Garmin iQue 3600 PDA/GPS Handheld System with Americas Detailed Street Mapping Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had mine since middle of August. I'll starte with the issues. In that time I've experienced the glitches mentioned elsewhere, but not enough to give up on it. I had 2 hard resets with data loss (static electricity I now realize), many soft resets with no data loss (mostly when syncing), a few times the speaker noise problem (soft reset fixed), and short battery life when power isn't nearby. That's most of the bad, and most of this is fixed with v2 of the software now available on Garmins downloads site.
Since the sw upgrade to v2, no hard or soft resets, no lost communications on syncs anymore. I've loaded many new applets and none of them have given me any problems. Be SURE not to use any that aren't specific for OS5!
What's great?
- the screen is better than anything i've seen, more bright, more resolution, and is worth the tradeoff in battery life
- the speed, fast processor to speed autorouting makes it fast for everything else, too
- the integration with contacts and calendar for waypoints is very useful, really leverages the PDA/GPS into much more than the sum of its parts, more than what other (separate) packages can
- so far it's robust, i've dropped it and still works fine
- maps are very good. i took it to europe for 3 weeks of driving, including in italy (even rome), and it was painless with this device. it has every road in the country, like where i live. the system in my brother's car that cost $2K has no roads off the freesay where i live - useless. it is truly FREEING to drive along and see all the possible roads you can take around you, updating in real time, if you're like me and like to explore. truly great.
I could go on for a month, I love it that much. So I'll switch to how to overcome it's shortcomings:
- get the car kit, period
- get a 256 MB SD card, i paid under a hundred, with that, i can put most of california, for most of a US region or to have room for MP3's, get a 512 card.
- if you're not using it, cradle it. if you're in the car, put it on the car kit cradle whether using GPS or not. with these habits, i never have problems with battery life. and it charges very quickly, too. the v2 sw puts the default brightness at 50%, which is enough 90% of the time. i use about 30% when inside, and it's still brighter than many other and completely usable. don't enable waas, no satallites anyway and 20 feet is close enough for me, and helps battery. turn off IR receiver. set auto off to 30sec. it's instant on anyway. with these changes, battery life isn't an issue for me.
- i got the small sync cable with the travel kit, but the aftermarket sync cables will also charge from the USB so might be better, check it out, targus and belkin, among others.
- get a protective case. i got one for a toshiba pocketpc that's leather with belt clip. fits perfectly, and now i don't worry about dropping it
- the antenna works best when the FLAT top face is toward the sky, NOT when it's end is pointed at the sky. used this way, it locks under a minute even when moving for me, and never loses when moving after lock unless i'm in a sea of 3+ story buildings.
- i got the external antenna, and now i can take it off the car plate to use it and it still keeps the satellites, this is a nice to have but is not very expensive
- people have said the maps are worth $100. in reality the autorouting map sets are $300. i know, i bought it for Europe, but i DO NOT REGRET IT.
- sometimes it fails to find things that are in the database, but this is rare. r2 sw may have helped but haven't tested yet. there are a few map bugaboos, like a small break in the road that i routes you around, but these are rare.
- don't load any apps that don't say OS5 compatible
- use screen protectors - the ones for Sony Clie NX70's fit perfectly (don't get sony brand, too expensive)
- upgrade the OS to v2 immediately
- have patience if you've not used a PDA or Palm before, you will get through it. the downloadable PDF manual is very good. there are dedicated sites like palmgear with lots of useful info on getting along with your PDA, as well as software reviews and downloads.
- they have posted track log and waypoint conduits now, as well a map loader update. Garmin is seriously supporting this device, don't give up on it.
Bottom line is Garmin has realized the market for these is bigger than the combined market for all of their other products. So I do believe they will support the product, and will come out with even better ones in the future. But bottom line is it works great for me, it was a bargain considering what it does, and I wouldn't wait for an upgrade and have to live without it. It's a great GPS, and with the v2 upgrade, a great PDA. it's definitely the most useful device in my life today, moreso than my computer. i'm the kind of person that never gets lost, but i never leave the house w/o my ique now. it's fun, it's useful, and it makes life easier.

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Product Description:
Early Adopters Pick: August 2003. The first PDA to include integrated GPS technology.

With the power of Palm OS 5 and the dependability of Garmin GPS technology, this super PDA redefines multitasking. Its integrated software not only allows you to look up appointments and contacts, it also locates and routes you to them with voice-guidance commands. Feature highlights include: GPS receiver, MP3 player, voice recorder, infrared communication, and vibrating alarm.
GPS
The differentiating feature of the iQue 3600 is its integrated GPS capabilities. Garmin's innovative Que technology delivers location awareness, electronic mapping, automatic route calculation, turn-by-turn voice guidance, and map data interface to the iQue 3600. Que technology enables users to see where they are, find a street address, know where the next turn is via visual and voice guidance, get back on track when they've strayed off course, and navigate efficiently to their desired destination.
Detailed Mapping
Users can choose a configurable basemap of North America, South America, Europe, or regions in the Pacific Rim, with generalized information on highways, major city streets, highway exit services, railways, rivers, lakes, and state, provincial, and national borders. The iQue also has the added benefit of detailed street information on the included MapSource® CD-ROM, giving users the capability of looking up restaurant addresses, hotels, local attractions, transportation hubs, emergency services, and much more. Once a desired point of interest is chosen, you have the capability to view more info or even show it on the map screen. The mapping capability of the iQue 3600 makes it a versatile companion for the international frequent flyer who travels, for instance, between New York and London or San Francisco and Hong Kong. Customizable maps mean never getting lost again
The flip-up GPS antenna High-Tech Integration
One of the key benefits of technology integration on the iQue 3600 is its patent-pending contact-locator feature. Enabled by Garmin's Que technology, this feature connects the Palm Address Book and Date Book to the GPS electronic map to give the user the ability to navigate directly to a specific address within the user's contact database.
System
The Garmin iQue 3600 features the new Motorola DragonBall MXL ARM9 microprocessor, and boasts 32 MB DRAM. This handheld is powered by Palm OS 5, which offers the processing power to take on the most demanding mobile computing tasks, together with advanced multimedia and the wireless connectivity and security that enterprises require.