I know GPS is getting done to death....and I too am looking at the Zumo 550. But.....

I watched the episode of Orange County Choppers where they created an HP bike and integrated a HP iPAQ rx5915 Travel Companioninto the bike's tank. Taking a look at it I was thinking it might actually be a pretty good deal for the bike because it does what the Zumo does and more (Messaging (with Spell Checker for email), Tasks, Voice Recorder, Notes, Word® Mobile (with Spellchecker), Excel® Mobile, PowerPoint® Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, Calculator, Solitaire, Jawbreaker, File Explorer, Pictures and Videos, Terminal Services Client, Beam, Clock, Align Screen, Memory, Volume.).

The navigation is Tom Tom. Best yet it runs about $500 which is almost $200 cheaper then the zumo.

Gaget geeks, what do you think? (I'm a puter geek, but not a gaget geek) I'm noth thinking it is water proof, and I don't know how it will handle vibration.


Edit: Also checking out the Nokia N800.

 

i'd say the vibration would be a major concern. Those screens aren't meant to take too much, but I'm not speaking from experience.

But one thing I'm doing is going Bluetooth! I just ordered the Nolan 102 NCOM modular helmet and it has BT. So I can have my cell/communications/navigation all wireless, and the music either through the communication system or cell if i want to be completely wireless. I love gadgets!!

 

Check out the Zumo 450. It's a more stripped down version of the 550, and comes it about 200 bucks cheaper. That's the one I'm probably going to go with.

Cheers!
[sm=icon_rock.gif][sm=icon_rock.gif][sm=icon_rock.gif]

 

Saw that one. I'm not sure I really need all the foo on the 550 either.

I just liked the HP because it had wireless internet included. Half the time I take my laptop just to do web surfing to get more info on points of interest...sometimes to find out of the way stuff too. Whould be nice to just carry the single unit.

 

Although I guess I'm a Zumo groupie <grin>, I did do a lot of looking around before deciding to fork out that kind of money. I looked at the reviews on the iPac and it seemed that, at least in the ones I saw, most complaints were toward the GPS functions. It got high marks for its PDA functionality though. A couple of things to consider in whatever you are looking at. Is it preloaded with maps? Does it come with software to create new maps and the ability to upload and download maps, waypoints, points of interest (motels, gas stations, etc.), routes and a log of where you've been. Nice things to have. Battery .... regular use up and replace or rechargable. Screen size .... gotta make sure you can read it when you're going down the road. Touch screen or buttons? I wasn't going to mention Zumo, but one nice feature is that the touch screen buttons are adjustable so that when you have gloves on, you have larger icons on the screen when it's on the bike, vs in the car. Mounting ... how will you mount it on the bike? Audio in and out? How will you interface it with the bike? Bluetooth helmets are coming around but the cost is still pretty high. I know you said you like all the connectivity, internet, etc. but I think that for a GPS I would stick with something that is a GPS first, and other features were below that in functionality, but that's just my opinion and we all know about opinions. There are a lot of less expensive GPS's out there that will do the job. The Zumo is not for everyone, that's for sure (ooops, there I go again .... using the "Z" word. Sorry). One thing you might consider is taking a look at tvnav.com. They have excellent prices on most Garmin products and often have great prices on reconditioned units. As a matter of fact, until I got the Zumo, every GPS I've had has been a reconditioned unit from them. I challenge anyone to tell it from a brand new unit and to my way of thinking they are probably better in that they have been gone over in great detail when returned to use. As usual, YMMV

 

It will work ok on a bike. there's no hard drive.