I'm looking at using my PDA as a navi for my tsx... (car mounted kit)

I'm just not sure about how much detail to expect from these systems (ie. smaller roads, points of intrest etc)

this is what i'm talking about:
http://www.hp.ca/catalog/accessories...id=901&lang=EN

 

Sorry, I actually shelled out the $2Gs for the Navi.

 

$450 is pretty expensive for an add-on, considering an entire iQue 3600 runs about $650 Cdn. I'd stick with a dedicated GPS company like Garmin. Their maps are probably more updated because all their units share the same maps and there is a much larger installed user base than the PDA add-on market.

The Canada coverage for Garmin is pretty much complete for major cities, but I'm not sure about the rural areas.

 

I love my iQue and would never trade it for in-dash navi even if they cost the same. Maps are incredibly detailed for just about anywhere in NA. Hell, even the service road that goes around the lake at my cottage shows up!

If you ever go on a European vacation, you can download a new mapset and navigate like a pro in your rental car. You can download topographic maps if you are a camper/hiker and BlueChart maps if you're a boater.

Highly recommended.

 

trust me... i would have done the same but here in Canada we don't have that option (what's wrong with honda - why do they not want my money? )

 

The maps for Canada cost huge $$$ to license from Her Majesty The Queen. Seriously.

I've been told that the rates they charge just can't be justified by most car companies considering we have a population less than the state of California hence very few companies are offering navi in their Canadian models.

 

Dan - how's the accuracy in rural areas? My ETrex shows many of the sideroads in 519-land but sometimes their position is out by tens of metres unless I have roadlock on. (This is in ideal GPS conditions with 3m WAAS-enabled accuracy). I haven't tried the v4 maps yet, tho.

 

Very true, and it affects all GPS companies. Although Acura has already done the licencing for the MDX and TL nav systems, there probably isn't enough headroom at the TSX price point to accomodate a nav model. At $3k Cdn extra, it's halfway to the TL non-nav.

 

Dan, how much you spend for iQue and where you brought it? and is iQue 3600 that you use?

 

I'm not Dan, but I also use an iQue (3600, the only version available now). It's usually in my spouse's 99 Prelude, but moves to my TSX for longer trips.

A full new iQue setup runs a little less than $600 -- around $450 for the iQue (online sources such as gpscity.com or tvnav.com) + 50 for the car kit (mount, charger, external speaker) + $75-80 for a high speed 256MB Panasonic SD card (optimal speed; do NOT buy SanDisk for the iQue!). That much memory allows keeping street detail maps for 1/3 of the US in the unit plus highway detail for all of North America. [FYI, got ours on special at Office Max for $400, bought the car kit at Amazon, haven't bought the SD Card but will]

The portability is great -- often use it as a handheld yellow pages when we're in an uncommon area, even if we didn't need a map.

 

The iQue has a neat little trick for improving accuracy in rural areas. It assumes you're driving on a road so even if the maps aren't 100% in line with the GPS signal it still puts you in the right place. AFAIK, WAAS only works on the east and west coast. It's more for marine navigation than terrestrial nav. I think they are working on enabling it for other areas but no such luck yet.

 

CDR's prices are pretty well in line with what I paid. I got the unit from eBay and the car kit from gpscity.ca.

 

anyone have pics of their iQue in the car (with the car kit)

 

Sorry I don't have a picture ... since my use is always temporary, I just put the iQue on the beanbag bracket (Garmin auto mount) and sit it on the flat dash area in front of the clock. See the beanbag and example mountings here on this gpscity.com page http://www.gpscity.com/gps/brados/35...98885/ique3600

For a more permanent installation I wouldn't use the beanbag, just the mounting bracket onto the same spot or a mounting clip (see an example at www.proclipusa.com). If the iQue isn't mounted near the top of the dash, it will benefit from an external antenna (only $20). Not as elegant as the in-dash screen of the Navi, but offset by great versatility.

A very active iQue owners site is at http://www.pdastreet.com/forums/foru...hp?forumid=108 . You could search there for good examples of car mounting.