and has much more internal memory. It's also smaller than the 3600 and has WiFi and Bluetooth. Now that's a business tool!

But for navigation the 3600 is great.

[apersson850]

I'm using my iQue as a business tool as well. DateBK5 to plan ahead, and document backwards, what to do, Memo for small notes to remember, Address to keep track of names and numbers.
Documents ToGo to run things in Excel (sometimes Word as well), calculator for simple calculations.

Well, that's about it, but it ceretainly is a tool for business. But different people may have different needs.

[Jola013]

Fair enough, people have different requirements.

But I do a lot with my PDA, and the iQue is weak in the knees.

I would prefer not to use two handheld devices as I do at present, but right know there is nothing that meets all of my requirements for a single device.

Ideally something like a iPaq hx2750 with a cfQue 1620 would do it for me. Screen not up to 3600, but I have used a cfQue 1620 on my iPaq h2210 and it does not really bother - I can't really look at the screen while driving anyway.

[apersson850]

Not that it's my business, perhaps, but what applications is it you do use, with your PDA, which the iQue can't deliver?

As a combined business/personal use, I also use the iQue as a picture viewer (plugging the SC card from the camera in to the iQue, to get a bigger screen) and some database needs (HanDBase 3). But these issues are more personal than for business.

[reinbeau]

Some people think unless you've got WiFi or some other form of connectivity it isn't a business quality PDA. I think the iQue is perfectly fine as a business unit, but then again it gets old debating it. :rolleyes: It works find for some, not for others.

[snoopy-doopy]

Originally posted by jonasolof
They see it foremost as a business tool, a PDA with navigation as an added advantage. I interpret what was said as meaning, that even if there would be demand for a ruggedized iQue for outdoor use, this is not in the focus of the marketing people. They will aim for the main targets where the money is.

I think that 'Q' is rather GPS-Navigation tool with Palm-OS advantage...remember that Garmin makes GPS products.

If I needed a Palm-OS PDA for business I would buy a Tungsten T5 (little size , no memory loss if the battery run low...)

[Wiggers]

If the iQue is a business tool, why is there no waypoint icon for 'office'? Loads of recreational and nautical symbols, (including two for 'Diver Down'!) but the nearest to office is 'Building' and that was only added with R3.

Mark

[jonasolof]

The iQue is already obsolete as a business tool although to me, it is still a very good PDA for navigation.

A Garmin BT GPS 10 and a FujitsuSiemens Lox 720 which sports a good 3.6 inch VGA screen and has BT+Wifi + SDIO+ CF + camera + an optional CF gprsphone while still being smaller than the iQue beats the iQue as a business tool by far.

On the other hand, marketing is the art of creating and maintaining illusions (the iQue is a business tool). Plus the marketing people are experts in sellling the image of perceived simplicity (foldup antennas ). So I guess Garmin will hold on for a while more maintaining that they sell solutions for business people although they know that those "business" people would rather find a donut outlet than have office waypoint icons on their PDA. It's a battle while retreating. I wonder what their plan is for a defense line that can hold.

My guess is that with the ever more spreading interest for navigation tools, they'll refocus on navigation gadgets for the average Joe. The trend towards the general public is very obvious if you look at what is on offer at a place like CeBit (15-20 non built in car nav solutions).

One thing is for sure. We'll see more games on the GPSs, at least from Garmin.

[Jola013]

Hmmm, looks as if I have inadvertedly contributed to opening a hornet's nest. I must also concede that some of these fancy requirements of mine are not business related.

Some of the things that I run on the iPaq are:
Normal Business stuff (easier to synchronise on iPaq than
on iQue)
Internet/e-mail access when away from home/office.
Birding software (pictures, calls, identification and maps)
Scuba dive log software (requires serial port to communicate
with Suunto Mosquito or Aladin dive computer)
Pocket DOS (to run some old DOS Apps, including dive software)
PocketTV (to watch video recordings)
Various apps to view Digital Images from D70 dSLR on CF cards.
Etc.

Most of the above are not really the sort of thing that you can or want to run on your iQue.

Please note that I am not criticising the iQue for navigation, after all I am still using mine for that purpose. I just don't think that it is of any value for anything else, and I don't use any feature on my iQue except for the navigation. Although I have been known to use the music player, but certainly not the "business features".

I have also on some trips just left the iQue at home and taken the iPaq + cfQue. Then I have less to carry and can still do everything. I also find the cfQue to be much faster than the iQue at acquiring it's position, and it generally works pretty well. It doesn't have WAAS, but I am not really sure how valuable that is to me.

Update : Have just come across the Garmin iQue M5 on the Garmin website. What can I say ? Seems to answer my dreams. But at the price I would be better off with a more powerful HP iPaq hx2750 and a cfQue 1620 or Bluetooth GPS 10. Not quite sure why Garmin feel that they have to sell PDA's. Still, the M5 looks like quite a neat little package - if only I could have had that in the first place.

PS: None of these solutions beat the 3600 on screen resolution, they are all QVGA.

Another PS : I am trying to order a GPS 10, but they all seem to be sold out. I wonder why ?

[apersson850]

WAAS is seldom of any use when navigating along the roads. The lock on road option, which makes sense anyway, masks the difference in accuracy. Since the expected (?) accuracy of a WAAS-enabled position is better than the accuracy of the maps, then we have to compromise that accuracy anyway, in order to make the position appear correctly on the maps.

Regarding the usefulness of any PDA, as a business tool, I also think it's a lot a question about how you want to work. Some people want to spend the money, and the time, to buy and learn new units all the time, to always have the latest in performance and possibilities. On the other hand, some people use the same unit for years, taking advantage of that they know what it can do, and keep it there. I have a colleague who still uses his monochrome, 2 MB Palm V every day. He seems happy with what it does for him, and uses a bunch of "real" computers for the more demanding stuff.

I haven't used any PPC device extensively, so I can't comment on that, like the sync issue. Don't know what I'm missing, really.

But to be at the top of the line is of course more important when you sell these things, than when you use them.

[Jola013]

True, not everybody is after the latest gadgets.

It's just that I get rather excited when products that I dreamed of many years ago are starting to happen. I'm not a youngster, but I still like to keep up with my gadgets. However, the way it's going now these gadgets may soon surpass my ability to keep up with them.

But while the going's good I want to get a GPS 10. I just need to figure out how to make sure that it stays on my roof (or my hat).

And how to resolve the map licensing issues. Good thing that most of my software has only been licensed to one Garmin device.

I'm also impressed that Garmin has done the M5 thing, even though I won't buy one. That pretty much answers my Palm criticisms.

[jonasolof]

A business tool today should have push email like the blackberry devices + javabased SMS over GPRS for low price communication plus wifi for VoIP.

I was shown the T-mobile Sidekick 2 (http://www.**********.com/default.asp?newsID=2278&review=Sidekick+2+Review) at the CeBit fair by a texas instrument man who also showed me the tiny module for the cell phone in it. The thumb board probably suits a business user well. The flip screen swiwels and folds out nicely.

Also the newer Nokia Communicators seem to fit the business device idea well.

Neither of these have the screen I want for navigation but both are more like business tools than the M5.

I have some vague ideas that it would be nice if Garmin made a moderately ruggedized VGA screen navigator that could be used on sea and land. At the same time, I realize that it's rather complex and that the price will be high.

BOBi is a VGA WinCE PDA which can be equipped with a GPS, BT, wifi etc in a modular way. The price is about 1700 euros. They are currently remodelling the mother board so you couldn't buy it now. See www.login.se/login/

Another ruggedized device is the only available handheld GPS color chartplotter on the market.

RC400 from Raymarine (http://www.raymarine.com/raymarine/ProductDetail.asp?site=1&section=2&page=774&product_id=1723)

Shouldn't Garmin be able to do a significant contribution in those sectors? In a way, it's less of a step away from their main field than trying to compete in the business tool area.

[Curious Cat]

A good business PDA is one that does what you need or want. This varies with the user. What's the best car? It depends on who is going to use it and for what. Is simplicity a plus or a minus? Is playing games while your bored at a meeting a business tool? It's all relative to the end user

[reinbeau]

Originally posted by Curious Cat
A good business PDA is one that does what you need or want. This varies with the user. What's the best car? It depends on who is going to use it and for what. Is simplicity a plus or a minus? Is playing games while your bored at a meeting a business tool? It's all relative to the end user Hear, Hear, CC! About the only think that interested me on Jola's list was the bird software :) Then again, my PC is my business tool, the iQue carries what I might want to refer to during the day, but it isn't a replacement for my PC in any way. Then again, I don't want to be connected when I'm not in the office, only if I'm forced to.

[reinbeau]

FellowShow, unless you have something worthwhile to contribute, don't contribute at all. You have been reportedto the administrators.

[apersson850]

Originally posted by jonasolof
Another ruggedized device is the only available handheld GPS color chartplotter on the market.

RC400 from Raymarine (http://www.raymarine.com/raymarine/ProductDetail.asp?site=1&section=2&page=774&product_id=1723)

Shouldn't Garmin be able to do a significant contribution in those sectors? In a way, it's less of a step away from their main field than trying to compete in the business tool area. The nearest thing Garmin has today, in this field, would be the GPSMAP 76CS. But the display on that unit seems smaller. Perhaps there are other differences too. Didn't you buy a 76CS, Jonas? If so, then you ought to know better than anyone else.

[jonasolof]

IM(H)O the 76C screen is too small, redraw is to slow for marine use. It will be good in a kayak or when cross country skiing.

Another drawback is that you can go from cursor to position with quit(=Esc) but you can't quickly go back to where the cursor was previously. Panning up again necessitates a number of redraws.

Plus Garmin has this urge to make maps look like they were made to play Nintendo with displaying little blobs here and there. This applies to Bluechart and to the Topocharts, the ones one would use for outdoor life.

[apersson850]

The newer units have a three stage declutter option. But I take that it doesn't work to deblob, then? Trying it on the iQue 3600a, it's far too dramatic.
Compare these two screens. They both show the same part of the Swedish topo map, called Friluftskartan. As can be seen above the scale ruler, the alternative to the right is "decluttered" one level. There are then two more declutter levels to use, if you still feel the map image to the right is too cluttered.

[si4xp]

It seem stranger by the day, why this "couldn't care less attitude" about iQue from Garmin:confused:

Does iQue have a future?

[jonasolof]

The Garmin rep at Cebit mentioned that Garmin is going to be more directly involved in making european topo maps. Hence I told him that the swedish maps are the worst - and the finnish are the best. They are aware of the differencies in quality he said.

À propos your example LOL! So by definition all of "Friluftskartan" is clutter. I beg not to disagree.

I'll start by trying to send an img file or two from bluechart to the iQue when I find the time. Im not sure that those are structured and layered in the same way a the land maps so I wouldn't know if Maptools could be used to render them more palatable to the eye...

[o_town_racer]

Jola....here's your final solution....sell you iQue 3600 on Ebay, then buy an M5. The $$ you get from the sale should make the M5 purchase price more reasonable and allow someone else who really wants the Palm based GPS to get it at a better price than retail. Everybody wins!

[JMckie]

Jola, a poll I posted on the Garmin PPC forum resulted in 10 out of 13 picking another PPC plus the GPS 10 instead of the integrated M5. Just another data point for your consideration.

[jonasolof]

Originally posted by o_town_racer
Jola....here's your final solution....sell you iQue 3600 on Ebay, then buy an M5. The $$ you get from the sale should make the M5 purchase price more reasonable and allow someone else who really wants the Palm based GPS to get it at a better price than retail. Everybody wins!


No way. I've seen the M5, why would it be better than the 3600 or 3600a for an experienced iQue user?? Where are the apps?? I don't care for PPC per se, as a matter of fact I prefer Palm OS because of less problems (I hate Ipaq!!!). IM(H)O the M5 doesn't add anything. But I'm tempted by the GPS 10 since it would be nice to avoid the hassle of using an external antenna (the garmin internal ones not performing well enough). My vote today goes for the fujitsusiemens Loox 720, but then I haven't really studied the market.

From what I read on the "other" forum, the GPS 10 works well (although I don't agree with posters that signal bars around 40 dB are a sign of good reception). Navigation -in a car, in a forest, on sea- is important to me so I would rather have a separate office tool than compromise on navigation handling. Thus it is important that other software such as Pathaway and Fugawi work well.

There is a psycological theshold here. I feel, and I think many feel, that the iQue has reached maturity and that the fun might be elsewhere. We have many excellent apps written by good programmers but they can't avoid seeing where the crowd is going. Only, I don't want to run for that other show until I know it's as good as the one I already paid for.

[apersson850]

Disregarding the cost, since it wasn't an issue right now, I consider the iQue 3600a as a nice alternative to the 3600 I had before.

Now I may not be any "business" user by somebodys definition, but I use the iQue both as a GPS and as a PDA. I don't have my own plane, so the aviation functionality is more an interesting thing when flying commercially, but anyway.

At least the 3600a gives me this, over the 3600:
Much better display, with a brighter backlight.
Night mode for all applications.
2.5 times the useable RAM memory. No need to squeeze in the applications I like to have with me.
Voice files in flash memory.
Basemap in flash memory.
Some added functionality for routing, map screen layout etc.
Better battery life.
Aviation cradle, for easier handling in "unsteady" situations (it works for all applications, not only the aviation programs).
Better support as a "standard" GPS, with compass display etc.

[vectorman]

Anders:

I'm hoping to see all of those features rolled into an updated 3600. I'm a GA pilot, but bang-for-the-buck, would much rather buy a reconditioned 196 for aviation use than a 3600A. (Reliability being the biggest issue.)

That said, if an updated 3600 came out at street price $450 USD, I'd definitely upgrade.

[Jola013]

o_town_racer, you are right !

If I sell my HP iPAQ 2210 (I have a potential buyer for that, a birder that was fascinated by the bird software), and the iQue 3600, then I will almost have enough for the M5.

Then I can have it all in one neat little package. I will pursue this option. I must just check whether the M5 has a serial port.

The 3600 sealed battery is a problem for me, I don't like the Palm OS, and it isn't powerful enough (hardware and software). But I love the screen.

The battery in the h2210, although removable, is low capacity and although the 2210 is fast enough it doesn't have much memory, and doesn't have built-in wi-fi (I have a CF wi-fi card, though).

[apersson850]

Originally posted by Jola013
...and it isn't powerful enough (hardware and software). But I love the screen.
At least in the current state, the 3600 is faster than the M5. Perhaps the programmers at Garmin can figure out something to take better advantage of the raw processing power in the Xscale processor in the future.
But 400+ MHz isn't necessarily faster than 200 MHz. This probably also reflects the fact that the developers say that software development is easier on the PPC platform.

I can't compare from personal experiences, but listening to those who ought to know, I get the impression that developing programs is easier for PPC, but once they are running, they execute faster. It seems to be like in my younger days, when we used Pascal when possible, but reverted to tedious assembler programs when the 1-3 MHz processor of that time couldn't keep up otherwise.

[Jola013]

I'm sure that you are correct.

My big issue is really just that I want to limit the stuff that I carry with me (I've suffered some theft losses on a few instances, as well as the logistical issue), and I want it as small as possible (so no notebooks !).

I can achieve this with a PPC (eg iPAQ hx2750 + cfQue 1620), but due to all my funny software requirements (see post above) I cannot do this with a Palm based PDA.

After thinking about it, the M5 won't do as I do require the CF slot. So I pretty much have to go the iPAQ + cfQue (or GPS 10) route. But I may stay with my h2210 (which works fine) until the PPC's come out with a VGA screen in a decently sized package (something like the hX2750).

I will probably keep my 3600 under my car seat for when I require local navigational assistance, and use the h2210 for business/general use and for navigation on foreign trips.

[apersson850]

For my business use, working without a real computer, and it has to run Windows, to be compatible with various software I need to use, isn't possible.
Thus I have to carry that anyway. But to avoid having to use it constantly to keep track of worked hours in various projects, meetings to attend, database of members in my orienteering club, a pocket calculator, reading text files on the fly, being able to write documents while sitting in an aircraft (where the hafty laptops I need otherwise will not fit into the space in the seat) and finally all these navigation issues, I use the iQue 3600a as well.

[jonasolof]

Jola013

With the Fujitsusiemens Loox 720, you have a 3.6 inch VGA screen in a small package, an SD and a CF slot+ BT+Wifi+ VoIP software plus a 1.3 mpixel camera. You can get a GSM/GPRS CF for it phone as well. It should work with the GPS10.

[Jola013]

Thanks, I'll follow that up.

Update : I have checked the specs, certainly looks impressive. Also has USB Host facility, which opens all sorts of doors (if you can get the appropriate drivers). I could use something like this immediately with my cfQue 1620, and maybe later with a GPS 10.

And sell both the 3600 and h2210?

[jonasolof]

I'm sitting back waiting for others to take the dive:) But I don't dump old friends. I'd keep the iQue and assign each device to its best field. I have the impression that several do when I read the signatures on the "other" forum.

The USB host facility i.a. would let you use a GPS USB mouse - in case a reason for it could be conceived (BT conflict if several BT devices are used at the same time maybe)

[Jola013]

I also tend to keep old devices. I still have my old DOS based HP200LX (4Mb) and still have every intention to write the world's best burglar alarm system for it in Turbo Pascal but I will probably have to wait until I retire before I get around to that.

I have also discovered that the CIR & Nevo on my h2210 outperforms any of the expensive programmable remotes out there, and it is worth keeping it just for that.

So maybe I'll just keep all of my old stuff. It's worth keeping the 3600 in my car - I just wish that the battery wouldn't keep running down and losing my waypoints !!!

I would probably use the USB host facility for a number of things such as backups to a removable USB drive while away from home, or to view photo images on a PSD while on holiday.

[jonasolof]

What is a PSD?

I just checked the small 5 V 4 Ah power pack that I bought on the Cebit fair. It held my 3600 in a charging state for 8 hours with brighness on full. When disconnected, the ique went from fully charged to black in 30 minutes (still full brightness). It managed to hang on for another 3 hours without backlight.

So my ique battery is weak also. I think that's normal after a year and a half so I'm going to change it. It seems to be easy enough (lwww.laptopsforless.com)

[apersson850]

Originally posted by jonasolof
What is a PSD? Panoramic Super-duper Displayer of images. :D

Seriously, I don't know either.

[Jola013]

PSD is a bit of slang that they use on the photographic forums, but it stands for "Personal Storage Device".

It refers to those gadgets which have a card reader and notebook hard disk, all in a little box and battery operated. So when you are climbing K2 and your CF cards are full, you just download the CF card onto the hard disk. They can typically also function like a removable hard disk, so if you want to view photos once they have been deleted from the CF card you would need something like a PDA with a USB host facility.

Of course, some of the newer and more expensive PSD's have their own colour displays. But I have an old one which is quite basic but still works well.

Physics 101 : Hard disks, even MicroDrives, won't actually function on K2 because of the low air pressure. And maybe the temperature (of your fingers ?).

[jonasolof]

I know. I've a friend who tried to climb the K2. Wasn't easy. They had to give it up because of a snow storm. Only mad dog and englishmen... but that's what he is.

What more could you do with a USB host on a PDA? Print, but then what more?

[Wiggers]

Originally posted by jonasolof
I just checked the small 5 V 4 Ah power pack that I bought on the Cebit fair.
Sounds very good. What make is it?

PS. Jola013, I noticed this morning that the new Mini-Mac has a height limit of 10000ft. Never before seen that specified!

[jonasolof]

ETI Pack Co displayed on CeBit to find distributors. They somewhat reluctantly parted with one of their few units because of my enthusiasm (?).

They also make Litium polymer batteries. I don't know what's in the power pack I got. It is rated 5 +/- 5 percent out 1.5 A max and input 5 V +/- 5 percent 2 A minimum.

I'm using an iPAq charger which is rated 5 V 2A (!)(surprise to me). The plug is the same. Works fine. Full charge takes 4-5 hours.

It's not on their web site yet (could be the power bank which is a still link) . I'll test it more and keep in contact with them. You could try www.batterypack.com.tw

The contact address is on the site. Wait until they return from CeBit. They quoted prices like 20-25 USD but I believe that's for resellers. I only had a fifty euro bill and judging from their faces that was a lot more than they would have expected for it, once they had said that I could have one.

You obviously can't replace the internal batteries once they wear down.

The unit contains control circuits. There is a charging LED that stops glowing when it's fully charged. Charging level is indicatedwith four LEDs when you push a buttton. As the battery is depleted, an LED flickers as a warning.

I'm lucky I had an Ipaq charger. It's difficult to find a 5V charger that yields 2 Amp. Besides it's the right plug so they evidently built if for the iPAQ charger (although they didn't tell). The output plug can be changed, but you'd have to make your own solution for the iQue.

I'll show photos when I've tested it more. I'm doing a test to see for how long it wíll stay on with an external antenna connected and black screen.

[Jola013]

jonasolof

I like your battery, wish I could get hold of one. I normally use 4*AA NiMh but the voltage is a bit low for some devices, although it does work with the 3600 (but 5v would be better).

USB Host would mainly be valuable for accessing portable removable drives (or PSD's) and printing. I believe that PPC 2003 SE does have the drivers for this. Other applications could be exotics like USB=>Ethernet devices, USB=>Serial, USB=>Parallel, external IR or Bluetooth (although the 720 has these built-in). Another application is direct connection to a digital camera. But the drivers may be the limiting factor (although the cameras look like mass storage devices so it should work).

I see that you are just waiting for a report-back on a 720. I am tempted, but wish that it had a slightly higher spec such as that of the iPaq hx2750, which has more memory and a higher clock speed (but no VGA). I'm checking prices, but may wait a little longer, especially considering that my h2210 still works pretty well - it can last a little longer and I already have a cfQue 1620 and a CF WiFi card for it.

My concerns are clock speed (because of the higher resolution), RAM (I don't really care about user memory on the PDA because you now get fast 2Gb SD cards for less than a 512Mb just over a year ago) and effective VGA integration (which I am not sure is 100% with PPC 2003 SE). For me, SDIO AND CF slots are essential, and BT, FIR and Wi-Fi must be built-in.

Amazing how these things have progressed - sounds like science fiction. Just compare those specs to an original Apple II or IBM PC !!!

[jonasolof]

Fine. Since navigation is what I use the iQue for, I'm chilled off by the fact that Garmin Que software can't handle VGA. I haven't seen reports that other nav apps used for topos such as Fugawi and Pathaway handle VGA either in their PPC versions.

I've seen reports that there are display tweaking programs, but that seems to cause irregular behaviour.

Next, it seems that the Que PPC software doesn't handle postions linked to contacts as the Palm OS version does.

If you want to use the GPS10 for Garmin maps and other apps such as fugawi alternatively, it seems you need a laptop to induce the protocol shift - until our friends have come up with a PPC app that solves that. However, there are other BT GPS receivers that work with serial protocol and can be put in supersensitive mode (such as the Fortuna) so that's not a real problem for those walks under canopy.

All in all, these hurdles should be overcome in the not too distant future. By then, there is another top of the line PDA to drool over, maybe with UMTS + assisted GPS also.

[Jola013]

Hmmm... I wasn't aware of the fact that the Garmin PPC software does not support VGA. Little sense in going this route then until Garmin updates the software.

[jonasolof]

Originally posted by jonasolof
.By then, there is another top of the line PDA to drool over, maybe with UMTS + assisted GPS also.

BTW, T-Mobile's MDA-IV which was on preshow (behind glass) at Cebit has UMTS + fourband GSM+ grps+VGA screen. Plus Wifi & BT. But it won't be out for a while.

And we'll have to wait for Fugawi, Que etc to to come in the windows mobile phone version also.

The 3600 lives on...