Well, for one I'm not a cell phone geek. Geek in everything else but not the cell. I prefer a cell phone that makes a phone call and receive a phone call and that's about it. It's small, sits in my pocket and if I trash the thing somehow, no love lost. (I still use our Motorola Spirit radios for communication to persons down on the ground while on a tower, I know I'll always have a signal with those) I also have this huge issue with having to pay extra to a cell provider to use a feature that has absolutely nothing to do with them. The GPS in the phone is in the phone and if I pay them whatever the going rate is plus this fee and that fee, they will be ever so nice to unlock a feature that was manufactured into my phone that I own outright but they have been blocking with a software edit. I also come from the world of non-integrated components, as in "stereo geek" from the 70's. I'm on the flip side and could never understand why someone would want everything rolled up in one package. One part goes bad, you throw out all the good parts with the bad. That's probably why I'm a roll your own kinda wireless provider as well and when I buy this GPS, I'll maybe have it for 10 years at least, the cell phone 2 possibly 3 years on the outside. Plus, when the cell phone has problems and I have to send it in, replace it or whatever I'm only out a cell phone, not the other things that are integrated.
It's just a different sort of mindset of what we're comfortable with. -----Original Message----- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Curtis Maurand Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 8:28 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Handheld GPS recommendations, anyone? Good God, half the cell phones on the planet have GPS built into them. I used a Motorola Razr as a GPS on my last trip to Virginia a couple of years ago. iPhones and Blackberry's and Palm Pre's have them and the ability to link them to Google Maps. Job's done. Why carry a separate GPS? I don't get it. --Curtis Robert West wrote: > I'm finally getting rid of my Delorme Earthmate GPS unit. It has served me > well these past 10 years................. I will certainly miss having to > boot up my laptop, plug the thing into the serial port of my OLD laptop > because the newer ones do not have the serial port and to use that USB to > serial adapter is more fun that I could handle.... Then hope and pray that > the batteries in the Earthmate are still good for I always forget to check > before I go out............ But with that said, I need a replacement. > > I've been looking at some small Garmin all weather units but they seem to > stress geo-caching and hiking. If I had time for that, it may get my > attention, but I own a small business that I started because I needed to be > more flexible with my time. Working 80 hours+ a week is about as flexible > as it gets so no, I do not have time for that sort of crazy, high on life > sort of living. > > I simply need a GPS that I won't break (or be too badly damaged) when I drop > it off a 70 foot AP (it will happen, trust me), that will not be ruined when > I forget it on the top of the same AP and go home and it just happens to > rain overnight, can be recharged in the van and will give me the two pieces > of information I really desire......... My location coordinates and how > high I am. Someone else can mess with all those other functions, I'd have > to give it to my 4 year old to figure that stuff out anyhow, I just need to > know where and how high. > > Anyone have a good recommendation on a handheld GPS unit? (I guess I could > have just said one line but it's not as fun) > > Thanks in advance. > > Robert West > Just Micro Digital Services Inc. > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
