[ILUG] OT-ish

[Philip Trickett (List)]

On Fri, 2007-04-13 at 10:44 +0100, Michael Thompson wrote:
> On 13/04/07, Bernard-Joseph Roche <bjroche at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I want to buy a GPS system that I can easily move from car to car,
> > have good maps for Ireland & Spain and be able to update/manage
> > through Linux. I don't want something connected to a laptop as I drive
> > just something small and simple. Ideally something which can remember
> > locations with a simple name like "home", "office" or "airport".
> 
> The Nokia N800 runs linux and they have now released the navigation
> kit, a bluetooth gps module and maps on two SD cards. The navigation
> kit costs €200 (doesn't include the N800 €400)
> 
> Tthere is also a free (gpl) Maemo Mapper application that can talk to
> Bluetooth GPS modules but you have to get the maps yourself, e.g.
> scavenge from google maps.
> 
> Bit expensive if you only want GPS.
> 
> http://europe.nokia.com/accessorieslink?s=N800NavigationKit

If you go the Maemo Mapper route, which is excellent, you might find
that if you use Google Maps, you are a bit out of luck if you venture
outside of cities and large towns in Ireland. But if your journey
ventures into Northern Ireland, you are in a much better situation. (It
would be nice if the Irish mapping were on a par with the UK mapping in
Google Maps.) 

I personally like Maemo Mapper more than the typical satnav system, as
using it is more like using a paper map, rather than losing your sense
of direction by being told what turn to take and when.

You might find a cheap Nokia 770 on ebay, which will run Maemo Mapper
just fine.

HTH,

Phi l