1.I already have a Garmin GPS Unit that I use for trips into the unknown, on my mountain bike (so I don't get lost in the 40 Acre Woods), and on nautical adventures it is a must have. I now use it in conjunction with my Pocket PC and Laptop(for more detail) when I go on business trips in rental cars.

2.I pretty much new where I was going 95% of the time or for the other 5% planned my route out in advance with Streets & Trips 2002, which cost about $12 AR at Costco

3.Tecnology of builtin NAV units was good, but not great and the interface required a definite pull over to operate or your passenger would perform the role of navigator. Current systems now sport 12 Satellite pickup instead of 8 (just 6 months ago)and have voice activation. The new 2003 MDX even sports a rear backup camera! Not available until November 2002(checkout more details at http://www.acura.com/models/model_index.asp?module=mdx and for great community support and questions goto http://www.acuramdx.org. The 2003 Accord sports the same Nav Unit.Others like the offerings from Toyota/Lexus and Infiniti. It all comes down to personal preference

Granted you can do some cool things with the Nav screen check out what DigitalMDX did with his 2001 MDX here:

http://home.attbi.com/~digitalmatrix/wardriving/

Take care,

Well that figures.

In my opinion if you already have a laptop w/dvd drive you are getting a bigger screen than most factory options offered. So combine it with a RF modulator (like a Sound Feeder) and an 12v/120AC power invertor(about $30)for your laptop so don't tap out its batteries. You could even invest in some ir headphones for the output to kids or people in the back similar to the factory offerings.Plus you get a gaming system, mp3 player, and nav option with add on GPS. You can pick up a used laptop with dvd for under $500 now a days, I got thinkpad for $369...

If the extra $1000+ for the "builtin look" is a wee bit expensive to swallow for relatively cheap components that you could buy cheaper elsewhere like:

http://www.theautoaccessories.com (the cheapest place I found for LCD displays)
http://www.five-stars.com/
Costco
http://www.lightav.com/

If you want tv in the car you will need a dvdplayer that has a builin tuner, a separate tuner like (the Santeca ST-1000 tuner) or you could use a VCR with a diversity antenna. Some people also just use a Sony Playstation 2 in the car so they have DVD and a gaming system for just $199 and add a display for about $99 each.

Another option would be an all-in-one after market solution that has a dvdplayer and popup lcd screen like the Kenwood KVT-911DVD DVD Receiver with Touchscreen and mount a Kenwood KNA-DV2100 Mobile Navigation System
under the pasenger seat or the Boss InDash 5" LCD AM FM TV + DVD CD MP3 player for $399 at theautoaccessories.com.

You can do-it your self or drop it off at a professional aftermarket installer- be careful here because price does very from place to place so shop around... Another option is sending in your headrest or visor for installation and LCD included for $149
(the 5 " LCD with Visor Kit or 5.6 ' LCD with Headrest Kit deal) here.

Hope this helps...

[This message has been edited by fyiguy (edited 10-06-2002).]

There is mention of a hack for PocketStreets 2002 here:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=pocket+streets+gps&hl=en&selm=3CBADD8E.7E8E5071%40thisaddress.com&rnum=10

I don't have 2003 yet so I don't know if this applies

I would bet that, rather than writing their own GPS/plotting code, they licensed it from one of their competitors, who perhaps sensed Microsoft's attitude and stipulated an artificial delay so that their own product would maintain a competitive advantage.

Just a guess.