SimonD

I've been looking at GPS systems for a while for use in car and on my bike but have yet to come across something that ticks all the boxes. TomTom don't cover Ireland which is essential for me + I don't like the lack of speaker and bluetooth headset that comes with the "Rider" model.
Garmin are ok but the Quest has little memory, the 2610 is too big and the 2720 too expensive.

Aldi are selling a system that covers the Uk and Ireland for £180. It won't mount on the bike but I could always slip in the top of a tank bag.
Anyone seen this model (Medion is te brand) or think of a reason not to try it as a cheap(ish) stop-gap?

Chelspeed

> Quest has little memory

I've got a Quest and have all of UK in at full resolution and only use 3/4 of the memory, sure I could get Ireland in as well. If you go somewhere else on holiday then it's about 2 minutes to load up anywhere else you want from the CD then go back to UK when you come home. Fantastic bit of kit.

The US version of the Quest has less memory, not looking at that one are you?

Also Quest 2 is now out too, pretty sure that's got more memory as well.

And of course the Quest is waterproof so ideal for bikes, bet Aldi's isn't.

Garmin are the biz.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Wont a Sat Nav from Aldi just direct you to a Wetherspoons, Cash Converters, JD Sports or Argos ?

'Turn right ere our kid'
'Get in the fooking right and lane'
'In four Hundred Yards, collect your giro'
'You have arrived at your destination, innit'

Scooby-Doo

Medion are rebranded HP's and are very very good. The medion Sat nav I have is far superior to the BMW built in system.

SimonD

You coul'd be right there J4CKO .

Yes, the Quest seems to be the only one that makes any sense but I seem to remember someone on here commenting that while the Quest is waterproof, it's cradle is not. There seem to be some good deals on the old Quest but I'm not sure what coverage they have at these discounted levels.

For the price the Aldi one seems pretty good and although not waterproof it would be easy to put inside the clear pocket on top of my tank bag.

SimonD

Just checked and it seems that even the Quest 2 doesn't come with coverage of Ireland.

Is there a problem with GPS/mapping of Ireland?

Chelspeed

Depends what you mean by coverage. The latest maps Garmin use are v8. The European one is here If you look at the Map Source Map viewer you can zoom right into where you want to go and see how much detail is available. It looks like they have most detail for most of northern ireland but less detail for southern ireland for some reason. So it's not the case that Garmin don't cover Ireland full stop.

Not too sure how Quest 2 works though, if it was a Quest you'd get the CD and install whatever map regions you want and also be able to change what maps you have installed from week to week. But if Quest 2 comes preinstalled with maps do you still get the CD and the option to chop and change?

There's a list of agents somewhere, the UK's agent is down southampton way, give them a ring and have a chat about the best option, they're dead helpful and knowledgeable.

NPeckt

I have had a medion unit for the past two years and have found it excellent for GPS, not only that, it is pocketPC powered so you can use the contacts/ calender / notes/ media player.
Teamed up with a 1 GB SD card, this is a winner!

SimonD

Cheers for the tips. It seems that the problem with coverage of Ireland lies with the Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI):

http://www.lookintoireland.com/gps.htm

I've bought a Garmin i3 for the wifes car for now to see if we actually use the bloody thing (!) with a view to replacing it when something more suitable becomes available........ and (hopefully) when the OSI get their act together.