help me decide which one?

[v5 rob]

hi everyone, i am going to buy myself a sat nav and have
£130 max to spend.i have narrowed it down to either a garmin,tomtom or a navman, but i am unsure about which one or model would be best for me? i wouldnt be using it every day but i would need one which is accurate and reliable. so can any one point me in the right dirrection? thanks for your help,rob

[v5 rob]

can anyone help?

[dontfollowme]

Tom Tom One v2

Better than the current version as it has expandable memory if you need to upgrade to the European.

Available from Amazon.

[Mattt]

Do you use a Symbian phone (N95 etc) or PDA?

[v5 rob]

no i havent got a N95 or a PDA, the tomtom sounds like the one to buy, but i hear the garmin is slightly better or is there not much in it? and is amazon the best place to buy a satnav or is there another place to get one cheaper?

Edited by v5 rob on Sunday 20th April 09:01

[Mattt]

I prefer the TomTom units. I use TomTom on my phone normally, but I also have at home a TomTom One V2 and a Garmin unit - and the TomTom wins hands down, the Garmin IMO is, well, crap.

If you go to Halfords then you can probably have a play with both and see which you like.

[v5 rob]

thanks for helping me out, i have it down to a garmin 250w or a TomTom ONE Great Britain, any ideas on the two?

[Ordinary Bloke]

Loads of threads on PH, I think.

If you ever go abroad, you'd be glad you bought a Europe instead of GB. It's not much more money, but that's when it really pays off, when you're lost in another country, you don't have a roadmap of wherever, and can't easily ask the way in wherever-ese.

I have a TomTom One Europe V2 (the card slot will come in useful if I buy a USA map next time I go there, V3 doesn't have it) but I'd maybe buy the TomTom One XL Europe because the onscreen keyboard is so small on the one I have, it's so hard to type in the destination.

Garmin stuff is reliable too, had a Garmin GPS before the days of maps, I wouldn't touch anything else, especially not a PDA plus accessories, too much messing around.

Edited by Ordinary Bloke on Monday 21st April 19:13

[v5 rob]

i have been to halfords and looked at what they have, and have seen a sd card with satnav on it,i have a samsung f700 touch screen phone, would the sd card be compatable with the phone and how good is this way of satnav going to be? and if its a good idea then where would be the best place to get one from. thanks

[Mattt]

I don't think you can run SatNav on that phone, however I find mine ok, yes the screen is small, but it is a fully featured version and is much more convenient than phone + TomTom unit.

[v5 rob]

what phone do you have? and is it worth the risk buying a sd card and trying it?

[Mattt]

No, because it just won't work. It's like buying a game for the Xbox and putting it into a PC.

I use an E65, but any phone running Symbian S60 will work (AFAIK).

[waremark]

Personally I find it hard to imagine that any solution on a phone screen could compare with a dedicated unit. I would go for a TomTom One XL, and as another poster says invest in Europe now if there is any chance of driving there in the future. Having owned TT and Garmin, and tried a few others, I have found TT best.