Page 1 of Satnav advice please

Thinking of getting a satnav and a bit confused about which ones do what. Basically I want it to be portable (a la Tomtom, Navman etc) and would like speed cameras on there. Would also like the maps for all of UK including Southern Ireland. I have noticed that for Tomtom One they show the maps as UK and Ireland but does that mean they are comprehensive maps of these areas or just general major road maps in certain areas? My old man`s in car satnav covers Southern Ireland but only shows the motorways which is rubbish when your trying to find somewhere obscure. Any advice greatly appreciated

Firstly, in my opinion you should avoid Tomtom.
They are the `default` option for many, but they`re not the best, IMO.
I`ve owned Tomtom, Snooper and Garmin.
I currently have a Garmin 760T.
I reckon you`ll need `Euro` mapping for Southern Ireland.
My Garmin came with Euro mapping, which I used for driving around the Czech republic.
They only stated they had `partial mapping` for Czech, but it performed faultlessly around Prague and on the 120 miles drive from Prague to Brno.
I don`t know which other features you want, but here are a couple of `must haves` for me.

1/ Bluetooth - Tomtom`s bluetooth is crap, failing to connect with several makes/models of phones. Snooper and Garmin connect to any phone in seconds.
2/ TTS (text to speech) read out road names for you. So instead of saying `turn left in 100 yards`, it will say `turn left in 100 yards, onto Princeton drive`. I find this invaluable when junctions are coming at you thick and fast, TTS also reads out text messages for you, if you`re connected by bluetooth.
3/ POI (points of interest. The Garmin will suggest restaurants/funparks etc.etc.
It will even list restaurants by genre (American/Chinese etc.) and dial them for you via bluetooth.

These are minimum must haves for me.
On top of this, you get other stuff like MP3/photos/lane assistance etc.etc.
I can even change the icon on my map, from a car to anything I like.
Quite fun, driving around Germany with a Spitfire as the icon.
Pip pip, tally ho.

Of course, your budget may be vastly different from mine.
My 760T is currently available for around £170.00
If I were in the market for a new satnav, I`d probably plump for a Navigon 2100 Max.
Not because there`s anything wrong with the Garmin, just because I like `dabbling`.
I`m not considering replacing the Garmin yet though.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 3rd February 2009, 11:27

Completely disagree with Bowfer about avoiding TomTom, I think they are excellent. And you can easily see if your mobile is supported on their website. Plus they do regular software updates, so even if yours is a few years old it`ll sometimes get new features and interface updates.

I have the TomTom Go 520 which does Bluetooth, TTS, MP3s, free traffic, and works great with my iPhone. And they all do POIs for cameras, etc.

The One is very portable, and tbh the main reason I got a Go 520 wasn`t because the entry level one was crap, merely because it didn`t support my iPhone. The added features where a nice bonus, but none of them necessary.

If intergration with your phone is important, just check their compatibility lists on the official website. You can check by phone or model and see what they support.


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Quote:
If intergration with your phone is important, just check their compatibility lists on the official website. You can check by phone or model and see what they support.

Therein lies the rub with Tomtom`s bluetooth compatibility.
It`s been two years since I had mine, but the list of compatible phones back then was shocking. :/
Models of phones that were hopelessly out of date, not listing one single Samsung etc.
Me and three mates spent one whole trip to Manchester trying to get it to connect to a Samsung, an N95 and other makes/models that escape me, to no avail.
There was going to be a bloody prize for the winner. :D >:(
I didn`t even have to check about phone compatibility with the Snooper or Garmin.
They link up with any phone I`ve tried, straight out of the box, in seconds.

My final straw, with the Tomtom, was when it didn`t acknowledge a new part of the Edinburgh bypass had been opened and it took me the old way, which is now a dead end. >:(
It didn`t get a second chance with me, it was sold the day after.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 3rd February 2009, 11:41

I just checked Tomtom`s website again, for compatibility with my Samsung Soul (U900).
Most will allow handsfree calling, but only some will transfer the phonebook over and none will read out text messages for me.
Not even the GO920 at £300+ :/

On TomTom`s side there is plenty of "support" ;)

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Another vote for Tom Tom.
I had a Garmin for precisely half a day and found it so horrible I took it back and swapped it for a Tom Tom one.

Snaps

I`ll also disagree with Bowfer about Tomtom but not about the extra features like Bluetooth.
I want a car hands free, I buy a car hands free not another unit that can do that too as they are generally lower featured.

The only difference in my case is that I bought a PDA which had an inbuilt GPS receiver. These were about before all the major manufacturers decided to offer standalone in car SatNavs (wonder where they got that idea from, huh? ;) )

So, where my disagreement really lies: Mapping.
I`m surprised to hear Bowfer say he prefers the Garmin maps. I personally find Garmin, CoPilot and NavMan maps to be very like having someone hold a 2 dimensional map in front of you and tilt it slightly, then add the icon for the car position.

TomTom maps are more useable IMO and can show the bends in the road coming up etc,
Much easier to follow.

How current map data is has always been a contentious point in all SatNav units.
IIRC there are only 2 companies supplying map data, NavTeq and TeleAtlas hence the units have similar looking screens when they use similar mapping (Garmin and CoPilot used to use the same maps, dunno if they still do)
The maps I use are about 4 years old. I don`t update them simply because I can count on one hand how many times they`ve failed me and even then they`ve had me close enough for the hire to give me the last turn or two to destination.

With regards to POI`s (Points Of Interest) like restaurants, clubs, pubs etc. These change their names so often that I don`t even bother with them. I can download them, I can update them, I can add my own categories.
Instead I just use the new phone (O2 XDA) to google the name I`m asked for to get it`s current address. OK, doesn`t let me ring it via bluetooth but as I said, not something that worries me. I buy my Sat Nav to give me accuracy in my journey, not for the extra add ons it can do.

Oh, in case ya didn`t get that, I vote TomTom too :-D (And have you considered one of the PDA smart phone options? Only big downside with my XDA for it is it`s too small for what I`m used to)

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

This item was edited on Tuesday, 3rd February 2009, 14:01

Quote:
The maps I use are about 4 years old. I don`t update them simply because I can count on one hand how many times they`ve failed me and even then they`ve had me close enough for the hire to give me the last turn or two to destination.

Thats one point on which I will differ with you. The amount of inaccuracies is quite astounding. Not just on new estates and roads which may not have been included on updates but well established routes.
Just lately mine has been having a much longer delay when driving, frequently not having a clue where it is and hunting until I`ve passed a turning.
I`ll give it a reset before tonight and see if it improves.



Snaps

Quote:
TomTom maps are more useable IMO and can show the bends in the road coming up etc,
Much easier to follow.

I don`t know what you mean by this, Jimbo. :/
Garmin displays up and coming bends just like any other satnav.

Here are some comments from the test I read when I plumped for the Garmin 760.

Garmin`s nuvi 760, and TomTom`s GO 720 all get us to our destination address, but the Garmin nuvi 760 chooses a slightly faster route, provides more detailed navigation instructions, and is also the only GPS to announce what side of the street our destination address is on.

TomTom`s GO 720 faired the worst in this test, routing us in such a way that the destination address is actually on the left side of the street. We would then either have to make an illegal U-turn or go around the block to arrive at our destination on the right.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 3rd February 2009, 17:11