Need advice. Loads of questions!

[PhilipOH]

I have an iPaq 4150 and am thinking of getting a GPS system for the car. I've been looking at CoPilot and TomTom Navigator 2, but would consider others. Do car cradles come with these? or do I need to get one thats specific to my Pocket PC make/model?

After reading the reviews of Bluetooth ones, I think I'll stick to wired systems, but is it possible to do a covert install? I don't want ugly wires hanging off the dash and into the cigarrette lighter etc. All I want to be able to see is the iPaq on the dash with as few wires as possible.

Can the receivers be wired into the car's battery instead of the lighter socket?

How long can the serial cable to the iPaq be? Could I install the receiver in the rear parcel shelf and run the cable to the dash where the iPaq is?

Are all systems good in terms of up to date maps? When they are updated, are they free? Or do I need to purchase software again?


Thanks in advance for any advice!

Cheers,

Phil

[Dave]

CoPilot basically comes with a basic vent mount. It has a button that sort of super glues itself to the back of your Pocket PC. We have a review of the mount which is commonly more known as TheClip.com vent mount at
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/theclipventmount.php

TomTom does come with a windscreen cradle mount. The original mount wasn't that bright as the arms did seem to go soft and let the Pocket PC drop out the bottom, but I understand from many readers that the new mount is better.

Personally I prefer the one that ships with CoPilot, it's small and descreet, the only thing is you will have a button permanently fixed to the back of your Pocket PC which may mean you can't put it down flat on a desk.

Regarding concealing wires, it usually is pretty simple, usually there's give or play around the door well seems which means you can simply just push and tuck a cable behind some of the plastic mounting around the opening of the car doors. Cables can be discreetly concealed under a car mat or you could pierce the carpet, thread the cable through and back out again if you really wanted to conceal well or hide it behind the dashboard.

The serial cable needs to be as short as possible. If you went for the TomTom solution you can get a 2-5m modem extension lead from PC World which will work but the shorter the better. With most serial type cables, data will start to drop off at longer distances.

Maps are usually atleast 4 months out of date when the product comes out, so can be anything up to 12 months out of date depending on when the product came out. New maps are usually only available at the next product release where you are expected to upgrade to the newer version which includes the maps. Upgrades are usually discounted, so you don't have to pay the full price of the software again, some are cheap like £25 and some can still cost around £100 depending on whether you are upgrading just a country set map or a complete European map. It also depends on the vendor, TomTom's upgrades have been fairly cheap in the past, and ALK's (CoPilot's a lot more expensive).

[PhilipOH]

Thanks for the information Dave.

Would you recommend the Tomtom Navigator 2 over anything else? Or is there anything (in the same sort of price range) that you could recommend? I'm leaning away from the CoPilot in favour of TT2, but I'm open to suggestions. Are CoPilot and TT essentially as good as each other?

I was worried about the length of the serial cable, so perhaps mounting on the dashboard with the wire going behind the dash would be better than a rear window install - easier to get to the battery too.

As the supplied mounts aren't that great, could any third party one be used? I assume its just a method to fix the PC to the dash and serves no other purpose?

Thanks again,

Phil

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