Handheld AND Car - best option

hi - just wondering if there is a gps that can be screen mounted in a car yet that would also work well for pedestrian gps navigation in cities?

coylemj

All of the car units will work in the hand and in fact on most of the models (but not Garmin 2xx) you can set the routing to 'pedestrian' which effectively tells the unit to get you from A to B by the shortest distance and ignoring one-way systems.

The Gaminn 'W' models are widescreen which give you a bigger screen in the car but is probably a bit big for handheld use.

Krusty_Clown

Make sure that you look at the typical battery life of the unit you're interested in. With Garmin's these vary greatly, from as little as 4 hours, up to as much as 20 hours.

Also bear in mind that walking around some cities holding a large GPS receiver aloft can be a beacon to some of the less desirable elements of society.

brophs

coylemj wrote: »

All of the car units will work in the hand and in fact on most of the models (but not Garmin 2xx) you can set the routing to 'pedestrian' which effectively tells the unit to get you from A to B by the shortest distance and ignoring one-way systems.

The Gaminn 'W' models are widescreen which give you a bigger screen in the car but is probably a bit big for handheld use.

On the Garmin Nuvi 250 if you hit the spanner icon, go into settings, then system, you can change the usage mode to automobile, bicycle, or pedestrian.

Hope that helps

hi - thanks for replies. I suppose that size of the unit is a big issue. also the fact whether it will pick up a signal if the unit is in your jacket pocket or something 'cos you are not going to carry it continuously as a pedestrian - you are going to be taking it out for reference now and again. anyone have a gps that works effectively like that?

coylemj

Thanks brophs for the correction on pedestrian use, given that I own a 250 I should have remembered this.

The Garmin 2x series has a built in antenna which does not flip up like on the 3xx, 6xx and 7xx models, this makes them less obtrusive when used for pededtrian use and they are very good in the pocket i.e. they will track your position very well.

The on/off switch on the 2xx is a sliding switch and this can be pushed into a 'lock' position which is useful to prevent it from being accidently switched off while in your pocket.

Krusty_Clown

Those with a Sirf III chipset tend to be better at picking up GPS signals in covered environments (urban or densely covered environments). So that's most of the more modern GPS units..

dak

One word of warning! Car units are not waterproof.......could be an expensive walk a round . Not sure if Garmin do a combined usage model that is waterproof ?

Lex Luthor

I used my TomTom one evening when I was walking from my hotel outside Chester to get into the city centre. I had a rough idea of where I needed to go and I set it for pedestrian route.

However, it takes you on the quickest walking route and to be honest it wouldn't have been my preferred route.

Best get a pedestrian map for stuff like that as like some have said, don't be relying on the battery life of these things cos if you get lost when the battery fails, then you're screwed, whereas a normal map will never let you down

kersti

glasso wrote: »

hi - just wondering if there is a gps that can be screen mounted in a car yet that would also work well for pedestrian gps navigation in cities?

Look for a primarily handheld unit if that is what you're doing more of - My Garmin 60CS is brilliant and can be mounted in the car to give me navigation there. I can also mount it in a boat, it's rugged enough to be dropped and looks like a large mobile phone rather than an awkward box - so you can carry it through a town and not worry about people getting too curious.

SecureSounds

For the " best " in car / portable units you have to look at the Eclipse Tom Tom unit or Alpines Blackbird with car docking station. These are the only two fully integrated car Navis that can also be used handheld or portable.