OQO is announcing support for one of the most frequently requested accessories for the OQO Model 02, a GPS attachment. The Garmin Mobile PC is a very small USB based GPS unit that includes route planning and turn-by-turn spoken instructions, just like dedicated GPS units. I'll be trying this out over the next few days and I'll let you know how it works.

Not a lot of details yet. It comes with the GPS unit, suction cups to mount it, and a DVD to install the software. Looks really straightforward. I have a nice dedicated GPS unit, the TomTom GO 720, so it will be interesting to compare how well they route and speak.

The Garmin Mobile PC MSRP is $99.99. It's not up on OQO's site yet but should be shortly. OQO's site is now listing this.

What kinds of questions do you have about the GPS unit as I play with it?

On some levels this only makes sense to me. If you’re using a standalone GPS in your car you have to think about where it is going to ride and the installation. Of course there are a number of mounting solutions out there just for that purpose. But a Chinese company has come up with a multi-function GPS (music, games, photoviewer) that is a part of the rearview mirror. Here’s why this makes sense, at least to me. First, the positioning is right where I’d love to be looking in my vehicles. Second, it is one less thing for me to manuever around in the car when I’m trying to set down a cup of coffee.

Via RedFerret Journal

This would be great for making that UMPC into a carputer.  Laptop GPS World is giving away a fully loaded package to two lucky winners!!  Head over and sign up!  I had Streets and Trips running on my R2H for a while and it did a really good job.  This prize would allow you to have any UMPC (or Tablet PC for that matter) as a navigation unit!

Microsoft just donated to Laptop GPS World two copies of Streets & Trips 2008 with Connected Services. For those not familiar with this product, please read our Review: Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 (Laptop GPS World review). Streets & Trips is a very popular trip planning software program. The new "Connected Services" edition comes with an excellent GPS receiver (based on the powerful SiRFstarIII chipset), and a new MSN Direct receiver for providing traffic information and local gas prices.

One part of this prize package I didn't have was the MSN Direct service - anybody out there using this service already?

In this InkShow, I showed off the kit I was using in my van, showing different technologies like GPS, Zune, TC1100, iPhone, etc.

Over the next several days, I'm going to discuss what worked and didn't work, as well cover some other mobile technology issues I ran in to.

First off - GPS. As I mentioned in the video, I have a horrible sense of direction. So, I was planning on utilizing the evaluation HP 310 Travel Companion GPS that HP sent me.  Well, I tried to, anyway.

The unit I traveled with was actually a replacement. The first one I used during CES had trouble getting a GPS lock, then a week before my trip to St. Louis, it stopped working altogether by going into an infinite reboot loop. HP was kind enough to send me a replacement unit just days before I left.

The replacement unit locked on to GPS within 30 seconds, and initially operated really well. Overall, I was generally pleased with the 310 at getting me from point A to point B, finding the nearest hotel from my GPS location, etc. Navigating the 310 was pretty simple, too. Within a few clicks, I was able to locate just about anything I needed and it was all logically layed out. It didn't feel like a geek needed to operate it.

Besides the big problem that I'll outline below, I did run in to a couple of issues, though. During the trip, I experimented with using the 310 as a speaker phone tethered to my iPhone. It paired up without a hitch, but people I spoke with on the other end noticed a lot of background noise and said it was hard to hear me. Secondly, I found the voice that the 310 uses to give directions very hard to understand. It sounded just like a computer, mumbling words together. On more occasions than not, I had to ask my wife to repeat what it said because I couldn't understand it. Some turns happen really quickly, so I couldn't really glance at the 310 for the next turn information. I had to rely on the voice to tell me what to do.

Upon entering St. Louis was where I needed the 310 the most, and where it failed me at the worst possible time. Right in the heat of traffic, the 310 suddenly rebooted and went into the same infinite reboot loop that my first 310 did. Frustrated, I pulled over to the nearest gas station, tried to do a soft reset, etc - all to no avail. Eventually, it failed to turn on at all.

So, I turned to Google Maps on my iPhone. I used the Find Me function to get my current location, then keyed in my destination address, and I got to the hospital without any problem. My wife did need to read the directions off to me as I went along because navigating the iPhone while driving is difficult and dangerous. During the rest of my time in St. Louis, and the return trip, I used Google Maps on the iPhone to get me around. I was quite pleased with how accurate and easy it was to use. I wouldn't call it a GPS replacement, but for my purposes and needs, it worked great.

I really like to give a device the best chance I can, especially for a review. However, having gone through two 310 Travel Companions each exhibiting the same problem, I can't recommend it as a reliable GPS solution at this time. The 310 has a lot of potential, and I look forward to giving the next iteration at try.

Next, in Part 2: What happened to my Kindle?

By the time most of you watch this, my family and I will be well in to  our 13 hour journey to St. Louis. Before leaving, I recorded this InkShow about my in-car set up, complete with an eval HP 310 Travel Companion GPS, a Zune mounted with a ProClipUSA mount, a TC1100 Tablet PC, an iPhone, and a power inverter.

See you guys in a week!

• Download the high res InkShow ( 23 mb, 3:03 )
• Watch the embedded version below
• Visit HP.com to learn more about the HP 310 Travel Companion Series
• Visit Zune.net to learn more about Zune
• Visit ProClipUSA to learn more about car mounts
• Visit Apple to learn more about the iPhone

Click To Play

Vasser College has been using Tablet PC's since a grant in 2004 and now it's time for an upgrade!  Meg over at GIS @ Vasser put up a nice post on what they considered for their replacements.  The Tablet PC'c compared are:

• HP TC 4400
• Lenovo ThinkPad\
• Panasonic Toughbook CF-19
• HP 2710P

As you read over the post from January, just remember as you get to the bottom of the page, they have updated the post to tell you what they decided to purchase!!

As a GIS user myself, keep an eye out soon for some reports using the Mobile Demand Tablet PC out in the field doing GIS work from me.

Folks looking for another GPS solution for their ultra-mobile pc's or tablet pcs should take a look Mapfactor PC Navigator 7.

Mavin Hlavac of LaptopGPSWorld.com has written up a review, and has come away quite impressed. Give it a read!

Mapfactor uses map data by Teleatlas. Teleatlas and Navteq are the two largest map data providers in the world. The quality of their maps are not too much different these days. Some users feel Teleatlas has a slight edge in Europe, and some say Navteq is still a bit better in North America.
Mapfactor Navigator has been designed for users of touch screens (PocketPC PDA, and PND). UMPC and TabletPC users with touch-screens will love this program, but how about people who rely on their keyboards? The PC version does have some keyboard shortcuts, such as Enter-key for accessing main menu, and PgUp and PgDn to change zoom levels. Tab-key cycles though buttons in some windows. I wish more shortcuts would be added in future versions.