Sat Nav

[bigchang]

I was/am VERY interested in sat-nav unit but unfortunately none of them have a good Thailand map. As previously mentioned the independent company, ESRI has done a good job on the Bangkok area but has neglected the rest of the country. It's understandable because of the limited demand. No demand = no decent product.

Not true any more, they have just released a new unit with full thailand coverage for 14000 baht,, a bargain, the map to buy for another unit is 12000,.

have you got a link to this gps for 14000 with thai map?whih model is it and where can i find it?

thank you matt

[LivinLOS]

Its at gadget trend and its the nuvi 200 IIRC..

[mikethevigoman]

Its at gadget trend and its the nuvi 200 IIRC..

and a cracking unit i may add, i bought one for a friend that was in thailand for the first time and was driving from pattaya to chiang mai, he said it was a marriage saver !

[bigchang]

thanks for your help looks good value i propaply order it

bc

[JimmyGreaves]

Not very familiar with gps devices but am looking to get myself one so am checking out the features.

Just read this not so good review of the 200.

http://www.gpsreview.net/garmin-nuvi-200/

Comments

[Gary A]

I have a Street Pilot 2610 and a hand held eTrex Legend CX. Both of them know exactly where you are at at all times and will take you from where you are at to whatever waypoint of point of interest you want to go to. I mention that because I didn't understand his saying that it has to be turned off or re-programmed. The higher end devices have features that you can't use in Thailand anyways so why pay extra for something you can't use. I have never seen the Nuvi 200 but I certainly wouldn't be afraid to buy one. My advice is to avoid the little hand held devices for use in your vehicle. I use my hand held on the motor bike or when in a city that I am not familiar with. It is also great to keep in the glove box in case you do get lost. Just turn it on and tell it to take you home or wherever you want to go. I guess the Street Pilot 2610 has me spoiled. I love the remote that comes with it.

[Bpraim1]

I use a Nuvi 360, I bought it on ebay for 12,000bt including shipping. Paid 11,200 for a map from ESRI.

I have been told that another company makes maps for garmin ie rotwieler maps for about $50-$100dollars.

Which would put you in the same price range as a Nuvi 200 but with alot of extra`s , speaks street names, Bluetooth, Mp3 player. Bluetooth is great as itis now illeagal to drive and talk on the phone.

Less tea money to shellout! I

purchased a FM trasmitterfor about 200bt and listem to the mp3 player and calls through my radio.

I think is one of the best things I have bought, I have already started to make money back on this investment through less fuel. As i don`t get lost anymore and learning alot of shorter ways.

[Gary A]

To defend the Nuvi 200, I would much rather listen to my CD's with the radio. The unit speaking street names is a waste for me because I don't understand them anyways. As long as it shows and tells me which way and when to turn, I am happy. As far as the Bluetooth, Since it is now against the law I can now turn my phone off without feeling guilty. My phone plays MP 3's and I seldom use that either.

Road condition and traffic reports would be great but I doubt we will ever have that here in Thailand, so that extra is also useless. I did buy both my units off eBay and I use the Rotweiler maps. Each unit was less than 8,000 baht.

[absolutelyBangkok]

ESRI's maps are very detailed, even in the deep provinces.

Was driving some time ago to the waterfalls of Pala-u - the dirt road was in there!

Got the nüvi 660, love it, highly recommended.

[mikethevigoman]

I have a Street Pilot 2610 and a hand held eTrex Legend CX. Both of them know exactly where you are at at all times and will take you from where you are at to whatever waypoint of point of interest you want to go to. I mention that because I didn't understand his saying that it has to be turned off or re-programmed. The higher end devices have features that you can't use in Thailand anyways so why pay extra for something you can't use. I have never seen the Nuvi 200 but I certainly wouldn't be afraid to buy one. My advice is to avoid the little hand held devices for use in your vehicle. I use my hand held on the motor bike or when in a city that I am not familiar with. It is also great to keep in the glove box in case you do get lost. Just turn it on and tell it to take you home or wherever you want to go. I guess the Street Pilot 2610 has me spoiled. I love the remote that comes with it.

Good advice.i have a zumo550 for my bike, but that little 200 is a super easy to use unit and i stand by what i said that is a bargain, as you say the features on the other units arent available or my most people even used, you must compare eggs with eggs, what else as unit comes close ?

[mcfan]

I too have been looking at the Zuma 550 for a motorcycle but the $1200.oo Aus is a lot more than i want to spend.

What about using one of the Nokia phones that use Sat Nav.

The models that i have seen are 6110 or N95.

Anybody have information re these models.

[LivinLOS]

To defend the Nuvi 200, I would much rather listen to my CD's with the radio. The unit speaking street names is a waste for me because I don't understand them anyways. As long as it shows and tells me which way and when to turn, I am happy. As far as the Bluetooth, Since it is now against the law I can now turn my phone off without feeling guilty. My phone plays MP 3's and I seldom use that either.

I would presume you wire your Sat nav into your stereo Aux in anyway ??? That way you DO listen to your MP3's on your stereo...

And I hate to be a nit pick.. but listening to CD's on the 'radio' ??

[Bpraim1]

To defend the Nuvi 200, I would much rather listen to my CD's with the radio. The unit speaking street names is a waste for me because I don't understand them anyways. As long as it shows and tells me which way and when to turn, I am happy. As far as the Bluetooth, Since it is now against the law I can now turn my phone off without feeling guilty. My phone plays MP 3's and I seldom use that either.

I would presume you wire your Sat nav into your stereo Aux in anyway ??? That way you DO listen to your MP3's on your stereo...

And I hate to be a nit pick.. but listening to CD's on the 'radio' ??

I just plugged a fm transmitter into the headphone jack, this sends the signal to my radio,from there can listen to about 2gig's of Mp3 and answer my calls , and listen to the call through the speakers in the car. I guess i just like the extra's as I travel alot to places were these extra's work.

[Gary A]

To defend the Nuvi 200, I would much rather listen to my CD's with the radio. The unit speaking street names is a waste for me because I don't understand them anyways. As long as it shows and tells me which way and when to turn, I am happy. As far as the Bluetooth, Since it is now against the law I can now turn my phone off without feeling guilty. My phone plays MP 3's and I seldom use that either.

I would presume you wire your Sat nav into your stereo Aux in anyway ??? That way you DO listen to your MP3's on your stereo...

And I hate to be a nit pick.. but listening to CD's on the 'radio' ??

My car radio has a 6 CD player built in so I call it my radio. No connections to anything else.

[Bpraim1]

so does mine

[Gary A]

I too have been looking at the Zuma 550 for a motorcycle but the $1200.oo Aus is a lot more than i want to spend.

What about using one of the Nokia phones that use Sat Nav.

The models that i have seen are 6110 or N95.

Anybody have information re these models.

The Garmin eTrex legend GPS is often used on motorcycles. They make a handlebar mount for it. The eTrex Legend CX uses a memory card so it is easy to upgrade to hold the complete Thailand map. The regular eTrex Legend doesn't have enough memory capacity so make sure whatever you buy can hold the entire map. A 128 MB card is NOT big enough. I upgraded my eTrex card to a one GIG. I would guess that the eTrex is much more rugged that a Nokia phone and it is also waterproof. You should be able to buy a CX model for about $200 US. Gadget Trend in Bangkok wants 15,900 baht BUT it does not have their best map.

I'd be very interested to see the Nokia maps. I've been told that they are not nearly as detailed as ESRI or Rotweiler maps. Maybe the easiest way to tell is by the total size of the map. Rotweiler is over 125 MB. Does anyone know what size the Nokia total Thailand map is?

[mikethevigoman]

To defend the Nuvi 200, I would much rather listen to my CD's with the radio. The unit speaking street names is a waste for me because I don't understand them anyways. As long as it shows and tells me which way and when to turn, I am happy. As far as the Bluetooth, Since it is now against the law I can now turn my phone off without feeling guilty. My phone plays MP 3's and I seldom use that either.

Road condition and traffic reports would be great but I doubt we will ever have that here in Thailand, so that extra is also useless. I did buy both my units off eBay and I use the Rotweiler maps. Each unit was less than 8,000 baht.

I HAVE A NEW STREETPILOT 111, I WILL TAKE 8000 BAHT FOR IT, NEVER USED IT ! 0831135929

[JimmyGreaves]

We'll bit the bullet and bought a Garmin Nuvi 610T here in the UK. Will get the Rotweiller maps when it arrives. Main reason I bought this one in the uk was for the bluetooth for the phone mainly when in the UK, Rotweiller recommend Garmin and maps for the UK. Cost me 12,000 Baht £175.00 exc vat as I will get the vat back. I will have UK/Eire Maps here and Thai maps when there.

[britmaveric]

Garmin 660!!!

[Bpraim1]

I love my Nuvi 360!

[moneyshot]

I recently bought a Nuvi 200 and Im very happy with it!

I dont want an MP3 player, nor bluetooth for my phone and just being able to call out directions and not street names is fine for me. All I want my GPS to do is tell me where to go. The other features like live traffic reports, I cant see that being an available service in Thailand, atleast not for a very long time.

SO if you want a GPS/MP3/bluetooth receiver then go for the Nuvi 310 or Nuvi 660 otherwise for a GPS talking map the Nuvi 200 is a winner.

[intumult]

I too have been looking at the Zuma 550 for a motorcycle but the $1200.oo Aus is a lot more than i want to spend.

What about using one of the Nokia phones that use Sat Nav.

The models that i have seen are 6110 or N95.

Anybody have information re these models.

The Garmin eTrex legend GPS is often used on motorcycles. They make a handlebar mount for it. The eTrex Legend CX uses a memory card so it is easy to upgrade to hold the complete Thailand map. The regular eTrex Legend doesn't have enough memory capacity so make sure whatever you buy can hold the entire map. A 128 MB card is NOT big enough. I upgraded my eTrex card to a one GIG. I would guess that the eTrex is much more rugged that a Nokia phone and it is also waterproof. You should be able to buy a CX model for about $200 US. Gadget Trend in Bangkok wants 15,900 baht BUT it does not have their best map.

I'd be very interested to see the Nokia maps. I've been told that they are not nearly as detailed as ESRI or Rotweiler maps. Maybe the easiest way to tell is by the total size of the map. Rotweiler is over 125 MB. Does anyone know what size the Nokia total Thailand map is?

What is the size of the mobile search software and where is it stored?

The mobile search software is 1.5 MB + 1 - 2 MB (depending on the language fonts installed). The file is stored in Tools > App.Manager.

How large are the plug-ins?

The plug-in size depends on the plug-in, but the average size ranges from 20 KB - 150 KB.

Not sure if this is the info you were after - from the Nokia site.

[intumult]

Questions about Garmins :-

I use glasses for reading but not for driving and wonder what the screens details are like. Are they easy enough to see without reading glasses?

What about the volume? As I also have hearing difficulties I am wondering if the volume can be altered and also if the volume is loud or quiet.

Thanks for any help on these points

[Gary A]

This probably won't be much help because I don't have a Nuvi. My 2610 Street pilot has an adjustable volume control and it must be turned down quite low or it is loud enough to be really irritating. The turn alert arrows are quite large and are very easy to see.

The turn alert arrows on the little eTrex are even pretty easy to see but it has no voice alerts.

[Bpraim1]

The volume on my Nuvi is ok, loud enough to be heard over the stereo. I purchased a fm transmitter and pipe the volume through my car stereo for 200bt plugs into the headphone jack. As the nuvi line don't have the best speakers because of the small size. For music or hands free calling that is. But preform well with general voice/warning guidence.

[intumult]

Thanks for that Bpraim1 & GaryA. Helps to know I will be able to sse and hear one, pointless buying one otherwise

[Gary A]

Thanks for that Bpraim1 & GaryA. Helps to know I will be able to sse and hear one, pointless buying one otherwise

When I first got my Street Pilot, I thought the voice was great. Since then it started to irritate me. It will tell you that your turn is in 500 meters and then repeat at 300, 150, etc. I now normally have the sound turned off. When the turn arrow pops up silently, it is quite noticeable. Since the whole screen changes and the arrow is big, you will notice it easily. The screen counts down in meters so you always know where the turn is.

[Gary A]

What is the size of the mobile search software and where is it stored?

The mobile search software is 1.5 MB + 1 - 2 MB (depending on the language fonts installed). The file is stored in Tools > App.Manager.

How large are the plug-ins?

The plug-in size depends on the plug-in, but the average size ranges from 20 KB - 150 KB.

Not sure if this is the info you were after - from the Nokia site.

Thanks for that, but I was looking for the actual size of the complete Thailand map. As I mentioned the Rotweiler map is more than 125 MB so if the total Thailand map for the Nokia is a lot smaller that would tell me there must be less detail.

[JimmyGreaves]

Thanks for that, but I was looking for the actual size of the complete Thailand map. As I mentioned the Rotweiler map is more than 125 MB so if the total Thailand map for the Nokia is a lot smaller that would tell me there must be less detail.

Hi Gary

About to purchase the Rotweiler maps but am not quite sure waht I will have to do: Run the maps from the sd card or device.

Got a 610 and the device is reporting G:\ at 415MB total space, 281MB used and 134MB Free. The device currently has UK/Eire maps. Do I have to copy the maps off the device onto the SD card to get the Thai maps on the device? Are the maps prefixed *.img as there is a big 180MB one sitting on the device.

Already removed images and mp3's from the device that ain't needed

Cheers

Edited October 7, 2007 by jflundy

[Gary A]

Thanks for that, but I was looking for the actual size of the complete Thailand map. As I mentioned the Rotweiler map is more than 125 MB so if the total Thailand map for the Nokia is a lot smaller that would tell me there must be less detail.

Hi Gary

About to purchase the Rotweiler maps but am not quite sure waht I will have to do: Run the maps from the sd card or device.

Got a 610 and the device is reporting G:\ at 415MB total space, 281MB used and 134MB Free. The device currently has UK/Eire maps. Do I have to copy the maps off the device onto the SD card to get the Thai maps on the device? Are the maps prefixed *.img as there is a big 180MB one sitting on the device.

Already removed images and mp3's from the device that ain't needed

Cheers

I don't know for sure about the 610 but both of my Garmins store the maps entirely on the memory cards. If the 610 is like that, I would buy a new memory card and put all of the Thailand map on the new card. Having two memory cards is a simple way to keep everything separated and if you go back to the UK, you can just swap cards. You should have a program from Garmin called Map Source. You will need that program to be able to read the Rotweiler map and then to transfer it to your 610. I think some of the newer GPS devices have a lot more memory built in and if that is the case, it is still easy to swap maps back and forth between your PC and your GPS. (The map from ESRI cannot be read or manipulated from your PC). Be careful if you try to put both maps on the same card because some devices erase (format) the memory before installing any new maps. You probably have the UK maps on disk so maybe that is not a problem. If you don't have the CD/DVD with the UK map on it be sure to use Map Source to transfer the map from the GPS to your PC before installing the new map. Rotweiler is also very good about helping you if you have any problems.

Your way points and personal points of interest ARE stored in the GPS built in memory so you won't lose them when you change the memory card. You will probably want to delete UK information and that must be done manually. Your PC can save those for you if you delete them and make it easy to get them back if needed. Good luck and let me know if you need any help. The maps are locked so you will need to furnish your GPS ID number to Rotweiler and he will give you a pass code.