Sat Nav

[spotipus]

hi ladies and gents

looking at getting a sat nav can anyone give me their experiences of the various ones on the market.

price isnt a prob cos ime putting it through the business

more i spend on toys less i give to gordon brown :D

cheers for any info

[Fidgits]

I've had TomTom Navigator on my Ipaq for a few years now:

My original review (from April 04)

We've all been there, whether its an argument about which way you should have turned at a junction, or the age old question "what is it about men and asking for directions!?".. there is a solution....

OEM Sat Nav systems, while solving this problem, also do a fine job of removing a large portion of hard earned cash from your pocket...

Well, there is a solution, which will stop you having to ask for directions, and bring an end to those little disagreements when it comes to map reading...

I have the TomTom Bluetooth Navigator, which runs on my IPaq 1945. The GPS unit and software cost 199, with the original TomTom cradle for my specific IPaq costing a further 50 (optional).

So, today I set off on a journey, with only an end address, and no idea where, or how to get to the address, relying soley on the system....

Firstly, the fact it runs on my IPaq is very useful, already having one meant there was no need to shell out for a dedicated piece of hardware. The cradle comes with various fitting options, and holds well, with little vibration.

The bluetooth unit was hidden away in my JDM dash tray...

So, how did it perform, well I got there, and on time.. and it made driving easier AND safer.. although the display is small, it is clear and easy to read. The 3D view gives a good idea on perspective. The voice commands meant there was no need to have to read a map, or printed directions, allowing you to just concentrate on driving.

The main display is the 3D map, with addtional information below, showing the next turn, how far to that turn, current speed, time to destination and expected arrival time.

The voice commands and clear, and well timed (varies according to speed).

Inputting the address was simple, just insert the first 4 digits of the postcode, and select from a list. You can also choose a POI (point of interest), such as hotel or airport, and it will take you there.

It also was very fast at calculating the route, and re-routes almost instantly! After calculating the route, it will switch into map mode, to show you the whole journey, before changing into the navigation mode.

It will plan the best route when you have multiple stops, and can route around areas you would like to avoid due to traffic jams and road works.

If your planned route passes through the London Congestion Charging Zone it will prompt you if you would like to an plan alternative around the zone, if at all possible, if not it still tells you that you are going to pass through it.

However, the real benifit is the flexibility, you can change from the UK map to European, or US (depending on what maps you have), you can download databases, such as 'Speed camera locations' and combined with a POI warning, it can also act as a GPS camera detector.

The big buttons make it easy to change settings while on the move (e.g. switch off the voice directions, re-route around traffic).

All in all, i was very impressed, it is a very slick system, and took the stress out of going somewhere i had never been, and allowed me to sit back and enjoy the drive...

Following that - downsides i have found:

If you dont use the Ipaq for a while, and the Battery runs down, and soft resets, you have to reinstall the software, then all the updates, and speed camera databases - very annoying.

With the bluetooth unit hidden, you dont always have notice of the Battery dieing, until your driving along and navigation stops - you dont know whether its lost satellite or Battery.

You need to pay to upgrade the maps - so sometimes it goes mental if i take a new bypass, thinking im doing 70 across a field!

All in all - it was affordable, easy to use sat nav, very flexible, with a few minor irritations (including packing the thing away).

The only time its not worked has been the user input error - whether through the additional postcode software (which directed me to the motorway that passed the back of a building) or selecting the correct street, wrong town (its easier to do than you think)

I think this Go system might deal with some of my irritations, and is a good price for a sat nav system.

[JustJJ]

I have Tom Tom 5 on my Mitech Mio... similar to the above.. (TomTom software on a pocket PC)

I took have found that its niggling if you leave it and it soft resets when Battery goes flat... btu other than that.. no complaints really.. can keep it updated.. speed camera databases etc.. its all good :)

Handy too as its a pocket PC :) not -just-sat nav :)

[jaxx]

ive got the full Alpine built in system, cant fault it :) but not the cheapest option

[GIDDLEPIN]

I’ve got the Road Angel Navigator which doesn’t seem that bad considering the negative response I got when asking advise (never did find out what the problems were supposed to be). One of the most important features for me was the cost, the upgrade from my RA2 was £299 but as I got £280 for the old unit on eBay the price was £19 ;)

I suppose is has the same soft reset as the TomTom but I like it because it’s a lot slimmer and the car cradle has its own speaker so I can even hear it when the rev’s are slightly high , it even runs off 24 volts which works well in trucks.

Update subscriptions are £49 a year, which I don’t think is that bad.

[Robie]

I use Tom tom navigator on an IPAQ PDA and would recommend the tom tom software highly.

It is possible to do it very cheaply on a PDA but as money is not an object for you I would suggest the tom tom go options as they are all one unit and you will not be faffing around with a load of wires and dodgy software like I have to.

Also as fidgits mentioned, if the Battery becomes cold or unused the memory will wipe and it is very annoying.

However tom tom has to be the best software out there and comes highly recommended.

[+Steve]

I have a NavMan and found it to be pretty good. Very precise too.. not too slow either.

Entering addresses can be hard for road in the countrside.. not sure if i can update this as I have never tried.

[Kev Mc]

I'm going to buy a Tom Tom One unit soon, a telly show (5th Gear I think) compared about 4 units & that came out on top. They're going for around £250 too, which is a fair bit cheaper than I was looking at paying for a Tom Tom Go 300 (apparantly these are smaller & quicker at loading but the sound is worse).

[Demonic Angel]

We've got the Toyota factory fitted one in the Corolla (not sure of the exact make/model) - its the full colour screen one....

Anyway, its quite good, although ours is 2000 dated and costs a fortune to upgrade, so according to it, we're parked in a field when we go and visit his Mums in Lincoln, because the estate there wasnt built in 2000!

Its a really good system though, gives clear junction maps, although the womans a bit annoying.....

[PaulT]

If you run the Tomtom software on a Pocket PC like the Ipaq then it runs on Pocket Windows. If you get a Tomtom Go then it runs on Linux. For me that makes the choice pretty obvious :D

I wouldn't trust Windows to run a pocket calculator, but then that's just me :D

Plus if you get a Go then when you set the speed camera warning sound to Mooo you get a decent reverberating moo going round the car instead of the feeble Ipaq Speakers poor impersonation of a cow

Paul.

[spotipus]

thanks for all your help

really appreciated :D

[Flat Pack]

I took have found that its niggling if you leave it and it soft resets when battery goes flat... btu other than that.. no complaints really.. can keep it updated.. speed camera databases etc.. its all good :)

Yeah but you don't have to rebuild the damn thing afterwards! ;) I think there is software out there that'll store the entire state of your PDA onto your PC, making restoring it a one click operation which should help that problem a bit. :) Not tried it yet though.

The Mitec is quite a handy PDA for sat nav as it's got the GPS receiver built in, so no more wires than a Go or similar and no extra batteries to go flat. Only problem is it was a pretty basic spec PDA a year ago, its probably well out of date by now (might be a newer model of course). If you could use a PDA too it might be worth a look, otherwise the Go is proabably the better option.

I can't fault the TomTom software (which is pretty much common to the PDAs and Go), using version 5 now which has full postcode lookup built in (the only niggle I had with it before was you had to use an external app and acquire a postcode database to do this). Its easy to use, quickly plots sensible routes most of the time and gives clear instructions in good time. The version of 3 I had originally was a bit crashy, but a patch sorted that and 5 seems solid too. Speed camera database is an added bonus, it seems accurate too.

[stevetubbyturbo]

I been using the Tom Tom 300 and the Garmin nuvi 300

To be honest i find the Tom Tom to be the better as the Garmin a bit long winded to use where as the Tom Tom is easier but the Tom Tom i find loses satalite signal quite often where as the Garmin doesnt but for the ease of use i still prefur the Tom Tom