So, new world, new tech. Looking for ideas.
A couple months back, my Garmin GPS began alerting me that my maps had expired and that I needed to renew them. The renewal price? $69 for one-time, or $119 for a “lifetime” subscription.
What is “lifetime,” according to Garmin? They mean the lifetime of the device. “Your nüMaps Lifetime subscription may not be transferred to another person or another Garmin product.” So my choices are to stay with the old maps, upgrade once, upgrade for “life,” or buy another GPS.
I will say, the GPS has been the most significant technology purchase for me in the last five years. It has altered my behavior significantly, mostly in good ways, such as reorienting me to watch the road instead of fumbling with maps. I’d use a GPS built into another device, but only if it made sense. I really like having a heads-up display I can glance at without squinting.
Plus, I am shopping for a netbook, or at least think I am. I am now laptopless, and want something that I can tote to conferences and take on the road.
Finally, I’m also on the market for a personal cell phone and plan. I need a smartphone. (Because, well, I’m a junky. I admit it.) I can join Sandy’s Sprint plan as a family member, or go on any plan on my own. (The family plan didn’t look all that competitive with single plans, though maybe we missed something.) I’m pondering the Sprint Pre… I’m a Palm person from way back. The iPhone is tempting, but AT&T is pricey, and I’m trying to control costs in a period that will surely have a number of UNcontrolled costs. (To add another factor, my iPod is several years old — I am happy with it, but I know that it could croak at any time.)
GPS, netbook, cell phone, possibly MP3 player… thoughts?
Posted on this day, other years:
- All the Pretty Horses - 2006
- Tallahassee Nonfiction Workshop: Drivers Wanted - 2006
- Children's Time 10/1/06 - 2006
Avoid things with Windows Mobile. I was medium pleased (B to B+) with my last Verizon smart phone that had Windows Mobile 5.x. The new one, which I got about a year ago, has WM 6.x. Which, er… lacks certain amenities. Like being able to go more than 12 hours without being rebooted. Like every three months or so going brick and needing to be wiped and re-set from the VZW end. Like, for no reason, slowing the touch screen response time to the point where it’s not useful.
If I had known the “upgrade” was going to be such a bust, I woulda gone for an iPhone or (had they been available) the Palm Pre. That’s my plan in 10 months when my contract on this chunk o’ meh is up.
I have heard that the Pre isn’t yet where it should be; first gen clunkiness. Good, but not great. I have friends who worship their iPhones. Other than the phone service not being as good…
As for netbooks, I got an ASUS eeePC (or sumsuch). I like it, and it was cheap ($250), and it gets good, basic Web and runs the Google docs and stuff just fine. Some video is slow; processor issue more than net speed. If I were going to rely on it other than as a backup and “porch computer,” I think I would have spent more for something with a bit more cpu/ram.
Thank you! I feel duly warned. Have heard that about the netbooks, as well — go for the best and add RAM…
I haven’t priced plans lately, but when I bout my iPhone, the AT&T iPhone ended up being cheaper than other similar devices when calculated out. I am quite happy with it. There are a number of GPS apps available for it so you could use it for that but I haven’t tried any of them so I can’t recommend it for that. However, the built in Google Maps are a good backup.
My thought on Netbooks is that they should be Netbooks and not small laptops. There are a growing number of feature-filled and thus more expensive ones. To me, that defeats the purpose. I agree about putting in more RAM. We bought about 10 Dell Minis Windows XP models couldn’t be sold with more than 1 GB in the Windows XP models because of Microsoft pushing Vista. But that is OK, we bought extra RAM for much cheaper anyway and they work fine. I also have a Dell Mini 9 (which they don’t sell as a Mini 9 anymore) running Dell’s version of Ubuntu and it works great for me on trips but I admit I don’t use it much anywhere else.
I’ll put in a vote for the phone customer service with Verizon. Every single time I’ve had to call in the past few years (which has been few and far between), the reps I’ve gotten have been pleasant and helpful. This included spending a full hour with me on the phone one morning when my phone decided (for unknown reasons still unclear to all of us) that it didn’t want to take incoming calls or texts. I hear mostly good things about the newer blackberries, though they seem to freeze occasionally if you have multiple apps running. Nice thing about Iphones–they can double as an mp3 player. I’m avoiding one though because I a) like Verizon and b) don’t want only a touch screen. Really prefer a full keyboard. Good luck!
I had a tiny Asus EEE (pink) and it was just fine, but the screen was a teensy bit too small for my aging eyes. Now I have an Acer – shiny pink, $300, runs XP, and weighs almost nothing. Perfect for me, and possibly for you.
I am longing in a general sort of way for a Blackberry, but I don’t really need one, I just want one with a full keyboard. With the aging eyes and the arthritic digits, that would be what I need. Except I don’t need it.
I love iPods. I currently have an iTouch and a Nano, and just got a family member a fab one, although not the newest model as I bought it too soon. There is nothing like them for delight and ease of use. I like having my music separate from my phone, and my 16GB (yeah, it’s pink, too) is about to be filled up.
I like the phone/music separation. I am not sure I want to put an iPhone in my shorts pocket and bounce it around (even at the very slow pace I run). Good advice.
Pink? 🙂
I have an ACER also, with added RAM, which our tech consultant did for me, since Tiger Direct couldn’t or wouldn’t. I love it. Mine’s white, though I would have loved a pink one, but the price was right and the keyboard is almost full size. The thing to remember is there is no CD player so if you want a movie, you have to download it. Good luck.
Lisa
Thanks! You know, I have almost never played a CD or DVD on a laptop. The one concern I would have is installing software (or reinstalling it). I see manufacturers offering software on stick drives, and I download a lot of it. I just wondered what I would do if the OS crudded out.
Lisa, are you running XP or Vista?
If you need a cell phone and mp3 player, then I’d just go with the iPhone. It has has a built in GPS an you could use something like waze (free gps app). I’ve never used a gps so don’t undestand the need. If you live and work in same town, do you really need one?
Have fun shopping. I’m about to buy another Macbook Pro and run windows on it too.
Kenley, thanks! A GPS is really rather life-transforming. I suspect if you’re in the same town for a few years, it’s pointless, but after buying one, I was sorry I hadn’t got it when we first moved to Tallahassee. Aside from travel close to where I live, I also take it on any trip where I’m in a rental car. It’s hard to explain, but I drive differently with a GPS–I have a different sense of where I am relative to where I’m going.
But anyway, thanks for the suggestion–signs are pointing to an iPhone. 🙂
I recently got an HP Mini 110 netbook which I love. I chose it primarly because the CNet review raved about its full-size keys, which I verified by testing a variety of netbooks at Best Buy. Off the top of my head I don’t know how much RAM it has (not a hardware geek), but for my purposes it is plenty fast (MS Office, email, web browsing). The best part (true of any netbook) is that it is delightfully small and yet a real computer. Greatly simplifies going through airport security. I confess it’s always been my favorite form factor — my very first purchase on eBay was an HP Jornada in 1998, before they went out of fashion.
Hi Karen
Notebookreview.com has detailed reviews on all types of laptops, showing the screen, keyboard and other components. They also have deals listed. Two other places for deals are Techbargains.com and Dealnews.com. Stay away from Intel Celeron processors. Get as much memory you can buy. You might want to wait until Oct 22 for Windows 7. Also you are better off buying through the small business division of a company because the Tech Support will be the United States. Consumerist.com which is owned by Consumer Reports has postings on deals, problems and other news.
On GPS and cell phone plans, you might want to check Consumer Reports. I believe they did a new cell phone plan report this year.
Hope this is helpful!
I had the same issue with my Garmin. (And as a directionally-challenged person who travels, I’ll echo that adding a GPS to my arsenal is a significant upgrade. Even if you tend to stay in one part of the world, road closures etc. make the tool useful.) I’d certainly advise against a lifetime upgrade. Shortly after the maps expired, the machine lost its voice — independent events, but I would have been annoyed if I’d permanently upgraded a dying machine. I ended up getting a new machine of different brand (Magellan). I wasn’t dissatisfied with Garmin; I just got a better deal on the machine now known as Nando. The Canadian marketplace makes a phone/GPS combination an unattractive option.
Bill, thanks! Yeah, my Garmin has had recent bootup issues… it will take several minutes to get its satellites going. My guess is even with old maps I can still get to Des Moines, Truckee, and Oakland with little incident. On the road closures, last February I was driving in San Francisco at night and there was an accident on the turnoff to the Bay Bridge, and we were all rerouted to Cesar Chavez Boulevard. My GPS helped guide me around and about without a hitch. (Well, she grumbled, but still.) I grew up in SF, but it was still welcome to have that guidance.
I like Garmin just fine, for the most part (it has some UI issues, such as how hard it is to adjust volume while driving–that should be the easiest thing to do), but based on what folks are saying, I’ll wait until I absolutely have to and then get the GPS that is the best deal. My issue with the iPhone/GPS is that having sat in cars with people using their phones as a GPS, I feel it’s not as good and therefore could actually be distracting. A good GPS keeps your eyes on the road.
I have a Verizon phone with VZNavigator–VZNavigator is just as good as my friends’ Garmins, if not better. You can use it when needed for $2.99 per 24 hour period or subscribe for a monthly $9.99. It is wonderful–and I can hook my phone’s case over my finger and have its display at the right level on the steering wheel.
As for a netbook–buy an Acer. I have one that is now a year old and it has been great. Acers are also cheaper than the competition, but are very reliable. Mine runs Windows XP, and I also have a Verizon wireless card for it so that I can get the Internet wherever I am without paying extra fees.
I would argue about needing a smartphone. I thought that was going to be my next purchase, but then I found out that a regular phone could do everything I needed. Since my netbook has Internet access wherever I am, I don’t need the advanced Web applications as much. I have Verizon Wireless Sync on my phone, so my e-mail, contacts and calendar sync up with my office PC. I learned when shopping for phones that Blackberries do not sync your calendar unless you subscribe to a separate service costing around $40 a month. A Blackberry was immediately crossed off my list! So anyway–if you decided to stay with a regular phone that had something like Wireless Sync and Mobile Web, you might be fine–and then you’re needs would probably be met on a family plan.
Congrats on the new job and the move back to CA!
I bought the Gateway LT3103 (comes in red, too), 11.6″ screen, vista, and very lightweight. I really like it, paid $379 at best buy. I decided on it after I read this review: http://techreport.com/articles.x/17249
Let me put in a word or two for the Pre!! It is 100% better than it was when it first came out (slowness & battery life issues are pretty much gone) & it includes both Google Maps and Sprint Navigation, which I’ve used in place of a standard GPS unit in Chicago – it does a lot (enough to annoy my boyfriend) of talking to you, so you don’t have to do much squinting at the screen when you are driving. I love mine and would have to have it pried out of my cold, dead hands… As for the netbook, I too have an Acer and while it’s a teeny bit more expensive than the eee PC (which my Mom has and loves), the slightly larger screen and keyboard work for me. I took my netbook with me to SLC for LITA Forum and presented from it with no problems at all – it worked beautifully.
Well, I put my hands on a Pre yesterday and it didn’t woo me. On the other hand, the Acer or the Asus sounds like where I’m headed. Robin, did you use Impress or PowerPoint (or neither)? One of the clinchers for me is that I do a lot of PowerPoint talks (as you know, rarely very bullet-pointy). I am unImpressed with Impress… Open Office leaves me seriously underwhelmed overall. Word and PowerPoint are the only MS apps I care about.
My Netbook Research:
1. Told my husband to research netbooks. He said “either Asus or Dell.”
2. Looked around at school. Of the netbooks in use, 2/3 were Asus, 1/3 were Dell.
3. googled netbook + “longest battery life” and netbook + “highest rated.”
My Asus eee 1005HA should arrive today.
I want to put in a vote for Waze; a very interesting mashup between GPS and the social net. Waze is free and amazingly accurate. There are installs available for the iPhone, Google Android, WinMob and Symbian.
Waze has pretty good maps. It’s GPS fidelity depends on the device. On my iPhone, riding down Miccosukee road is a bit problematic with the tree cover. The more people use Waze in a given geo, the smarter it gets keeping track of routes, speed on roads and notices from other users (Speed radar on Gaines street!!!).
One of the more clever features is that the iPhone keyboard is locked in Waze when the vehicle is moving. No entering text while driving please.
The system includes maps, routes, turn-by-turn, etc. and it’s free.
On the netbook front, I’m a fan of the Asus Eee PC. We have a couple of them in the family. They are small and run Linux which is, to me, a big plus. A couple of friends have acquired OLPC’s (one laptop per child). They are cute. My personal netbook is a Nokia N810. It’s really small and totally handy. http://eeepc.asus.com/global/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N810
I agree that OpenOffice is wanting; especially as a presentation platform. Outside of the office, I use Google apps for word processing. For presentations, I’m very fond of a Macintosh application, Keynote.
Keynote has a bit of a learning curve (think different) but once you grok it, building a presentation is pretty fast. The builds and transitions are really nice with none of the pixelation found in PowerPoint transitions.
When I absolutely have to play the preso in PowerPoint, I still build it in Keynote and export it as a .ppt. The beautiful transitions turn ugly, but no worse than native PowerPoint fades.
Of course, Keynote requires a Mac.
David, the problem is that setup isn’t compatible with my workflow. Inevitably, I end up working on the road. I often have my best ideas when I am on an airplane or sitting in a hotel room, Thinking. (Thinking Be Good.) So it would have to be a machine I can take on the road and use with a presentation program. If a netbook can handle this need (on top of gmail and light web apps), then it is the netbook for me. (I didn’t want to get into this too early in describing needs so that I’d see what others are doing.)
Given your workflow, I think that the biggest problem you’re going to run into with many netbooks is their low-end video. Connecting a low resolution video output to a high end projector can be pretty ugly.
It’s usually an interpolation issue (in my experience), but I agree with the need for the lappy and the projector to be able to match their resolution. If the host has their own PC or laptop, I always prefer that anyway.
I never thought I’d be an apple convert, but I love my iphone, even with the spotty ATT reception in the mountains. I use the map/locator function all the time, and many of the apps are also very functional (urbanspoon for restaurant locating, f’rinstance). Since you’ll be in an urban zone and won’t have trouble getting 3G it may be time to wean yourself away from Palm (that was my prior platform also) and movin’ on up to iphone.
OK – you know I can’t let a “Gadgets on a Budget” thread go by…
I find my best gadget deals on slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com. If you check their Hot Deals forums daily, you’ll find what you’re looking for, I promise.
Oops – cut the post off! I also wrote some recommendations:
Cell: PagePlus Cellular uses Verizon’s pre-paid network. I bought my Samsung Omnia on craigslist for $30, found the manual online, unlocked it with a hard reboot, then had it activated at uglyeric.com for $5.99 – which included a $12.00 credit to my PagePlus account. PagePlus sells unlimited talk & text with 20MB data per month for 39.95 – you buy the card one time, then use refill cards to keep your PagePlus balance up. They automatically debit your PagePlus account for $39.95/month. All do-able online. I buy $80.00 refill cards from callingmart.com for $76.00 and activate them at the PagePlus site. Never a problem. Only thing to remember is that if you buy a Verizon phone, the Verizon-specific things won’t all work on PagePlus. But it’s never been an issue for me.
Netbook: I have 2 – a Dell Mini9 running XP, and a eeePC running Linux. The eee is my favorite of the two, even though I have one of the first ones to come out. (2G, no upgrading allowed. Ugh.) I highly recommend buying the Linux model.
GPS: My TomTom is still kicking. But slickdeals and fatwallet have them on constantly.
MP3: OK, I have a 80GB Zune. (Are you… Did I hear…? Stop snickering. Stop it! I MEAN IT, Y’ALL!) I like it, and I’m not tied to iTunes – a big selling point for me. Hang out at woot.com long enough and you’ll see them come through for great prices. I bought the Zune there, and later a little 2GB Sansa for exercise. I’ve enjoyed them both.
I also second David’s nomination of the Nokia n810. If nothing else, it’s very handy on planes, in airports, and generally hanging out in my purse when I’m out and about.
I have an MSI Wind U120 netbook with a 10″ screen, 2 Gb of RAM, 200 Gb disk and a 6 cell battery.
Why the Wind? It has a great community including a lot of alternative operating system support and drivers. Some folks are even running OS X Leopard… Or so I’m told…