What's the verdict: Garmin nRoute or Garmin Mobile PC

well it has been several months now since Mobile PC came out.
Would people who have a copy buy another one if they had to of just stay with nRoute.

I tried the trial option of GMPC and it looks pretty, but i had issues.
gps sharing ( tho noticed there is a LONG work around now for that)
GMPC wants to be the top most Application so you cant skin or embed it into car PC front end programs
I also found GMPC a bit longwinded to use, to many steps to do things

nRoute
dosnt look as pretty, but works well
it embeds into carpc front ends easily enough
and you can use gps splitters easily.

due the the fact that there are no local maps supplied by garmin for GMPC and to buy it freight is almost as much as the software itself. price gets a bit more than i want to spend on something that isnt apparently all they claim it is.
Open source maps BTW are great and work well with both products tho

Anyway after trying the trial of mobile PC at this point im staying with nRoute
.

I sit corrected, apparently xport has been updated to work with GMPC now

I wonder about the future of Garmin nRoute, now that Garmin Mobile PC is available. Will Garmin discontinue the future development and support of Garmin nRoute? It would be nice to know one way or the other.

i think they stopped any effective support a while ago.
i still like it because it just does what i need, for me trip planning is find destination and get me there. once there i can set the next stop...
NZ is small enough that there is only one or 2 ways (main road wise) to get to most places out of the main citys, so having to plot a route isnt essential.

Canada is pretty huge and there are usually lots of ways to get There from Here. But that's pretty much the way I like to travel, too.

I prefer nroute for all the reasons the original poster mentioned. I'm an admitted geek - thirty years as a computer professional - so I like control. In my opinion nroute has a much better interface for computer use. Mobile PC is just a variation of Mobile XT (smartphones) which is just a variation of the Nuvi touchscreeen interface. It's great for what it is. But it's not really what I want.

I agree that we won't likely ever see an upgrade to nroute. As it stands there is no way for Garmin to tie sales of anything to it. If you already have maps in MapSource that are unlocked for something else, nroute will cheerfully use them. No mo' money for Garmin that way.
...ken...

As a first time Laptop gps user, I was blown away by the Garmin nRoute software. I live in Wisconsin and I wanted to make a trip to Hampton Virginia. I did not want to spend all that money on a GPS unit so I opted for the laptop version. I was very impress by the simplicity and user friendliness not to mention the accuracy. My trip ti Virginia and back was flawless. I heard some conversation about Mobile Pc and I guess I am curious enough to learn more which is one of the main reason I join this forum. Any feed back on whats available out there, because I am sold on laptop GPS, I envite to readers to give me a little education.

Hi Ansleyg,

:welcome: to the forums!

I you were "very impressed by the simplicity and user friendliness" of Garmin nRoute, I think you could be impressed even more by the simplicity and user friendliness of Garmin Mobile PC, iNav iGuidance, Mapfactor PC Navigator, etc . They may not have all the features nRoute has, but for just driving from A to B, when elaborate trip planning is not needed, some GPS software for laptops is even more driver-friendly than nRoute.

I agree with Marvin. If all you want is navigation features that are really easy to use, Garmin's Mobile PC and the others he mentioned have a very simple interface and they have a much prettier map display. The drawback with them is that, if you want to use more of their features, the simple interface can sometimes get in the way. And they typically aren't great for the pre-trip planning.

...ken...

Thanks Marvin and Ken. I'll keep an open as I review your suggestions. My work keeps me a little busy but I am planning to do some traveling early next year. I am so serious about the laptop GPS option that I am purchasing one of those laptop mounts for my trailblazier. This I am also excited about and I hope I can benefit from the expertize of the members in this forum. Looking forward to reading the threads.

Ansleyg, keep us updated on the progress of your project. A decent vehicle laptop mount is the best way to go. Put a few pictures to your profile album when you are done.

Thanks Marvin, I checked out that Ram laptop site you referred me to. That is exactly what I am looking for. This forum came through for me already. This site has mounts specific to my TB and from the illustration on the site It seems that installation would be a snap. Will keep you informed. Bye way, if you or any of the fellow members of Laptop GPS World are veterans I would love to hear from you. I work for the VA as a health benefits advisor and I would be glad to assist any of our members with questions. Looking forward to reading the threads.

That's very kind of you.

I read the review on the Garmin's Mobile PC and I was wonder if the GPS 18 that I use with enroute would work with the Garmin's Mobile PC or would have to purchase the GPS20x?

The GPS18 should work fine with the software-only version of Mobile PC. If you decide to purchase a version of Mobile PC bundled with a Garmin GPS receiver, the GPS10x bundle would be a better choice than the GPS-20 bundle.

...ken...