Recommendations needed for GPS software for car pc

I'm building a "car pc", and I'm looking into building a gps navigation system. It's going to be using a touch screen for controls, so in essence it will be very similar to a stock in-car gps. The only problem is filling in the guts. I've heard many mixed reviews over gps nav software and I'm not sure where to start. I personally like google maps but I'm open to "better" software. I don't have a gps unit as of yet but I'd be looking at getting into one of those as well. I know the software is only as good as the hardware, and vice versa, I guess what I'd be looking for is the a good balanced combination of both.

Do you mean something like a mini-ITX computer running Windows with a remote VGA display?

For a small screen, say 7" 800x480, my favourites are INav IGuidance and Garmin Mobile PC. IGuidance has a slight edge in use of screen real estate while Mobile PC is more flexibile. Either program will work with a wide variety of USB or Bluetooth GPS devices depending on your setup.

Many people like to combine other functions by using a 'front end' to allow you to more easily switch between programs. You should spend some time at MP3Car.com where all the car pc afficiandos hang out.

Terry

Thanks a lot, I'm already bugging them about the other specifics, figured I'd look here for the gps things, however those look to be the two I'm going to decide between, I just need to figure out the GPS unit I'll pick up.

Survient, welcome to Laptop GPS World. The hardware is the easy part. Most GPS receivers on the market are just fine. BU-353 seems very popular. It's a simple and inexpensive USB GPS receiver. It works on Windows XP/Vista/7 and even Linux and Mac. It's based on the very good SiRFstarIII chip. It has a magnetic base and it even is weather proof, so many CarPC enthusiasts opt to place it on the roof of their cars for the best reception.

I don't have a carpc, but I do have a 7" touchscreen hooked to my laptop.

I run Centrafuse front-end software, which pretty much controls everything. It plays my mp3's, my XM radio (XMpcr) and *can* do my phone though bluetooth, but I prefer my headset for that.

For navigation, I use Garmin MobilePC. There's a plugin for Centrafuse (actually there's 2 of them available). I use the BU-353 receiver and love it. I had issues awhile back with it, but it turns out that it was my CB causing the problem. That's been solved.

So far, it's worked out REALLY good for me. I've got an HP slimline computer that I'm going to swap out the hard drive (put in a laptop drive) so that I can mount a 21" monitor in the sleeper of the truck for use when I'm parked.