|
Product Description The iQue 3600 is the first PDA to include integrated GPS technology. With the power of Palm OS® 5 and the dependability of Garmin® GPS technology, this "Super PDA" redefines multi-tasking. Our integrated software not only allows you to look up appointments or contacts, but also locates and routes you to them with voice-guidance commands. ... Read more
Features Voice recorder for making memos, quick notes, and messages on the flyWhat's in the box: iQue 3600, protective display cover, metal stylus, USB HotSync cradle, A/C power/charging adapter, quick start guide, CD-ROM with manual, choice of MapSource configuration, and automobile navigational systemARM processor powered by Palm OS 5Integrated Que technology, with GARMIN GPS and mapping softwareSpeaker for voice-guidance commands, MP3 player, and message playback
Reviews (21) 
Very Useful PDA Combo, Highly Recommended, a Few Quirks
Have used the Ique 3600 for 9 months or so now, I find it to be an extremely powerful and synergistic combination, and would recommend it to those with PDA experience and/or patience.A PDA is a natural mate with a GPS and Garmin has done a pretty good job in this combination.I do understand the frustration of some of the reviews posted here though, as there are a few quirks which can make the initial experience less than smooth.But if you hang in there to get past the learning curve of futzing with the maps during 3 or 4 downloads and figuring out how to work with the address book and the 'find locations' feature, you will then have a powerful ally in your daily life's travels and travails and will not part with it for a minute.
Recommendations: get as big an SD card as you can, 1Gb or more, and put the whole dang US map on it and forget about tweaking it for every trip, since the download process is pretty painful. Also, leave it in the charger every night, as it needs a charge pretty much once a day.Gotchas: popping it into the car holder will occasionally glitch it due to static on the connectors, requiring a reset.Try to touch the connectors of the car and the PDA while it is still off before popping it in in order to discharge the static.
Great Product! One of my best purchases, ever!
I have wasted money on a lot of things that prove to be only half as good as they appeared to be. This product definitely exceeded my high expectations. I travel a lot, and many times, to places that I have never been before. This product was a life saver because it gets me to where I need to go every time, with only a few minor errors (i.e. newer streets not available, address slightly off on smaller side streets). However, one should not expect that it can be perfect every time, even though it does get it right more than I expected.
I have been using Palm OS PDA's for several years now, so I was really excited when a friend told me about this. The PDA on the Garmin iQue 3600 is probably equivalent to a higher-end Palm-brand PDA (i.e. Tungsten) and it has worked out great for me since I took it out of the box.
Please, keep in mind that this item is a PDA with a really good GPS navigation system. If you want a strict navigation system, Garmin makes a few products that are better for that purpose.
The best features include:
1. Integration of address book and GPS allows to quickly route to an existing address book entry or set up entries as waypoints for even quicker access.
2. Tremendous list of stores, restaurants, etc. allows you to look up items near your current location, near your destination or even near a point that you choose on the map.
3. It recalculates! If you miss your turn or make a wrong turn, it will automatically recalculate your trip based on your new location and make sure you still get to your destination.
4. It is extremely mobile. It does everything a PDA needs to do and you can use it as a handheld GPS device while you are walking down the street. This is great in larger cities when you cannot always park in front of the building you need to go and you need to walk from a parking garage, or if you road in a taxi or took the subway/metro.
The worst features/issues include:
1. The poor battery life. I can understand the battery being drained quickly when the GPS is on, but when I am updating my contacts or inputting appointments it should not burn out the battery so quickly. Be sure you have access to a charger if you think you will need to use it a lot during the day. However, I have not had any problems with the battery draining significantly when I don't charge it for several days and it is not being used.
2. The maps cannot be modified (or at least, I have not figure out how to do it). This is not a serious problem, but there was one instance where there was a new road near my destination that would have significantly reduced my travel time. The iQue didn't know the road was there and I could not add it for future trips. I just had to remember to ignore the last part of the directions and the iQue made it look like I was driving "off road" during that point of my trip.
3. It takes a little while to upload new detailed maps. It never took up to 1.5 hours as one other review mentioned, but it is not a quick process. The few times that I did it, it took about 25 minutes for the software to prepare the maps and perform the hotsync. However, you should only need to do this every once in a while, unless you constantly need to change maps or you don't have enough memory to store all of the maps that you want.
Regardless of any slight imperfections (as most products have), I plan to buy this product for my wife and for my mother. That just shows how much it has been a benefit to me and how much I can trust it.
good product, but needs improvement
I bought it as Christmas gift for my gf, and she loves it. It generally works fine, but with a few problems. Other reviews talked about most of the good things about it, and I agreed. So here I will only talk about the few flaws. Overall, it's a usefull tool; but don't rely on it too much and it's always wise to still keep a copy of paper map in your car.
The system sometime couldn't find the signal, but a soft reset will solve the problem. I once waited for 20 minutes and it still couldn't find the satellite signal, but after a reset, it founded the signal within one or two minutes.
I couldn't have it figure out the fastest way. Even though I selected that option, it always gives a seemingly to be shortest way. I KNOW these are slower than some alternatives. It just doesn't know about traffic information.
Voice prompt sometimes inaccurate. When she says keep left, you may be turning left or even turning right. The maps is right most of the time, though. It's always a good idea to have somebody sitting in the passenger seat to double check with the map, or look at the screen yourself. The big screen makes it relatively easy if you position it well.
The "Find" function works some time, but not all the time. Sometime it puts stores in wrong categories. For example, I couldn't finda Stop&Shop store in "grocery shopping" but it's in some where else. The weird thing is that I was able to find another Stop&Shop store in grocery shopping category.
The maps are ok, but I couldn't find a pretty large mall in South Boston, even though the mall has been there for more than 3 years. The whole area in the map is just dark. btw, I've loaded the detailed map of the whole New England.
One great thing about the iQue is the mp3 player. However, it's pretty hard to organize the songs. We have a 1G SD card in it, about 200MB maps and 500MB mp3. There's no playlist function in the palm, and all songs appear in the same directory. I hope they will provide a firmware upgrade that support sub-directories.
When playing mp3, we once experience terrible high volume sounds. After turning down the volume, the problem was gone. The same song plays great on my PC. I guess it's probably the problem of the palm audio output, too easy to get saturated.
The palm cannot remember where you were when palying mp3. Everytime it starts from the very first song when turned on. If you don't want to listen to the first few songs for many times, don't turn it off.
The speaker of the car kit is terrible. Fortunately I have a cassette through which I can play the palm sound output using the car audio system. Now the car kit speaker is just a cumbersome junk which cannot be removed because it's made into the car charger. The friction mount works great, though.
Garmin iQue 3600 problems addressed
I bought Garmin 3600 and had problems with it.I finally returned and received a newer Garmin 3600.The problems I had were:
1. Car moves out of map and map must be moved;This problem does not exist in my replacement Garmin.
2. Batter live short:A little better on the replacement.
3. Hang-up and needs reset!About trashed the old one, but the new one I received does not have this problem.
4. Slow map loading:A lot faster on the replacement.
I am a Realtor, and this is one of the best investments I have made.They could give better instructions on using the GPS functions.They leave a lot to the trial & error method.I am still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles that come with it.
Very Useful product - once you figure it out
For the first week I wanted to throw this thing under the wheels of my car as it made me feel stupid 'cause I couldn't figure out how to make it do what I wanted it to do. I perservered and now I love it.Just hang in there, keep messing with it and eventually you will get it.
... Read more |
Don't plan on Canon honoring the warranty
Disappointed