Korean Job Discussion Forums

IlIlNine · Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo

Well ... looks like I may be in the market for a navigation system.

My budget is about 250,000. Not looking for bleeding edge, but something solid and easy to use.

Cowon? Inavi? Xroad? What do you guys have experience with? What's good and what isn't?

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

Would you like a dedicated NAV unit (stays in the car) or a PMP with NAV?

IlIlNine · Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

bluelake · Joined: 01 Dec 2005

I'm planning to get one for my folks back in the States. The one I have in mind is the TomTom GO 970; it was either that or the Garmin Nuvi 660. The main problem I have with Garmin is that you have to buy map updates (around $70 a pop).

Out of curiosity, I'm wondering if any of the systems sold in the West have maps for Korea. I have a handheld Garmin GPS III+ that I bought several years ago; it has graphical (not in detail) for the world.

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

Look at the Inavi Smart (it does DMB), or even cheaper, the UP+(no DMB). I believe that the only model in your budget will be the UP+. It's a time-tested unit that works very well. I'd go with it over the cheaper models from the other guys any day. You should be able to get a 1 gig version for 230,000 won or so online. The only difference between the 1 gig and the 512 meg models are the size of the SD card, and if you buy the 512 and upgrade to a 1 gig card later, you can download the 1 gig maps, too. Just go with the 1 gig from the start, though.

http://itempage3.auction.co.kr/DetailView.aspx?itemNo=a109679685&firstView=&DR030114=&hdcapital=&mobile=&frm3=V2

I owned the older Inavi Pro+, and it was a great unit. The UP+ is a great unit, and can be had for cheap. They use essentially the same maps as the more expensive INAVIs do, like my G1. I sold my Pro+ an ended up buying an INAVI G1, but am not happy with it. It's buggy. Loading a movie off of the USB key takes as long has half a minute!

The Smart and UP+ have been out for a few years, and don't have as many functionalities, but for straight-up navigation, are really great.

What I miss are the buttons on the outside, like the UP+ and Smart have. I have to hunt through a few slow on-screen menus to make my G1 do what I want -- really sucks, and it's not so fast. I really liked just pushing one button on the outside to set my older model to "HOME." It's dangerous to push around on a semi-responsive screen while trying to drive, as you must do with newer models. Pushing one button is so much easier.

The UP+ is really a great value if you don't care about watching TV or movies. The Smart does TV. They can be updated for free, although the sign-up process requires Korean help to make a national web ID of some sort. This can be a real pain, given English names and all.

If you decide to go with a G1 or an ES100, the best prices are at Costco.