Gps In Thailand

[tommygato]

Hello to all,

I am new to this forum, but I visit my daughter in Thailand frequently for the last few years and planning a retirement there.

A question for those who live in LOS.

Do you use GPS in your car? What is your experience?

Is it possible to buy GPS in the store or ask a car dealer (say, Mercedes) to install one?

Thanks in advance.

[citizen33]

Hello to all,

I am new to this forum, but I visit my daughter in Thailand frequently for the last few years and planning a retirement there.

A question for those who live in LOS.

Do you use GPS in your car? What is your experience?

Is it possible to buy GPS in the store or ask a car dealer (say, Mercedes) to install one?

Thanks in advance.

If you do a forum search you will find quite a few threads on this topic. Most people seem to prefer Garmin for Thailand because of the availability of maps. You can buy either the Garmin NT map or a third party Rotweiler (sp?) map that is quite a bit cheaper. There is also the possibility of downloading free maps from certain GPS forums, although my impression is that the quality is variable and you need to know what you are doing to install them. I have got a Garmin Nuvi and the Garmin SE Asia SD card, which includes the Thailand NT map. I had a good play with this in the summer and my verdict is: good in towns but hopeless in remote rural areas. In the latter regard the map does not distinguish between good paved roads and mud tracks, and indeed will frequently guide one to dead ends. A few newer roads are missing. This is based on trips in Roi Et, Kalasin and Maha Sarakham provinces. The map as supplied has good place marks but a lack of detail on the displayed map itself and limited capabilities to search for places (e.g. none of the capitals of the three provinces mentioned shows in the index of places, though there are many placemarks included in the various databases - restaurants, petrol stations etc). Overall I think there is still a lot of work to do on the map.

Edited September 28, 2008 by citizen33

[tommygato]

Thank you!

This helps a lot, and nice to know that the maps are available.

Did you buy your Garmin locally or over the web?

I am thinking that I would try to order it over the web while I am still in the USA.

I know that some sites offer the unit with preloaded maps of country/continent of your choice.

[Soutpeel]

My experiences with GPS in Thailand are much the same as Citizen33, the actual hardware is just about the same as everywhere else, its the quality of the maps in the system that are suspect at times.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Thank you!

This helps a lot, and nice to know that the maps are available.

Did you buy your Garmin locally or over the web?

I am thinking that I would try to order it over the web while I am still in the USA.

I know that some sites offer the unit with preloaded maps of country/continent of your choice.

Do a google for: gps thailand

A whole host of hits.

Mac

[Gary A]

I can tell you for a fact that the maps make a HUGE difference. I wasted a LOT of time and some money trying different maps. Either they were incomplete and not very detailed or they had a lot of routing glitches. I suffered like that because I absolutely refused to pay 12,000 baht for the ESRI Thailand map. When ESRI lowered their map price to 7,000 I bought it. They update their map once a year. The first update is free and updates after that are, I think, 1,200 baht. I just received my free update. Some of the points of interest are still out of date but the routing and roads are great. I have a 2610 Street pilot, an eTrex Legend CX and now have added a Nuvi 750. After having a big touch screen, the eTrex went in a drawer. The Nuvi is VERY simple to use and the satellite antenna sensitivity is much better than the Street Pilot 2610. The 2610 has more features that can be customized and other than the satellite sensitivity is a better unit than the Nuvi. The Nuvi does have a number of features that the 2610 doesn't have, such as an FM transmitter and the ability to play audio books and MP3 music. It also has a speaker jack the can plug in to my car stereo. If I had to give one up, I'm not sure which one it would be.

[citizen33]

I can tell you for a fact that the maps make a HUGE difference. I wasted a LOT of time and some money trying different maps. Either they were incomplete and not very detailed or they had a lot of routing glitches. I suffered like that because I absolutely refused to pay 12,000 baht for the ESRI Thailand map. When ESRI lowered their map price to 7,000 I bought it. They update their map once a year. The first update is free and updates after that are, I think, 1,200 baht. I just received my free update. Some of the points of interest are still out of date but the routing and roads are great. I have a 2610 Street pilot, an eTrex Legend CX and now have added a Nuvi 750. After having a big touch screen, the eTrex went in a drawer. The Nuvi is VERY simple to use and the satellite antenna sensitivity is much better than the Street Pilot 2610. The 2610 has more features that can be customized and other than the satellite sensitivity is a better unit than the Nuvi. The Nuvi does have a number of features that the 2610 doesn't have, such as an FM transmitter and the ability to play audio books and MP3 music. It also has a speaker jack the can plug in to my car stereo. If I had to give one up, I'm not sure which one it would be.

I bought my Nuvi 250 (full Europe maps) as a web order in the UK for 90 GBP and the Garmin SE Asia map in the US by web from Rogue Wave Marine who had it on special offer.

http://www.roguewavemarine.com/store/home.php

I've read that this contains the ESRI Thailand map but I still found this disappointing in rural areas. The box is marked 2008, but I have heard some people say that the US version is always one year behind the ESRI version sold in Thailand. You can also visit the Garmin USA website direct and will find that the Garmin Thailand NT map alone on micro SD card is still much less than 7000 baht. Buying abroad is cheaper than buying in Thailand.

Edited September 29, 2008 by citizen33

[Gary A]

I think you'll find that Garmin US has stopped selling the ESRI Thailand map. As far as the SE Asia map, I have never seen it but I really wouldn't expect it to be as detailed as the single Thailand map.

I have the newest ESRI Thailand map and it has MANY minor dirt roads on it. I know short cuts to many different places now but I wouldn't take them if it is raining. Both my touch screen Garmins have the option to avoid dirt roads. It's 7.8 kilometers to my friend's house using the shortest way (dirt road) and 15 kilometers using the fastest way.

[citizen33]

I think you'll find that Garmin US has stopped selling the ESRI Thailand map. As far as the SE Asia map, I have never seen it but I really wouldn't expect it to be as detailed as the single Thailand map.

I have the newest ESRI Thailand map and it has MANY minor dirt roads on it. I know short cuts to many different places now but I wouldn't take them if it is raining. Both my touch screen Garmins have the option to avoid dirt roads. It's 7.8 kilometers to my friend's house using the shortest way (dirt road) and 15 kilometers using the fastest way.

Something does seem to be going on at Garmin, because I see now on checking the USA website that the Thailand NT map on has been discontinued.

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSour...navThailand.jsp

This was stil available in early 2008. Looking at the SE Asia card, which is still available, the claimed detail of the map seems to be the same.

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSour..._Asia.jsp#price

However, I was not very impressed with teh product I received and accept that you could be right in saying that this is not as good as the ESRI map. I am sure though that at the time I purchased the card (early this year) I checked and was told it contained the Thailand NT map. This seemed plausible because the Garmin Europe map has the same level of detail as the maps for the individual countries, which can also be purchased separately. I have the Europe map and it works very well.

I would be interested to get a definitive answer on the status o fteh SE Asia map from somebody who knows, because it really isn't that good in the rural areas I have explored. The problem is not that it doesn't show the dirt roads, but that it makes no distinction between a barely passable track and a good paved road. As mentioned earlier it has also led me down a few dead ends (one was a temple compound with no second exit). The Nuvi 250 has the options of 'fastest' and 'shortest', and I have found that even fastest still takes one on routes that aren't practical.

[Gary A]

To be quite honest, I'm not sure if the "avoid dirt roads" setting even works. My units have never taken me over a dirt road when I use the fastest setting. Before I shelled out for the ESRI map, I had been lost and on roads that went no where. So far that hasn't happened with the ESRI map. I have learned to trust that map where before there were all sorts of glitches.

Added - I just checked the Nuvi using "avoid dirt roads" with the shortest setting. It still chose the dirt roads. I would guess that the key word is avoid, not to not use dirt roads.

Edited September 29, 2008 by Gary A

[tommygato]

Something does seem to be going on at Garmin, because I see now on checking the USA website that the Thailand NT map on has been discontinued.

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSour...navThailand.jsp

I found slightly different Garmin URL where the SD card is available

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSour...vntThailand.jsp

BTW, before posting my question I did a search for GPS on the forum without any results.

This is true that search on Google for 'GPS Thailand' brings a lot of results including previous posts from this forum.

Now I am planning to buy stuff here in US, SD card approx $100 and Garmin Nuvi approx $140 which will be around THB 8000.

Thank you all.

[Lopburi99]

I can tell you for a fact that the maps make a HUGE difference. I wasted a LOT of time and some money trying different maps. Either they were incomplete and not very detailed or they had a lot of routing glitches. I suffered like that because I absolutely refused to pay 12,000 baht for the ESRI Thailand map. When ESRI lowered their map price to 7,000 I bought it. They update their map once a year. The first update is free and updates after that are, I think, 1,200 baht. I just received my free update. Some of the points of interest are still out of date but the routing and roads are great. I have a 2610 Street pilot, an eTrex Legend CX and now have added a Nuvi 750. After having a big touch screen, the eTrex went in a drawer. The Nuvi is VERY simple to use and the satellite antenna sensitivity is much better than the Street Pilot 2610. The 2610 has more features that can be customized and other than the satellite sensitivity is a better unit than the Nuvi. The Nuvi does have a number of features that the 2610 doesn't have, such as an FM transmitter and the ability to play audio books and MP3 music. It also has a speaker jack the can plug in to my car stereo. If I had to give one up, I'm not sure which one it would be.

Hi Gary,

I have been planning on asking my friend who is coming from the USA in Feb to bring a new Nuvi with him, but I am not sure if I want to wait that long. My new car gets in next week and I am sure I will be wanting a GPS much sooner. BTW, I noticed at Big C that TalkingDict has come out with a GPS for a mere 15,900 baht! Can't imagine it would be able to hold a candle to Garmin. Do you have any knowledge of this new unit?

[eefoo]

Personally I find that the best way of avoiding dirt roads is to look out of the front of the car while you're driving. Waching an electronic unit that has been programmed by who-knows-who is asking for trouble. Bear in mind the very simple idea - a GPS receiver knows where it is, where it has been and where it is heading, relative to the earth. To relate that to to the local geography, someone has to have written a bunch of computer code. How much do you trust that someone to know what the road is like?

[Gary A]

Something does seem to be going on at Garmin, because I see now on checking the USA website that the Thailand NT map on has been discontinued.

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSour...navThailand.jsp

I found slightly different Garmin URL where the SD card is available

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSour...vntThailand.jsp

BTW, before posting my question I did a search for GPS on the forum without any results.

This is true that search on Google for 'GPS Thailand' brings a lot of results including previous posts from this forum.

Now I am planning to buy stuff here in US, SD card approx $100 and Garmin Nuvi approx $140 which will be around THB 8000.

Thank you all.

The forum search on the bottom of the page stinks. Type GPS in the top left hand side above the word search and you will see several hundred pages of results.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I can tell you for a fact that the maps make a HUGE difference. I wasted a LOT of time and some money trying different maps. Either they were incomplete and not very detailed or they had a lot of routing glitches. I suffered like that because I absolutely refused to pay 12,000 baht for the ESRI Thailand map. When ESRI lowered their map price to 7,000 I bought it. They update their map once a year. The first update is free and updates after that are, I think, 1,200 baht. I just received my free update. Some of the points of interest are still out of date but the routing and roads are great. I have a 2610 Street pilot, an eTrex Legend CX and now have added a Nuvi 750. After having a big touch screen, the eTrex went in a drawer. The Nuvi is VERY simple to use and the satellite antenna sensitivity is much better than the Street Pilot 2610. The 2610 has more features that can be customized and other than the satellite sensitivity is a better unit than the Nuvi. The Nuvi does have a number of features that the 2610 doesn't have, such as an FM transmitter and the ability to play audio books and MP3 music. It also has a speaker jack the can plug in to my car stereo. If I had to give one up, I'm not sure which one it would be.

I bought my Nuvi 250 (full Europe maps) as a web order in the UK for 90 GBP and the Garmin SE Asia map in the US by web from Rogue Wave Marine who had it on special offer.

http://www.roguewavemarine.com/store/home.php

I've read that this contains the ESRI Thailand map but I still found this disappointing in rural areas. The box is marked 2008, but I have heard some people say that the US version is always one year behind the ESRI version sold in Thailand. You can also visit the Garmin USA website direct and will find that the Garmin Thailand NT map alone on micro SD card is still much less than 7000 baht. Buying abroad is cheaper than buying in Thailand.

That site is closed for holidays.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I can tell you for a fact that the maps make a HUGE difference. I wasted a LOT of time and some money trying different maps. Either they were incomplete and not very detailed or they had a lot of routing glitches. I suffered like that because I absolutely refused to pay 12,000 baht for the ESRI Thailand map. When ESRI lowered their map price to 7,000 I bought it. They update their map once a year. The first update is free and updates after that are, I think, 1,200 baht. I just received my free update. Some of the points of interest are still out of date but the routing and roads are great. I have a 2610 Street pilot, an eTrex Legend CX and now have added a Nuvi 750. After having a big touch screen, the eTrex went in a drawer. The Nuvi is VERY simple to use and the satellite antenna sensitivity is much better than the Street Pilot 2610. The 2610 has more features that can be customized and other than the satellite sensitivity is a better unit than the Nuvi. The Nuvi does have a number of features that the 2610 doesn't have, such as an FM transmitter and the ability to play audio books and MP3 music. It also has a speaker jack the can plug in to my car stereo. If I had to give one up, I'm not sure which one it would be.

I bought my Nuvi 250 (full Europe maps) as a web order in the UK for 90 GBP and the Garmin SE Asia map in the US by web from Rogue Wave Marine who had it on special offer.

http://www.roguewavemarine.com/store/home.php

I've read that this contains the ESRI Thailand map but I still found this disappointing in rural areas. The box is marked 2008, but I have heard some people say that the US version is always one year behind the ESRI version sold in Thailand. You can also visit the Garmin USA website direct and will find that the Garmin Thailand NT map alone on micro SD card is still much less than 7000 baht. Buying abroad is cheaper than buying in Thailand.

[Gary A]

I can tell you for a fact that the maps make a HUGE difference. I wasted a LOT of time and some money trying different maps. Either they were incomplete and not very detailed or they had a lot of routing glitches. I suffered like that because I absolutely refused to pay 12,000 baht for the ESRI Thailand map. When ESRI lowered their map price to 7,000 I bought it. They update their map once a year. The first update is free and updates after that are, I think, 1,200 baht. I just received my free update. Some of the points of interest are still out of date but the routing and roads are great. I have a 2610 Street pilot, an eTrex Legend CX and now have added a Nuvi 750. After having a big touch screen, the eTrex went in a drawer. The Nuvi is VERY simple to use and the satellite antenna sensitivity is much better than the Street Pilot 2610. The 2610 has more features that can be customized and other than the satellite sensitivity is a better unit than the Nuvi. The Nuvi does have a number of features that the 2610 doesn't have, such as an FM transmitter and the ability to play audio books and MP3 music. It also has a speaker jack the can plug in to my car stereo. If I had to give one up, I'm not sure which one it would be.

Hi Gary,

I have been planning on asking my friend who is coming from the USA in Feb to bring a new Nuvi with him, but I am not sure if I want to wait that long. My new car gets in next week and I am sure I will be wanting a GPS much sooner. BTW, I noticed at Big C that TalkingDict has come out with a GPS for a mere 15,900 baht! Can't imagine it would be able to hold a candle to Garmin. Do you have any knowledge of this new unit?

I have never used units other than Garmin and a phone. I could never be happy using a GPS with a phone. Some brands other than Garmin may be OK IF they can use and already have the ESRI map. You can save quite a bit of money buying somewhere other than Thailand but it is a hassle. Gadget Trend now has the Nuvi 200 on a special sale;

http://www.gadgetrend.com/index.php

Personal Navigation Device

On Sale! On Sale! On Sale!

nuvi 200 - Thai OS ราคา/price 9,900 บาท/baht ภาษาไทย-เมนูและเสียงนำทาง

Menu & Voice in Thai & English only

Service from Gadget Trend is great and they will ship whatever they sell to your home if you don't want to go to their store.