Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 13

That Magellan thread is getting too long 4 me!

Question: why should I buy the Magellan GPS over the Geode and if so, where is the cheapest place to buy one right now??

TIA!!!

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 293

You can get it at Palmgear for 149.00 but it's back ordered!
It will be available on monday.
i heared that software from geode is slow!
Good Luck!

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I Love My Prism!

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 13

I got mine from MarcoSoft http://www.marcosoft.com
for $149.00 and they have it available now.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Oxford, OH
Posts: 60

I got mine from Staples... for $110. I found a gift certificate for $40 off of a $200 purchase, and bought some stuff for a buddy of mine, which put me over the $200. Although, I have a feeling that you could buy enough to put you over, and then return the rest, and they will not say anything about the coupon. Checkout www.eDealFinder.com for the coupon.
-Russ

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 604

I got mine at CompUSA, using the 10% off "coupon" you get through AvantGo.

In terms of Geode v. Magellan, I currently have both. I plan on returning the Geode soon. Here's the scoop on each unit's pluses and minuses:

Magellan:
Pluses: Way cheaper, lighter (in weight), software much better right now: a little quicker, supports color, has a "find" feature, better pure GPS features in software. Also, the Magellan supposedly will work with software developed by other companies, although I haven't tried that yet. Maps are relatively small size-wise, meaning they don't take up much memory.
Minuses: Can't store new points of interest or waypoints on a map - at least I haven't figured out how yet. Doesn't show as many geographical features on the maps that come with the program, i.e., waterways not shown.

Geode:
Pluses: Hardware seems sturdier, built-in magnetic compass, hardware capable of more accurate positioning (WAAS capable), capable of using two MMC cards, which gives you the potential of a huge amount of storage. Software allows you to create and save points of interest. Hardware seems to give a slightly more accurate position.
Minuses: Expensive. Software currently sucks - at best in beta right now. Very slow redraw rate on map. Compass is inacurate (a software problem). Maps don't automatically display the names of roads and other features - you have to to tap on them to call up the name, a real pain when you are driving. Buggy, causes more fatal exceptions. No color support, no find feature. Sucks batteries like a thirsty vampire.

In fairness to Geodiscovery, they are releasing new beta versions of the software fairly frequently, and I haven't tried the last one yet. I plan to before making a final decision about returning the unit. That said, it's a joke that they released the thing now - you are paying $280 to be a beta tester.

In summary, if money's an option buy the Magellan. It's a good, capable basic GPS with good software.

If money's no option, and you are willing to wait six months or so for them to finish developing the software and work out the bugs, you might want to buy the Geode. It has a lot of potential - the hardware is probably better, and the software, if they deliver on all their promises, is more capable. However, right now the software is currently just a beta version, and there's no guarantee they will actually come through.