Garmin 640 vs. 78sc

[361099682]

Hello, Macgregor-ers

Between the two portable GPS: Garmin 640 and 78sc, I am debating which one to buy. I like almost everything on the Garmin 78sc especially it runs on AA batteries, but its screen is too small. The Garmin 640's screen is large but many reviews on this unit were negative.

Which one would you choose if you were thinking of buying a portable GPS, and why?

Kenneth on Blessed

[mastreb]

Hi Kenneth--I don't really know enough about what you intend to use it for to make a real recommendation. In general, however, I'd recommend using a mounted and hardwired chartplotter for your boat and a mounted and hardwired road navi for your car, rather than a portable that tries to do both.

If you want a mobile Navi or chartplotter, get an iPad with 3G (so it has the GPS and Compass)--it's better at both functions than a dedicated device and likely cheaper once you've purchased all the requisite charts and data. Furthermore, it does a ton more stuff.

Matt

[361099682]

Thank you, Matt. I didn't know the new iPad got compass as well. Good to know.

Hi Kenneth--I don't really know enough about what you intend to use it for to make a real recommendation. In general, however, I'd recommend using a mounted and hardwired chartplotter for your boat and a mounted and hardwired road navi for your car, rather than a portable that tries to do both.

If you want a mobile Navi or chartplotter, get an iPad with 3G (so it has the GPS and Compass)--it's better at both functions than a dedicated device and likely cheaper once you've purchased all the requisite charts and data. Furthermore, it does a ton more stuff.

Matt

[mastreb]

Thank you, Matt. I didn't know the new iPad got compass as well. Good to know.

Let me be clear: Only the 3G iPads with either AT&T or Verizon radios have the GPS and compass hardware. The less expensive WiFi-only iPads have neither. This applies to both the iPad and the iPad 2. So definitely get a 3G version if you intend to use it as a Navi or chartplotter.

[361099682]

Thank you for clarifying, Matt. I have always wanted an iPad or iPhone but knew I would easily be Apple-ised as soon as I did that, meaning beginning to switch my home computer to Apple soon after. Maybe the time has come...

Thank you, Matt. I didn't know the new iPad got compass as well. Good to know.

Let me be clear: Only the 3G iPads with either AT&T or Verizon radios have the GPS and compass hardware. The less expensive WiFi-only iPads have neither. This applies to both the iPad and the iPad 2. So definitely get a 3G version if you intend to use it as a Navi or chartplotter.

[DaveB]

Iphone4 has all the funtions, Lat./Long,compass,WiFi. Sync it with your Itunes on base computer and always be up to date. I am still trying to find a way to use it as a cheap Nav. Chart.
Dave

Thank you for clarifying, Matt. I have always wanted an iPad or iPhone but knew I would easily be Apple-ised as soon as I did that, meaning beginning to switch my home computer to Apple soon after. Maybe the time has come...

Thank you, Matt. I didn't know the new iPad got compass as well. Good to know.

Let me be clear: Only the 3G iPads with either AT&T or Verizon radios have the GPS and compass hardware. The less expensive WiFi-only iPads have neither. This applies to both the iPad and the iPad 2. So definitely get a 3G version if you intend to use it as a Navi or chartplotter.

[mastreb]

Hey Dave,

For road navigation, nothing beats Navigon USA & CAN. Critically, it downloads all map data to the phone so it works where you have no 3G signal. We just used it in Europe for a three week driving vacation and it was a literal life-safer, to the point where I would break out in a cold sweat when the phone battery got low at the end of the evening before we got home and I knew I'd be lost in Paris without it (cig lighter adapter socket had a blown fuse in the rental car so it wasn't charging). Anyway, it's fantastic and road-ready on the iPhone 4. Only problem is that it's about $80 for the app. Fully worth it IMHO and better than anything Garmin or TomTom have on the market by far. I have it for Mexico and Europe as well.

The situation with chartplotting on the iPhone is not quite as clear. iNavX is the best app that runs on the phone right now--Navonics is better but it's iPad-only.

There are two major issues with chartplotting on an iPhone:

1) The device and screen are so tiny that it's hard to imagine actually using them at sea. Unlike a road navi, where you generally only care about the immediate surroundings, on a chart plotter you need to see where you're headed from a long way off, so the larger screen is kind of critical in my opinion. I've got iNavX on my phone, but I've never actually used it because I'm always on my iPad doing chartplotting on the boat. Now, coupled with printed charts that you could refer to and using the iPhone for GPS coordinates works very well, but that's in the cabin on the table for trip planning.

2) There's no simple way to hook up to NMEA sensors or other chartplotters (presuming you care to). There are WiFi-NMEA bridges for 0183 and starting to come to market for NMEA-2000, but there are no apps that support these in any significant way. I suspect that by next year the situation will be improved in that regard. However, you're going to have to buy an NMEA-2000 to WiFi bridge in any case, and all of that is likely to be just as expensive as a low-end Garmin anyway.

Also, you can make an iPhone (or iPad) weather resistant by putting it in a ziplock sandwich bag. The touch gestures register through the plastic just fine. I keep my phone in a snack-sized back in my pocket when I'm on board in case of an accidental dip. Having swum out with my first iPhone in my trunk pockets, I can assure you that they will not survive a salt-water wetting.

Best onboard use for an iPhone so far: GPS Anchor alarm. Set your anchor, mark your position, and set your alarm radius. The phone will wake you up if you start drifting. Do have the phone plugged into your house battery though because reading the GPS all night long will drain the battery.

The sandwich bag trick will work well for any touch-screen device, pressure or capacitance sensing.

[DaveB]

Mastreb,
Thanks for the pointers. The Iphone4 is for weather radar I can bring up on water. Other web sites can be useful but I usually do dead reconing with my GPS tex useing Lat and Long. positioning. Getting a Chart base would be nice but I don't want to pay for it and with the Iphone I can get were I am at all times (like spot).
I am still learning stages on this Iphone4 , thanks for the info.
Dave

Hey Dave,

For road navigation, nothing beats Navigon USA & CAN. Critically, it downloads all map data to the phone so it works where you have no 3G signal. We just used it in Europe for a three week driving vacation and it was a literal life-safer, to the point where I would break out in a cold sweat when the phone battery got low at the end of the evening before we got home and I knew I'd be lost in Paris without it (cig lighter adapter socket had a blown fuse in the rental car so it wasn't charging). Anyway, it's fantastic and road-ready on the iPhone 4. Only problem is that it's about $80 for the app. Fully worth it IMHO and better than anything Garmin or TomTom have on the market by far. I have it for Mexico and Europe as well.

The situation with chartplotting on the iPhone is not quite as clear. iNavX is the best app that runs on the phone right now--Navonics is better but it's iPad-only.

There are two major issues with chartplotting on an iPhone:

1) The device and screen are so tiny that it's hard to imagine actually using them at sea. Unlike a road navi, where you generally only care about the immediate surroundings, on a chart plotter you need to see where you're headed from a long way off, so the larger screen is kind of critical in my opinion. I've got iNavX on my phone, but I've never actually used it because I'm always on my iPad doing chartplotting on the boat. Now, coupled with printed charts that you could refer to and using the iPhone for GPS coordinates works very well, but that's in the cabin on the table for trip planning.

2) There's no simple way to hook up to NMEA sensors or other chartplotters (presuming you care to). There are WiFi-NMEA bridges for 0183 and starting to come to market for NMEA-2000, but there are no apps that support these in any significant way. I suspect that by next year the situation will be improved in that regard. However, you're going to have to buy an NMEA-2000 to WiFi bridge in any case, and all of that is likely to be just as expensive as a low-end Garmin anyway.

Also, you can make an iPhone (or iPad) weather resistant by putting it in a ziplock sandwich bag. The touch gestures register through the plastic just fine. I keep my phone in a snack-sized back in my pocket when I'm on board in case of an accidental dip. Having swum out with my first iPhone in my trunk pockets, I can assure you that they will not survive a salt-water wetting.

Best onboard use for an iPhone so far: GPS Anchor alarm. Set your anchor, mark your position, and set your alarm radius. The phone will wake you up if you start drifting. Do have the phone plugged into your house battery though because reading the GPS all night long will drain the battery.

The sandwich bag trick will work well for any touch-screen device, pressure or capacitance sensing.