andykidman

As title really, i was looking into getting a road angel or something similar, after much searching on here found that the Origin B2 is basically the best, and found i can get this for approx £340.

However, after some more thinking, and searching the net, i have found i can get a brand new PDA with TomTom3 navigation software, wired gps unit and all the car fittings for basically the same price. Have found that you can download all the speed camera sites on to the PDA as well

So should i get........

Origin B2 £340
PDA+GPS+TomTom3+Incar Mount £360

Example PDA's i have found are:

Mitac Mio 168 + TomTom3 + GPS + Car Mount + 128Mb SD Card £375

HP iPAQ 1930 + GPS + Car Mount + TomTom3 + 128Mb Card £350

Dell Axim X5 + GPS + TomTom3 + Car Mount £320

Advice needed before i spend more money

OllyK

PDA. I have PDA and Road Angel. PDA has been equally as reliable in terms of locating sites, far easier to add new ones and it is a PDA

Dazza01

Medion PDA from Halfords £400, Aldi price match £270 with Sat Nav
Ask a ur local Halfords they may still do a deal + plus u can downlaod the speed camera database for about £20.
So ur saving nearly £400 more money for mods

OllyK

£20 if you have TomTom, go here and get it for for free. Also check out check point for free proximity software to run over TomTom to allow you to use the camera databases.

andykidman

Unfortunately, Halfords arent doing the price match anymore, cause Aldi are completey out of the Medion units.

As for my listed PDA's.......which one is the best option??

Chris L

Andy

Did exactly the same thing about 3 weeks ago. I had a Road Angel (fantastic piece of kit), but I really wanted a sat nav setup. With prices dropping, I did exactly the same thing - sold the Road Angel and bought a PDA sat nav with wired GPS. I'm using Checkpoint POI (Points of Interest) software with speed camera overlay map.

Pocket GPS World is a great site with loads of reviews and links to everything you'll need. They also do a handy piece of software called POI-Sync. This will automatically update all your POI maps - such as the speed cameras when you plug in your PDA to your PC. They also have links to the best 'safety' camera map. All free.

I've got a Dell Axim X3 (the X5 is the older model - same size screen, but bigger and heavier). I bought mine from Hand Nav - very good service and some of the best prices I've seen. I'm using TomTom 3 software with the wired TomTom GPS receiver.

Bundles tend to vary on Hand Nav - mine was a special offer for £358 all in delivered. I think they are doing it for £399 at the moment. Worth checking their special offers page (my bundle is the top right hand corner one).

Things to watch out for when comparing. Some prices don't include VAT or delivery. Some will try and supply a 64Mb SD card (you need at least 128Mb as the UK maps are 100Mb+ alone - you'll need 256Mb to hold both Europe and UK maps). Some suppliers will also bundle in the lower powered PDAs (300Mkhz). My X3 came with a 128Mb card and the 400Mkhz performance processor. Hand Nav also supply a decent cradle (Seido 2500) which has a built in speaker which is useful to boost the volume. I'll try and post up some pics of the install to give you an idea.

Think that is it So far I've been impressed and it has got me out of trouble when the M25 was doing a good impression of a car park a few nights ago!

PM me if you need more details.

Chris

RRH

Chris, are you using the traffic feature on tomtom3?

Chris L

No - I wanted to, but you need a GPRS and bluetooth phone. I've got GPRS but not bluetooth.

The idea is that the GPRS connection receives the traffic info and that is relayed to the PDA via bluetooth. So both your PDA and phone must be bluetooth.

The other problem is that if you use bluetooth for a wireless hands free, you can't use the bluetooth for the traffic feed as you can't share the connection.

Chris

Kyl3cook

Hello.

I'm very interested in these having just seen them. I was also going to get an Origin B2, but this looks like the better option.

I wonder if anyone could answer my questions.

How does it actually work like a Speed Camera detector? does it recognise the cameras as you are going along? or does it just store all positions on a database? What about moble lasers? how woudl you go about putting the locations of camera in to the unit, if indeed it was only database stored? is it easy to install (the whole unit)?

Sorry for my naiivity,

Cheers,

Matt

Chris L

Matt

Tom Tom and other navigation packages work with software that recognises POIs (Points of Interest) - these can be anything from petrol stations to banks. There are various packages you can download, but the most popular is probably CheckPOInt.

Once you have the CheckPOInt software installed, you can download overlay maps, including the speed camera maps. These work in exactly the same way as GPS units such as Road Angel. They simply calcuate your position and display the POIs. You can set up audible alerts and adjust when these will be played - just like Road Angel.

Things to consider - there is no option to have a laser detector as you can with Road Angel. Also I don't believe the free camera database is as upto date as Road Angels. The database can be updated using simple sync software - again similar to Road Angel. There are subscription versions of the maps you can buy which should be better and more accurate. I'm thinking about doing that.

The laser detector option is really upto you. If you can live with out it (and there is a school of thought that says that once you've been 'pinged' by a laser it's too late anyway), then consider a PDA sat nav system - that's what I did. I thought the added benefits of the sat nav were more useful to me. If you really want the laser protection, either go with Road Angel, buy both or install a laser blocker, sorry automatic garage door opener

Have a look at my earlier post and follow the link to Pocket GPS World - a very good site with loads of info.
Chris

cw42

iTrader: (1)

http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/checkpoint.php
tells you all you need to know.
I have a dell x5, 256mb sd card, cf gps and car mount. excellent bit of kit.
uses so far apart from speed cams:
driving fast along dark country lanes, and being able to read the road ahead, even though I can't see it
getting lost in spain, and finding my way back to the holiday site easily!
mapping in all my mates houses, and seeing how easy it is to get there.
finding the nearest shell garage by downloading the shell uk poi map.
highly recomended, much better than my old road angel. + its a pda, so I have all my family, car, holiday photos on, and films I've made of my car too!
chris.

mrklaw

hi CW,

So you have integrated GPS, so only one wire to the cigarette lighter? Or batteries if you are feeling daring? Thats my preference so my wife can use it easily (does she need to know the ins and outs of PDAs though)?

Does it pick up satellites OK? If so, I don't fully understand all the separate receivers.

Chris L

mrklaw - most good bundles should come with a powered cradle. Seido do a custom range for most PDAs. The Seido 2500 that I use, has one power input from the cigarette lighter - this powers the PDA, inbuilt cradle speaker and the GPS receiver.

Chris

Kyl3cook

thanks guys...I think I'll definitely get one of these PDA's with TomTom. What do I have to look out for in order to make sure I get the one which lets me store Speed Camera sites? is it just the ones which state tomtom and have POI's? becuase there is one here : http://www.totalpda.co.uk/TomTom-Blu...m-Car-Kit.aspx that is 369, and looks quite good. Any reccomendations as to which PDA is better? and one last thing (I promise ) are the screens easy enough to read whilst going along? as they are not the biggest.

Thanks again for your help,

Matt

Chris L

Matt - most of the POI systems have been written to work with Tom Tom. They are the market leader. PDA choice is really upto you. They will all do the job. I really bought it for the sat nav so I wasn't that bothered. However, my Dell X3 is a very smart bit of kit and I'm impressed with it.

The bundle you've pointed out is a classic case about what I wrote about in my original post. It has a good PDA, but it comes with a 64Mb SD car (you'll need a min 128Mb), the price doesn't include VAT and I can't find details of the cradle, so it might not be powered and amplified. Compare like with like on Hand Nav and you'll see that their prices are very good.

Screen size is fine - no problem at all. However, all systems should come with voice commands which is better as you don't have to take your eyes off the road. This is why an amplified cradle is better option as this improves the quality and volume of speech commands.

Chris

Kyl3cook

hi,

Yes I did notice it said that it is reccomended to have a 128 card. I'll perhaps get the one which is £399 (that top right hand one) the same as yours....looks really good.

Cheers,

Matt

Dazza01

They weren't doing the deal when i went in either cos Aldi had completely sold out, but the nice manager there still let me buy 5 yep 5.
If ur intrested in one i can give him a call and ask ?

Buzzer

You dont really need Tom Tom. I have the Medion MDPPC250 (courtesy of Dazza01 ). They use ASCII files, all i did was download the Tom Tom converter programme from the pocketgps site (free) and now convert all Tom Tom 2 and 3 files into ASCII files

So for £270.00 i have :

Medion MDPPC250
256 mb card in addition to 60 mb internal memory
leather case
car cradle
power lead to car battery
SatNav reciever
POI Warner (gatso sites)

All works a treat. The sat nav is great especially when you go the wrong way and it recalculates your route for you

The speaker (on the PDA) is okay but you cant have the radio too loud. My bro in law is bringing round a small sticky on speaker that velcros to the back of the cradle and plugs into the little jack on the pda. He tells me i could have the radio as loud as i like after i plug it in .......................oh yeah the speaker is £15.00 but TBH when your'e in a city centre trying to find somewhere, you dont usually blast your radio as your meant to be concentrating

4X4BOB

Chris,
Did you have any probs setting everything up, or is it really simple?

Your setup sounds ideal, but whatever I buy, I always seem to have issues with setting things up, so idiot proof is the way I want to go !

I will also want the Europe maps, are they easy to get hold of and are they any good? And I guess I'll need a bigger memory card to store them on?

I've got £500 burning a hole in my pocket and a trip to Europe planned for July so wanting to get something sorted ASAP
And its the SatNav bit I'm more interested in 'cos I dont speed, honest officer

Cheers

BOB

EDIT TO ADD
What about this setup here

King RA

I have both an Axim with tomtom3 and an origin blue i. I would never rely on the speed camera database on the PDA cos it's always out of date.

You CANNOT beat having an actual speed camera detector.

The PDA software detects cameras on the wrong side of the road also.

Richard Simpson

I got my Ipaq, TT3, wired car kit from here http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/ - it was cheaper than totalpda and came when promised (paid £5 extra for next working day)

One thing to bear in mind is that (although I could just being thick and not have it set up right ) but TT3 and Checkpoint only seems to voice alert you when you are on a navigation - you have put in you are going from A to B so its not passive alerting you. It will always show the POI on the screen though but you don't want to be doing that all the time....you might as well be looking at the road for the cameras

When navigating it does seem to be faultless though - after all its in areas where you don't know that you will be caught out and you will more likely to be navigating there.

A final thought as my mum was considering a PDA/Sat Nave for alerting to traffic cameras - it does take a bit more technical ability than a plug and play solution like Origin, it will freeze, you will need to reset now and then and you will need to know how to use a stylus (my mum.... ).

For my situation, I am very impressed with my Ipaq and TT3 though.

Richard

Buzzer

This may help also

Kyl3cook

Interesting about only hearing the audible warnings for speed cameras when on a specific route. I think that would wind me up somewhat. Has anybody else experienced this, or is it just a setup thing that needs doing?

Thanks,

Matt

Buzzer

No i get mine all the time even if i just leave it on navigation mode and not route planner.

The overlay "POI Warner" is what i always access my satnav through and not navtech which comes with the PDA. as long as i access through POI Warner, everything shows up and warns me of the up coming object

I have a small wav file that says :

[homer mode] Mmmmmmmm Optimax [/homer mode]

When i reach a Shell garage

The Gatso POI warns me by saying "Danger zone ahead" then a more ascertive "Danger zone" and then when its gone passed "Danger zone passed". I turned the last one off as i think i could suss that one out You can also set the distances from the object to give a warning in plenty of time

OllyK

You need to look at your settings - works fine on mine without being on a defined route. Need to be in the Navigation view, but don't need to have a route set up in it.

Richard Simpson

ahh ok, I generally stick it in Map mode not nav mode when just driving around.....ignore that useless piece of advice then...

cw42

iTrader: (1)

there seems to be some good debate on this and other threads about pda's versus dedicated speed camera detectors (origin, roadangel et al).
Here in detail is my little story:
When I got my scooby, in january 03, I figured I had better get something to warn me of the already prolific speed cams about, to save my licsense! After some rather extensive research, I settled on a road angel, which at the time had just been updated with the laser alert module.
It cost me £399, from a dealer not far from me in Hazel Grove, Stockport. I installed it in the scooby, actually in the glove box on my MY99 classic, and enjoyed over a year of happy beeping motoring. I liked that it also warned you of "blackspots", places where there had been a number of accidents, or that were particulaly tricky junctions (it would bleep almost all the way up the cat & fiddle in buxton )
I liked that it was always in the car, always on and that I didn't have to think about it, it would just warn me. There were occasions when I was unable to hear it over my music (or exhaust ) but they were few and far between.
So, why did I change? On a run out one night, sillysi, owner of a gorgeous P1, turned up with his new IPAQ 2210 and Tom Tom 2. After having a good look at the setup, which had a bluetooth gps reciever, and then following behind him on one of supertourings excellent routes through the cheshire countryside, where I could see through his rear screen, right to the display on the pda, and the road being mapped out ahead I decided I had to get me one of those
So, my search started. I already had a pda, a sony clie, but that didn't support tom tom, as it was palm based, and tom tom is pocket pc based, so I had to first of all ditch the clie.
On scoobynets for sale section for the time it took me to make a coffee after posting (really ) SOLD.
Now to sell my road angel, much much longer, couldn't believe how long, over a month to sell, but did finally.
Then the search was on to get the best deal out there.
Looking around now, prices dont seem to have moved much, and I realised quite quickly I couldn't afford to get an IPAQ based system, so I settled for any other make.
DELL's pda's had some great reviews, so I looked closer at them, and found loads on ebay. Finally found one I could afford, emailed the guy, and did a deal:
DELL AXIM X5 400mhz PDA
256mb SD CARD
CF GPS CARD (the cable type, not the plug straight in ones)
LEATHER CASE
DELL SYNC MOUNT (with the blue logo )
CAR MOUNT WITH INBUILT SPEAKER AND POWER AND POWERFUL SUCTION HOLDER
TOM TOM 2 + ALL EUROPEAN MAPS
2 DVD's FULL OF PDA APPS
£380
BARGAIN
First impressions: Got it home, and spent quite a while on the pc first of all working out how to download the database for various POI's, shell, speed cameras, mcdonalds!
Then once that was done, plugged into the car, and went for a drive.
Set my "home" up, and proceded to try and get lost but couldn't, amazing bit of kit is tom tom, always works out a route to get you on the right track.
The camera database I felt was actually better than road angel, bear in mind the amount of people using the POI database, to those using road angel, I wouldn't be surprised if road angel weren't using the POI database themselves!
Of course, like any software, its not fully up to date, but that is easy to remedy as you drive along. Get a false warning of a removed camera, just delete as you go past. New camera installed in your area, add as you go past, easy as pie
And finally onto the one main reason why I wouldn't go back to a detector anymore:
As the "leader" of the smacs group, I often find myself at the front of the pack, leading the way down some dark, wet twisty country lane. Before I got tom tom, I had no idea where the roads were going, how many side roads there were, what was around the next corner
Now, I can almost "see" the road ahead, knowing exactly what is round the next corner, how long the straight is, where all the junctions are is like having your own co-driver calling out pace notes, and if you put the map in 2D, it is like being in a video game
Of course, you are right in thinking that it would be foolish to trust in this piece of software completly, and I always er on the side of caution on fast country lanes (it still doesn't have the M6 TOLL ROAD ffs )
So, all in all, over a dedicated camera detector the benifits are:
1/ you cant get lost
2/ it has all the speed cams on (yes it does warn you both sides of the road, but so what!
3/ it is indispensible for night driving, anywhere
4/ you can use it abroad ( the euro maps are dear though )
5/ its a pda, organise your life
6/ it looks kinda cool in car, and everyone is getting one

Hope this helps,

chris.

Kyl3cook

That does indeed help....filled me with more confidence over the setup, and have now bought the HP iPAQ2210 package of HandNav...purely because I have 2 vehicles, and I can transfer it easier with the bluetooth.

Thanks

Matt

Chris L

Got round to taking a couple of shots of my installation because someone else requested them too. They are here if anyone is interested.

Chris