Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BigBlackEquus]

Does anyone own one of those GPS units, like they have in the taxis here? What has your experience been with them? Have a favorite?

[hepcat]

I've got a GPS not more than 3 meters from where I'm sitting. I don't have much use for it in Korea, although I used it to keep track of things when I first moved here and started to explore my city on foot and bike. I bought it for mushroom picking (pine mushrooms for export to Japan, and some chanterelles) in the deep, dark forests of Northern Canada (BC). Mushroom pickers are notorious for getting lost (hours of head-down walking in trackless wilderness), and I found my Garmin 12XL to be a pretty good unit for keeping me 'found'. I could walk anywhere and feel confident I could always find my truck if I had to. GPS helped me many times. I could also get a rough fix on my altitude, and mark my mushroom patches as well. One should always use GPS units with a good topo map and a compass. My unit is fairly old tech now (about 4 y.o. now) but it still does the trick. The only problem I had was that without an additional antenna hooked on I would loose contact with the satellites when in thick tree cover. You can get GPS watches now as well as a variety of hand-held units. Garmin and Magellin are good names. What to buy? Depends what you want to use it for. I'd Google up some reviews.

[BigBlackEquus]

What I bought was a GPS for my car. One of the Korean ones. Here is a link. It's really awesome! I am now finding ways around Seoul that I never knew before! Lots of fun, and I won't get lost. They had a better version with a wide screen, instead of tall, but I actually prefer the tall screen. The other version also runs .mp3 through you radio. The maps on both are ultra-cool, and in 3D with buildings. So much fun! I figure I will pay for the cost in gas savings within a year or two.

http://www.hpuser.co.kr/front/php/product.php?product_no=166&main_cate_no=1&display_group=3

[SuperHero]

What's involved in installation for a car? is it difficult or can you "do it yourself"?

[BigBlackEquus]

Not a thing, really, save the suction cup on the window and plugging the power into the cigarette lighter. Very easy. There is a little antenna on the back which is like a flat piece of plastic that flips up at a 90 degree angle. It's not much bigger than a fat thumb. If you have a bit more cash, I suggest you get the next model up from mine, which plays .mp3s from the radio, has a wider screen, has a 2 hour battery for walking around with, and uses SD memory instead of Compact Flash. I hate CF, because the cards always seem to die within 1 1/2 years or so. Also, that model will play DIVX or MPEG videos if you have a big enough card to save onto. Mine will to, although I am sure the window is small, given that it is tall, not wide. The wider model has a split-screen mode to show you the upcoming intersections, etc. But I find my cheaper model puts a smaller arrow picture in the bottom right corner which is good enough for me. The split-screen on the "Inavi UP" model is cool, though:




Oh, and the thing takes up nearly all of the 512 meg CF card with its map information, so if you want to watch videos, you better get a 1 gig or probably better to get a 2 gig card (I think the other model has it, but then you're talking closer to 600,000 won for the unit, i think!). I believe mine is Windows CE-based. A shame I can't find a pic of the mode that puts the buildings in there and looks down at an angle. That is my favorite mode, and the graphics seem to kick a lot of the other units out of the water. I can also locate different restaurants (like McDonalds, KFC, Kyochon Chicken, etc) and plot locations to those. The bigger the card in yours, the more information they contain, apparently.

Many other models have an audio/video input for hooking up a separate DVD Player, or TV receiver unit, which will cost another 80,000 won to 150,000 won. Or some of the really pricey models have all of that together.

I get free online map updates every 2 months. Being a foreigner, this is a bit of a chore getting around the ID issues, but a Korean friend is helping me call their help center to get that worked out soon.

The Inavi is definately the model to get, for around 400,000 to 500,000 won. I bought mine at the new huge E-Mart near Ori station in Bundang. They have working display models in the car center area. Could have gotten it maybe 50,000 won cheaper online, but I wanted it this weekend.

I almost didn't go with the Pro+ model, because it lacked zoom in and out buttons. I learned later, however, that there are 2 programmable function buttons, which I have set to zoom in and out, so I'm happy!

[logan2003]

I will never travel with out one again. I have the pro-navi gold.
IT IS SWEET. It can play mp3's but that is not its strong point.

Being able to get anywhere i want using a comfortable 7 inch lcd screen is just what we needed since we bought our cars. Saved so much in fuel...

I am interested in the upcoming version where I can watch some satalite tv......movies, and connect it to the speaker system in my car....mp3's on Bose....oh yeah!!!

[BigBlackEquus]

If you don't want to spend 400,000 won or more, there are brands that are as low as 260,000 won at Techno-Mart. One of them, I was actually impressed with. It didn't do .mp3 or video, and the speaker wasn't very big, but the rest of it was very capable (I plug mine into a cassette tape that doubles as an .mp3 input device for my deck). I actually liked the wide selection of menu choices it had, and ease of use of the 260,000 won one. The guy indicated that he was willing to deal on the price of that one, too.

GPS units are really a cool thing. The only bummer is that you have to make sure they can "see" through the window. If I hold mine in my hands, it won't work through the roof. You can buy external antennas for some. Not sure about my unit, but I would like to do that. I feel nervous leaving it in the window, as someone might decide to break in and steal it.

[ngilchri]

Are these GPS systems available in English for use in Korea or only in Korean? If only in Korean is it possible to use them as an English only speaker?

[bluelake]

We plan to get a GPS for our car, but I've had a hand-held for several years (Garmin GPS III+); it's worked well and has saved my bacon on several occasions.

[matthews_world]

Can anyone confirm if the I-Station V45 has a GPS program available?

[eamo]

[zappadelta]

What are some good brands and models of GPS? I would like to get one.

[Juregen]

Same here

looking for affordability and useability, no candy required

[Col.Brandon]

Anybody know if there's a GPS unit in Korea that I can plug into my PDA?

They attach via the SD slot. I could import one from abroad, but there'd be no Korean software.