Which Sat Nav?

[welsh blackbird]

I bought a Garmin Streetpilot III from Mackro for £299 plus vat. It was OK, but route planning took ages and finding satellites was also slow. I subsequently discovered that it has been discontinued by Garmin, and I convinced Mackro to give me my money back.

I now want to buy another, more up to date system. I have looked at the Garmin Quest, which seems quite good, but does anybody have any other suggestions? I don't want a PDA based system.

Also, where is the cheapest place to buy from?

Cheers all.
Richard

[pmanson]

TomTom Go

[Tuna]

Agree on TomTom - I have Navigator on a PDA and it's been great. Also has plugins for things like safety (*cough*) cameras which is cool

[tuscan_v8]

pmanson said:

TomTom Go

.. the only thing you need.

[pmanson]

Tuna said:

Agree on TomTom - I have Navigator on a PDA and it's been great. Also has plugins for things like safety (*cough*) cameras which is cool

Same here. Love it!

[morebeanz]

I've heard loads of recommendations for the Tom Tom Go, but are there ANY downsides or bits that could be better on it?

Thinking of getting one myself, see!

[einion yrth]

Again I feel I have to ask, why not a PDA based system? Does everything the dedicated units do, plus allows me to check my mail and browse the web from the pub.

[406]

Tuna said:

Agree on TomTom - I have Navigator on a PDA and it's been great. Also has plugins for things like safety (*cough*) cameras which is cool

Seconded or thirded, depending on how slow I am with this post

[welsh blackbird]

einion yrth said:

Again I feel I have to ask, why not a PDA based system? Does everything the dedicated units do, plus allows me to check my mail and browse the web from the pub.

I had an Acer PDA with Destinator software. It was a pain in the arse to use in the car, with wires all over the place and a tinny speaker.

I like the idea of a dedicated unit that you just plonk on the dashboard and off you go!

Which Tom Tom Go? Is the 300 good enough? What advantages do the 500 and 700 have for the additional cash?

[Shaun_E]

All the answers are here.
I fully understand why you wouldn't want a PDA based system and bought a Navman iCN510 instead. Reason I didn't buy TomTom Go is that it is pretty bulky and won't easily fit in a pocket when you leave the car. The Quest looks pretty good but it has a smaller screen than both TomTom and Navman - it is waterproof though so useful if you have a motorbike or open car. Navman has an internal battery so you can use it away from the car as well.
None of them are perfect and they all rely on one of 2 or 3 map suppliers who all have roads missing (M6 Toll anyone???) and you will have problems at one time or another. That said I wouldn't be without mine and it has been a great help when going to new places.