Does anyone use Garmin/TomTom Sat Nav anymore?
Discussion
I still use my Garmin for a few reasons
One is simply that I already own one (and have had it for donkey's) so I might as well use it!
One is that it's useful for speed in 50mph average camera-controlled areas and such (both my cars have aftermarket wheels and thus the speedo is slightly inaccurate due to different tyre sizes to stock)
One is that it's much easier than a map for finding a specific street when I get near my destination. I tend to look at a map before I leave and commit the broad strokes to memory, then use the stanav for the tiny details
One is that it gives advance warning of speed cameras in places I'm not familiar with
One is that my phone is so prehistoric that it takes about a year to update anything and then runs out of battery when it's still thinking about stuff
I find a stanav is a useful additonal tool, rather than something to be blindly relied upon. I grew up using maps so tend to rely on them mostly (used to courier on a bike almost before mobile phones were invented, let alone stanavs so never really grew out of affection for a good old-fashioned dependable Master Atlas of Greater London). It's not perfect but as long as you don't expect it to be, it's fine. With that said, the maps on mine are hopelessly out of date and it's a bit annoying having it bonging away fruiously all the way through the "50mph" limit on the M1 where once - many many moons ago - there was a long stretch of roadworks. It costs so much to update the maps and the devices are so cheap now you may as well just throw it away and get a new up-to-date one every three years
...if I cared enough
One is simply that I already own one (and have had it for donkey's) so I might as well use it!
One is that it's useful for speed in 50mph average camera-controlled areas and such (both my cars have aftermarket wheels and thus the speedo is slightly inaccurate due to different tyre sizes to stock)
One is that it's much easier than a map for finding a specific street when I get near my destination. I tend to look at a map before I leave and commit the broad strokes to memory, then use the stanav for the tiny details
One is that it gives advance warning of speed cameras in places I'm not familiar with
One is that my phone is so prehistoric that it takes about a year to update anything and then runs out of battery when it's still thinking about stuff
I find a stanav is a useful additonal tool, rather than something to be blindly relied upon. I grew up using maps so tend to rely on them mostly (used to courier on a bike almost before mobile phones were invented, let alone stanavs so never really grew out of affection for a good old-fashioned dependable Master Atlas of Greater London). It's not perfect but as long as you don't expect it to be, it's fine. With that said, the maps on mine are hopelessly out of date and it's a bit annoying having it bonging away fruiously all the way through the "50mph" limit on the M1 where once - many many moons ago - there was a long stretch of roadworks. It costs so much to update the maps and the devices are so cheap now you may as well just throw it away and get a new up-to-date one every three years
...if I cared enoughvikingaero said:
I'm not a fan of showing all my goods.
I'd rather have a £50-100 satnav on display than a £700 iPhone.
I think i'd rather have a £700 iPhone on display as if someone is scoping you out they know you're going to take it with you rather than the sat nav which will inevitably be thrown in the glovebox I'd rather have a £50-100 satnav on display than a £700 iPhone.
It's a bit of a daft thread title, clearly people do, thousands of the things are still being sold.
Mr garmin works fine, used mostly in Europe but also useful in UK cities. I can't comment re functionality compared to a smartphone because I don't have one.
It's still worth pre planning your route rather than following it slavishly.
Mr garmin works fine, used mostly in Europe but also useful in UK cities. I can't comment re functionality compared to a smartphone because I don't have one.
It's still worth pre planning your route rather than following it slavishly.
93DW said:
vikingaero said:
I'm not a fan of showing all my goods.
I'd rather have a £50-100 satnav on display than a £700 iPhone.
I think i'd rather have a £700 iPhone on display as if someone is scoping you out they know you're going to take it with you rather than the sat nav which will inevitably be thrown in the glovebox I'd rather have a £50-100 satnav on display than a £700 iPhone.
Does anyone even bother stealing sat navs these days? Given they're only a few ££ new?
I use Sygic on my iPhone. It's a fully featured satnav with downloaded maps so doesn't rely on data other than for traffic updates. I wouldn't feel a real need to own a dedicated satnav device any more.
I even use the Navionics or Imray charting apps on my iPad when sailing more than physical charts (although I keep those in the chart table) or the dedicated sat-nav onboard
They update themselves as updates come along whereas dedicated devices need to be plugged into a computer to update them which is a faff.
I even use the Navionics or Imray charting apps on my iPad when sailing more than physical charts (although I keep those in the chart table) or the dedicated sat-nav onboard
They update themselves as updates come along whereas dedicated devices need to be plugged into a computer to update them which is a faff.
Sea Demon said:
Phones are great but need a signal where as a Tom Tom etc just uses GPS so up in the Scottish Highlands for example, an iPhone is useless & the Tom Tom would still work fine.
Around town I use Waze, long journeys I use my Tom Tom.
the iPhone isn't useless, the APP is what makes the difference.Around town I use Waze, long journeys I use my Tom Tom.
dxg said:
I use the tomtom app on my phone.
I need the traffic and find it to be much more accurate than google maps.
I also need a system that will work when I don't have a signal, which can happen a lot travelling up in the hills in scotland (okay, i admit i don't really need the traffic when I'm up there...)
Oh, and also the speed camera warnings are a bonus too.
I also find the traffic is miles better on TomTom than google maps. My wife uses her TomTom every day to get to work because the traffic updates are so good, she goes a different way pretty much every day to avoid the traffic.I need the traffic and find it to be much more accurate than google maps.
I also need a system that will work when I don't have a signal, which can happen a lot travelling up in the hills in scotland (okay, i admit i don't really need the traffic when I'm up there...)
Oh, and also the speed camera warnings are a bonus too.
I also don't have a massive amount of faith in google maps, they are fine for routing along main roads, but don't tell you about cut throughs which will save you some time. I used to commute in using the route that google suggested, then I fond a cut throgh which google had never suggested and it saves me about 5 minutes on my commute each day.
Just out of curiosity, does anyone [vaguely] know how much data would be used when using a phone for navigation (Google maps, or waze, etc)? So for a 30-minute or 1 hour journey?
For reference, I have a satnav built into the kinkmobile, but I use a tomtom device as it's got realtime traffic, cameras, etc, etc.
For reference, I have a satnav built into the kinkmobile, but I use a tomtom device as it's got realtime traffic, cameras, etc, etc.
I have a range rover and a Porsche, both fitted with navigation system but I get really upset every time to have to buy the new CD update for £100/150 ...
Have a Tomtom go500 & a Garmin 3598LM both with lifetime updates. They let me know when I'm over the speed limit/ warn me of radar, let me know the trafic and once purchase no other extras. Also use Google map/ Waze on the I-phone or Coyote, but personally prefer to have the phone for phone use and a separate GPS for navigation... I fully agree that I would never again pay extra to have a navigation system fitted when I will buy a new car, real rippoff!!
Have a Tomtom go500 & a Garmin 3598LM both with lifetime updates. They let me know when I'm over the speed limit/ warn me of radar, let me know the trafic and once purchase no other extras. Also use Google map/ Waze on the I-phone or Coyote, but personally prefer to have the phone for phone use and a separate GPS for navigation... I fully agree that I would never again pay extra to have a navigation system fitted when I will buy a new car, real rippoff!!
I started with a Nokia 701 using Nokia Maps connected via USB to a Sony Mirrorlink head unit. I then swapped to iPhone with TomTom. The iPhone sits In a Brodit cradle that holds the Lightning cable so sliding the phone into the cradle puts it on charge and lets me play music from the phone (I never have audible directions sfom the sat nav). TomTom Maps are stored on the phone so data is only needed for traffic info. Also I have OS maps on ViewRanger so I can switch to that for more detail (but no navigation).
Since I started going on driving days where I am following pre-prepared routes I needed something that I can copy routes onto rather than just entering the destination. I have a Garmin on the dash and tend to use this more than the iPhone unless I suspect traffic conditions would make up to the minute traffic info desirable. Upgrading the Garmin to a traffic enabled version is a logical step.
Since I started going on driving days where I am following pre-prepared routes I needed something that I can copy routes onto rather than just entering the destination. I have a Garmin on the dash and tend to use this more than the iPhone unless I suspect traffic conditions would make up to the minute traffic info desirable. Upgrading the Garmin to a traffic enabled version is a logical step.
I do, I use either my phone with google maps or a tomtom GO 40, which has lifetime map updates / live traffic. I got the tomtom because my the GPS chip in my previous phone was very hit and miss, would randomly drop out signal in the middle of journeys, I still use both, the tomtom does have to be bluetoothed to my phone to get live traffic, which is a bit of a faff, but i found the directions on the screen are much clearer, and the voice is less annoying. I have a magnetic mount for my phone, so really easy to put it in place / remove it and along with googles voice activation it typically gets used for directions on short journeys.
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