Garmin i3 update
I preordered a Garmin StreetPilot i3 from GPSExplorer back in late July. It's now August 10th and I still haven't received the unit yet. I have called GPSExplorer several times asking when I should expect to receive my new i3. Last Friday, one of their service reps told me I'd get it "...probably by next week." On Monday, another one of their service reps told me "...about a week and a half from now."
The only factoid that's remained constant each time I called GPSExplorer is that they were waiting on Garmin, and that's why I didn't have my i3 yet, so I decided to e-mail Garmin directly being that this was a supplier-to-vendor issue, and this is what I wrote:
Hello. This is a question concerning the estimated ship time for the Garmin StreePilot i3's to vendors. I have recently preordered a Garmin StreetPilot i3 from GPSExplorer.com for $400.00, which they said on their own web site would be available in August. On every inquiry I make to them concerning when I will get my i3, they keep stating that Garmin (you guys) haven't shipped out the i3's for one reason or another. All I want to know is whether Garmin has started shipments of the i3's to vendors or not (particularly to GPSExplorer.com), and if not, when?
That was Tuesday. I got an e-mail from Garmin today:
Thank you for contacting GARMIN International. We have not started shipping the newly announced Street Pilot i3 to our dealers at this time. We do plan to start shipping the Street Pilot's sometime in August. We do not have a specific shipping announcement date at this time. The only information that I can give to you as well is that we will start shipping sometime this month. Please watch our website we will make a public announcement when the product begins shipping to dealers.
While I appreciate the fact that Garmin did actually respond to tell me what's up, I'm sort of bummed out that I don't have a more definitive answer. Does this mean the i3 will be sent out this week? Next week? End of the month?
I see the bright side of this - I did get an answer from the manufacturer themselves, and they were timely with their answer. It might have not been the best answer in the world, but at least I got a response.
Garmin StreetPilot i3
In the midst of all the home shopping that is going on for the upcoming move up North, I had a thought:
I am not going to have any idea where I'm going when I get there.
This is true. I've lived in the tri-state region of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island all my life. I don't know anywhere else very well. As a matter of fact I don't really know the western half of Connecticut that well either, but that's another story. In short, while it's true I know of the major routes like I-95 in the north, the rest is completely foreign to me.
The solution is to get a mobile GPS unit. I have been toying with the idea of getting one for the last year, but haven't because of one reason: Cost. GPS units are very, very expensive. You can easily spend thousands of dollars on one.
Garmin just introduced to the market two baseball-sized automotive windshield mounted (via suction cup) GPS units, the StreetPilot i2 and StreetPilot i3. The only difference between the two is that the i2 is monochrome (black/white with grays) and the i3 is 32,000 colors. Both are backlit and can be read in sunlight (very important). Both will talk to you to tell you things like upcoming turns and whatnot. Both will display maps in 3-D or 2-D. But most importantly, the price is less than half of their bigger units. You can get the i2 for $300.00 and the i3 for $400.00. I decided to splurge and got the i3. I should be receiving the unit sometime in August. I'll be able to write a detailed review of it then.
Here's what convinced me to buy the i3:
1) It's made by Garmin.
There are other manufacturers of mobile GPS units like Lowrance and Magellan, but I've noticed that units made by Garmin last longer and can take abuse. My pop owns a Rino 120 and its as tough as nails. They can definitely take a beating. I also like the fact that Garmin recognized that there are those of us out there that want small, simple (but informative) mobile GPS units.
2) Cost.
Definitely a large factor. Through my research, I could find no other dash or windsheld mountable GPS-only (meaning not PDA) units in the price range that Garmin is offering.
3) Easily transportable.
If I want to move the unit from one vehicle to another, I can do so, with ease - to any vehicle.
4) Data can be easily loaded to the unit, and comes with data.
The i3 comes with a "MapSource City Select North America NT v7 DVD" with the unit - you don't have to buy it separately. Very nice. Data can be loaded via a TransFlash card with USB. This means I can pop the DVD into my laptop and send the data with no fuss, no muss.
5) Comes with a car charger.
I like this because I don't have to buy one separately.
6) Runs on 2 AA batteries.
If the car charger fails or if I lose it, this thing is said to run for around six hours on 2 AA's.
Possible bad things about the i3 (this is strictly guessing because I don't physically have it yet):
1) No touch screen.
You have to use a wheel/click thing. The interface is completely menu driven. This may prove to be difficult setting a POI (Point-Of-Interest).
2) Too small?
The display area is 176x220 pixels. That's pretty damn small. I don't know how readable this unit actually is. We'll find out soon enough.
3) Brightness control?
The description mentions nothing about whether you can set the brightness of the display or not; something I find important, especially for night driving.
4) Volume control?
The description also mentions nothing about a volume control for the talking portion of the unit. I would hope there is one, either by dial, knob, menu-on-screen or whatever.
Stay tuned for my next entry on this one...
Doctor Who's got a Tardis
Cool song/anim of the moment:
The Doctor Who Song
Yeah, you gotta know what Doctor Who is, obviously. If you don't.. well.. you're missing out. EX-TER-MI-NATE! (yuk yuk yuk)
That's a lot of lumber
These are my late grandfather's speakers which were given to me along with some other things after he passed away.
The photo was taken in my basement. Supposedly these speakers were $2500.00 each. I tried selling them on eBay for $300 for the pair but no one would buy them.. so.. maybe it's a sign I should keep them. Most of the speakers are blown as you can see, but they can all be replaced.
These big 4-foot-tall oak boxes were made at the time when big speakers were the proper way (and still are) to push sound. They're true 5-way with Infinite Slope technology built-in, and they're 100% U.S.A. made. In short: These loudspeakers could fill an auditorium easily but at the same time are "civilized" enough to be used in a living room.
The largest problem will be finding replacement cones. Back in the day you could have replaced every single speaker at Radio Shack, but now they don't carry cones any longer - at all. Major department stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart don't carry them either. It's going to be a challenge to find cones, that's for sure. It'll probably cost around $200 per box (or more) to replace all of them. But it's not like these boxes are going anywhere. I have time.