Which satnav?

I've just had a look at the Tomtom app in the play store its £36 unfortunately it's a shame the you can't try it for a month then purchase I'm a bit loath to buy it and then find out that I dont get on with it
I would need to get 2 copies one for each of our phones, I may as well get a dedicated unit
We're also coming to the end of our phone contracts too, haven't decided yet what to do but may well end up with both of us getting new mobiles
thanks again for your help everyone :)
 
LCPete said:
Thanks Paul that's part of the reason for wanting a dedicated unit the wife and I can both use it and the screen on her mobile is a bit small to use as a satnav easily
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Yes this is the one I bought about 4 months ago it was a bit cheaper then @ £36 delivered I think they are now £49 but that is with a full warranty and a year of free map updates. I am very impressed especially with the lane guidance bit which zooms in when you are coming to an jumble and highlights which lane to get in..

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/shop/tomtom-outlet-store/xl-iq-routes-edition2-regional-refurbished/

What I also did is threaded the charger through the dash underneath and popped the wire up on the far right of the windscreen near the door mirror this means I have the sat nav on the windscreen at a good level but it doesn't obscure my view.
 
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Mr Bump said:
Yes this is the one I bought about 4 months ago it was a bit cheaper then @ £36 delivered I think they are now £49 but that is with a full warranty and a year of free map updates. I am very impressed especially with the lane guidance bit which zooms in when you are coming to an jumble and highlights which lane to get in..

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/shop/tomtom-outlet-store/xl-iq-routes-edition2-regional-refurbished/

What I also did is threaded the charger through the dash underneath and popped the wire up on the far right of the windscreen near the door mirror this means I have the sat nav on the windscreen at a good level but it doesn't obscure my view.
Click to expand...

Thanks Paul that looks just the job think I'll get that
the lane guidance thing looks handy we've had a few confusing moments when on the motorway at busy sections:)
 
I have ordered the Tomtom XL refurbished from Paul's link it looks just the job :)
Thanks again for the help everyone :)
 
Mine arrived white box but looked brand new with all instructions charger cables and also the card for the map upgrades which you register on the web site. Also you get an invoice which covers the full 12 month warranty.
 
LCPete said:
Thanks Ingrid I didn't realise that Garmin still made a satnav with walking mode, with my old Garmin 360 I can put in ordnance survey grid references would be handy to get a new one that did this but it's not essential though I could still use old one for the odd occasion that I use a grid reference to navigate
occasionally sites for butterflies are quoted as OS grid references
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Bit late now, but yes it does have a grid reference mode

DorsetDude said:
Do you have to pay a monthly fee for the traffic update service?
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Free for the life of the satnav (y) as are map updates
Did some research and seems it is done through DAB and other radio channels but gets the info in
the same way as traffic master


Suvv said:
Hi Ingrid, which Garmin model did you buy?
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THIS one, but I didn't pay that price for it and have all of Europe
 
Has anybody here got experience with the traffic re-routing of both tom-tom and garmin? How do they compare? Do they use different traffic information? Do they need to be connected to a phone?
 
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Rapscallion said:
Has anybody here got experience with the traffic re-routing of both tom-tom and garmin? How do they compare? Do they use different traffic information? Do they need to be connected to a phone?
Click to expand...

Only Garmin here as I have always used them, this is the first with the traffic bit and as per my previous post I was impressed last week.
Mine doesn't use the phone for the info, it's apparently done via DAB & FM radio.

Talking to someone earlier it would seem that the high end TOMTOMs do the same, the lower end use mobile phones, but you need someone
who knows more about them to confirm that
 
Gremlin said:
Only Garmin here as I have always used them, this is the first with the traffic bit and as per my previous post I was impressed last week.
Mine doesn't use the phone for the info, it's apparently done via DAB & FM radio.

Talking to someone earlier it would seem that the high end TOMTOMs do the same, the lower end use mobile phones, but you need someone
who knows more about them to confirm that
Click to expand...

I had a very basic TomTom some years ago that also used FM for traffic updates, so it should be a pretty common feature.

Other than that I can't help much, I very seldom use the automatic rerouting, I do know that the TomTom is exceptionally good at rerouting if I drive off of the original route though.
 
Rapscallion said:
Has anybody here got experience with the traffic re-routing of both tom-tom and garmin? How do they compare? Do they use different traffic information? Do they need to be connected to a phone?
Click to expand...

I've got a TomTom Go 5000. The more expensive TomToms (inclucing the 5000) get traffic data via a 3G connection, the cheaper ones connect to traffic via a smartphone.

Mine is set to automatically take the fastest route based on traffic (menu option) so once I have set off, I never know exactly what route I am going to take.

TomTom somehow use the 3G connection to work out average speeds on the roads so if you are stuck in traffic, your data helps everyone else avoid the problem.
 
Tony_M said:
I've got a TomTom Go 5000. The more expensive TomToms (inclucing the 5000) get traffic data via a 3G connection
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Quick question there, what if there isn't a 3G connection, as where I live :(, none of the mobile services seem to offer one, so does
TOMTOM have there own ?
Finding this thread quite interesting (y)
 
Dave1 said:
... the new Nokia Here app for Android is pretty good (Nokia acquired Navteq which is the basis of Nokia mapping, same maps are used by Garmin) it's also free for Android.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip about Nokia Here navigation. It's great! I just got back from the Czech Republic this afternoon and it took us all around the place very reliably and easy to use. No Internet connection required. It timed the turnings perfectly. It found all my points of interest, castles, hotels, villages, right away. Which beat a friends Garmin and a BMW one. It was also better than the 2 other free ones I tried, OSMAnd and Google Maps. The latter would have failed with no Internet of course. The lady didn't pronounce some place names correctly though. But then, neither could I.
 
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LCPete said:
Thanks jp I did think about a phone app but unfortunately in North Wales the phone network isn't very good so would probably struggle
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Have a look at the Nokia HERE app. It uses Open Street Map data and also has an offline mode for when there is no network coverage or you simply don't want to use it (while roaming abroad for example).

The other positive is that it is free, as are all the maps.

I normally use Waze as its re-routing for traffic problems has saved me on a number of journeys but HERE has not let me down when I have been abroad or in areas of poor coverage.

(Oops, just noticed that someone else has already mentioned HERE. That'll teach me for not reading the whole thread before replying).
 
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ChrisJ_SLH said:
Have a look at the Nokia HERE app. It uses Open Street Map data and also has an offline mode for when there is no network coverage or you simply don't want to use it (while roaming abroad for example).

The other positive is that it is free, as are all the maps.

I normally use Waze as its re-routing for traffic problems has saved me on a number of journeys but HERE has not let me down when I have been abroad or in areas of poor coverage.
Click to expand...

Thanks will have a look at that it looks good
I have since bought a tom tom satnav but it would still be handy to have something on the mobile :)
 
I received the Noza Tec the other week. A really good bit of kit for the money - £38.
Downloaded the free USA maps and it's up and running. All of the UK, Europe and Australia are included as standard.
Performance wise, it's better than my TomTom. Faster at calculating routes and route changes, more up to date re maps.
 
ianp5a said:
Thanks for the tip about Nokia Here navigation. It's great! I just got back from the Czech Republic this afternoon and it took us all around the place very reliably and easy to use. No Internet connection required. It timed the turnings perfectly. It found all my points of interest, castles, hotels, villages, right away. Which beat a friends Garmin and a BMW one. It was also better than the 2 other free ones I tried, OSMAnd and Google Maps. The latter would have failed with no Internet of course. The lady didn't pronounce some place names correctly though. But then, neither could I.
Click to expand...

Good to hear it worked so well.

If anyone else is interested in the Here app, it's now also available as a free download for the iPhone as well.

HERE - Offline navigation, maps, traffic, public transport by Nokia Apps LLC
https://appsto.re/gb/PYo-4.i
 
fabs said:
I've downloaded the Here app but I can't seem to get the sound to work. On the odd occasion, it's worked for the very beginning of a journey but nothing else.
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On which platform Marc? I'll load it up and see if I have an issue.
 
Copilot have a 2D app for free so you could try it out.
 
fabs said:
hi-fi but I had similar with regular.
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Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling?

I have version 1.1.423 wk11 running on a Note 2 N7105, using the UK female hifi voice. I haven't noticed it happen at all.
 
Tony_M said:
I've got a TomTom Go 5000. The more expensive TomToms (inclucing the 5000) get traffic data via a 3G connection, the cheaper ones connect to traffic via a smartphone.

Mine is set to automatically take the fastest route based on traffic (menu option) so once I have set off, I never know exactly what route I am going to take.

TomTom somehow use the 3G connection to work out average speeds on the roads so if you are stuck in traffic, your data helps everyone else avoid the problem.
Click to expand...

Like you, I have (only just) got a tomtom go 5000, and compared to my old sat nav and limited use of smartphone apps it seems brilliant and so worth the money. It just feels slick, and the apps I have tried don't.
Ease of use is worth a lot for me !
 
Bought the wife a Tom-tom Start60 brand new EBay £85 It's an amazing thing, screen is nice and the voices are loud and clear well worth it IMHO and it comes with lifetime maps free.
 
having used a few different satnavs and satnav apps over the years i always seem to revert back to tomtom
for me they are the best for navigation and POI
the last garmin i had was a garmin nulink 2340 it's quite a fancy satnav with loads of features such as bluetooth , data connection for traffic , plane delays , motorway traffic cameras to see if your route is congested and other odd things but it's all subscription at a price
by the time you've paid the subscription paid for the map updates ( no free lifetime maps ) and the speed camera updates you could buy yourself a brand new satnav with latest maps etc

my satnav of choice now is a tomtom via 135 it still has bluetooth but has free lifetime maps which for me is an important feature, there is no data connection which i didn't really use anyway but you can buy the FM traffic module for little money which i have and will re route you if needed

i find the problem with using phone apps is the audio quality is not up to scratch even on my HTC one M8 which has reasonable audio but still doesn't compare to a tomtom unit for navigation and that's running tomtom on the HTC which makes the comparison fair

the one thing that keeps any satnav useful is up to date maps apart from traffic alerts the rest is eye candy ( IMHO )
 
I use copilot it works well but as said above audio on my phone is poor , I link it to my blue tooth amp for phone calls and sat nav audio. Free updates to maps and safety cameras.
 
I can't understand why anyone uses Sat Nav on a mobile , the screens are far too small - Ive always used Tom Tom, though my new Freelander has got a factory fitted unit which is pretty impressive and so much nicer to use when its integrated.
 
Well my current mobile has a 6.3" screen :D but I now use a Garmin Nuvi, Back in March I was using an old 5" Dell Streak and CoPilot but it would overheat in the sun and reset which is not good mid journey.
 
Overexposed said:
I can't understand why anyone uses Sat Nav on a mobile , the screens are far too small - Ive always used Tom Tom, though my new Freelander has got a factory fitted unit which is pretty impressive and so much nicer to use when its integrated.
Click to expand...
It's not for watching home cinema movies on ;) eyes on the road, listen to the instructions which nicely integrate and overlay on the stereo, and occasionally glance at it.

Heck my mobile screen now provides more information than my original tomton ever did. And with technologies like CarPlay you can nicely display it and other apps on the incar entertainment system.
 
Dave1 said:
Im not sure you should be driving if you find the current crop of 5.5" screens far too small ;).
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id much rather use an integrated sat nav theres much less distraction and id rather let my handsfree do the work than have the phone stuck on a mount
 
dejongj said:
It's not for watching home cinema movies on ;) eyes on the road, listen to the instructions which nicely integrate and overlay on the stereo, and occasionally glance at it.

Heck my mobile screen now provides more information than my original tomton ever did. And with technologies like CarPlay you can nicely display it and other apps on the incar entertainment system.
Click to expand...

integrated is the way to go - no fannying about with apps and the phone stays in your pocket far less distracting
 
Overexposed said:
integrated is the way to go - no fannying about with apps and the phone stays in your pocket far less distracting
Click to expand...
Phone goes in holder and is controller via steering wheel and voice control in the vehicle. Can't see how that is distracting. And with CarPlay it is even further integrated, it is the cpu of your car entertainment system. Fully personalised and displayed not only on the central screen but also at the dashboard information system and any head up display you may have.

Well that is it for me at least.
 
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