18 November 2009

Garmin Portable Friction Mount : Works great, looks a bit strange at first but well worth buying



I knew I didn't want to install anything permanent in my car (like adhesive mounts) because it would look strange and be a pain to deal with when I sell it. And I live in California where it is illegal to attach a GPS unit to the windsheild, plus my windsheild is very slanted so it would be a bit too far away there anyway, unless I mount it way up high on the windshield.

This friction mount works well. It allows me to put the GPS on my dash or on my center console and I don't have to mount anything permanently in to my car. And if I'm going on a trip with someone else in their car, it's super easy to bring it along and put it in their car.

It's also good for if you have a passenger that wants to play with and use the GPS, they can just move the mount over to their side of the dashboard.

I recommend this friction mount although have to admit, it looks a bit strange at first (especially with no GPS mounted on it), but you get used to it.


Thanks:
http://astore.amazon.com/garmin.gps.navigator.cheap-20/detail/B000LRMS66

11 November 2009

Garmin GPS 60CSx : Top of the line!


The first reviewer didn't really do his research before he purchased this or else he would know that it only comes with basemaps. The other fact he would know is that that's how all GPS vendors work. They want you to buy their maps separately and only their maps will work on their hardware.

Now, I previously owned a 60CS which I loved after trading in my Vista. With the newly upgraded 60CSx you get a couple of additional functions that make it much better than the 60CS. First, there's the SiRF III chipset. It is by far the best chipset out there right now. It's super sensitive and super fast. You can lock onto satellites even in your house in many cases! No longer will you loose reception in tricky situations. Most of the time you can even keep the 60CSx in your backpack and it will still track your movements.

The other highly requested function for many years is the expansion memory, now in the form of a microSD. Now you can load almost half of the U.S. into 512mb of microSD. Later, larger capacity microSD cards will be released that will allow you to loan the entire US! That's awesome!

Two things that you will loose by going to the 60CSx from the 60CS, the alarm clock, and the passive barometric tracking. Apparently, the new 60CSx no longer has a sleep mode so that these two things will not continue to work if you turn OFF the unit. The 60CS had a sleep mode so that the altimeter would still record your barometric after the unit was turned off and wake up to sound the alarm clock but not with the new 60CSx.

Most people don't use these functions anyway so I don't think you'll miss them. Also, the SiRF III and microSD more than make up for those two shortfalls.


Thanks:
http://astore.amazon.com/garmin.handheld.gps.cheap-20/detail/B000CSOXTO