Which GPS navigation is most suitable

[shiroitenshi]

thanks for the great info.. but i am wondering is it possible for the unit to show my speed and record my mileage if i do not set a destination..

My experience with my own unit.
i hardly set the destination just use the map for alerting me of speedtraps and common roadblock points.

As if we need to have turn by turn directions to drive around a town we're familiar with.

The tripmeter works as long as the gps is running. I always get a screen with my distance driven each time I turn off the car. It detects the power going into it gone, it turns off and shows a summary, including fuel if you set ecoroute.

With ecoroute, it can estimate fuel used when you drive. It's only an estimation based on how many litres per km your car can do. Mine is about 16l/100km. But like I said, estimation only.

The initial reason I got a gps is for mileage claim. So I do use the tripmeter.
AFAIK. the active log only works if you route a destination. You can later copy them over to pc and view them in mapsource, then print them out. The software isn't exactly friendly though, so have to learn a bit, but it's all about how you want to use the GPS.

 

[scoupe]

thats great cause i want one for milage claims reason too.. as my original speed meter and tripmeter will not work. what is the exact model that u are using? and how much is it? does it save the miliage readings? or everytime u turn off and on it starts from zero?

 

[shiroitenshi]

no, the garmin tripmeter doesn't reset when power off. I only reset when i'm going to claim mileage for work.

 

[scoupe]

thats great.. what is the model and price of the unit that u are using?

 

[shiroitenshi]

Garmin nuvi 1460 about RM800-900.. I bought mine at RM900, but the recent price should be lower now. (the new nuvi 3970 has 3d building features, but for me, it is kinda distracting, and the smaller screen put me off too, and I asked to try it first before buying)
The cheaper one is just a bit slower, so you can't put full detailed maps with custom polygons, but it'll work just fine with average detail maps.

Don't worry too much about the features, I think most gps no matter what brand has a tripmeter.

Always test the GPS before buying, those long satellite lock on times can be pretty irritating.

Don't trust the GPS 100% though, or you might turn into a one way road with it's directions. I kena before.. lucky got police there, so he helped stopped traffic and let me turn back. :P Already noticed the out of state licence plate I guess, and the one way road was recently changed. It's good as a guide for unfamiliar roads though.

 

[scoupe]

hey man, sorry for more noob questions as the sellers them self dun know much bout their units.. but can i use garmin just for millage and speed? that means just place it in the car and it saves the distance traveled? can i view the total distance say 3 days or 3 weeks later? found this unit garmin nuvi 1350 for sale do u have any comments about this model?

 

[shiroitenshi]

Yes, you can, and if I'm right, the 13XX series can also output excel file stating your mileage.

The 1350 is a budget model, but it has all the basic features.. get the firmware updated, or you'd be waiting for quite a while for it to acquire satellites. The first time is usually quite long, but the others should be within 20secs, unless you stay in a place where got lot of GPS interference.

There's a lot of hidden features for the Garmin too, so once you get started, you might find that there's a lot of things you can do with it.

 

[scoupe]

thanks man.. so i guess i'll be getting one then..

 

[shiroitenshi]

if you have questions about accesing the trip logs or using the features, feel free to ask.

 

[FVel]

A decent GPS like the Garmin Nuvi-series, or, (if you prefer another manufacturer), Papago will be more than adequate for most users.

At the end of the day though, a big factor is your GPS is really only as good as the maps within it.

The best maps for Malaysia/Singapore, I feel, are the ones from Malfreemaps (My ASEAN Free GPS Map Project • Index page). Totally free of course. Updated every Monday and with jaw dropping details you wouldn't believe to be possible. Last year I had to visit a kampung smack in the middle of the jungle for a survey trip. The roads, to put it mildly, were quite wild, with sheer cliff drops, unpaved surfaces, and running into the jungle for miles. Amazingly this was mapped in the GPS. Basically some guy from Malfreemaps sweated out the journey to map out this out-of-the-way location....a place where regular folks wouldn't even rate a likely visit. I was totally amazed. (Post a picture later)

The volunteers who support that website are the unsung heroes of dedication. I met a few of them during coffee-meets. Mostly old-timers but all obsessively committed (much to our benefit). If you download their maps, don't forget to say thanks at their website.

Very generally, the current maps for Garmin and Papago will be very adequate for cities with Garmin maps having an edge of being more detailed in terms for non-urban country towns/areas. Papago has an edge for city navigation with better 3d 'junction view' (for example, great for the numerous overpasses, flyovers in KL). But in truth, they are both more than adequate. I use Garmin Nuvi myself. Never had a complaint.

 

[shiroitenshi]

Yeah, The MFM maps are the best, though there's the occasional routing issues, but can't complain when it's FREE!!!

 

[bryanlau81]

papago its my choice

 

[dr_snape_79]

Bro, don't get 1 from citibank. Not worth it. Reason is their set using Mapking program which is it's free to use in 1 year. After that you need to subscribe yearly. Different with Garmin map which you can update freely over internet.