About a week and a half ago, I pulled out my trusty Garmin iQue 3600 to find out the exit for a mall to check out some sunglasses. Well, I managed to not seat the unit properly in the cradle in my car, so it reset itself and wiped out the contents of its memory. That’s the major problem with older Palm OS based devices (one reason I recommended that Qualcomm not use the Palm OS for the pdQ smartphone; losing all your data when the battery dies really sucks). I got royally annoyed at the device and since have been on a quest for a new (modern) portable GPS unit to replace it.
On black Friday, I dragged my wife to the store in hopes of getting a cheap unit. Of course, that didn’t work out. So, I’ve been doing my research on devices. Most GPS units sold come with a suction cup mount that adheres to the windshield. As I was looking at Costco’s website, I discovered that these types of mounts are illegal in California. Yes, I realize that most people either don’t know about it or don’t care. I, however, do my best to adhere to the law. In that light, it appears that the Garmin devices are the only ones that have an optional bean bag portable mount (my iQue has this). So, I’ve narrowed down my search to either the nüvi 260 or the nüvi 360 with the bean bag mount.
However, I don’t need a GPS unit at the moment. My father dropped his iQue 3600 and it no longer charges, so I offered him mine as I don’t use the Palm functionality like he does; he won’t pay me for it (I’m a nice son, aren’t I?), so a new GPS unit will cost me over $300. Most of the time we go somewhere new, we drive my wife’s car which has a built in navigation system, so maybe I’ll just wait until after the new year when maybe there will be rebates or reduced prices.
Check out GPSMagazine, they have a section called Buyers Guide, it gives you ratings and in depth reviews of a lot of units. http://www.gpsmagazine.com/buyers_guide.php
Ok. I’ll buy your old iQue3600 for $100.