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Handhelds Hardware

Garmin iQue 3600 113

Posted by michael from the whereami dept.
W33dz writes "Several sources are talking today about Garmin's new iQue 3600. This lovely new gadget runs on Palm's OS 5.2 and features an onboard GPS system. Garmin has a long history of being a top GPS manufacturer and has created a neat little device that you can see reviewed here (MSNBC) and here (InfoSync)."
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Garmin iQue 3600 More

Garmin iQue 3600

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  • backordered (Score:3, Funny)

    by Dare nMc ( 468959 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @05:50PM (#6592090)
    crap, and I wanted to get mine before it was posted to slashdot.

  • Voice guidance? (Score:5, Funny)

    by mmoncur ( 229199 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @05:50PM (#6592094) Homepage
    > The iQue 3600 is the first PDA to include integrated GPS technology.
    > With the power of Palm OS(R) 5 and the dependability of Garmin(R) GPS technology,
    > this "Super PDA" redefines multi-tasking. Our integrated software not only
    > allows you to look up appointments or contacts, but also locates and routes
    > you to them with voice-guidance commands!

    Impressive, although I imagine voice guidance is going to sound very cheesy coming out of a tiny machine like this. And embarrassing. (Did your coat pocket just say "turn 90 degrees left"?)

    You may now begin the usual "How long will it take for someone to put Linux on one of these" discussion.
    • The audio system on the new Palm devices sounds remarkably good, all things considered. I own a Tungsten|T, and MP3 plays sounds OK on it. It's no expensive stereo with surround sound, but from a mobile device it is more than acceptable.

      The cheese voice is going to result from a limited vocabulary size, due to the limited memory on a Palm. As noted in one article, the device does not say street names. If some decent sounding voice systhesis engine could be put on Palm OS, that would make voice commands

    • Re:Voice guidance? (Score:5, Funny)

      by bellers ( 254327 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:07PM (#6592249) Homepage
      >And embarrassing. (Did your coat pocket just say "turn 90 degrees left"?)

      If you think that's bad, just wait until your pants tell everyone within earshot to head south.

    • Impressive, although I imagine voice guidance is going to sound very cheesy coming out of a tiny machine like this. And embarrassing. (Did your coat pocket just say "turn 90 degrees left"?)

      according to the infosync review, the built-in speaker is pretty loud. the only criticism i have is that the voice doesn't tell you the actual street name to turn on, but only how many miles to go before the next turn. big bummer.
  • Should we trust the GPS? :-)

  • Cool! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 01, 2003 @05:52PM (#6592107)
    Now I can say I have an "iQue of 3600" and be telling the truth.
    • "Now I can say I have an "iQue of 3600" and be telling the truth."

      That would probably have a detremental effect on the perception your ambient IQ rating.

  • Good... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Piranhaa ( 672441 )
    I think its smart that they've finally made a palm without that touchpad built into the screen... That seriously looked bad, and took away lots of potential screen room... Now they can compete better with the PocketPC's for screen size... Now only if they had the resolution....
    • Nearly all new PDA's running PalmOS have 320*320 resolution, many Sony Clie's have 320*480. The best pocketPC can do is 320*240

  • Serious Flaw (Score:3, Interesting)

    by kraksmokr ( 216277 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @05:54PM (#6592135) Journal
    The iQue does not come with any built in wireless networking. That seriously limits its ability to be used as a transponder.

  • crap (Score:3, Interesting)

    by DNS-and-BIND ( 461968 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @05:56PM (#6592148) Homepage
    Dang...my color StreetPilot seems to be obsolete now. The only thing it has left going in its favor is its shape, which sits well on a dashboard. I paid $530 for it back in 2000, and it serves me well. I knew a guy who had a lay-flat GPS, and it was a pain for him to drive and watch it at the same time.
    • How was your Streetpilot? I got a car yesterday and I want nav in it. Alpine or Kenwood systems are super sweet but cost $2500-$4000. I am now considering the Ique 3600 or the streetpilot you mentioned. My question is how well does it aquire sats while you are moving? Do you find it has all the addresses you want to go to? Thanks!

      • Re:How is it? (Score:3, Informative)

        by DNS-and-BIND ( 461968 )
        Oh, it's a great unit. Especially with full color. It's designed to sit on the dashboard while driving (hence the name StreetPilot), as opposed to other GPS units which are designed to lay flat to go in the pocket for hiking (eTrex, Ique). It doesn't matter if you're moving or sitting still...I've acquired satellites on an airplane moving at 550 mph and it didn't take any longer than usual. It's rare you find an address it doesn't have...it's happened to me once as I remember, and that was in a newly-bu
        • Thanks for the info. I'd take up your offer but I've decided that I'm going to spend the cash for the new Garmin IQ 3600. But it should move fast on Ebay.

          Good luck to whereever you're going, too!

  • Compatibility? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by BWJones ( 18351 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @05:56PM (#6592151) Homepage Journal
    Well, one of the frustrating things about being on a Mac has been the almost total lack of GPS software available for OS X and GPS devices. What I can't seem to find out from the site is if downloading new maps requires Windows? If the maps are platform independent, Garmin has just made a sale.

    • Re:Compatibility? (Score:4, Informative)

      by NilObject ( 522433 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:11PM (#6592271)
      There is [macgpspro.com] no GPS [sourceforge.net] software that [chimoosoft.com] works on [sbcglobal.net] a Mac... [binaervarianz.de] Riight...

      • Re:Compatibility? (Score:3, Informative)

        by plastik55 ( 218435 )
        None of those do street mapping or route finding, which is what most people need.

        Of the handheld street mapping software that exists, Delorme's Street Atlas USA Handheld requires you to download its maps to the handheld from a Windows PC. As does Rand McNally's TripFinder software. Mapopolis [mapopolis.com] is thankfully not dependent on the host PC, but is slow and buggy as shit (at least on the Palm).

        • Re:Compatibility? (Score:2, Informative)

          by psxndc ( 105904 )
          what about gpsdrive [kraftvoll.at]?

          $fink install gpsdrive

          Not trying to be flippant, but it looks like [kraftvoll.at] gpsdrive does the things you're looking for. I admit I am a gps n00b (eyeing one for christmas), but from my initial research, gpsdrive does route finding.

          psxndc

    • Past Garmin street-map software has been PC Only. I talked to some of the developers of the mac products (listed in previous postings) and they have told me that Garmin keeps the u/l d/l formats proprietary. This is really too bad since i'd bet a good part of the early-adopter market use macintosh.

    • I'm still waiting for GPSy [gpsy.com],

      cheers- raga

  • Garmin charges A LOT for maps (Score:4, Informative)

    by exhilaration ( 587191 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @05:57PM (#6592157)
    You know what sucks? Spending $200 on a nifty Garmin GPS unit only to find out that you have to spend another $200 on detailed maps.

    The Garmin Legend came with a "basemap" of major highways and major roads, but there are no detailed streetmaps cuz you gotta buy Garmin's CD's for that.

    This new unit it pretty expensive, but what how much do you have to spend for the friggin maps?

    • Re:Garmin charges A LOT for maps (Score:5, Informative)

      by Artifex ( 18308 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:32PM (#6592404) Journal
      You know what sucks? Spending $200 on a nifty Garmin GPS unit only to find out that you have to spend another $200 on detailed maps.
      [...]
      This new unit it pretty expensive, but what how much do you have to spend for the friggin maps?


      You know what else sucks? People who can't read linked information before commenting on it.

      Right on this page, on the lower left [garmin.com] it plainly says that the "MapSource(TM) City Select CD with full unlock" is included, in either North American or European versions, as well as the basemaps.

      If you don't believe that page, follow the link from the North American version to here [garmin.com], where it also says "MapSource(R) North America City Select v4.01 now includes full coverage for the contiguous United States and expanded coverage for Canada. This updated product (with access to all regions at no extra charge) is included with the purchase of a Garmin(R) GPS V Deluxe or iQue 3600."
      • The original poster was correct, although it didn't apply to this particular product.

        xref the street versions of their gps's. They charge a boatload, and even more for a specific city just to flash a new map.


    • You know what sucks? Spending $200 on a nifty Garmin GPS unit only to find out that you have to spend another $200 on detailed maps.

      The Garmin Legend came with a "basemap" of major highways and major roads, but there are no detailed streetmaps cuz you gotta buy Garmin's CD's for that.

      This new unit it pretty expensive, but what how much do you have to spend for the friggin maps?

      Sounds like they are using a strategy similar to what the printer companies or doing with ink.

  • Battery life. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by spumoni_fettuccini ( 668603 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @05:59PM (#6592177) Journal
    Battery life seems very precious on the iQue. Garmin claims "approximately two weeks standby time or approximately 10 days if used an average of 30 minutes per day with backlight off. Battery life will vary depending upon temperature and individual use patterns."

    With a color screen, this is pretty good. It was mentioned it would drop to a few hours with constant use [GPS feature]. On a suckage note the baterry is not user replacable and the car adapter tops $70.

    • Re:Battery life. (Score:3, Insightful)

      by mentin ( 202456 )
      So what is iQue for?

      In car use? No. Real in-car GPS with larger screen is much more convinient, and already integrated with car's audio and power supply.

      Hiking trip? Again no. I surely would not take this GPS to a hiking trip - if I am lost at night, and need both GPS and backlight, its batterries will be dead in couple of hours.

      So what is the target for these devices?

  • Why not just buy an Ipaq (Score:4, Interesting)

    by junimota ( 582971 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:02PM (#6592202) Journal
    and attach a gps sleeve to it? You could get more processing power and the gps, for much much more less than the 538 by garmin.
    • Have you seen how big the damn IPaq gets when you a put a sleeve on it?
      And god forbid you want a 802.11b card too. The damn thing would be 10cm deep and weigh a kilo.
      • This is pretty accurate :) I did this with my iPaq + the dual slot PC card backback. One card was for a 5GB hard drive (for the maps- well, the maps and 4.5G of MP3s) the other was for the GPS. It was wholly unweilding and not really good for anything but in-card navigation.

        Also, in case anyone was wondering, PocketPC WMP sucks for playing large amounts of music. By "Large" I mean "more than 10 tracks".
    • That shall be bigger and heavier. I don't know about you, but for me low weight and small size are #1 requirements.

      These two functions integrated into one quite small and light device is nice. The only thing lacking is a cell phone. I have a P800 now and never ever would do again without a combined PDA + phone. Next purchase shall be only when PDA + phone + GPS come together.

  • Could functions clash ? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:02PM (#6592203)
    Speaker for voice-guidance commands, MP3 player, and message playback

    So when play this [buoy.com], does it guide you there [riaa.org] ?

  • Blah (Score:4, Funny)

    by NilObject ( 522433 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:02PM (#6592209)
    Why is it still so fricking exciting when some company crams PalmOS on to their whatever-product and hypes it as the next generation of devices. All this really is is the by-product of a Zire, iTrex GPS Unit, some cheap wine, and a Barry White cd.

    Ooo! I can take voice memos now!

    "Note to self, save a couple hundred dollars next time."

    • That's exactly what you're doing, saving a couple hundred dollars. When you compare the iQue to their StreetPilot III, is when you start to get excited...I was pretty close to getting the SP3 until I saw this puppy...you get alot more functionality for less dough...and it's even the same maker! Can't go wrong with that!

  • 3 hours of use. Forget that (Score:4, Insightful)

    by enkidu ( 13673 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:06PM (#6592233) Homepage Journal
    To quote the msnbc review Garmin claims "approximately two weeks standby time or approximately 10 days if used an average of 30 minutes per day with backlight off. Battery life will vary depending upon temperature and individual use patterns."... In real life, expect two to three hours max if you're using the GPS features. Screw that. Is it just me or has battery life been getting worse and worse with each new batch of Palm devices? My Palm Personal did 5-6 weeks, and my four AAA Handera 330 has no problem going up to two months of light use, 1 month of moderate use. 10 days?

    I don't want more multimedia features, I want a better screen, LONGER battery life, and small and thin (Palm V). [slashdot.org] The latest trends are definitely away from the last two.

    • Re:3 hours of use. Forget that (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Russ Steffen ( 263 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:19PM (#6592328) Homepage

      Battery life in GPSs has never been all that great, but it's gotten a lot better. I have a Rockwell-Collins Trooper GPS (manuf. circa 1992), and it will drain 8 fresh AAs in 20 minutes. If it's staring up cold, it will often not be able to get a position before the batteries die. Fortunately, it keeps almanac, ephemeris and last position in NVRAM, so it's good to go on the second set of batteries.

      • For high-drain devices, use Ni-MH Batteries ( Nickel Mental-Hospital? hmm.. )

        http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.H TM [imaging-resource.com]

        IIRC they show the watts, mAh's, and minutes ( digicam-type load ) for a LOT of cells, including the anemic 'alkaline' cells.

        The Nexcells are the most cost-effective, it seems, though I gather the Maha 100-minute charger is with Maha batteries amazing, I also gather that a given charger can be gentle with one kind of cells and destroy another, apparently similar kind.

  • Awwww nuts. (Score:2, Funny)

    by Jippy_ ( 564603 )
    This would have been a great purchase as my Palm V is getting a bit outdated, but I just bought a Magellan SporTrak two months ago. I curse my insatiable desire to be a dork for not letting me wait for this thing to be released.

  • Forbes looks at the iQue x2 (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Geartest.com ( 582779 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:12PM (#6592277) Homepage

    I read the Forbes Garmin iQue 3600 overview [forbes.com] last week, but it didn't seem quite so exceptional. The Garmin iQue debuted at CES [forbes.com] this year. It looks pretty bulky due to the integrated GPS hardware but I can see its usefulness as someone who travels. At $589 for a Palm plus GPS though, the price seems truly exceptional.

  • More relevant than a 640x480 camera (Score:5, Interesting)

    by amichalo ( 132545 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:13PM (#6592282)
    I find this offering by Garmin to be superior to other combination PDA and fill-in-the-blank-with-MP3-Player [pcworld.com]-or-cell-phone [pcworld.com]-or -digital-camera [palm.com].

    It is particularly applicable for mobile professionals who often find themselves in unfamiliar cities. The high level sales executives where I work immediately come to mind. No they aren't stupid, they just often find themselves having to get to a certain downtown meeting in a city they have been to many times visiting different clients and I am sure it would be nice to have a mobile GPS integrated with the PDA they already carry anyway. Plus it is sleek and stylish enough that even the women in the power suits would pull it out of their purse at a meeting.
    • It is particularly applicable for mobile professionals who often find themselves in unfamiliar cities. The high level sales executives where I work immediately come to mind. No they aren't stupid, they just often find themselves having to get to a certain downtown meeting in a city they have been to many times visiting different clients and I am sure it would be nice to have a mobile GPS integrated with the PDA they already carry anyway.

      That's me, definitely - I don't have a PDA, but I have no sense of dir

    • Serious urban GPSing (Score:3, Insightful)

      by fm6 ( 162816 )
      Well, I am stupid, or at least geographically challenged, and I often wish I had a handy pocket device that would tell me where I am and how to get where I need to go. But I've found affordable GPS devices pretty impractical. Perhaps if I'd spent more [amazon.com] I could have gotten one that can quickly and reliably acquire its satellites. But inexpensive ones just don't work that well. You basically have to pull over and stand next to your car for 5 minutes. Easier to look at street signs and consult a map.

      I'm parti

      • if you've used a cheap urban GPS that works better than what I've described, I want to know about it!

        Define cheap. You can buy inexpensive units with good quality receivers, but they typically aren't going to have the level of sophistication you see on this or the Street Pilot in terms of their maps, driving directions, etc.

        You may also want to check into using an external antenna.
        • Cheap: no more than $200. For just the GPS part. If it's also a PDA or a cell phone, deduct the value of the extra features.

          You gonna prove me wrong? I wouldn't mind if you did!

          • For under $200, you can get some nice units. The market is being flooded with cheap units now. You don't say what you currently use.

            For a bit over the $200 mark, you might want to look at the Lowrance GlobalMap 100. The only times I've seen problems with acquisition on one was in city environment where I was effectively in a valley, and the birds were blocked. Lowrance has a lower-priced line now called the iFinder. I haven't used one, so I don't know how it compares, but presumably they're still usin

            • The important thing is that you're not going to be able to get the same kinds of street mapping and driving instructions on the lower priced units that the Street Pilot and the iQue provide.

              When you throw the iQue in with the Street Pilot, you're missing my point. Despite its price tag, I consider the iQue a cheapie. That's because it's basically a Palm PDA with a GPS tacked on. If you ignore the GPS features, it's pretty much the same as a Palm m515, which sells for about $200 less. So it seems to me tha

              • When I see an urban GPS in the $200 range, I have to suspect that the designers have tagged a bunch of driver-support features on top of a cheap GPS receiver that's not really up to the job. Perhaps I'm wrong.

                You're probably correct. The manufacturer of the Navman can save a little money since they're using the Palm for the display. They've saved a little money by simply writing software for the Palm, rather than rolling their own environment. But there's still the street software to be licensed, etc.

  • Hiking with one of these. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bogamo ( 96489 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @06:18PM (#6592318)
    I've been working on a hiking website that uses GPS data to allow users to create and share maps. You can download trails from the website to the palm, and after hiking a never-before-mapped trail, you can donate the GPS track log and my website will add the trail to its network of trails.

    I've currently got a whole bunch of trails from the new york/ new england area.

    Check it out:

    http://www.trailregistry.com

    -Geoff
  • Just a Blue Tooth and a GSM phone and you have the complete gadget. The power budget would need to be conserved and if you can write your own Unix like programs and scripts, nice tool!

    If it is programmable in a normal way (I'd expect that from Palm) and you can get to the GPS, great savings in power are possible by running the GPS and uProcessor mostly in low power mode. I'm tempted. (High) Street price?

  • Cool, but does it bounce? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jakedata ( 585566 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @07:08PM (#6592652)
    My old Garmin GPS MAP12xl may only be greyscale, and twice the weight, but it is also water resistant and runs for many many hours on alkaline AA batteries. And it bounces.

    For any serious usage, such as boating or hiking, this frail-looking unit might not be a very good idea. Ever seen a palm with a shattered screen?
  • We have a pic and news brief posted here: http://www.pdatoday.com/weblog.php?id=P638 [pdatoday.com]
  • Although this is a nifty little device and great for mobile professionals, let me tell you this, you're not gonna find 4+ satellites in a downtown urban area with tall buildings with conrete and metal all around you. These things need a clear open view of the sky with at least 4 or more satellites there at the same time. Once you enter any building or even a phone booth, it'll take you approx. 10 mins. or so to be recieving satellies signals again. I have several handheld GPS (that runs Palm OS) and they al

    • Re:Signals will get blocked (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      That not true. I live downtown Toronto. I can get about 10 satellites at any time. You would be surprised.

      I use a garmin with a desktop computer in my car and touch screen.

  • This is a great feature to integrate.. The antenna is a bit cumbersome though. What are they physics of GPS antennas? Will it always need to be something this large, and not directly embedded in the case of the PDA (like the 802.11 antennas placed along the LCD display on laptops)?

    It seems like the chips to do GPS are pretty well minimized. But, if the antenna needs to be large, that will be a practical limit on thue usage of GPS.

    This PDA is nice.. But I think I'll wait a couple generations for that
  • Although this is a nifty little device and great for mobile professionals, let me tell you this, you're not gonna find 4+ satellites in a downtown urban area with tall buildings with conrete and metal all around you. These things need a clear open view of the sky with at least 4 or more satellites there at the same time. Once you enter any building or even a phone booth, it'll take you approx. 10 mins. or so to be recieving satellies signals again. I have several handheld GPS (that runs Palm OS) and they al
  • Several sources are talking today about Garmin's new iQue 3600

    So it would appear, but I don't see why they are doing so now. Garmin released the iQue 3600 at least 6 months ago. In fact, Slashdot covered [slashdot.org] the story on January 20, 2003 (12:06 P.M.).

    Uh-oh, now I'm going to be modded down...

  • Correct Link to InfoWorld Article (Score:3, Informative)

    by Pooua ( 265915 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @11:22PM (#6593810) Homepage
    The link given in the title article has some extra letters attached to the "html" suffix. The corrected link should be http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/n/3903.html [infosyncworld.com]

  • Get a Dell 400mhz Axim and a CF GPS addon for less than the price of this palm. You'll get a lot more for the money.

  • Back in the Real World... (Score:3, Funny)

    by PetoskeyGuy ( 648788 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @11:57PM (#6593942)
    The first time I tried it a map of lower Manhattan popped right up and once I changed the detail to zoom-in on the situation, a little white triangle showed me exactly where I was standing, what direction I was facing and once I started moving, how fast I was going.

    As I started to cross the road I was facinated to watch the little white triangle that was mean cross the small red line of the road. Taxi's should show up on the screen as small yellow squares. I say should because they didn't and while I was crossing the road staring at the little screen, one of those large yellow boxes ran me down. I could even see the little white triangle that was me rapidly changing direction and increasing velocity before I blacked out. Luckily, I can still take voice dictation with my one good arm thanks to the clever controls on this fabulous device. If you don't know how to read a map or ask for directions, this could be just what your looking for.
  • Yesterday I checked for a firmware update of my Emap and noticed that they had fixed a minor bug and removed French as a language choice, Hurray for Garmin. http://www.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp ?id=73

  • RTFM (Score:1)

    by spblat ( 26399 )
    The manual is available online [garmin.com] [pdf] if you're like me and have to know every detail about this lovely piece of gear.
  • I would have to agree with the statement that Garmin make the best GPS units. I purchased one about 6 years ago. It was the Garmin gps 35 http://www.garmin.com/products/gps35/ I installed a desktop computer in the trunk of my vehicle running off a power inverter. Touch screen lcd. It's mint. For the Canadian Map, I use Microsoft Streets and Trips 2003. I'm sure that the Garmin iQue 3600 will be a great product to professional people on the run. But I would rather have a full setup in my vehilce tha
  • This totally sounds like an ad. Besides, there are tons of other GPS solutions available without having to buy a proprietary device (I know it runs palm... but) for this functionality. I'd rather have a plug-in module for a normal palm frankly. Just my 2 cents.
  • 'Que' is spanish for 'What?'

    Where did people get the idea that 'que' is pronounced like the letter Q? It just looks stupid to me, like they're people that can't spell queue.

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