So after owning my C55 without navigation for almost 3 years, i find that sometimes its very inconvenient and annoying when you need to go somewhere but you just don't know the roads. So i decided to get a navigation system. An OEM navigation costs over 1.5k, yet it doesn't function better than a portable GPS which costs a lot less, therefore i decided to go for the cheaper solution. So i went onto craigslist and found a person selling a brand new ASUS R600 local. After some negotiation, i got it for $300CND. Since the R600 is quite new in the market, and ASUS is kind of new to the portable GPS market, i thought i should post some feedback on this machine. (I'm a newbie in the GPS area, some of my comments might sound stupid, please dont flame )

Pros:
1. It's a memory card based navigation, with an SD card reader, you can add and delete maps easily at home with your computer.
2. It comes with MP3 player and video player. Since my car has neither(my sound system doesn't read MP3 CDs), and i don't have an Ipod, this is a great buy for me. All i have to do is store the mp3s and videos in an SD card(up to 4GBs), plug it into the R600 and my passengers are able to enjoy movies during trips.
3. There's an audio line jack on the R600, so i connected it to AUX-in, and the music/sound from MP3/video come right out from my car speakers.
4. There's also a bluetooth hands free feature on the R600, another feature i don't have on my car.
5. Two levels of background lighting settings, with the built in light sensor, it's able to adjust the background lighting automatically.
6. It says on the box that the battery lasts for 6 hours when used consecutively. I haven't get a chance to drive for such a long time yet, but i did use it for 2 hours straight(mp3 and navigation), and it still had 70% of battery left.
7. Fast route recalculating time. I made a wrong turn once yesterday, and it finished recalculating in a few seconds. I wasnt really counting the time, but I would say it was no more than 5 seconds after i made the wrong turn..

Cons:
1. The mount of this thing is kinda huge, might be ugly to some people, but after using it for 3 days i got used to it.
2. Cannot listen to MP3 and use the navigation at the same time. For example, if you are listening to MP3 right now and you want to use navigation, you have to stop the music and switch to navigation. So i just listen to FM or CDs when i use navigation.
3. Video feature only supports .wmv files.
4. I have no problem while viewing smaller video clips, but it lags from time to time when viewing larger movies.
5. A bit slow picking up signals when starting. It took about 20~30 seconds to locate my position.
6. The microphone doesn't pick up sound very well, when i called my friends they said my voice was blurry.

After all, I'm quite happy with this purchase. For the cost of $300 i get video player, mp3 player and a navigation. And thanks to the IPOD INTEGRATION DIY thread, I was able to install the AUX input by myself when i found out i didnt have one. I tucked and taped(to prevent any rattling) all the lines into A-pillar and behind the dashboard, so the only lines you're going to see in my car is the one coming out from the center to the mount.

Here are some pictures of the machine:

Mp3 funtion:

Video player:

Navigation:

The Gigantic Mount:

The Gigantic Mount from outside of the car:


Now i have to figure out how to hide the ugly audio line when i dont have my GPS on, and how to fix the mic so it picks up my voice better.
Anybody have any ideas how to fix these problems?

 

No suggestions on answers to your questions, but i thought i'd chime in about my experience with my Garmin Street Pilot 340C.

WHY I BOUGH IT:
I suck at directions and needed something desparately.

HOW I CHOSE WHICH MODEL:
Originally I wanted an integrated unit to have a cleaner look, but the $2000 price tag was a bit much. I opted for a touch screen portable unit.

HOW MUCH DID I PAY?
$370 used. I payed way too much. You can get the unit now for under $200.

REVIEW:
- Friend says mine has a much better interface than his built in one that he has in his Acura TL.
- I love it. I has everything i need.
- Good graphics too.
- Intuitive. You can ask your passenger to type something in and you won't have to tell them how to use it. It's super easy.
- Gives phone numbers of restaurants!
- Finds your location fairly quickly.
- Will reroute if you make a wrong turn.
- Tons of good stuff about this unit. I bought 3 of 'em. One for family, one for friend and one for myself. It's great.
- The newer versions will say street names too.....instead of just turns.
- Highly recommended.

 

I like my factory nav and phone integration. Plus it's nice to not have stuff stuck to my windshield.