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Old 30-04-2006, 10:19 AM   #2 (permalink)
icq3800846
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My wife has a MIO 168 which I am impressed with, it is an integrated GPS revceiver with a Windows Mobile 2003 PDA which is a budget device which can be had very cheaply. The original package did not have any navigation software (we specified this) but did include as standard a windscreen mount, car charger and external GPS ariel for people who have heated windscreens and cannot receive a normal GPS signal. Incidentally she has a heated front window on her car and it works fine anyway. She drove for three hours with Tom Tom 5 navigating her and still had 50% battery life left as she had left the car charger at home. It does NOT have bluetooth but in reality I am not sure what you would use bluetooth on a PDA for as you can still load files with the USB cable.... unless you wanted to fit a bluetooth head unit in your car to route the sound output from the PDA through the car speakers, or use a mobile phone as a modem.

If you are thinking of using the PDA to access the internet on the move with a bluetooth mobile phone then I could recommend the MIO A701 which is a Windows Mobile 5.0 phone with integrated GPS receiver and camera. SIM free it is £380.00 but it does function as your phone, PDA and Sat Nav all in one dinky form factor. Sat Nav software such as Tom Tom is separate though and there is no WiFi. This device is quite narrow compared to earlier PDA phones which felt like you were holding a dinner plate to your ear. It is comfortable to hold and you don't feel like a self conscious idot when you use it in public. Being Windows Mobile 5.0 the device uses ROM for everything, which is a little slower than using RAM, but has the benefits of retaining the memory if the battery is run to a point of being flat. Syncing and file transfer is incredibly quick compared to early iPAQ models and with the high availability of cheap but large capacity SD cards, you can haul round all your MP3s and Videos with you to play with Media Player 10. You can even get DivX players and with a 60 quid 2.0 gig SD card you might fit quite a few full length movies on your phone, useful for long journeys when you are NOT the driver.

Pentium 4 630, nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition, 2 x 512 DDRII Corsair 5400, 2 x Raptors RAID 0, 2 x 250Gb P120S RAID 1, Leadtek 7800GTX, Audigy, CM Aquagate housed in a Silverstone TJ03 Nimitz case with a Hiper Type R 580 watt PSU. All receipts hidden from my wife.
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