Rep Power: 276

Im thinkin about getting GPS in my car. Only problem is the price of those system ranging from like 300-500+ dollars. I just dont feel like spending that much for that.

So, I was wondering if anyone on here has converted their PDA into a GPS. I just think it would be cheaper to get a PDA from ebay or somewhere and get a GPS receiver and install the software and maps and I will then have GPS in my car and a PDA.

Lemme know what u guys think about that

 
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isn't doing that still around 400 bucks??

 
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I use my laptop, Microsoft Streets & Trips plus GPS antennae to USB ftmfw!

 
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^ooo, didn't know you could do that

 
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yeah, i got a Palm Treo650 phone. i was thinking about using the phone as a GPS but the software and GPS hardware comes to 200ish bucks. so i said **** it. ill just stick it out to build my carputer for a few hundred bucks.

 
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I hav a carputer, much easier. I picked up a GPS receiver from Ebay for $60 and downloaded iGuidance for free. Cost me next to nothing.

 
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There are other things to consider... sure you may be able to do a budget GPS that way and save a bit of money... say $100 bucks. But you have to look at the quality of the GPS system, and how much information it contains. Some systems have a lot more points of interest than others, and some work much slower or faster than others. Not all GPS systems are created equal. Figure out what system you would get for your PDA solution and how much it would cost, then find a decent similarly priced standlone system like a TomTom or a Garmin and see what they offer for features compared to what you picked out, and read as many reviews as you can find also.

 
Rep Power: 276

yeahh, ive been doin a lot of reading and comparing. The market for stand alone PDAs has been going down since smartphones have taken over the PDA market, so the price of PDAs has gone down. The newer PDAs are still expensive, but if u get one on ebay slightly used or last years model its substantially cheaper. The GPS add-on to PDAs I can get for less than a hundred for sure and the software...torrents and other download services will server me well there.

I could do the laptop thing, but I want something much more portable than a laptop.

Thanks for the input guys

 
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before my in-dash gps, i had a palm zire 72 with tom tom software in it and a bluthooth gps receiver and it worked excellent, better than the software in my eclipse, i totally recomend it if your looking for something portable, also your pda can be used for much more.

 
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I'm using a Dell Axim X30 with TomTom 5 and it works like a champ. I highly recommend it. I got the Axim for $133 on ebay.

 
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Exactly, what I was thinkin. Does the tomtom software have a voice guided feature where it would say the commands?

 
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im still using my axim, and iGuidance as the software

 
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Me too. I bought my roomate's old thinkpad a year ago, and it just died. So i bought a thinkpad 1300 with a p3 750 on ebay. I took the HDD, RAM and cd burner outta the old one, bought a new battery, a gps antenna, streets and trips, dc power supply for the laptop, and an FM transmitter. Cost as follows.

First Laptop - $50
Second Laptop - $66
GPS antenna and software - $70
FM transmitter - $25
DC power supply - $25
New battery - $20

Now I can figure out where I'm going and listen to 10 gigs of mp3s, and rob people's wireless internet with my lan card, all while driving, for about $250, not counting the extra power outlets I wired up. And when i'm at home, and my g/f is sleeping in my room, preventing me from accessing my two desktops, i can post here from the living room when i bring the laptop up from my car. I'd recommend a laptop over PDA. One day, i will get really ambitious and build a desktop into my trunk, with a touch screen on the dash, but the laptop works for now.

 
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cool thanx for the price breakdown. It helps me out in terms of comparing what I wanna do

 
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NP. You can save yourself about $30 off all that if you "obtain" software from another source. I really like streets and trips, and didn't feel like tracking down my friend with his copy. Besides, the antenna and software was a package deal, tho the antenna can be had separately. If you look on ebay, at seller gps4evyone (not a typo), he's got the antennas, software, and cables for pda if you go that route. Shipping is fast as hell, and the antenna seems well made.