Here's a couple of pictures on my Farenheit 7001 LCD...would look a lot better on an VGA IMO....

Not very good with this POS camera...

This is on the largest map font setting....can probably go a little smaller.

 

2

 

Mappoint shows up better then I would have expected; definetly better then DeLorme did on mine.

 

Excellent. You make it easy to select software. now i just need to pair it with a GPS hardware component and im set.

 

You can get a 60 day trial cd for like $10 just to see if you can use it.

This canadian company is selling a quarter-sized antenna for $100 plus NavStar add-on for $68.

http://www.mobilegpsonline.com/products.htm


I gonna try it and give it a review next week or the week after.

 

Alright, so now I know where you are located, unless you were just toying with us on those nav maps.

We should get together sometime, because I'm rounding up the components for my auto pc this weekend and your posts have been very helpful so far.

 

Actually that was just a randam location....I'm from the state to the right of that

 

Just got it and theses are my thoughts from playing with it for 40 minutes.

Thumbs up on the antenna for $100. Cheap, small and works...what else do you need. Drove a few miles down the road and it seems to track real good.

Navstar software is a waste of money. I got excited at first because it had voice commands...Few of things that jump out at me that I didn't like....
(1) Too much wasted space. Big green bar on top that's just wasted space.
(2) nothing special. Only thing you get in addition to mappoint is an easier interface and voice commands.
(3) Green color makes you want to puke.
(4) When you go into GPS mode the text goes to a smaller size and I haven't found a way to make it bigger yet...which is a real problem if you are dealing with a 7" non-vga screen.

 

I'm not familiar with Navstar software (unless I know it by another name). Can you provide a link to it? I know you aren't recommending it, but just want to see what software options are available.

Thanks!

 

It's an add on to Mappoint.

http://www.mobilegpsonline.com/products.htm

Screenshots...
http://www.mobilegpsonline.com/laptop_navstar_4.htm

 

I haven't used it in detail...may grow to like it...if I can get the text bigger in Nav mode.

This is the screen I'm interested in...
http://www.mobilegpsonline.com/image..._navigator.JPG

You can try it out for 30 days for like $10....I would suggest that if you are interested.

 

Guys, can someone explain to me what VGA means? I've seen it thrown around a lot but was too embarassed to ask.

So, are you saying that the Farenheit screens are NOT VGA?

Finally, does the software shown above "talk" to you as you drive? I used a Nav system in a rental car (Hertz) and the voice prompts were very nice since you never had to take your eyes off the road if you didn't want to.

Thanks

 

"In 1987, IBM introduced the Video Graphics Array (VGA) display system. This has become the accepted minimum standard for PCs. Some VGA monitors are still in use today. The maximum resolution depends on the number of colors displayed. You can choose between 16 colors at 640 x 480, or 256 colors at 320 x 200. All IBM-compatible computers support the VGA standard. "

No, the Farenheit screens are NOT VGA. And require you to use a TV-out (composite or s-video) to connect to, from a PC. The image loss occurs (which is why the quest for increase font size) because the TV-out uses scan conversion technology to basicly smooth or remove pixels in order to display the image on a non-VGA screen, which has a lower resolution. There, the biggest advantage of using a VGA screen is that you would be able to more accurately reproduce the computer image on the screen, without the image loss since VGA screens are at 640x480 resolution which can be also be set on your PC graphics card for a 1-to-1 match.

Hope this helps!

 

Aggie300zx explained the VGA thing very well.

Yes the software talks to you in a computer-type voice. Two male voices and one female voice to choose from.

 

Thank you both very much!

One more question. If VGA is so much better, how much more does it cost compared to the same size non-VGA?

 

-My non-VGA 7" Farenheit LCD was $291 shipped (Ebay).


-The only commecially available 7" VGA monitor at this moment that I know of is $470 + tax and shipping...
http://www.spysupply007.com/LCD_Scre...narc/700Y.html

The monitor is said to be too big for the navigation hole. Modifications have to be made. Some have talked about taking the case apart and installing it....have yet to see it done.

 

I agree, in that the only consumer VGA small screen I have found is the xenarc.

It seems logical that since we only need the module (not the completed case), that we should be able to find the lcd module cheaper. Unfortunately, my experience so far only shows a minimal savings. I have contacted a couple reps/distributors for the modules, and they always ask the same thing before quoting me a price, "How many will you be buying each year", since their normal customer is an OEM of some sort. When I say "One the first year, and then, probably none thereafter", I get a price of about $400, plus $100 for touch screen. This includes the required controller, and additional backlighting.

A group buy might cut the cost somewhat, but they are really looking for purchase committments of hundreds per year to get a discounted price.

I haven't given up yet though. There is a new screen becoming available by LG Phillips in April/May. I'm trying to get one prior to that as a sample.

 

Had a bit more time to play with the Navstar program.

Finally had a chance to use the Navigation mode. The voice functions were cool and useful....but sometimes the synthetic voice commands were a little hard to understand.

The program has to be run in a 800x600 resolution to get all the menu features. Maps do scale to large size text and is very readable (text looks like display above).

All the submenu text is very small and hard to read. But using the submenus is not really necessary after you initially set it up. However, you won't be able to use the added features of searching for nearby restuarants, etc.

typing in addresses to locate requires a real keyboard....you can however select locations from the map to avoid this. And calculate a route this way (much easier).

No re-routing is available. If it calculates a route for you, you pretty much have to stick to it or replan another route if you veer off course.

The start map is a canadian city...best thing to do is save a map of the city you are in and open it up at start up.

GPS antenna locks in signal real fast.

I believe this program was made for a 14"+ laptop. Not the best Nav program out there, but if you tweak it you could get it to work for you.

 

Dang!

It looks like the antenna is now $128.00!

I was going to buy it for $100, but now I wonder if I should wait for the Earthmate unit, which is due next month, and should be $99.00

 

There appears to be alot of USB GPS options for around $100, but what I am worried about is the right software package. I wasn't too impressed with the interface on the Delorme software, way to busy and rather cumbersome to do the point-to-point stuff.

What I am afraid of, is that the one I really want that will provide me something other than just cool maps is CoPilot, which costs $$$$$$$