Kevin,

1. Which of these two would you buy, and why?

I would buy PocketFMS. It's donation ware, so you determine what it's worth
to you.

2. Functionality compared to Garmin's offering?

Well, on the one hand, PPCs do crash and leave you with all the problems of
a Windows bases system. On the other hand, you gain more possibilities.

3. Ease of use compared to Garmin?

Comparable, but not as stable.

4. Base mapping (Garmin has the intl Pacific Base map for Aus). The
Jepp DB has all of the avaiation info including control zones etc etc.
Do these systems have at least the same info depicted?

Yes.

5. Updates - If I don't update the Garmin it still works with the 'old'
database. Do these keep functioning without updating the database. I
have no real reason to update more than once a year or so?

Yes.

6. Any other advice much appreciated....


--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)