Re: oilheads-digest V1 #18

[McRuss <wtrrtw@xxxxxxxxx>]

Bob,
FWIW, I have a Garmin V.  It has great routing capabilities
though limited memory.  It does not have a talking color
screen but for use on a bike, I love it.  In fact, on a
quick ride to Dallas last weekend, my wife said "What, no
GPS?"  The Street Pilot series are great but my V covers
the basics for about 1/3 to 1/4 of the price.


> Steve,
> Thanks for the info.
> I am seriously considering to buy a GPS.  I'd like to
> purchase the larger
> one, larger colour screen, preferably the talking one.
> Do you have any suggestion, could you recommend one???
> Thanks in advance
> Bob Silas
> '94 RS in Montreal
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> - ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steve Makohin" <wateredg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "BMW Riders Club" <bmwmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Oilheads
> list server"
> <oilheads@xxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 3:30 PM
> Subject: Garmin MetroGuide Canada v4
> 
> 
> > Hello,
> >
> > For parties who are interested in detailed Canadian map
> data and
> > street-level data for their Garmin GPS, read on. I just
> purchased the
> > Garmin MetroGuide Canada v4 in the hope of getting the
> most complete data
> > available for Canada. In some ways, this product meets
> that need while it
> > falls short in others.
> >
> > MetroGuide Canada v4 replaces v3, but it is a different
> product from a
> > different data supplier, so you should not expect this
> to be an "update".
> > Unlike v3, v4 has much more detailed data (more
> complete listing of
> > roads), as well as searchable street address data so
> you can look up
> > addresses on the PC and GPS, and not just cities. You
> can also create
> > point-to-point routes that adhere to the roads ("rubber
> banding"), as you
> > can with the CityNavigator product. For example, using
> this data you will
> > be able to create an auto-route on your compatible
> Garmin GPS from your
> > door to the Friday The 13th Port Dover Ride-In in
> August 2004, and for
> > the brave, also in February 2004.
> >
> > MetroGuide Canada v4 also includes 750,000 points of
> interest, which are
> > helpful for finding the nearest gas station, ATM, or
> convenience store,
> > as well as more detailed data of creeks, rivers, and
> small lakes which
> > MetroGuide Canada v3 and CityNavigator lack for Canada.
> Otherwise,
> > MetroGuide Canada v4 is a very similar product to the
> CityNavigator
> > product, with the proviso of having coast-to-coast
> Canadian coverage, and
> > providing detailed street-level data for much more
> geography than just
> > the 7+ major cities that are covered in CityNavigator.
> >
> > Now for the down-sides: If you're thinking of buying
> MetroGuide Canada v4
> > with the vision of it being a more detailed and
> comprehensive
> > CityNavigator, as I did, then you may be disappointed.
> When you get out
> > of major centers, you will find places where roads are
> depicted on the
> > map, but they are unnamed. They are labeled simply as
> "Road", as can be
> > seen in parts of Prince Edward Island and other places
> across Canada.
> > It's a step up from the CityNavigator which lacks much
> of the Canadian
> > Maritime provinces' geography altogether, and detailed
> roads for much of
> > Canada, as well as being an improvement over MetroGuide
> Canada v3 which
> > lacked the detail of smaller roads, but I expected a
> road to be named
> > properly if it exists as GPS data.
> >
> > The much bigger bad news is that the data on the newly
> release MetroGuide
> > Canada v4 is at least 3 years out of date! I noted that
> at least parts of
> > the data are older than the data contained on the
> CityNavigator 4.0 CD,
> > as well as the MetroGuide Canada v3 CD which it
> replaces, both of which
> > were selling a year and a half ago when I bought my
> StreetPilot III.
> > Apply this information to real life, such as to my
> realtor wife: she can
> > now auto-route to the front door of a listing in the
> small town of
> > Dunnville, Ontario, but she has virtually no data for a
> three-year-old
> > subdivision located a quarter mile from our own house
> while CityNavigator
> > 4.0 does. In this way, the newly released MetroGuide
> Canada v4 is a step
> > backwards, by about 3 years.
> >
> > The MetroGuide Canada v4 is the most detailed and
> comprehensive Canadian
> > street-level data available for Garmin GPSes. It would
> have been an
> > unqualified smash hit, had it been released in the year
> 2000. It's still
> > a very useful product for travelers in Canada who are
> not overly
> > concerned with the changes that have taken place in the
> past three years.
> >
> > MetroGuide Canada v4 is priced at US$116.65, and it is
> available from
> > Garmin (www.garmin.com) and many GPS retailers. The
> data is compatible
> > with the following Garmin GPS units: eMap, eTrex,
> Legend/Vista, GPS V,
> > GPSMAP76/76S/176/176C, Rino 120, iQue, StreetPilot,
> StreetPilot ColorMap,
> > StreetPilot III, StreetPilot 2610/2650, GPSMAP 196,
> GSPMAP
> > 182/182C/188/188C/232/238/2006/2006C/2010/2010C/GPSMAP
> 295. Some units
> > may require a Garmin data card.
> >
> > -Steve
> >
> >  Oakville, Ontario, Canada
> >  2000 R1100S/ABS, Mandarin
> >
> > .
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2003 21:11:13 -0500
> From: Steve Makohin <wateredg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Garmin MetroGuide Canada v4
> 
> Hello Bob (and list),
> 
> On 12/1/03 5:35 AM, Robert Silas
> robert.silas@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> 
> >I am seriously considering to buy a GPS.  I'd like to
> purchase the larger
> >one, larger colour screen, preferably the talking one.
> >Do you have any suggestion, could you recommend one???
> 
> My only experience with GPSes is with Hertz's "Never
> Lost" system (with 
> which I got lost in downtown Boston), and my current
> StreetPilot III. I 
> won't travel without it, it's that good. I don't have a
> detailed write-up 
> about it, but full product details are available at
> www.garmin.com. It's 
> big enough to use in car, yet small enough to use on a
> bike. It has a 256 
> color screen with variable contrast and brightness that
> is readable 
> except in direct sunlight. It has voice prompts (Bitchin'
> Betty tells you 
> where to go ;-) -- Betty warns you before you need to
> make a turn or 
> deviate your course. It can also run on 6 AA batteries
> for "up to 20 
> hours", but in my experience under real use, it's closer
> to 2 if you 
> 
=== message truncated ===


=====
Russ Locke
San Antonio, TX
(but a Coloradian forever....)
'02 R1150RT, '98 KLR650, '04 FJR1300, '64 TR4 
PITS, MOA, Oilheads, VTR, etc.
MSF Rider Coach
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