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  1. #1 Best gps for in China use 
    C-Moto Regular HarbinSteve's Avatar
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    Sorry if this post is redundant, but after searching for awhile, I haven't found a clear answer.

    What is the best gps system for using in China? I'm particularly interested in maps of the NW. After discovering that paper maps are all horribly inaccurate (at least in NE China) I decided I'm gonna invest in a GPS. I'm in America for the next 3 weeks, so I wanna try and buy a good one while I'm here. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or useful experience.

    I read about people using cell phones, but I think in the end I wanna get a good water/dust/vibration proof unit that I can stick on the handlebars, and read in bright sunlight.

    Thanks.
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  2. #2 Re: Best gps for in China use 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
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    China is paranoid about map data, thus you will have issues buying a GPS in the states and getting the correct maps on it here. It can be done, but why bother...? GPS companies are more or less out of business now, they just don't know it yet. ¥1200 will get you one of these, a combination of Orux maps and Google maps and you're travelling in style.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
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  3. #3 Re: Best gps for in China use 
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    G'Day,

    Using a Garmin Zumo220 -Australian Version- and the Garmin map (card) with very good results.
    My Garmin GPS has no offset compared to my mates Garmin Zumo660 -German Version- (he had his unit's offset corrected, his GPS was off by around 500m).

    City Navigator China NT (microSD™/ SD™ card)
    https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=253&pID=30217
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  4. #4 Re: Best gps for in China use 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChinaV View Post
    China is paranoid about map data, thus you will have issues buying a GPS in the states and getting the correct maps on it here. It can be done, but why bother...? GPS companies are more or less out of business now, they just don't know it yet. ¥1200 will get you one of these, a combination of Orux maps and Google maps and you're travelling in style.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
    Dear ChinaV,

    Is this Lenovo phone user friendly? Or do you have to be an Orux jockey to use it? Here are today's prices in Taobao.

    thanks!
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
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  5. #5 Re: Best gps for in China use 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
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    Garmin $$$

    Montana 600 = $450 +
    Montana 650 = $500 +
    Zumo 665 = $799
    Zumo 660 = $649
    Zumo 350 = $699

    City Navigator China NT - English = $119.00 (No updates - you have to buy it every year)

    None of the current motorcycle models from Garmin are listed as being compatible with City Navigator China NT. TB is having good luck with his Zumo 220, but there is no official support from Garmin when it comes to rugged motorcycle GPS's that run City Navigator China NT. I would hate to be like his buddy and blow $600 on a unit only to find it's half a kilometre off, or worse, unable to run the China maps. I know you can hack them to fix the issue, but should you have to for that kind of cash? I guess the other avenue you can explore is getting a refurbished Zumo for a couple hundred bucks and then giving it to a Chinese tech. They will usually hack them for a hundred quai including a new version of the City Navigator China NT. TIC

    Garmin is like Apple, elegant, robust, proprietary and expensive. As much as I love their hardware, their China policy and route planning PC program made me give up 2 years ago. Still use mine when I go to the states, but if you're spending that kind of cash, you can get a Samsung Galaxy SIII for $500 + $80 for a waterproof case and motorcycle mount. Easy route planning with Google Maps and/or Orux, bluetooth coms to your helmet for phone and music, plus handy translation apps, maintenance apps, fuel mileage apps etc.

    In a nutshell...

    The Garmin is really nice if you have the cash to blow and the patience to deal with fixing the offset and their less than intuitive route planning software. You get a great display and touch screen that works well with motorcycle gloves.

    The Android device might lack a little bit in outdoor display & touch controls compared to the Garmin, but it's going to have a lot more mapping and other software options.

    As far as the Lenovo phone, I was just showing you an example of a waterproof Android device, there are several others available as well. I've heard mixed reviews about "China centric" Android phones. Some say they have issues with google services, others claim they can't be fully changed to english. Rather than take the word of a Taobao seller, it would probably best to put your hands on one and test it out before buying.

    Orux jockey.... Google jockey.... Garmin software jockey.... They're all going to require an afternoon of your time if you're going to get the most out of them. Just to give you an idea, my shitty China mobile number only has 2G data services and I'm still able to use Google maps all the time. Last weekend I rode 1200 kilometres running Google Maps the whole time at a pretty high zoom level. I only used 22 megabytes of data, which is nothing at todays prices in China.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
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  6. #6 Re: Best gps for in China use 
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChinaV View Post
    Garmin $$$
    I would hate to be like his buddy and blow $600 on a unit only to find it's half a kilometre off, or worse, unable to run the China maps. I know you can hack them to fix the issue, but should you have to for that kind of cash?
    G'Day,

    The Garmin 660Zumo was corrected in Beijing by Garmin, no more offset afterwards and identical to my Garmin Zumo220, spot on in terms of navigation.
    Apparently all the rebranded Garmin GPS Navigation systems used on BMW motorcycles need a correction to eliminate the GPS map offset (talking about parallel import Beemers here, not sure about the BMW bikes imported by BMW Motorrad into ML China).

    We were puzzled about the Garmin offset issue, my "spot on" Garmin Zumo220 and City Navigator China NT card were both purchased in Australia (Australian Basemap) and my mates "400-500m offset" Garmin Zumo660 was purchased from Touratech in Germany (European Basemap) and his City Navigator China NT card was bought in the USA.... As mention above, Garmin Beijing corrected the offset issue and he is a happy bike rider ever since.....

    Sidenote: comparing my Garmin Zumo220 with a top-shelf Great Wall SUV GPS (dashboard build-in GPS) shows my Garmin Zumo220 with City Navigator China NT is way more accurate going around Hainan Island (both road and off-road modes).
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  7. #7 Re: Best gps for in China use 
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    I have heard that "Carplan" is the most accurate for use in China.

    Gra.
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  8. #8 Re: Best gps for in China use 
    C-Moto Regular HarbinSteve's Avatar
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    Thanks for all the info guys. Some interesting stuff to thing about. I figured it would be easier/cheaper to buy it in the US, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

    China is paranoid about map data, thus you will have issues buying a GPS in the states and getting the correct maps on it here. It can be done, but why bother...? GPS companies are more or less out of business now, they just don't know it yet. ¥1200 will get you one of these, a combination of Orux maps and Google maps and you're travelling in style.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
    if you're spending that kind of cash, you can get a Samsung Galaxy SIII for $500 + $80 for a waterproof case and motorcycle mount.
    This option is getting more tempting, especially since I am in need of a new phone. I'll have to look into it further.

    Using a Garmin Zumo220 -Australian Version- and the Garmin map (card) with very good results.
    My Garmin GPS has no offset compared to my mates Garmin Zumo660 -German Version- (he had his unit's offset corrected, his GPS was off by around 500m).
    This is the one I was considering, the others are a bit much. I read some reviews that said its processing speed was really slow, but 600 bucks is too much for something that I will only use once in a while.

    Orux jockey.... Google jockey.... Garmin software jockey.... They're all going to require an afternoon of your time if you're going to get the most out of them. Just to give you an idea, my shitty China mobile number only has 2G data services and I'm still able to use Google maps all the time. Last weekend I rode 1200 kilometres running Google Maps the whole time at a pretty high zoom level. I only used 22 megabytes of data, which is nothing at todays prices in China.
    Is it possible to download the route to the phone and use it offline? Do you need a data connection to use the GPS on the phone, or is GPS a separate thing?
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  9. #9 Re: Best gps for in China use 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HarbinSteve View Post
    Is it possible to download the route to the phone and use it offline? Do you need a data connection to use the GPS on the phone, or is GPS a separate thing?
    You do not need a data connection to use the GPS. You can download data when you are on WiFi at home and then access that data when you are travelling. As I mentioned, the price of data in China is so cheap now you really don't have to worry too much. Data coverage in China is pretty amazing, but it never hurts to have the data pre-loaded in your phone just in case you're in an area with no signal. You will have to spend a few hours learning about storing the map data and which applications are best for your needs.

    One more thing I don't get with Garmin... Why did Garmin previously port their software for pocket PC and selectively port their software for Android users in Australia. Obviously there is no technology barrier for running Garmin software with City Navigator China NT on Android. I don't know if it's greedy Garmin selling $100 electronic devices for $600, or just poor market insight on their behalf. At this day in age, why don't $600 Garmin devices have WiFi chips and cellular SIM card slots for realtime data on the move? Is it a conspiracy?

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
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  10. #10 Re: Best gps for in China use 
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    Quote Originally Posted by HarbinSteve View Post
    Thanks for all the info guys. Some interesting stuff to thing about. I figured it would be easier/cheaper to buy it in the US, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
    Garmin Zumo220, so far had no problems with data & GPS coordinates processing speeds, knocking on wood...
    I am considering the Garmin Zumo350LM -Australia Basemap- in the future but in no rush.
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