Please direct me to a FAQ or web page if this question has been asked to death…
I have been contributing mapping updates to osm for some time, and would like to try some of the data, but I don’t currently have a device that will take OSM-based maps and do routing.
I would like something that is usable in the car, so I can see at a glance where mapping is missing or incorrect, and to set trial routes to see that ways are connected etc.
It seems that the best support at present is for Garmin, but it is not clear which device is best for me. I have read here that I should get a device with SD or micro-SD slot, and that nuvi devices have problems that other models don’t.
So if I apply those criteria, is any Garmin device as good as any other with OSM-based maps?
It autoroutes on roads and trails, and stores data on a microSD chip. The current software permits use of chips greater than 2 GB. Which means, if you can make it, you can probably fit a roadmap for the US and Canada onto a chip. If you add contours, they take a lot more space per square mile/kilometer.
The problem with the 60csx is that it chirps when approaching a turn rather than gives you spoken direction. This means that you need to put it on your dashboard and look at it (instead of the road) when it chirps. Not a good idea on a crowded expressway.
I prefer a talking GPS for driving, and, I’d suggest you verify the quality of the maps in your area before you use them for driving directions. There have been bulk uploads of Census Bureau road maps for the US which are of variable quality. I wouldn’t want one of those directing me through a bad neighborhood, although I did trust the maps in my wife’s Nuvi to take me safely into and out of downtown Newark, NJ.