Garmin Asus A50 pre paid

[Happy Chappies]

Went into dick Smith today and asked the guy "If Harvey Norman are selling these for $641 on a $49 plan how come this one is only $199?". He blinked at me.

In the end he 'thought' it was 'probably' because with the pre-paid the gps system would count as downloads and you would have to pay for it whereas in the others it would be part of the bundle. It averages to something like $1 per kilometer which would make this rather expensive in the long run.

Can anyone confirm/deny that gps navigation (in-car or out in the field) costs?

And if it doesn't.....why is it so cheap?

From my understanding, GPS nav costs nothing. And the Asus uses proper GPS anyway, so it's just like using your Gamin Nuvi, or Oregon, or other sat nav.... That Dick Smith guy hasn't done a very good job at talking up the product! If you had google maps running while you navigated then sure, that'd cost. But the Asus comes with maps installed so you don't have to do that. (Again, so I believe (i've been burying my nose in specs about this thing after being sorely tempted by it!! I'm sure covert or others will confirm))

The reason it's cheap is perhaps because it is a 'to be discontinued' product, and maybe on pre-paid they assume you'll get tempted by the web based stuff and start paying for pre-paid downloads...

And the reason Harvey Norman would be more expensive is, well, because they always are!

[tatty]

Yes it works as a GPS without a sim.
I did throw my sim in there yesterday to have a play and check out the call clarity, I also tested the GPS again with a sim in there which popped up all the live traffic updates, however my data charges are not updated yet for that day to see if it used more than my usual daily data for emails etc.

[Nabarlek]

sssoooo....how good is the gps in this thing. Is it better than one I'd find in a iPhone for example? How does it compare to other map navigation systems?

Sorry but this just sounds too good to be true...especially for someone just starting out. I'm suffering from suspicion

[Happy Chappies]

sssoooo....how good is the gps in this thing. Is it better than one I'd find in a iPhone for example? How does it compare to other map navigation systems?

Sorry but this just sounds too good to be true...especially for someone just starting out. I'm suffering from suspicion

It's definitely better than an iPhone, as it uses a real GPS system. So it's pretty much as good as any other car sat nav or most handheld GPSrs really - And covert's feedback seems to confirm that.

It definitely does sound too good to be true - which is why I'm having such a hard time resisting the temptation. However, I don't think you could go THAT wrong with the purchase - Perhaps the long-term support might be questionable if they're discontinuing, and it is apparently the old version of Android - But I'm not sure if those are deal breakers.

The only real disadvantages I can see of this over a traditional GPSr would be ruggedness and battery life.

[Nabarlek]

Ok..let me get this straight. I can buy this and download a geocaching app. Then remove the sim card and just use it as I would any other sat nav device?

Can I connect it to my computer? does it accept gfx files?

I'm with you Happy...it just sounds way too good to be true. Especially when I was looking at an entry level device that probably wouldn't even have color...let alone maps.

[covert]

sssoooo....how good is the gps in this thing. Is it better than one I'd find in a iPhone for example? How does it compare to other map navigation systems?

Sorry but this just sounds too good to be true...especially for someone just starting out. I'm suffering from suspicion

Way better than any iPhone including the iPhone 4 that has a decent GPS in it.

Simply the best GPS I have ever seen in a phone.

This phone had a RRP of $599 last month and was barley available in Australia. Garmin are leaving the phone business and that would explain them dumping there stock.

Ok..let me get this straight. I can buy this and download a geocaching app. Then remove the sim card and just use it as I would any other sat nav device?

Can I connect it to my computer? does it accept gfx files?

I'm with you Happy...it just sounds way too good to be true. Especially when I was looking at an entry level device that probably wouldn't even have color...let alone maps.

From what Tatty says yes you can remove the sim card and still us it. I currently have the optus sim card it came with and it has $0 credit on it. I don't even know if it is activated.

Yesterday I drove 20k's with the GPS in car mode, then ran C:GEO (google it) and walked 600 meters down a bush path following the arrow to the GPS and stop with 0.5meters to cache on the screen and standing about 1.5 meters from the cache. Walked back to the card and told it to nav me to home, Made a call on my iPhone to a friend and said 'If you are looking for a GPS you want this A50'.

Don't miss out on this deal. Go buy it, if you find you don't want it take it back to dick smith within 7 days, no questions asked money back !

TPG have a $1 / month sim card deal with 2.75c/Meg data. You can't go wrong with that.

Oh yes it does take a GPX file, Accept caches from "Send to GPS" on GC among a few other ways to get a geocache into it.

[Nabarlek]

Thank you all for answering all my questions

*grabs purse and heads off to Dick Smiths*

[tatty]

I was contemplating getting a normal nuvi for general car use whilst the lifetime maps offer is on as my mobile can be fiddly, not to mention the massive battery drain when the GPS in it is activated! But after playing with the nuvifone we have here, I think the $200 is much better spent on the nuvifone as it can do more than just tell you where to go It comes with the window mount and car charger too.

I personally have not tried it for geocaching as I have two oregons and a mobile that already do that, but as a car gps it works fine without the sim inserted, you just don't get the traffic alerts without a sim in there.
Actually another thing that doesn't work without the sim is the petrol prices, they were spot on yesterday when I popped the sim in and one of them had only been changed a few minutes earlier as I drove past the servo in question.

[Nabarlek]

That would have to be the hardest purchase I have ever made. The salesman wasn't convinced that this wouldn't cost me a fortune in downloads. I get the distinct impression he was trying to talk me out of it but he wasn't offering me an alternative.

Anyway...charging now

[Cached]

Be good to split this off into the software/hardware area. I'll start a thread for the A50 there.

[Cached]

Have split - lets keep this one to purchasing considerations.

Split to http://forum.geocaching.com.au/viewtopi ... 01&start=0 Garmin Asus A50 - Software

Thanks

Cached

[BigON]

Just found the catalog again, the A50's are on sale until the 29th of November unless sold out first of course and it shows the wrong version of android operating system at 2.1 on the stupid catalog, the unit actually has android 1.6.
Protective holders to save the screen from keys etc in your pocket are a real bugger to find as well, I'm still looking for one for mine.

[covert]

I have just been using a Mock (mini sock thing) for a case on mine.

TPG $1 sim arrived a few days again and works great.

So far I know 2 other people who purchased the same phone thanks to this thread.

Worked out how to put Garmin Topo on it too !

[Cached]

Covert - can you outline how in the software thread?

[Nabarlek]

I have an unactivated sim in mine. I don't plan to use the phone side of it at all. I have only found 3 caches with this so far but am definately glad that I brought it. The turn by turn navigation is good and the compass is accurate to around 2 meters.

I am thinking I will stop fiddling around with everything and just buy a micro sdcard so that I can just load all my gxp files onto that and then upload to GeoBeagle from there, will be so much easier I think.