Captain Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 Below is the discussion from the RV Forum on these units. Does anyone have any experience or opinion in OZ that compliments this. Just look at those US prices. Regards Geoff Shine'r Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa Posts: 8 Garmin or Lowrance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok guys and gals...... getting ready to buy a new GPS which should it be? Garmin 296 (don't need the weather) or the Lowrance 2000C . How about some input, which one should I buy and of course WHY. Thanks for the help Shine'r Shine'r View Public Profile Send a private message to Shine'r Find all posts by Shine'r Add Shine'r to Your Buddy List #2 Yesterday, 11:20 AM Mel Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Dallas area Posts: 550 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just had the same decision a few months ago. I tried the Lowrance first. I like to use Vnav. The lowrance does not have Vnav. I know, they say it does, but you have to input all information every time. It's just a calculator. Lowrance is too big physically for my taste. Also you cannot change the scale when you are in "auto zoom" like you can with Garmin. These are minor things that may or may not be your preference. But these are the things that made my decision. Mel...DAR Mel View Public Profile Send a private message to Mel Send email to Mel Find all posts by Mel Add Mel to Your Buddy List #3 Yesterday, 11:53 AM cobra Join Date: May 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 166 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mel, Can you explain "... you cannot change the scale when you are in "auto zoom" like you can with Garmin." Maybe I don't understand autozoom..., I know you can easily change the screen scale by a touch with either unit. Personally, my aging eyes prefer the larger Lawrence 2000 screen. __________________ Mike Parker RV-9a under construction, planning Mazda 13B rotary power cobra View Public Profile Send a private message to cobra Send email to cobra Find all posts by cobra Add cobra to Your Buddy List #4 Yesterday, 12:49 PM Mustang Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Kamloops, B.C. Posts: 127 Lowrance is my pick. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shiner, I'm a Garmin guy from way back. I own two Garmins in addition to the Lowrance. However, the Lowrance is our choice for the RV-8. Here are my reasons for liking the Lowrance; 1. The screen is oriented in the correct way. By that I mean it is in Portrait orientation rather than Landscape. Why Garmin think that you might be more interested in what is beside you rather than what is in front of you is beyond my comprehension. 2. Although the resolution is less than the Garmin, the font size is just right for my ancient eyes. 3. I like that I can download into the SD cards whatever mapping level I choose. I currently have the Canadian Topo mapset downloaded for the entire B.C. and NWT with every tiny creek and duckpond shown. Not to mention roads with addresses. 4. I have just installed the Lowrance Terrain Awareness SD card which is pretty good. The elevations are shown in relief rather than contour lines as in the Topo map sets but the presentation is good. 5. This unit is very good for reading in the sunshine. 6. The unit is capable of running an autopilot and Trio Avionics have set up our A/P to run off the Lowrance. The update interval is every second. Having flown to Wisconsin using this unit last summer from the Canadian West Coast, I was very happy with the performance of the unit.( I was in an RV-4) After crossing the border, I never used charts again. It was all there. Even zipping under Milwaukee's control zone on the way into Racine was a breeze with the Lowrance giving me the warnings and the layers of the wedding cake. If someone stole this unit, I would buy another one. Cheers, Pete Mustang View Public Profile Send a private message to Mustang Send email to Mustang Find all posts by Mustang Add Mustang to Your Buddy List #5 Yesterday, 01:24 PM L.Adamson Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: KSLC Posts: 181 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kitplanes magazine did a side by side comparison between these two units last year. In the end, the 296 was the "hands down" winner due to it's resolution and user interface. They mentioned that the resolution and color of the 296 made it much easier to define overlapping airspace boundary's, where the Lowrance appeared to blend some together, and was harder to define. I myself, think highly of improved resolution, as I don't like the blocky look. I also found that I like the landscape mode, even though my older Garmin used the portrait view. My Trio A/P is also connected to the 296's output. L.Adamson View Public Profile Send a private message to L.Adamson Find all posts by L.Adamson Add L.Adamson to Your Buddy List #6 Yesterday, 01:36 PM Ollie Join Date: May 2005 Location: Loves Landing Airpark (97FL) Posts: 2 Price -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One thing everyone left out is price.If you shop around you can almost buy 2 Lowrances for the price of one Garmin. I have used Lowrance since they first came on the scene many years ago and they have never let me down. Ollie 6a Ollie View Public Profile Send a private message to Ollie Send email to Ollie Find all posts by Ollie Add Ollie to Your Buddy List #7 Yesterday, 02:35 PM yooper Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boston. MA Posts: 16 Evil Empire -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And don't forget Garmin is the Evil Empire building their monopoly slowly but surely. Check out the new Lowrance 600C. Looks pretty cool. Smaller, but has neat Terrain features . .. TDT yooper View Public Profile Send a private message to yooper Find all posts by yooper Add yooper to Your Buddy List #8 Yesterday, 03:08 PM Mel Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Dallas area Posts: 550 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike, Unless they have changed since I tried it, with the Lowrance, you must be in manual zoom to change scales. In the auto zoom mode you cannot change the scale without first changing to manual zoom. I will certainly admit that there are several things I like about the Lowrance; mainly the vertical orientation of the screen. But just the physical size made it difficult to use in the -6. Mel...DAR Mel View Public Profile Send a private message to Mel Send email to Mel Find all posts by Mel Add Mel to Your Buddy List #9 Yesterday, 06:23 PM svanarts Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Modesto, CA Posts: 176 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've been a longtime Garmin user but this time around I went with a Lowrance unit. I went with the new 600C model because in my RV-4 I don't have much room. I have to confess I really like the unit. It's not as configurable as the Garmin unit and I'm still getting used to the interface but overall I really like it. It locks on quick, has great resolution, terrain awareness, SD cards for hi-rez mapping, ground navigation mode, marine navigation mode, all for $500. Not bad. __________________ -- Scott VanArtsdalen RV-4 N311SV Flying since 2002! svanarts View Public Profile Send a private message to svanarts Send email to svanarts Visit svanarts's homepage! Find all posts by svanarts Add svanarts to Your Buddy List #10 Yesterday, 06:24 PM Sam Buchanan Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: RV-6 based at DCU, Athens, AL Posts: 102 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will certainly admit that there are several things I like about the Lowrance; mainly the vertical orientation of the screen. But just the physical size made it difficult to use in the -6. The large Lowrance Airmap 1000 fits nicely in my RV-6, my eyes appreciate it, and my wallet really liked it! Does a fine job of driving the very capable EZ-Pilot, too. The only quirk of the Lowrance units when used with the Trio units is that Lowrance doesn't send the standard airport identifier via the NMEA data stream. The EZ-Pilot works precisely as advertised, but the waypoint in the EZ-Pilot display will be a number instead of a K-indentifier. The same issue was present in my old Airmap 100. If I forget where I've pointed the plane, I just glance over at the GPS. Sam Buchanan Yesterday, 06:26 PM aparchment Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 84 product support -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My experience with Lowrance left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I was pretty unimpressed with how they supported, or failed to support, my Airmap. I basically got to use it for a little over a year (I bought it new) before it became obsolete (database became too big for the unit). They offered me $100 for it if I bought another of their models. I am sure Lowrance knew that memory size would soon be an issue for the unit. Buyer beware you may say, but I view it as borderline deceitful. Then to offer to buy the unit back for a fraction of its purchase price is a great way to treat customers. How difficult could it have been to charge the customer for a memory upgrade? Maybe that would have been cost prohibitive, who knows. Has this sort of thing happened to the Garmin 296 people? Antony aparchment View Public Profile Send a private message to aparchment Send email to aparchment Find all posts by aparchment Add aparchment to Your Buddy List #12 Yesterday, 07:18 PM Mitch757 Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'd like to chime in here as a budget limited shopper. A couple weeks ago, I found a dealer for the Lowrance 2000C who was selling them for $695 plus $12 shipping (SnF special carryover). He told me about a rebate program that allowed an additional $225 for trading in my old Airmap 300. I gave him my credit card info and received the unit 2 days later. In the meantime, per his instructions, a call to Lowrance got me an RMA number to ship my old unit in for the credit. Within a week, the credit letter arrived and the $225 credit was issued...net cost: $470! I use it in my RV4 on a kneeboard and it works like a charm. It also comes with a bunch of different mounts and several CD's for loading auto stuff. The dealer I got it from is "Rollison Airplane Company", http://www.AirplaneGear.com, 812-384-4972....very prompt transactions. Mitch Garner RV-4 N10TH Mitch757 View Public Profile Send a private message to Mitch757 Find all posts by Mitch757 Add Mitch757 to Your Buddy List #13 Yesterday, 011 PM wingtime Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 72 Lowrance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have been a Garmin guy for a long time. I never even looked at Lowrance untill a buddy showed me one he was selling since he picked up the color model. I was shocked at the value you get for the $$$. You can get the 600C for HALF the price of a color Garmin. __________________ Bruce Smith RV-7A Fuse N27DB reserved
Paul Willett Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 I do not have muc experience with the Garmins. However, I do own a Lowrance 500 Airmap, and find it great for my type of flying. I have a Jeppeson Database, and it also comes with some good software for designing, keeping routes etc. Easy to read - easy to program - and big buttons with an intuitive menu system. However Garmin users may well say the same thing. Mine is mono and I find that is just fine for my use, and means the costs is a lot less. Alongside I am now trialling a PDA with a GPS using Oziexploer software with WAC / VNC / VTC charts. It is fiddly but if you get it setup properly where you dont need to interact much it is a good aid to visual navigation.
Guest Fred Bear Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 The SeaCaptain will know that I am a big fan of the Garmin 296, so I thought I'd mention that again. 1-10 scale with 10 being the best. Price 6 Features 10 Terrain 9 Battery 10 Accessories 10 Readability in sun 7 Usability 10 Size of unit 8 Size of screen 7 Database features 9 My only main gripe about the Lowrance - It's very big and bulky and the resolution isn't brilliant, therefore it's blocky. Either way, both units should satifsy your "VFR" requirements. Hooked up to AutoPilot would be nice too.
Captain Posted May 28, 2006 Author Posted May 28, 2006 It's interesting that there have been so few replies to my question. Particular thanks to Clem for his ratings. That was a very welcome response. And nobody has (yet?) come back with a glowing response about the 2000C. As this one purchase will add a fair bit to my cost and my cockpit, and for anyone else who cares, below is an update of the comments that RV owners have given to this question since my original post: Regards Geoff Garmin is the new Bendix/King -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've been buying Garmin GPS units since the days when Beindix/King owned the market, and acted like they thought that situation would never change. Today, Garmin has taken over the role of the "take it or leave it" monolith. I had a problem with my 295: turn it on, go to the moving map page, and the unit would shut itself off. Called Garmin support: send it in with a check for $250 and we'll fix it. Having been around computers since I bought a TRS-80 Model I back in the 70's, I figured this to be more of a software glitch than a hardware problem since it only happened with one of the pages. No way I was blindly sending then $250 for that. A little time with Google led me to a little internet backwater where I found a list of the apparently trade-secret master reboot codes for Garmin GPS units. Three finger salute and the problem was resolved. It is inconceivable to me that Garmin has never heard of the problem I had, and equally inconceivable that the first response from the tech support team wasn't to suggest trying a reboot. I also find it somewhat less than customer friendly to not have the reboot codes available on their support web site. Al I can assume is that they make a bundle on charging $250 to press three keys. Yes, I understand that $250 is a blended flat rate, and if I had a $500 fix it would look like a bargain, but as the first step in the support process, I find their motives questionable. The whole thing left me wondering why I would ever buy another Garmin unit. Having shared my $.02 on the topic, I now have $249.98 left in the bank for my next Garmin support issue. Originally Posted by aparchment My experience with Lowrance left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I was pretty unimpressed with how they supported, or failed to support, my Airmap. I basically got to use it for a little over a year (I bought it new) before it became obsolete (database became too big for the unit). They offered me $100 for it if I bought another of their models. I am sure Lowrance knew that memory size would soon be an issue for the unit. Buyer beware you may say, but I view it as borderline deceitful. Then to offer to buy the unit back for a fraction of its purchase price is a great way to treat customers. How difficult could it have been to charge the customer for a memory upgrade? Maybe that would have been cost prohibitive, who knows. Has this sort of thing happened to the Garmin 296 people? Antony __________________ Dave Gamble #15 Yesterday, 06:19 AM mrreddick Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Hangar/home at Hicks Airfield (T67), Fort Worth, TX Posts: 78 Lowrance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All, The 2000C can be flown in the "auto zoom" mode and if you need a closer look you can zoom in to check an airport identifier, lake name, highway name, whatever!, and within a short time delay, the Lowrance returns to the auto zoom range for your route. I keep one of the nav maps on auto zoom and one on manual. I can navigate out of the DFW Class B using the manual map and then switch to the other when I don't need as much surface detail. I've been a Lowrance user since 1998 and have never had a problem with them. I prefer my 2000C over my panel mounted Garmin, any day of the week! __________________ Mike Reddick #16 Yesterday, 06:37 AM L.Adamson Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: KSLC Posts: 183 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally Posted by mrreddick I prefer my 2000C over my panel mounted Garmin, any day of the week! The resolution and memory of a panel mounted Garmin 430/530 is much lower compared to a Garmin 296/396. How about the 2000C versus the Garmin 1000 panel mount? L.Adamson #17 Yesterday, 07:47 AM cobra Join Date: May 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 170 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Larry, It seems to me the resolution issue might be significant if you use the 396 as a handheld (close to your eyes) or mounted a "steering wheel", but not if it is mounted on the panel. On the panel, bigger seems better to me, particularly with the digital number displays. __________________ Mike Parker #18 Yesterday, 023 AM RV8N Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Richmond, Tx. Posts: 17 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I bought an Airmap 100 in 1999 at Oshkosh. I would have bought a Garmin but I needed a vertical orientation for the only place I can mount it. If you buy a Garmin with vertical orientation, the buttons are above the screen, you cover the screen every time you push a button. That was unacceptable. I bought the Airmap 100 and have been very happy with it. I recently tried to upgrade the database and was told the about the memory size and the $100 trade-in. I will probably buy an Airmap 500 or 600C but will not trade in the Airmap 100. I will use a RAM mount to attach it to the seat back support so my wife can play with it and navigate from the back seat. She will love it and it will be worth a lot more than $100 to her. Karl __________________ RV-8 N288K #19 Yesterday, 07:13 PM L.Adamson Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: KSLC Posts: 183 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally Posted by cobra Larry, It seems to me the resolution issue might be significant if you use the 396 as a handheld (close to your eyes) or mounted a "steering wheel", but not if it is mounted on the panel. On the panel, bigger seems better to me, particularly with the digital number displays. Mike, The Garmin 1000 "glass panel" system uses 1024*768 resolution for it's 10 & 15" MFD displays. The Avidyne Entegra uses 800*600, and the difference is quite noticeable. High res gets rid of the "blocky" look. With the 296/396 you have choices for sizing the letters & numbers, as well as a host of other display options, and I'll assume the same with the Garmin 1000. L.Adamson Garmin or Lorance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/img]I have the Lorance 1000 and I must admit I think it is a great value and very easy to read with old eyes. But the Garmin has a logbook feature that I wish I had. I wanted to upgrade at Sun-N-Fun to the 2000 but the color did not show up in the sun as well as the 1000 mono-chrome. Tom McCutcheon Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Vancouver, Washington Posts: 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have a Lowrance 2000c and really like it for all the reasons already described. My son has the Garman 296 and he really likes it. We both have RV-4's. Each gps unit has it's advantages and drawbacks. Trying to be completely fair I think the 296 is a bit more user friendly and does have a bit more information available about airports and services. It also has an instrument page that is sometimes nice. The 296 also displayes a bit more overlay information than the 2000c such as ground speed, altitude, ete, and distance remaining. The 2000c does these things just fewer at a time. Seems like I run out of overlay available at 3 items. The 296 displays at least 4 items at a time. The Lowrance has a big advantage in price. And, I really like it's size of display for my aging eyes (although I didn't have a problem with the 296). The 296 also has a big advantage in battery life. We flew from south of Houston TX to Vancouver, WA on one charge with the 296. The 2000c required airplane power. It's own batteries will probably only go about 5 minutes. Forget buying the external battery for the 2000c as I never would have room for that. In the end each have advantages and compromises. I can live with the compromises of the 2000c and I am very happy with it. My son loves his 296 and is talking about getting a 396 for the WX. Either unit becomes a bit of a challenge for room in an RV-4. We both have them mounted down by the fuel selector valve. Out of the sun and seems to work pretty good there. No room on the panel in a -4 for either. At least not on either of our panels. Good luck in deciding. Tom McCutcheon #22 Today, 06:42 AM mrreddick Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Hangar/home at Hicks Airfield (T67), Fort Worth, TX Posts: 78 Lowrance vs Garmin 1000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- L Adamson wrote: How about the 2000C versus the Garmin 1000 panel mount? Okay! How many pallets of Lowrance 2000C's could I get for the price of one installed Garmin 1000 system? Hmmm.......... __________________ Mike Reddick #23 Today, 12:44 PM Shine'r Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa Posts: 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Has anyone else had problems with the color not showing up in the sunlight? What about the Garmin in the sunlight? For less than half the cost the 2000C is looking real good!!!!!!!! Shine'r #24 Today, 01:02 PM AZtailwind Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 12 Discounted 2000C -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally Posted by Shine'r Has anyone else had problems with the color not showing up in the sunlight? What about the Garmin in the sunlight? For less than half the cost the 2000C is looking real good!!!!!!!! And check out PAcific Coast- http://www.pacificcoastavionics.com Is that a mistake? $699 for a 2000C? I just read this thread and started looking at the differences and ... wow Ther must be no accessories included or something? what a deal mon! Brad AZtailwind #25 Today, 01:08 PM rv8ch Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Switzerland Posts: 848 Airmap 2000C -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally Posted by AZtailwind And check out PAcific Coast- http://www.pacificcoastavionics.com Is that a mistake? $699 for a 2000C? I just read this thread and started looking at the differences and ... wow Ther must be no accessories included or something? what a deal mon! Brad That's the price I get. Wow - that is really a lot cheaper than the 296. I hope they come out with a model with weather and traffic! __________________ Mickey Coggins #26 Today, 01:20 PM cobra Join Date: May 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 170 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dont forget the the 2000C also comes with "free" software for auto navigation- the Garman charges a bundle extra for theirs. It doesn't do weather mapping yet __________________ Mike Parker #27 Today, 02:22 PM alpinelakespilot2000 Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 598 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally Posted by cobra Dont forget the the 2000C also comes with "free" software for auto navigation- the Garman charges a bundle extra for theirs. It doesn't do weather mapping yet Out of curiosity, how much does a weather subscription for a 296 cost each month? __________________ Steve Moore #28 Today, 04:03 PM cobra Join Date: May 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 170 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Only the 396 has WX- expect a one time charge of $75+ either $30 or $50/month for the weather data feed depending on level of service options. Id expect you will have to suscribe to XM radio as well (~10/month). __________________ Mike Parker #29 Today, 04:19 PM keen9a Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 68 XM Weather Cost -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The costs/service for XM are here: XM Aviation Weather You don't have to subscribe to XM radio, but its only $6.99 to add it to a weather subscription (click on the .pdf pricing guide on the left). __________________ Ben Keen #30 Today, 04:31 PM alpinelakespilot2000 Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 598 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $30 a month doesn't sound too bad, but $50... ouch. That would mean $600 a year extra! I'm not sure I'd get even $360 worth out of it, though if someone were determined to try to weave their way around or through storms it would be a nice thing to have. Lowrance 2000C, sans weather, is looking pretty good at $699, particularly since I'm "budget" ($50K +/-)building. Other's I've heard, on this forum as elsewhere, have indicated the lowrance resolution is more than adequate, though I'm sure that is a preference thing. Fortunately I've still got 12 months or so before I have to commit. __________________ Steve Moore Ellensburg WA RV-9 Fuse upside down
Guest Guest Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 I was looking at this a while ago. I don't think the Lowrance timestamps its trackpoints. I like to download my tracks after the flight. Since I already had a Dell Axim PDA, I decided to buy a bluetooth GPS receiver with the new SiRF chip (receives indoors). Bluetooth GPS receiver can be placed in the best receiving position and the PDA can be placed in the best viewing position; no wires. I use the free PocketFMS software and it seems to work well for me. I also found some free soaring software as well. If I don't like the software I'm running, I can always find other (free or commercial) software to install for a particular purpose. I have a bluetooth keyboard for the PDA, so it works as a laptop when I'm away from home. Emails, word, excel etc... The PDA doesn't look quite a solid as the Garmin or Lowrance (doubt it would survive in water). The screen may also be an issue (I generally have my backlight turned down), but not significant enough to worry me. Overall it was cheaper for me than buying a Garmin or Lowrance GPS unit. Doubt if I'd ever consider a Garmin or Lowrance again.
Paul Willett Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 Regarding the 'timestamping' of the waypoints - I am not sure if you get an actual time with the Garmin, however the Lowrance records your actual track made good if you select it on. I think each trail is up to 2000 points, number of trails I think is memory limited to your card size you put in there. Each point interval is up to you when you record it, every second to every 5 minutes or something like that.
River Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 G'day 'Team', Not sure if this (highly edited and cropped) printout example helps in this thread but it's from my Garmin 196 and I'm able to record quite a surprising amount of detailed data especially with a large memory card. I find this high levelof data recording an excellent tool to download and printout in conjunction with the mapping software. I’m able to printout both the tracking route overlaid of the flight map and also have a graphical printout of the flight profile plus all the tracking details for record keeping, etc. Regarding the 196 itself, the hardware internals I believe are quite well designed and robust but I dislike the keyboard usage and the multifunction keys though... If you are using rechargeable batteries be warned though, as the quality and reliability of a number of brands of so-called high-capacity batteries can see you running out of battery power a lot quicker than you planned for. The other point is if you are running the unit through the panel power, ensure you have a voltage regular between the power source and the GPS. Have a power spike or other electrical glitch and you could very easily have a ‘cooked’ GPS… With these few ponderings in mind, GPS is a must have item, I believe, as a secondary navigation/backup piece of equipment to our mark 1 human interface. Cheers. Rodger
Guest Fred Bear Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 The 196 / 296 can handle up to around 38 volts from memory - more than enough for the average Jabiru spike. The 296 wins nicely over the 196 because of the built in rechargeable lithium battery. 5-15 hours on a charge, depending on whether or not you use the backlight, which is mantatory if you need to read the screen.
drkgld Posted May 29, 2006 Posted May 29, 2006 I've tried both and am satisfied with neither. Why are proprietary GPS devices so clunky to use? It's like having a typewriter with only one key which you'd have to press 26 times to type the letter "Z"! Is it beyond the ability of manufacturers to design a large touch-screen PDA or tablet PC able to run third-party GPS software?
Guest Fred Bear Posted May 30, 2006 Posted May 30, 2006 You don't have to press the rocker-pad 26 times to get to Z... you can press it in the reverse direction thus removing the requirement to press it 25 times to get to Z. That will take you through 9876543210-+=/.
drkgld Posted May 31, 2006 Posted May 31, 2006 I did not mean literally that you have to hit a key on the GPS 26 times to type the letter "Z". I was trying to make a point about the way designers of electronic devices these days (digital watches, mobile phones, etc.) seem to enjoy putting commands into a series of nested menus that you have to patiently scroll through one by one to get at the command you want.
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