Discussion
My Garmin is 4 or 5 years old now and is increasingly failing to understand the developing roadscape, especially in Europe. So, I could get a map upgrade (£75 IIRC) but I do wonder whether I'm missing out on advances in display capability and other 'features' against newer models, so I'm keen to hear about your experiences with newer machines.
The plethora of ads really don't help make the capabilities of these units any easier to understand; one last week showed off a (TomTom, I think) which included European mapping and was 'XL' - a reference to an enlarged screen size, I assume? - for £89.99, yet right next to it, was another by the same manufacturer, for more than twice as much money. How was the latter so much better?
Anyway, if you've bought a SatNav in the last 12 months and think that it's the dog's danglies or, indeed, that you have regretted the purchase almost every day since, I'd be keen to have you feedback so that I can find the best value solution for me
The plethora of ads really don't help make the capabilities of these units any easier to understand; one last week showed off a (TomTom, I think) which included European mapping and was 'XL' - a reference to an enlarged screen size, I assume? - for £89.99, yet right next to it, was another by the same manufacturer, for more than twice as much money. How was the latter so much better?
Anyway, if you've bought a SatNav in the last 12 months and think that it's the dog's danglies or, indeed, that you have regretted the purchase almost every day since, I'd be keen to have you feedback so that I can find the best value solution for me
Get a smart phone? Not used the sat-nav function myself but I'd have thought it would be much more convenient.
I've got a TomTom Start, which I paid £100 for two years ago. It gets lost occasionally and sometimes the postcode finder puts me about a mile away from Google's best suggestion. Map updates are only £10 iirc.
I've got a TomTom Start, which I paid £100 for two years ago. It gets lost occasionally and sometimes the postcode finder puts me about a mile away from Google's best suggestion. Map updates are only £10 iirc.
I bought a Garmin widescreen last year, with full European mapping. Think it cost about £110. Very happy with it, and I much prefer Garmin to Tomtom, but the one annoying thing about the Garmin I bought is that the power cable has to be plugged in and removed, everytime you put it into/out of the cradle. Some of the other Garmins have the power lead plugged into the cradle, and I wish I'd checked this before buying.
We went for this one recently - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Absolutely love it. Always been Tom Tom until now, but tried a good few before deciding. Found this the best combination of screen clarity, and quickness of entering address / postcode with its predictive locations which appear as you begin typing. All around that sort of money if Tom Tom or Garmin will be fairly good I would imagine.
Looked at some less well known makes and found them less user friendly - maybe just because I wasnt used to them and their layout.
Not sure if you aware aware - but under the forum sub sections there is a chat area dedicated to sat nav systems with loads of similar posts which you may find of use too.
Absolutely love it. Always been Tom Tom until now, but tried a good few before deciding. Found this the best combination of screen clarity, and quickness of entering address / postcode with its predictive locations which appear as you begin typing. All around that sort of money if Tom Tom or Garmin will be fairly good I would imagine.
Looked at some less well known makes and found them less user friendly - maybe just because I wasnt used to them and their layout.
Not sure if you aware aware - but under the forum sub sections there is a chat area dedicated to sat nav systems with loads of similar posts which you may find of use too.
Edited by PompeyPaul on Saturday 14th April 10:16
p4cks said:
smart phones need 3g which isn't exactly plentiful on the motorway in the middle of nowhere
There are a plethora of satellite navigation apps available for smartphones that have the map data stored on the phone, so 3G isn't required.I use CoPilot on my iPhone, I think it cost £20, and you can then pay £12 a year for live traffic information and £2.99 (one-off) for text-to-speech so it'll read road names out to you.
Very handy, and I've never been sent in the wrong direction by it.
gazchap said:
There are a plethora of satellite navigation apps available for smartphones that have the map data stored on the phone, so 3G isn't required.
I use CoPilot on my iPhone, I think it cost £20, and you can then pay £12 a year for live traffic information and £2.99 (one-off) for text-to-speech so it'll read road names out to you.
Very handy, and I've never been sent in the wrong direction by it.
I used to have a great app call NDrive, but the iOS upgrade put paid to that and I can't get it back. Bit of a swizz when I paid £8.99 for the app, and another ten quid for the Euro maps. bI use CoPilot on my iPhone, I think it cost £20, and you can then pay £12 a year for live traffic information and £2.99 (one-off) for text-to-speech so it'll read road names out to you.
Very handy, and I've never been sent in the wrong direction by it.
ds.Codswallop said:
What is the current position regarding Sat Navs with built in camera databases and France? Have they gone ahead with their moronic ban on devices with such databases?
It's proving tricky to find a unit with complete European mapping and no speed camera data at present...
any Tomtom will be fine, they've deleted the french speed camera data. Everything else is all present and correct through.It's proving tricky to find a unit with complete European mapping and no speed camera data at present...
A Go Live 1005 will be spot on, or you can get a VIA Live 125 (iirc) which is the paired-down model.
I've got a Garmin Nuvi ... something. Bought it about 12-18 months ago.
Plus points:
Never seems to struggle to lock on to satellites.
Only had the destination be wrong once or twice since we bought it. Even then, only one road away.
Minus points:
Really annoys me this one: The instruction at the top of the screen, next to the turn arrow always uses the road name - as in the local, word name, rather than the number. "2nd exit onto King's Road" is not as helpful on a big roundabout as "2nd exit onto A4010" - because only on small residential streets are there the little boards with the road name, and even then, often they're hard to see.
It can't do imported route files. When going on a run with a group to a Sunday Service, often the route is passed around in .itn format or similar; TomToms seem able to import this as a route but the Garmin can't. The best you can do is import each turn or direction as an individual location and then manually plot the route between them, bit of a pain (I've only done it once, won't bother again)
Plus points:
Never seems to struggle to lock on to satellites.
Only had the destination be wrong once or twice since we bought it. Even then, only one road away.
Minus points:
Really annoys me this one: The instruction at the top of the screen, next to the turn arrow always uses the road name - as in the local, word name, rather than the number. "2nd exit onto King's Road" is not as helpful on a big roundabout as "2nd exit onto A4010" - because only on small residential streets are there the little boards with the road name, and even then, often they're hard to see.
It can't do imported route files. When going on a run with a group to a Sunday Service, often the route is passed around in .itn format or similar; TomToms seem able to import this as a route but the Garmin can't. The best you can do is import each turn or direction as an individual location and then manually plot the route between them, bit of a pain (I've only done it once, won't bother again)
Mr Happy said:
Codswallop said:
What is the current position regarding Sat Navs with built in camera databases and France? Have they gone ahead with their moronic ban on devices with such databases?
It's proving tricky to find a unit with complete European mapping and no speed camera data at present...
any Tomtom will be fine, they've deleted the french speed camera data. Everything else is all present and correct through.It's proving tricky to find a unit with complete European mapping and no speed camera data at present...
A Go Live 1005 will be spot on, or you can get a VIA Live 125 (iirc) which is the paired-down model.
http://uk.support.tomtom.com/app/answers/detail/a_...
Garmin is doing something similar.
https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/c...
stemll said:
Mr Happy said:
Codswallop said:
What is the current position regarding Sat Navs with built in camera databases and France? Have they gone ahead with their moronic ban on devices with such databases?
It's proving tricky to find a unit with complete European mapping and no speed camera data at present...
any Tomtom will be fine, they've deleted the french speed camera data. Everything else is all present and correct through.It's proving tricky to find a unit with complete European mapping and no speed camera data at present...
A Go Live 1005 will be spot on, or you can get a VIA Live 125 (iirc) which is the paired-down model.
http://uk.support.tomtom.com/app/answers/detail/a_...
Garmin is doing something similar.
https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/c...
Could anyone recommend a SatNav to use in CA, USA? I am travelling there this summer and one would come in very handy. It doesn't have to be the top of the line - infact I would prefer if it wasn't im on a bit of a budget, £100 at the absolute maximum. I had a quick look at them but they all seemed to be asking for £45 to download the USA streets if I bought a UK one, is there no way to get them for free? Als don't want to just buy a US one as I would like to use it at home once I return.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Paul
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Paul
Gassing Station | In-Car Electronics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff