Went out at the weekend and came back twice as far as I went so I think the time has come for a GPS to help my poor little geographically challenged brain! I've seen various units in Power Buy in Central but haven't a clue which are any good although the Garmin name is uppermost in my mind. Anyone have any recommendations for a decent model (up to around 15k) and shops in Pattaya who would be able to give me an idiots guide to his first GPS?

You'll find all the information and support that you need right here;

http://eaglegps.org/

going from Pattaya to bangkok there is a Toyota dealer on the left hand side. [past the one on the right hand side]. Across the highway from them is a store, cant remember the name, that completely accessorizes cars. GPS [many to choose from, iphone connections, English spoken, etc etc. good service and great inventory

Edited February 16, 201115 yr by Lost in LOS

You'll find all the information and support that you need right here;

http://eaglegps.org/

Thanks, I've been looking at this site, which as you say has all the info but they are in Chiang Mai and I really want somewhere local I can pop in and have someone talk me through it all.

going from Pattaya to bangkok there is a Toyota dealer on the left hand side. [past the one on the right hand side]. Across the highway from them is a store, cant remember the name, that completely accessorizes cars. GPS [many to choose from, iphone connections, English spoken, etc etc. good service and great inventory

Sounds good. So I assume this place is on the East side of Sukhumvit somewhere a little North of Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, does that sound about right?

You'll find all the information and support that you need right here;

http://eaglegps.org/

Thanks, I've been looking at this site, which as you say has all the info but they are in Chiang Mai and I really want somewhere local I can pop in and have someone talk me through it all.

I'm a long way from Chiang Mai too. The farang manager there, Maury has been a wealth of information via email.

For face to face in Bangkok try;

http://www.gadgetrend.com/

They have two stores and my contact there is a guy named Art. He is also very helpful.

You'll find all the information and support that you need right here;

http://eaglegps.org/

Thanks, I've been looking at this site, which as you say has all the info but they are in Chiang Mai and I really want somewhere local I can pop in and have someone talk me through it all.

I'm a long way from Chiang Mai too. The farang manager there, Maury has been a wealth of information via email.

For face to face in Bangkok try;

http://www.gadgetrend.com/

They have two stores and my contact there is a guy named Art. He is also very helpful.

Getting nearer to home and another good site, thanks. If I can't find anything suitable here in Pattaya I'll take a trip to Bangkok and have a look.

The more I'm reading about them I'm getting a little perplexed by one particular feature. When giving spoken directions it appears from the blurb that sometimes devices will give directions by means of road names and sometimes by quoting a distance to the turn. Seems to me that distance to turn is pretty essential whereas quoting a road name is fairly unhelpful unless you already know where you are (especially with Thai street names where a road can be known as different things by different people). Can anyone with GPS advise if, when a street name is quoted, whether the distance to turn is also given.

going from Pattaya to bangkok there is a Toyota dealer on the left hand side. [past the one on the right hand side]. Across the highway from them is a store, cant remember the name, that completely accessorizes cars. GPS [many to choose from, iphone connections, English spoken, etc etc. good service and great inventory

Sounds good. So I assume this place is on the East side of Sukhumvit somewhere a little North of Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, does that sound about right?

yep

When giving spoken directions it appears from the blurb that sometimes devices will give directions by means of road names and sometimes by quoting a distance to the turn. Seems to me that distance to turn is pretty essential whereas quoting a road name is fairly unhelpful unless you already know where you are (especially with Thai street names where a road can be known as different things by different people). Can anyone with GPS advise if, when a street name is quoted, whether the distance to turn is also given.

The Garmin nuvi GPS units that I have give you directions with arrows, distance to turn, and spoken turn guidance in English or Thai. The Garmin Thailand map does not provide spoken street names.

Edited February 18, 201115 yr by InterestedObserver

I bought a Garmin 3790 a few weeks ago. It can take a little while to understand all of what it is capable of. The 'Where Am I' feature can be invaluable. Under 15000Baht...stop worrying...just go out and buy one...it comes with the latest map.

I bought a Garmin 3790 a few weeks ago. It can take a little while to understand all of what it is capable of. The 'Where Am I' feature can be invaluable. Under 15000Baht...stop worrying...just go out and buy one...it comes with the latest map.

Garmin 3790? Where did you get it, that's the one I quite fancy but Eagle and Gadgetrend only seem to carry the 3770 and local shops in Pattaya hardly anything Garmin at all.

Not sure if I've got the hang of the terminology surrounding the maps yet so forgive me if I sound like an idiot but would the latest map that it includes be ESRI and/or Thai Street Map version 11?

When giving spoken directions it appears from the blurb that sometimes devices will give directions by means of road names and sometimes by quoting a distance to the turn. Seems to me that distance to turn is pretty essential whereas quoting a road name is fairly unhelpful unless you already know where you are (especially with Thai street names where a road can be known as different things by different people). Can anyone with GPS advise if, when a street name is quoted, whether the distance to turn is also given.

The Garmin nuvi GPS units that I have give you directions with arrows, distance to turn, and spoken turn guidance in English or Thai. The Garmin Thailand map does not provide spoken street names.

Thanks, reading up on the latest models I have now seen that they claim to give both distance and street name where available so not a worry. The distance bit was the most important anyway.

Not sure if I've got the hang of the terminology surrounding the maps yet so forgive me if I sound like an idiot but would the latest map that it includes be ESRI and/or Thai Street Map version 11?

ESRI is the name of the company in Thailand that makes the Thailand Street Map (TSM). TSM is the standard map furnished with all Garmin GPS units sold in Thailand.

Why not buy one of the latest Nokia phones, they have Nokia/Ovi maps already installed (works pretty well) and nowadays the lifetime navigation licence is included with the phone. You would be getting a smart phone and a satnav, probably at less cost that just a satnav.

The only thing you have to do is make sure that you pre-install the maps you need via PC, so that you are not wasting download over the phone. Its really easy (the thailand map doesnt take much space, about 60 meg only as i recall) and with a 4GB card, you could pretty much download the whole world

I have an older Nokia phone, and use a Holux bluetooth GPS unit (about 2000 baht) and Nokia maps. The licence fee per year is pretty cheap for thailand (700 baht I think) and it works well.

Google maps (android) works pretty well too, but because they don't allow you to pre-install maps via a PC, its always downloaded on the fly, the download costs become exorbitant.

Why not buy one of the latest Nokia phones, they have Nokia/Ovi maps already installed (works pretty well) and nowadays the lifetime navigation licence is included with the phone. You would be getting a smart phone and a satnav, probably at less cost that just a satnav.

The only thing you have to do is make sure that you pre-install the maps you need via PC, so that you are not wasting download over the phone. Its really easy (the thailand map doesnt take much space, about 60 meg only as i recall) and with a 4GB card, you could pretty much download the whole world

I have an older Nokia phone, and use a Holux bluetooth GPS unit (about 2000 baht) and Nokia maps. The licence fee per year is pretty cheap for thailand (700 baht I think) and it works well.

Google maps (android) works pretty well too, but because they don't allow you to pre-install maps via a PC, its always downloaded on the fly, the download costs become exorbitant.

Screen size for one thing and suitablility for purpose for another. I have a Samsung phone with maps at the moment which is pretty crap so am loathe to spend out on another hybrid solution. A phone is a phone to my mind and a Gps is a Gps. My phone also takes photo's but the results from my Nikon are better!

Edited February 23, 201115 yr by gmac

I've had a few GPS's over the years, but nothing in Thailand. They do seem to be overpriced here. I think I'll get someone to bring a good one for me from abroad.

I have just sent for one advertised on TV classifieds here. 2500 baht. if it does what it says on the box , it'll be a bargain.

When giving spoken directions it appears from the blurb that sometimes devices will give directions by means of road names and sometimes by quoting a distance to the turn. Seems to me that distance to turn is pretty essential whereas quoting a road name is fairly unhelpful unless you already know where you are (especially with Thai street names where a road can be known as different things by different people). Can anyone with GPS advise if, when a street name is quoted, whether the distance to turn is also given.

The Garmin nuvi GPS units that I have give you directions with arrows, distance to turn, and spoken turn guidance in English or Thai. The Garmin Thailand map does not provide spoken street names.

The latest Garmin GPS models do have text-to-speech capabilities. But I have yet to hear my Thailand Street Map, version 11, utter a street name in English.

going from Pattaya to bangkok there is a Toyota dealer on the left hand side. [past the one on the right hand side]. Across the highway from them is a store, cant remember the name, that completely accessorizes cars. GPS [many to choose from, iphone connections, English spoken, etc etc. good service and great inventory

Sounds good. So I assume this place is on the East side of Sukhumvit somewhere a little North of Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, does that sound about right?

yep

Boy Air and Sound?

Has anyone checked out the shop? Do they have nuvi 3770? Is the store's name correct?