I think the difference is that the in-car kits have speedometer inputs, so they're much better able to "dead reckon" your position based on knowing the delay the GPS receiver creates and your current speed.

Sound sabout right to me. It's missing some of the features that Mapopolis (the other handheld GPS software I own) has, but for the price I think it's OK.

---Joel

i wonder how many people actually got this device. before it became ''Out of Stock" in the US...

I got mine couple of weeks ago, actually I got two! I ordered one from Nokia for $240, then canceled it, then ordered one from LetsTalk for $200. They both shipped (from same place) and arrived the same day. I'm still in the process of returning the more expensive one. If they are still out of stock, I'm partially to blame So far I've been able to test that device works, nothing more.

I'll be moving from Atlanta to NY/NJ area in couple of weeks and will be using the N800 and Navicore the whole time. I'll post my experience on http://nedim.cholich.com. This should be as real-world test as they come.

One interesting thing about the Nokia GPS receiver itself is that it works out of the box with both my wife's and my Blackberry Pearl. So three devices for the price of one (well two) GPS receivers. Now that is cool!

i got my kit today. and after a quick run i think it has more cons than pros. (don't know if anyone cares about my opinion) i was really looking forward to it (a bigger part of the reason i got interested in N800 in the first place), but the software is very average. I have to admit that I'm only comparing to a Garmin Nuvi 350 ($400) which i used a few times and that unit blew my mind away.
i think the only Pros Navicore has is the POI that are placed right on the map (Cons: even those are only usable at low speed or while stopped otherwise they just show up as dots), everything else is very mediocre.

it looks like the software is designed more for an urban pedestrian than a highway driver.

some things i don't like or haven't figured out yet:
- the fact that street names are only shown once stopped is not very convenient. if you go over 25-30 mph the names of the side streets disappear. (it'd be nice to have a "street detail" option to show the names of streets all the time)
- you can't really tell which streets your route will take ( when you zoom out its just a trace on the map without clear indications which roads or highways)
- can't look at turn-by-turn directions ahead of time. edit: you can kind of go turn by turn when click the hardware buttons, but it'd be nice to just see it in the list fashion...
- when i punched in my next destination from a parking lot of a grocery store, it told me to drive to the nearest road, before it showed any directions
- you can't set avoidances (toll roads, u-turns, etc) edit: found the ferry and toll roads in the settings, but still no other avoidances to check on/off like u-turns or highways...
- no text to speech for street names.
- max speed/ total distance/ traveling time / stopped time/ average speed: seems to lack simple things like that.
- the screen real-estate is not used well in my opinion.

in general not too many options/settings one can tweak... i kind of hope there will be updates...

i haven't driven around with Maemo Mapper yet, but now i'm looking forward to it.
how did you work that out? i can only get to work with either or.


edit.

some additional thoughts.

i spent another day-two driving around with it and couldn't get more angry at Navicore. i imagine a lot of users will be disapointed.
i considered returning the unit, but decided to eat the cost of it (and maybe retaining the right to complain about it )
some reasons to keep:
- generally i don't like the hassle of returning things, especially to online stores.
- maybe Navicore will come out with an update and apologies.
- there is an opportunity to kinda make your own skins for it and sounds (don't know why you'd want but just for kicks, change colors and use your moms voice).
- i think you can slightly improve the screen real estate by making the skin transparent (edit the png files in the image folder), but it probably wont help much, maybe just make it look a bit unique, i will try that over the weekend...

more on the software itself.. in 3D mode street names don't show up at any zoom and you cant really zoom out much anyways. (need to 'manually' switch to 2D mode)

because of that, this kind of screen is practically useless. Think of the scenario: unknown neighborhood and you just want to know the major intersection that's coming up.... in fact you can't even tell a major street from a minor side street!



in fact that is my preferred scenario for a nav software. especially in the "home town area", generally i know my way around, and don't want to spend too much time looking up or punching in addresses, i know the general idea where to go, just want to make sure i know where i am if the hood is foreign... plus usually when people give you directions to whatever location, they give you a few streets as a guide, ie this or that intersection and make a right once you pass so and so street... i can't imagine people punching in addresses every time they get into the car.

also if you have touch screen issues, like some of us, poking at the tab on the right (where you punch in the route info) can be a challenge.

also there is some issues with pointing North... (magnetic north vs geographic north? ) maybe its only my region problem, here are the screen shots compared to MM:






and just for fun:

letstalk.com is still on backorder apparently. this post above makes me wonder if i should cancel the order. but, i think even with its flaws, i'll enjoy it when i don't have link.

Compared to a high end, purpose built navigators there will be plenty of cons. Even more as new features for these high end devices are marketed as competition heats up...
For instance, try as I might I can not get "Mr. T" or other celebrity voices on the Navicore. So if these things are important to you, you will be disappointed. However, in using it daily since I got it I haven't been disappointed in it's intended purpose.

The beauty for me is that it gives me yet another reason to use my N800 instead of a laptop or my dreaded WinMo iPAQ.
It also solves the problem of "what's that" from passers by. They seem to more easily accept that it is a navigator and don't need explanations for why I carry it. They are also blown away when I fire up the Opera browser when a WiFi connection is present. I will check my email and then open a page to my local Doppler radar... I then usually hear... "mine can't do that".

As far as concurrent use goes I have only been able to replicate that one other time and it appears to be dependent on the start up order for the apps and their GPS services. I did notice that the GPS device was listed twice in the BT menu.

In any event, time to acquire is short so even swapping the BT device between apps is relatively painless.

is this not supposed to be a "high end, purpose built navigator"? this product came out in 2007, aware of the competition. i think many will agree that it fails in many areas of intended purpose.

other devices include the cost of the hardware (touchscreen, processors, gps receiver), plus software and development cost, plus map data etc. In case of Navicore seems like you're buying $150 bucks worth of software that doesn't look like it is worth the price..

if one was to spend $600+ on a navigation device, it might not have wi-fi but it will be a top notch device.

I don't know about you but I bought the N800 as a tablet and not a navigator. The fact that a navigator can be had and used with it is a bonus.

The fact is for $200 I now have an in car navigator... It ain't going to let me taunt the Garmin and TomTom boys on the GPS forums because as navigators go it DOES NOT have the features that their high end models have.

... but then again that was not my intended purpose for purchasing the dang thing.

Together the combination of the N800 and Navicore serves my needs. I now have a Car-puter that connects to my home WiFi network while the car is sitting in my drive way.
For me it is just a matter of finding or developing software that will allow me to easily wake and push content to it while I'm having my morning coffee.
When that occurs, and it will, I will have no reason other than re-flashes to ever bring it back in the house.

I also see where I soon will have the option of using the device to control home appliances, lights, automatic doors, and such.

>> http://www.livingcontrol.com/fl/default.asp

I'm also fairly certain that BT telephony dialer/answer apps are in development for the N800 that will allow profiles to be used and added for more phones then Garmin or TomTom can provide for.

I'm sure these things will eventually be available on high end Navigators but it will require another $500 outlay for new hardware.

The N800 allows me to add these features as they become available.

IMHO

BTW, a fair comparison would be between the N800 with Navicore and any other PPC with add on Navigator software.
Give MS Streets and Trips a whirl on a WinMo 5 device sometime.

problem is that it's not worth and it is not beneficial to call every single application for IT a gold. some things are good and some things are crap.

just because one wasn't looking for a navigator doesn't make Navicore a good application. as for my opinion Navicore doesn't deserve good reviews as an application. if there is no personal interest in the company why defend it?

i would probably recommend it for an urban hiker/biker, but its not suitable for in-car use.

you can't give a good review for a food in a Chinese restaurant if you hate Chinese food, however you also can't call the food great just because you felt the restaurant deserves a good review when the food was bad.

You got me there bud. I'm the secret owner of Navicore.

Why do contrary opinions in this forum require ulterior motives or result in subjective, off topic crapola or innuendo?

Yeesh. It works for me and I posted the reasons why. That's all. End of report.