BMW kicking Garmin's zumo 660 up a notch with the Motorrad Navigator IV
By Ross Miller 
posted July 6th 2009 3:11AM
posted July 6th 2009 3:11AM
[Via NaviGadget]
posted July 6th 2009 3:11AM
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Give me an iPhone.
Can anyone advise me on what GPS to get? I want something that's reliable, high quality, nice looking, easy to follow, and not too expensive. I appreciate any help I can get. I'm a college student if that will help me focus my search. :)
why not iPhone. . ?
Because a standlone GPS doesn't cost $2500 over the course of two years, dumbass. The iPhone's GPS isn't anything to write home about so please go away you troll.
its only $299 for iPhone 3GS 32GB at apple store.
It depends on your application. Here they are talkin about a motorcycle application. Zumo 450 is one of the more basic units. It is relatively inexpensive too. Please do not listen to the iphone trolls, you need a waterproof and weatherized unit for your ride. it also depends on your budget. I have a zumo and it works great. Happy riding.
PS. if you are looking for using in a car,buy some inexpensive unit, Navigon has some decent units, so does many others, You can get one for around $100 if you look around and need something that will just tell you where to go :)
Because an iPhone is a toy for the idle ignorant who do nothing but twitter and gab all day on how trendy they are with their new iPhone. It's a pretty phone, but just that: ONLY A PHONE!
This is made as a bit of serious kit for dangerous environments. You can't even drop an iPhone one foot without it breaking. The vibrations from any cycle will kill it and just about anything else phone related pretty quick. Sometimes you just need the right TOOL for the job, not a tool's fashion accessory. You cannot use an iPhone with cycle gloves. You cannot use it in the rain. You cannot see the damned screen from a foot away much less 2 to 3 feet. You cannot use an iPhone in the middle of the Sonoran desert. You cannot throw an iPhone to the ground at 40mph if you mis-negotiate a trail rise and expect it to do anything but remind you that you're the tool who bought a $600 bit of plastic that you're not allowed to get a protection plan on.
Knowing BMW, they select quality gear that takes what their bikes can. I've been VERY pleased with their accessories that they choose to pair with their bikes. I just wish they didn't come at such a premium. My bike was competitively priced to other cycles out there: The accessories aren't.
Although, I am pretty sure the BMW dealer points aren't going to be needed too much by BMW riders: The bikes are so damned bulletproof you rarely need more than regular service intervals. I've already got 20k on my XCountry 650 and not a lick of issue. Just a new rear tire and plugs. And, for the price of a used Hyundai Accent you won't find anything faster or more aggressive on tarmac or off. Kawasaki is going to have to step up their motorrad game or the KLR is just going to end up looking like the me-too Enduro once again with other offerings from the Italians and Germans stepping up, and for better prices in some cases
thanks, I didn't read that ...
:D
@rheza
The locks on my toolbox must be broken, because I don't know how a tool as big as you could've possibly gotten out.
fix it please.
If you want to use your iphone you could buy a motorcycle ram-mount for about 40 bucks. They have custom cradles for the iphone and are designed to protect the iphone from motorcycle vibration.
http://www.ram-mount.com/Products/MotorcycleMounts/tabid/128/Default.aspx
Bought one last week in Bangkok for 1,055 US$, works fine even with my Nokia mobile
Am I the only one that thought it looked like a Nokia N95 at first glance?
OK, I ride a motorcycle and have a Garmin Zumo 550, the previous Garmin offering for bikes, for which they also offered a BMW specific version, which actually did less than the Garmin version. BMW takes these fine GPS units from Garmin, adds a bracket that gives you some buttons for zoom and volume and charges almost double the price of the basic Garmin. Functionality is not improved as the zoom and volume are functions are already built into the touch screen interface of the Zumo and the Nuvi units, and they are already designed to be used with motorcycle gloves and work fine. The Garmin unit does everything the BMW unit does. The Garmin unit already comes with a motorcycle specific mount, as well as a car mount. You can load a database of BMW stealers your self and pocket $500-$700. Of course you won't have the BMW logo and that's worth at least $500. BMW is famous for quality but you pay a premium for their logo. I have a BMW bike and hope someday to find similar function without the BMW $$$ premium.
@Richard - yes the little row of buttons that are peeking out on the left do make it look like a okia N95
I've been using the Zumo 550 on both my motorcycle and my car since shortly after it was released and I love it. However, I just blew out the right audio channel a week before I began a 10000km motorcycle trip, so I bought the Zumo 660.
The Zumo 660 has a lot of nicer features. Lane Assist, 3D Lane Assist, wider screen, faster redraws, more functions and information available on the screen, A2DP, etc.
However, the Zumo 660 is missing a couple of critical (IMO) features, including hard-buttons along the left side, and high-detail 3D map view (where are my sidestreets? Awww). Before the latest firmware release (a week ago or so), it was a piece of crap. Many of my complaints have been sorted though.
The picture above with the buttons on the mount make me giddy. The lack of hard-buttons that I can find and press without taking my eyes off the road, or bounce out of whatever mode I am into the next mode is absolutely key. I want that mount!