#Gps navigation for laptop computer install#
You can easily do an in-place upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium, if you need to, or you could install a free version of Linux alongside it. You can easily upgrade the memory to 2GB for about £14. The drawbacks with netbooks may include limited 1GB memory, the use of Windows 7 Starter, and limited screen resolutions. If you are willing to trade performance for battery life, look at netbooks with single-core N270, N280, or Z530/Z540/Z550 chips instead. I'd suggest limiting your netbook hunt to the N550 and N570 as these are both dual-core Atoms with low power requirements.
#Gps navigation for laptop computer Pc#
The cheapest option is a netbook such as Asus Eee PC 1015PX, which has a 10.1in screen and a 1.5GHz Intel Atom N570. When it comes to choosing a PC, you will have to find the right balance between screen size, speed, battery life and price. Performance should be much better than the sort of GPS typically built into mobile phones and media tablets, often to meet America's E911 laws. It's small, waterproof, has a magnetic mounting and comes with a 5ft cable, so you can position it where it will get a good signal while using the PC in a more sheltered position. (NMEA is the National Marine Electronics Association.)Įither way, the GlobalSat BU-353 WaterProof USB GPS Receiver (SiRF Star III) looks like the sort of thing you need. In fact, if your Garmin GPS receiver can output NMEA 0183 data, you should be able to connect that to a PC. However, you can get better value by buying a standard PC or netbook and adding a GPS either on a Mini-PCI Express card such as the Sierra Wireless MC8781, or via a dongle that fits a USB slot, such as the Navisys models. Typical users include field workers and service technicians, health services, police forces and the military. Examples include Panasonic Toughbooks such as the CF-U1 or CF-H2. There are quite a few Windows PCs and slates with GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) chips built in, but these are mostly aimed at the commercial and industrial markets, and they are often ruggedised. I need the PC to run OpenCPN with a selection of nautical charts, but also have a good battery life and a reasonably quick battery charge time. Could you recommend a netbook or slate computer that has built in GPS for offshore navigation? The boat already has a Garmin GPS giving position and speed only: no charting.