Stuart:
1. With the iPAQ sytem you get a bloody good PDA too boot... mine is linked such that I can surf the web via Bluetooth and GPRS - so I pay only for the megs I use and not the minutes AND the phone can still ring and receive messages... no 0845 numbers to phone (that is not included in Vodafone inclusive minutes anymore!) or people that phone you and disconnect the link... So I can check RAC real time traffic anywhere at any time - to name but one thing useful to surf wirelessly on the web... now can the Sat Nav only system do that? Nope...
2. Price: go to
www.dabs.com or similar and search for 3970 iPAQ prices (I'm not sure of the new 3450 can take these sleaves and it is little better than mine really apart from a removable battery). So you should get 3970 (bluetooth) for about £400 or so... 3950 sans Bluetooth... Don't go for 3870 or anything lower as they have old processors and very short battery life... and remember in the car the backlight is on and it saps power... the setup comes with a cigrette lighter power socket... but I find it can do a 2 hour journey on its own power easy...
3. All in the sleeve and CDs are from £250 to about £500... don't go for a system that does not have a flash card included in the price... the card is worth about £80 or so... BUT on my card I have the ENTIRE UK and Ireland - from the smallest singletrack backround I use to work to the more obvious. The cheaper systems wants you to work your route out on a PC beforehand and then download this route only and only 5 miles either way around it... so coming back a different way is a no go as is traveling the UK... Some packages include the entire EU now - BUT read the smallprint as they usually only include major trunk roads etc and probably not the little road to your villa is Spain... mine came sans EU maps unfortunately but I can buy the CD now for £125!!! eish... a bit steep IMHO...
4. The iPAQ reminds you of the wife's birthday, her mums, the anniversary and can play pac-man - can the sat-nav only system do that?
5. As you can see the bracket is a sucker system and moves from car to car very easy... not that you need directions around a racetrack in your 2nd car!
we each have a 3970 and thus the sat-nav works on both PDAs and in both cars...
6. If your car's radio has a tape deck - mine has tape and front loading 6 disc CD - you can get a standard £5 tape adapter from most shops that you can plug into the iPAQ's audio out jack and put into the car's audio system... the iPAQ's speaker is not really load enough on the motorway. Thus you can play the directions through your car speakers. And when you want it to be silent you just select another funtion than tape which in effect mutes it. Especially useful when you know where you are and only want to see the ETA function or the map... I don't think the sat-nav only system has an audio out capability?
7. You do look at the screen... it shows in green where the planned route is which is very useful as you drive along to see where it is planning to send you. It gives directions but can't tell you which lane to be in... so you need to look at the map sometimes to see where it is heading...
8. The software uses word recognition too... so it does not only speak 10 words like left right etc! It "reads" road names and numbers and has a basic pronounciation for words... so sometimes Leicester sqaure is pronounced as the Americans would, as is anything ending on a ...wich and Streatham - pronounced Stretham is read as StreaaTHHHHam... LOL You can select any one of the people listed in the address book and remember this syncs with Outlook so is as up to date as that... and when you arrive it will say: "You have arrived at Stuart D's house in the country..." if that is what you have saved the person under... was quite freaky the first time it told me where I arrived like this!
9. iPAQ can sync via
www.avantgo.com with a massive list of websites everytime you put it in its cradle... thus the Guardian, BBC, lastminute.com, movies close to you, you name it is always to hand...
10. ...the heat reflecting Audi windscreen does not have any effect on the signal - or my DART tag - both of which stated that Audi windscreens can be problematic...
11. ...you get the choice of either being spoken to by a man or a woman...
12. It re-routes very fast... a bit longer the longer your yourney as it has to recalculate everything from beginning to end... but on all my jouneys so far plenty fast enough and dead accurate. You can also click on a button at the top to recalc the route if a jam appears suddenly on the chosen route AND still keep the old route shown... it will also tell you how many miles you've added to you journey if you go the alternative way (since it does not know about the jam and can't calculate this "time" into its own ETA calcs)... the alternative will be marked in blue and you can see it on the map...
13. ...did I mention it reminds you of birthdays?
So all in you will pay about £900 for a decent system with a cracking PDA to boot...
Food for thought then...
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2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!
iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!
http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
Azure Blue
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