RossKean
Well-known member
A couple of days ago, I tacked a bit onto a thread about the TomTom but thought this might be worthy of a separate discussion. Wondering what people are doing these days in a world where an out-of-date waterproof phone is available for low cost along with a host of navigation apps...
Garmin has just announced a new contender. Zumo XT. I have a Zumo 665 and it has been a disappointment - slow, dim screen, insufficient battery power and insufficient map storage room. I was thinking about looking at the TomTom but will consider this. (TomTom also has a host of issues...) Around $500 USD for the new Zumo. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/679804https://advrider.com/new-garmin-zumo-xt-gps-unveiled/
They have apparently dropped the TPMS option, at least for this model and it doesn't (apparently) work with a Garmin camera. No XM available, either.Looks like there are some possibilities with this one, including for offroad. They are calling the display super bright but they said similar with the Zumo 600 series - they lied. I will wait and see what the early reviews say...I think that a fair number of people have given up on the purpose-built GPS in favour of using a smartphone. You can pick up a pretty robust and waterproof phone for pretty cheap and there are some decent apps available for navigation. The phone is also a decent camera, tracker, communication device, e-reader, music player etc. - doesn't even have to be used with a "plan". I would consider this phone as a GPS separate device - not the one I carry for communication.Still, I like to have a dedicated GPS for travel. I will be watching this to see if it is relatively glitch-free and viewable in bright daylight - my Zumo definitely is not. Not cheap but cheaper than I would have thought (less than I paid for the Zumo 665). I expect Garmin is feeling the pinch of users choosing alternate navigation devices. I wonder if they will even offer standalone navigation products much longer?Has anyone heard anything about this? How many are using a cell phone as a mounted GPS device on their bike? What apps are you using?There is a LONG thread on Adventure Rider on using cell phones - I have read some of it and will study it further before I make an investment...https://advrider.com/f/threads/ultra-rugged-kyocera-phones-gps-smartphones-my-guide.1206076/
Garmin has just announced a new contender. Zumo XT. I have a Zumo 665 and it has been a disappointment - slow, dim screen, insufficient battery power and insufficient map storage room. I was thinking about looking at the TomTom but will consider this. (TomTom also has a host of issues...) Around $500 USD for the new Zumo. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/679804https://advrider.com/new-garmin-zumo-xt-gps-unveiled/
They have apparently dropped the TPMS option, at least for this model and it doesn't (apparently) work with a Garmin camera. No XM available, either.Looks like there are some possibilities with this one, including for offroad. They are calling the display super bright but they said similar with the Zumo 600 series - they lied. I will wait and see what the early reviews say...I think that a fair number of people have given up on the purpose-built GPS in favour of using a smartphone. You can pick up a pretty robust and waterproof phone for pretty cheap and there are some decent apps available for navigation. The phone is also a decent camera, tracker, communication device, e-reader, music player etc. - doesn't even have to be used with a "plan". I would consider this phone as a GPS separate device - not the one I carry for communication.Still, I like to have a dedicated GPS for travel. I will be watching this to see if it is relatively glitch-free and viewable in bright daylight - my Zumo definitely is not. Not cheap but cheaper than I would have thought (less than I paid for the Zumo 665). I expect Garmin is feeling the pinch of users choosing alternate navigation devices. I wonder if they will even offer standalone navigation products much longer?Has anyone heard anything about this? How many are using a cell phone as a mounted GPS device on their bike? What apps are you using?There is a LONG thread on Adventure Rider on using cell phones - I have read some of it and will study it further before I make an investment...https://advrider.com/f/threads/ultra-rugged-kyocera-phones-gps-smartphones-my-guide.1206076/
