Ique still being tested??

[bk007]

Hi all,
I don't have the Ique yet mainly due to the fact that many of you have expressed several design and software issues/bugs.
It appears to me that perhaps IQue is still in development stage and maybe not ready for general public use?? (meaning someone w/o prior knowledge in GPS and Palm like myself)
For those of you that are familiar with palm and GPS and even welcome some of the techinical issues (so that you can work out a solution and have fun doing it : ) ) I think IQUe might be a gert toy. But spending $500 on a PDA/GPS is a big investment I think..
So long story short, for someone less techincal like myself, should I hold off until the new version or a fix comes out?? or should I go ahead and get one??
It must be a GREAT toy since I see many of you buying it knowing that it has many issues.. (Kinna like the Audi A4, people buy it knowing that the quality is poor.. I know,, I have one.. : )

Thanks~~!!

[Sheppie]

Actually the quality is excellent. I have had mine for 10 days now with zero,,,,,,zero problems. Did you hear that. ZERO. You would really enjoy having one. Good luck.

[Highfly]

The new Audi A4 has an excellent quality...I have one too
If the garmin is as good as the audi, I'll buy one directly! (but I have to wait for the European version....)

[bk007]

Thanks Sheppie!
That's good to hear. And I don't have anything against A4. It's a beautiful car.. but unfortunately I had too many quality problems with it to really enjoy it and it's a 2002 model..
But as for Ique, I think I'll give it a try.

[CougerofEQ]

The main issue as I see it is, Garmin makes the BEST gps units and has always provided their customer base good service.

Now they have broadened their customer base to include palm users, still technical minded but not as technically minded as the GPS savy customers they are used too. (General statement not inclusive of everyone)

I find as a new to GPS customer myself that Garmin doesnt give information out regarding products, issues etc. as much as I would like. I have found making a buying decision and then after purchase details to be scarce.


Garmin replies to emails in a timely manner, but their answers are often vague and rarely answer more than one concern if multiple questions were asked.


Example:

I was looking at 2 products, the iQue 3600 and the sp3/2610. I emailed asking for help in making my decision. The reply was that the Ique was a palm with gps and the sp3/2160 was a gps without palm functions. No mention was made about the ique having virtually no computer side maping software, which would have helped with my decision. No mention of waterproof versus not, waas, battery or the many other important aspects that i collected mainy from this forum.


Regarding current issues:

1) Ac jack breaking --- The reason I dont view this as a huge issue is that the jack is not even needed. The palm connector is really all you need. I do think garmin should pay the postage for a return if I decide to return it, as it seems to be a manufacturing defect.

2)hiss - seems to be correctable by 2 soft resets. Is an area I would like to hear from Garmin regarding (the cause/ possible software fix....) - but again, not a deal killer.

3)Computer side mapping software -- Garmin seems willing to provide the software by request and you can download it from their site. I still dont understand why the iQue cant access routes, waypoints etc. from the computer based software - but the iQue works well using the address book and hot sync for waypoints/maps etc.

4) Battery length --- the battery lasts much longer if you set the brightness of the screen to 20%. The full screen brightness is almost too bright anyway. There are also many palm battery extender/charger options available.

[ssaibal]

I had a static hiss, a lockup and some map installation problems. But, I would still rate this product at 9.8 out of 10. First version with this kind of quality is amazing. Very few products nowadays are known to come out with this level of satisfaction from the gate.