Sat Nav

[FN-GM]

What are the best Satellite Navigation's on the market at the moment? Why is it better than the others.

 

I don't know much on this subject

[Midget]

TomTom or Garmin.

 

You'll get supporters for both, but they are both good. I think the TOMTOM has more .... safety camera... locations recorded

[elsiegee40]

We have TomTom and it's been excellent... although I'm still finding my way round many of its features.

 

Very impressed by the speed cameras overseas - it saved us about a mile from Avignon last summer!

 

Find the routes it suggests are nearly always sensible - although we've had to to agree to disagree with it on occasion! (I'm sure this applies to any Sat Nav)

 

Unlike me if I'm map-reading, it doesn't shout at the driver when he chooses to ignore it... it just recalculates the route.

 

No comments about my map-reading skills please...

[TechMonkey]

Have a 'classic' TomTom. Love it. I got the traffic and camera subscription and find it helps a lot. The camera warning is incredibly useful from the perspective of you now know why the idiots ahead are slamming their brakes on. Traffic has kept me moving on many occasions, though I haven't done any head to head comparisons on whether the alternative route really is quicker or just kept me moving.

 

It also has some helpful features that you can decide or not if they are any good, such as warning signal if you go over the speed limit by 5mph or a warning alarm if you travel over a certain speed. Having the GPS speed is good as well as often the car one is under so you know your margin of error.

 

I have always found the TomTom to be easy to use and nice and simple to use one fingered while (carefully) using on the move. It even passes the Dad test.

[DSapseid]

I have had a tomtom for a bout 3 years and its great.

 

Be carefull when using speed camera locations abroad as they are illegal in most countries and get you arrested and a huge fine. I think france is one of them!!!

[Midget]

They are totally illegal in france, they'll take it, and drag you to a cash point to withdraw money for a fine.

 

So don't be a monkey like most people I see on the way to work who use them instead of windscreens, having them stuck right in the middle of their vision (which is acutally illegal)

[DSapseid]

Yeh i have it bottom right of my windscreen near the a pillar.

[laserblazer]

I have a Garmin which is pretty good. One of the things we did in Portugal was to drive down tiny back roads until we were well and truly lost and then get it to direct us home. Which it managed in all cases. Maybe not by the most direct route but when your lost that's not an issue.

[elsiegee40]

They are totally illegal in france, they'll take it, and drag you to a cash point to withdraw money for a fine.

 

I don't think that is correct. The French ban ' radar detectors', but are Ok with satellite navigation as I understand it.

 

EDIT

 

Hmmm...

 

Just found this: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kol08/article/default.asp?article_id=45642

 

and this

 

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/radar-detectors-in-france.html

Edited November 14, 2008 by elsiegee40

[yabbadabba]

I am a big fan of TomTom, I have never had a dedicated sat nav, its always been installed on my Smartphone and my PDA and I love it on both.

 

Using a smartphone is ok, screen can be a little small at times, Motorola A1000's are now an old phone and cheap on ebay, because of the large screen they are excellent for TomTom.

PDA's again are excellent, using a PDA or Smartphone means your device is multifunctional, it does mean you need a seperate GPS unit but these are down to £25 new on Ebay.

 

I used TomTom for 3 years while working nationwide as a field/install engineer, it saved me many hours and miles. It did get it wrong but these were a handful of times, best was being sent down a greenlane with a Merc Sprinter

 

The Find Alternative Router is a life saver.

 

I have not tried any of the alternatives but to be honest for me TomTom has worked so well I have not had a reason to look at anything else.

[ninjabeaver]

Sat Nag - I Want One Of Those

 

This is a good all rounder.

[DSapseid]

Might be buying a few of those as xmas pressies

[antoeknee]

Just one thing the Tom Tom speed cams have improved but still don't match the Pocket GPS data. You can have spoken warnings as well.

 

IIRC the cost is less as well.

 

I'm using a trusty TT 500 that has worked great. Currently doing family history research and have used the TT to take me to locations that have been mentioned in census records etc.

 

Navigated faultlessly to small villages all over Hertfordshire.

 

No experience of other PND but TT is easy to use and as reliable as any other.

[richard.thomas]

Garmin all the way

When i was reading around to buy mine I heard several 'horror' stories about TomTom's. I suspect this is because they are the more popular sat-nav and some people do follow them blindly. The main reason I got my Garmin was because it was one of the only sat-navs that could get traffic information for free (via FM radio) rather than bluetoothing to my phone and using the internet thru that.

I can't think of a time when my sat nav has failed me. Although its due a map update (I've had it well over a year) and thats going to cost £60 because it's all of europe which is a tad annoying!

[Mcshammer_dj]

Sat Nag - I Want One Of Those

 

This is a good all rounder.

 

already got one of those in real life

[elsiegee40]

The main reason I got my Garmin was because it was one of the only sat-navs that could get traffic information for free (via FM radio) rather than bluetoothing to my phone and using the internet thru that.

 

My TomTom does that too for Traffic Info - only uses bluetooth so that you can use it as handsfree set on my phone. But as I never switch my phone's bluetooth on - it never uses it! (And I switch the phone off idf I'm driving anyway)

[Sylv3r]

I have had 3 TomTom's and much prefer them to the cheaper varieties - Garmin, Navman etc.

 

However, I have in the past bought TomTom's with the built in bluetooth, but they are not that good so would recommend against getting a one with integrated bluetooth or MP3 player.

[MkII]

There are 2 map sources, but you'd be surprised the difference the s/w makes. TomTom is by far the most accurate, ask anyone who uses GPS for a living. TomTom is still basic & lacking in features and lags behind the competition in most other respects, but makes up for it having an extremely small footprint. Voice instructions on TT are far superior to anything else too.

 

Personally I wouldn't touch Garmin. I use iGO8 that does 3D landscape plus buildings; traffic alerts & speedcams on a cheap chinese clone.

 

Beware maps covering large areas. They are significantly shorter on detail than country specific ones.

[OutToLunch]

Just a vote for those on a tighter budget, the Navigo units from Ebuyer (Navigo GPS Sat Nav - UK Map, 4.3" Widescreen, Full Postcode Search ALSO plays MP3 & MP4 - Ebuyer) are fantastic! Running Windows in the background and very hackable - the software comes on the flash card, so all you need to do if you want to run a different navigation system is buy an extra flash card, install and off you go.. Huge community for modding them etc and they're also MP3/MP4/avi players if you want a small screen for watching something on when you've got wherever you're going and got bored...

[TechMonkey]

TomTom is still basic & lacking in features and lags behind the competition in most other respects, but makes up for it having an extremely small footprint.

 

Just curious, what features does it lack? Having not used anythign else of I don't really know what others offer.

[broc]

You might want to consider the choice of mapping data as part of any evaluation. There are two base map data service providers, TeleAtlas and Navteq. I have used satnav systems based upon both and generally find the Navteq data to be more reliable & accurate. If I where in the market for a new PND I would be looking at Garmin products. At the moment I use a TeleAtlas based Via Michelin X-980T in my car. However I have still not forgiven it for giving me audio instructions to turn left while giving visual instructions to turn right while navigating through Haarlem... not funny when you end up in narrow streets in a 7.5m motorhome!

 

I have just started playing with a Navteq based Garmin Mobile PC running on an MSI Wind in my motorhome, the 10" screen takes some beating.... but it's a bit big for a normal car dashboard

 

A good website to get more information about GPS & satnav in general is Pocket GPS World - SatNavs | GPS | Speed Cameras

[kylewilliamson]

Bought a portable Tomtom One XL in June with FM Traffic Updates... its been preety good. Other car has got a built in radio/cd/nav system in the dash.. and its OK... its neat to use and alot less hassle, but alot of the manfacture OEM units dont take postcodes for some reason...

[MkII]

@broc: you have to pick the mapping data for the country tho'. The strong choice in one can be the weak choice in another.

 

@TechMonkey: The features added to newer versions of TomTom are copied from the competition. There's just too much to list. Configurable spoken warnings including speedcams. iGO is configurable with customised skins so you can have practically anything you want. There's even a high res TomTom skin.

 

http://bp0.blogger.com/_fXL3vcvW1jk/R4PtWEnjITI/AAAAAAAABJ4/5PDACIgryrw/s320/Screen008.png

 

http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/1438/igomyway8cockpit331d451ra0.jpg

 

Great skin here: screenshots

[dtakias]

Just to add that TomTom has bought TeleAtlas if not mentioned already...