Navigation system

you can turn those safety features off in the c330 I don't know about the others.

i have no problems hearing it and yes it has a volume control. and my hearing isnt the best, as you know i work high speed production, lots of noise.

Tom Tom.

Roy, here is a link to both a Tom Tom and an Iway, for your easy of reference. Again, both are danm good units. you will not, under any question go wrong with either.

There is no way to disable the in-motion lockout on the REC unit without internal modifications or a firmware hack. I have seen kits available for many aftermarket GPS car systems.

ACK!!!! Dell....I will never ever own another Dell product as long as I live.

I think they are like cars or trucks. You go with what works for you. I've had this Dell for about over 5 years and not a problem.

Roy

Thanks Larry, I was looking at the Tom Tom 510 on their home page. These links will keep me busy.

Roy

Well, you'd only need the laptop when ya travel.. it's not like you're mounting it in the truck or anything.. but like tools, there are no bad reasons to buy a newer, faster laptop.. *g*

Da nada.. that's what we're here for... I think.. Mac

Too late for that... this is Roy we're talking about... *beg*

Mac

We used it on a trip from Fresno to Fort Lewis, WA & back in a rented Grand Am... little car, 2 large people.... It spend most of the time in what they call a back seat... the shelf in my 61 Vette was bigger..*g*

In the Ram, we usually set it on the armrest between us..

I find that unless you are changing a route or searching for food or something, the laptop can be anywhere in the car that you can hear the voice prompts from..

BTW.. the Ram is kinda loud inside so we got a cheap FM modulator that plugs into the cig lighter and you plug in the laptop or cd player into it and hear it through the truck speakers.. Mac

I used to build computers and would NOT buy a "brand name" box, until I worked on a few Gateways in the mid-90's.. actually used standard drives and stuff so you could put generic parts in 'em.. I've had 3 Gateways since and was happy with them.. Nan bought a couple of hi-tech, whoopie-do systems from Dell a few months ago in preparation for the move, and they seem very well made, if you don't count the POS Micro$oft Media Center operating system.. *g*

BTW... We use Verizon, but you can probably do this with other phone companies... We paid about $30 for a CD and cable from Verizon to connect the laptop to our cell... no other charges except minutes used and we have tons of them.. To keep the passenger from getting to bored, they can check email, browse the web, download construction updates and road changes to the GPS, etc... Mac

Hey!!!

Roy

Just about all your aftermarket Nav (non portable) based units are going to the extreme (as I see it) with tying a lot of your functionality to the GPS system (if equipped with one). On some units, you can still disable the shut down feature if you know how too, but it is going to void the warranty.

Wish I could disable the in-motion lock out on the REC Nav unit. Only way I see it is with a firmware hack and so far nobody has done it.

Mac:

I too use a Verizon cell phone with the mobile office kit hooked to my Gateway laptop... works great! As far as a GPS system, I have MS Streets and Trips and it works well too. I puit the laptop on the center console and the GPS puck on the I/P and it picks up the sats thru the windshield just fine. I like it for locating campgrounds in strage areas. Almost as good as heated leather seats IMHO

Mike

Can you continually update streets and trips? If so how often do you?

Ya had to go there didn't ya?

Roy

No, it cannot be updated... but... when you plan a trip, it will ask if you want to download new road construction/detour info. The only upgrade is the next years edition which is about $25.00.

Yup.... figgered I'd get my licks in before it gets cool and the wabbit starts harrassing me..

;^)

Mike