GPS - dedicated or multifunction?

Like many people (apparently!) I have the occasional need for a GPS
system for my bike and car. However this need is occasional, not every day
and being skint, I find it hard to justify the £200+ of a dedicated
solution such as TomTom Rider, etc.

I am aware that there are other solutions which involve using GPS software
on either a PDA or mobile phone. Is this a solution worth investigating or
should I just save up for the "real thing"?

Your experiences and advice appreciated.

 

GPS Warehouse were punting out Garmin i3s for £79.99 recently.[1]

It's a fairly basic unit, but it works and it's cheap. I have one and
use it every day.

[1] Can't check the site http://www.gpsw.co.uk , as it appears to be
down at the moment.

 

The Garmin C510 that Sainsbury's were punting out recently for £99 are
significantly better IMO [1], but the i3 is still superb value at that
price.

The only catch is the lack of water resistance, and neither of them
being the right shape to go in a tank bag, being round at the back
rather than flat

[1] Having added one to my ever-growing fleet of GPii [2]
[2] Though I did sell my Geko recently

 

Just boaught a BT-359 that interfaces with my Plam and some <cough>
Tom-Tom sofwate seamlessly. Not sure about battery life on the Palm yet
though.