Sneak Preview of the Garmin iQue 3600 Palm Pilot based GPS System
by Joe Mehaffey
The iQue is Garmin's initial entry into the Palm Computer + GPS market.  This unit was introduced at the CES 2003 electronics show on 8 January 2003.  We do not have much information on the equipment beyond what is listed in the initial specification sheet,  but we will be receiving a unit for product review soon.

Generally speaking,  the device integrates a basic 32meg, 150mhz ARM9 CPU,  with OS5 and a Garmin Flip Antenna GPS receiver.  The system provides GPS positioning and automatic present location to distant address routing using Garmin's CitySelect Map system (same as Garmin GPS-V).  Routing instructions are provided to the driver both verbally and by screen display similar to the guidance of the Garmin StreetPilot III and similar voice guidance navigation systems.  The IQue 3600 can accept SD memory cards for Palm Computer applications and the SD memory can be used to store maps.  I have no information as to if waypoints/routes/tracklogs can be stored in the SD memory.   The unit will play MP3 music files and operate standard Palm OS5 applications as well.

Mapping
On the iQue 3600 installation CD, users can choose a basemap of North America, South America, Europe or regions in the Pacific Rim. The basemap provides the user with generalized information about highways, major city streets, railways, rivers, lakes and state, provincial and national borders.  The  user configurable basemap makes the iQue 3600 a versatile companion for the international frequent flyer who travels between New York and London or
San Francisco and Hong Kong.

Standard applications include:

Garmin "Que" apps: MP3, GPS Clock, Street Address Lookup, Electronic Mapping, Track log, Trip Computer, Automatic Route Generation and Turn-by-Turn Voice Guidance

Palm OS 5 apps: Address Book, Calculator, Date Book, Expense, Mail, Memo Pad , Palm Reader and To Do List

Other 3rd party apps:  Astraware Game Pack, Documents To Go, powerOne Personal Calculator, StarCaddy, SplashPhoto and Vindigo

The following information is sketchy and subject to correction when we haved firm information.

Preliminary GPS Specifications include:

Max # Routes: 50
Max # Vias Per Route: 50
Max Points in Active Track: 2048
Max Points in Saved Track: 250
Max Number of Saved Tracks: 16
Max Number of Waypoints: 500

The preliminary iQue 3600 specification information can be found HERE.  (requires PDF filereader.)

The iQue comes (we think) with the following accessories included in the ESTIMATED price above:
. Protective soft cover case
. Metal stylus for touch screen
. USB recharging  HotSync® cradle
. A/C power/charging adapter
. Quick start guide
. Installation/Application CD-ROM with manual
. Choice of  one MapSource  configuration with full unlock certificate

Ask about Prices HERE.