RE: [Paddlewise] GPS Units

From: Jeff <jkayak_at_sopoint.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 21:50:52 -0400
> Hmmmm, I download edit/archive and upload my routes/waypoints via my PDA,
> and it never takes that long.

The performance problems are with the the maps not routes and waypoints. For
instance, the detail street maps for New York City and the near suburbs
exceed the memory of the unit. If one were to take a long trip, the choice
is to download detail maps for a point of origin and destination, leaving
the middle of the trip to the base maps which only contain major
thoroughfares. This means that the big promise of automatic re-routing, and
being able to locate addresses is not realizable with the current hardware
limitations unless one takes along a laptop and downloads a new set of maps
at every restroom or fuel stop.

The other half of this problem is that the map set must be completely
replaced each time any new map is desired.  What is needed is a "Hot--synch"
conduit which would allow for downloading only maps which are not present on
the GPS unit. 

However, these limitations don't affect paddle-usage as severely since one
is dealing with a smaller geographic area and the base-maps have a decent
amount of coastline detail.

The Garmin iQue Palm-based product shows promise, but I agree that if may
not be rugged enough for kayaking. It is also the first version of this type
of product for Garmin, so there will most assuredly be glitches and bugs.

But the real lesson as I see it is that prospective buyers cannot afford to
believe manufacturers grandiose claims. It is always necessary to look into
the details of exactly what it would be life to use the product for one's
intended usage. 

Rgds,

Jeff

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
Received on Sun Jul 27 2003 - 18:51:27 PDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:09 PDT