Good sat nav?

Any recommendations? The cheaper the better but not if it's crap. Any issues with certain makes like poor or out of date maps, do any suffer from reception problems in rural areas (I spend a lot of time (lost) in rural Dorset/Wiltshire/Somerset), crap battery life etc...?

Ta.

 

I use my Dads old Tom Tom 1 ( I think).

I have had it since last xamas when he (MyDad) bought the tom tom gb (i think) which incorporates maps for n reland, where my sister lives. The tom tom 1 doesn't .

My Dad doesn't rate the newer version as well as mine saying that it doesn't get to the destination as accurately as this one does.

I've used the "1 " a fair bit during the year and wouldn't be without it now. Its really useful for picking up bits of equipment, just makes life so much easier.(esp as i'm always travelling alone)

The only gripes

1) occassionally looses the plot finding places. Not often though.

2) occassionally seems to find the smallest roads to go up rather than sticking to main roads. I agther this can be programmed out though.

3) not much else!

 

With regards to accurate maps, there are only a few major companies that create the maps used by most sat nav manufacturers. The main ones are Tele Atlas and NaVTech I think. Tom Tom are in the process of bidding for TeleAtlas.

I have a TomTom Go 500 which I have found to be fine. The only issue I'd say is I should have probably bought one with a built in radio so that I could have free traffic updates. (some have this feature). With the TomTom you have to sign up for traffic ( monthly tarrif) and also pay for mobile phone bills which is how they send the information down to your device.

Also you should get different ones depening on your requirements e.g. cross country hiking vs main car usage vs sat nav for a boat etc. Mine is used mainly for driving. If for drviing, make sure it has the latest chip ( SirfStar III i think) which works well in cities. Older chips require an additional aeriel.

Also check this ouit...http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=29

 

Dad had a tomtom and was very happy with it. Only got rid of it as new car had built in sat nav.

 

I find they often take you an awful long way around to get to the destination, often taking routes that are 20 miles further than my known route, irrespective of what "preferences" you set within the machine.

I know where most major towns and cities in the UK are, and I can get there without map or Sat Nav. So i have taken to getting to the place I am headed then turning the Sat Nav on for the last 5 mile or so to home into the exact address.

Just my tuppence worth

 

Ok, thanks for the replies, sounds like Tom Tom might be the one to go for (seems to be very popular generally).

Thanks for the comments about slightly lengthened journeys Andy, but I'm not going to be using it for long trips, it's really just to help me locate difficult to find places (i.e. down lanes with few or no signs) within maybe 30 miles of my workshop.

Quite looking forward not having to study multimap every night before going out quoting!

 

If you travel on your own a lot they are a God send.

99% of my runs are over known ground but if you do go some where a bit different eg to pick up something you've e bayed, they are invaluable. Mine gets me straight there 9 times out of 10......and the 1/10 scenario is normally fairly easy to sort out.

 

I have the TomTom Navigator 5 loaded on my Palm TX PDA and I've always found it very good. It was a godsend when I recently visited Belfast - I downloaded the UK and Ireland maps and found them generally very good indeed. It made navigating in the depths of darkest Tyrone in the dead of night a piece of cake. The Irish male voice (Aonghus) was a pleasant companion! (The girls want me to download John Cleese, so that he can swear at me when I get it wrong).

Should I ever want a dedicated device, I'd certainly consider TomTom, although I'ev also had very good reports of the Garmin range (some friends have them and are very pleased). The new Sonys are attractive-looking devices, but are an unknown quantity.

 

Yes, my boss uses a Garmin.

He seems very impressed..and hes very good with these things.

 

Since it's satellite the reception is the same whether you're in a big city or the middle of the sahara Problems with reception can occur in cities with many tall buildings if you can't get a line of sight to any satellites but that's the same for all GPS products. There is no reception in tunnels and anywhere else underground. GPS systems built into the car (ie, not standalone devices) use gyroscopes and speed signals from the car to approximate your position in tunnels etc and they don't do a bad job over short distances.

There are basically only two map providers, Tele Atlas and NAVTEQ.

I have a Becker radio in my car with built-in GPS which is great but everyone I know who has a Tom Tom loves it. If I were to get a standalone GPS it would be a Tom Tom.

Michael.

 

Ah, yes of course, I didn't think about the 'sat' bit (dur), got hung up on the idea that it might suffer from the same reception probs my mobile sometimes has, but obviously not.

Anyway, I now have a Tom Tom on reserve for me at a local store to pick up tomorrow .

 

i think the tom toms were always the dear ones...not sure now

I have wondered if this is what trips mine up, whether needs a download or summat, which I think it will do. I just haven't got around to sussing it out.

not knowingly

don't now ahven't been down there iin 20 years

mine plugs into the cigar lighter and cranks up within 30 secs or so, no worries.

 

Only a quick reply as gotta go to bed, early start for work tomorrow (halfords...so get to play with a fair few satnavs!)

Tom Tom gets my vote for ease of use over Garmins, and the TTs have a better warranty too (2 yr versus 1) and tend to come with more in the box - no USB cable in the cheaper Garmin Nuvi models for example.

As for the Sonys, steer clear - very well built (heavy), look great and the mounting bracket/suction cup is superb, but the software isn't great, being difficult to navigate through menus compared to the TTs or Garmins. Price wise the Sony's are expensive too, for the features they offer - the NV-U82 which is comparable to the TT One XL GB is about £30 where i work at the mo.

The software/firmware on the Sonys seems a bit immature too - out of the box the NV-U52 has an issue which completely prevents you actually registering the unit with Sony (necessary to gain access to map and speed camera updates). Its not just a bug, its that the in-box or online instructions detailing the *only* way of registering the unit to the Sony satnav site require you to access a menu that isn't even available on the NV-U52! So you have to download and install a patch for the units firmware before you can even update any of the maps or POIs....not exactly a well tested product I reckon.

Haven't had much of a play with the new navman 'S' range but they seem very Tom Tom like in their menu layout and design...copycat esque. The S30 is cheap for the feature set but I'd still rather have a Tom Tom One.

 

Well I'm shocked!

I'd have thought the tomtom would have been too obvious a choice and some exotic and twice the price unit would have been the only choice for the Zerogain massif!

Seems pretty unanimous.

 

Good, glad that those in the know recommend them. I've gone for the cheapest - TomTom One GB V3, as I don't need the extra features of the more expensive models, and funnily enough I'm buying it from Halfords (£127) as I couldn't find it much cheaper elsewhere - and I can pick it up today rather then having to wait for it to come through the post.

 

should be good

like i say i wouldn't be without mine..

...for those odd apccassions when you go off the beaten track a bit.....

 

correction mines the "Go 300"



should I be updating this off the internet Will?