[Raymeander]

im new to driving in hong kong and i would like to get a sat nav system. Does anyone have this and does it work well? i hear from people that the coverage is patchy.

Also which system is good, a pocket pc one or a dedicated unit ?

[Skyhook]

I was thinking about getting a GPS also, I ended up giving up on the idea, as I only needed one when driving in TST/ inner Kowloon and the North side of the island, where abundant one way rat run streets exist. The issue is, vehicle mounted GPS is useless in area's of the city that have a high density of tall buildings, blinding the GPS ability to recieve a signal, due to canyoning.

As we live out in the NT, where roads and signage are far easier to orientate anyway, we only needed a GPS for the north side of the island and the inner Kowloon road nightmare, it ended up being a wasted excercise to buy something, that doesnt even work in the area's of HK you need GPS most.

As far as I know, no land based vehicle GPS system, hand held or dedicated, work in Hong Kong to any reliable extent. Don't waste your money, unless you only plan to use it in the New Territories, where they do work effectively.

[HKChigger]

The way streets come and go and exits work here there is no way you can use a GPS and not miss your turn/get the wrong one. Way better to follow the signs. The country after all is only 1000 square km with it's 200 islands you can't drive to.

[Skyhook]

Hong Kong is a city, ( a city of China ) not a country in its own right.

[HKNewBi]

Originally Posted by Skyhook

Hong Kong is a city, ( a city of China ) not a country in its own right.

Yet it competes as Hong Kong in the Olympics, no?

[HKNewBi]

Originally Posted by Raymeander

im new to driving in hong kong and i would like to get a sat nav system. Does anyone have this and does it work well? i hear from people that the coverage is patchy.

Also which system is good, a pocket pc one or a dedicated unit ?

I use an HP Travel Companion with Map King for getting around Hong Kong / Kowloon.

Good points:

Does work, I don't have any problem picking up a signal in areas with tall buildings such as Mong Kok

Handy features such as nearest Petrol Station (has come in real handy once or twice), nearest Bank etc.

Bad Points:

Not sure why, but it takes up to 10 minutes to get its bearings, regardless of where I am. Also, it ALWAYS crashes (it being the handheld, not the GPS) the first time I boot up and I have to take the battery out of the unit.

The search interface is poor. There is no 'master list' of known locations. Rather, they are divided up into 'Address, intersection, point of interest, restaurant, bank, petrol station' etc. The other day I was looking to go to 'Olympic' and I didn't know what category it would come under. Would be better to my mind if there was just one long list you could search.

If you miss a turning, the voice bangs on for too long that you have missed a turning rather than tell you the next one to take. Can be frustrating in Kowloon.

Overall it does come in handy but has its faults. It does show the suggested journey and all the turnings which can be enough to read and get you there.

And the voice it uses is just annoying!

BTW I bought mine in a shop called Raider in 2nd floor Wanchai computer center. The first one I bought just didn't work.

They argued it did and eventually, after a lot of argument, replaced it. Worryingly they took everything off the new box and, using a hairdryer, transferred all the stickers to the old box, such as the bar code etc. It was clear they were packaging up the broken machine to sell onto some other poor sap.

Avoid that shop unless you want a broken one.

[Skyhook]

Hmm, what part of "One country, 2 systems " and the fact HK was handed back to Beijing on the 1st of July 1997 don't you understand HKnewbie? wow, it will be the 10th anniversary in a matter of days, just to reinforce that it is a city of CHINA. Those troops stationed at Shek Kong in the New Territories, they are PLA troops, fancy that, not HK troops. All controlled by the CMC in Beijing and Guangzhou, something the HKSAR govt has absolutely no control over.

HK is not a country, but a SAR of China, hence the national anthem which is China's, not Hong Kongs, which previously was Britains.

Technically, Hong Kong is a state, hence why it has a flag, no different to Australia that has 6 state flags, I am sure the USA has a flag for each state also.

Check it out online lol, no matter where you look, HK is not a country by any recognised world definition.

Its been 10 years since HK even had a capital city, what was known as VICTORIA City, when the British ruled. A dead colonial term now. Central western district, sort of passes as a capital now as that is where the SAR Govt is located.

Hope this has cleared things up a bit for you HKnewbie, just so you know who's running the show...

[HKNewBi]

Originally Posted by Skyhook

Hmm, what part of "One country, 2 systems " and the fact HK was handed back to Beijing on the 1st of July 1997 don't you understand HKnewbie? wow, it will be the 10th anniversary in a matter of days, just to reinforce that it is a city of CHINA. Those troops stationed at Shek Kong in the New Territories, they are PLA troops, fancy that, not HK troops. All controlled by the CMC in Beijing and Guangzhou, something the HKSAR govt has absolutely no control over.

HK is not a country, but a SAR of China, hence the national anthem which is China's, not Hong Kongs, which previously was Britains.

Technically, Hong Kong is a state, hence why it has a flag, no different to Australia that has 6 state flags, I am sure the USA has a flag for each state also.

Check it out online lol, no matter where you look, HK is not a country by any recognised world definition.

Its been 10 years since HK even had a capital city, what was known as VICTORIA City, when the British ruled. A dead colonial term now. Central western district, sort of passes as a capital now as that is where the SAR Govt is located.

Hope this has cleared things up a bit for you HKnewbie, just so you know who's running the show...

Someone got out of bed the wrong side today! Thought about investing in a decent GPS?

[KnowItAll]

Relax lah .. was a simple misstatement on the forums. Not like HKChigger is Kofi Annan and his statement will cause 1 billion people from the north to advance on our borders.

[Skyhook]

HKchigger has a blunt sarcastic wit, I find what he says quite funny.

I found it rather humourous that HKNewbie, who, I just noticed lives in Lantau, didnt know what country he is living in.

It reminded me of a conversation with 3 late 20's American tourists, while we were all enjoying crepes and fresh cappucino's at a cafe in Notre Dame Paris, and they asked where we lived ( probably because we were a mixed couple ) and I said Hong Kong, they looked at each other and said, "oh, thats in Japan right ?"

ha ha