GPS for road use

[Abbeville]

Can anyone point me to a website with comparisons of which GPS packages are most suitable for the UK?

Cos I um a pilit cost kums into it 2:confused:

[None of the above]

These might help......

http://www.gpsw.co.uk/
http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/
http://gpsinformation.net/

Nota

[Abbeville]

Thanks for the links.

Anyone here had any practical experience of some of these systems care to comment?

[Bern Oulli]

I use the Mitac Mio168 with Co-Pilot Live. Comes with all the bits for attaching to and unattaching from the car. perfectly audible over road noise (unless you insist on driving with the window wide open!). So far it has only led me up the garden path once. Try an outfit called Global Positioning Systems (one word) in the UK.
By the way, the pocket PC runs Microsoft software but you can't have everything!

[gas path]

I'd give a thumbs up for the TomTom package, I use TTN3 with an ipaq 5550, all the maps of GB fit onto a 128mb sd card. I use a Syson 'bluetooth' GPS receiver and as a whole it all works very well.
For mounting in the car I use a Seido powered (built in loudspeaker with it's own volume control) mount that clips onto the vents, it's ok, but for a more secure mount I think I'll get a 'Brodit' and mount the Seido onto that.
............and cost I bought all the bits off ebay:ok:

[ck4707]

I travel by road all over the UK and I bought a TomTom Go sat/nav unit last November. Now I would not be without it.

It comes complete with the UK map and the main roads of Europe but detailed maps of other countries have to be bought individually.

I use a couple of different vehicles and the unit can be transffered easily between them.

The current UK map is quite uptodate, M6 Toll etc is on there. The map does not have a full post code search facility but files can be download from the sites mentioned earlier and installed as Points of Interest.

The unit has saved me lots of time (and money not having to buy maps and street plans) and would recommend it to anyone

Hope this helps

CK

(ps I have no connection with any makers or suppliers, just a very satisfied user)

[BEagle]

You say that detailed maps of other countries have to be bought individually for the TomTom Go - roughly how much and how are they transferred to the unit?

Current TomTom website shows too much messing about with linking mobile phones to the TomTom Go 500 and 700; the mapping features of the 700 seem ideal - but I wouldn't pay for that bluetooth or mobile phone crap... And the -300 doesn't seem to include a European major routes database.

Whilst not that seduced by whizzo electric toys, a simple standalone like the TomTom Go seems easier than fighting with MS Autoroute print outs at speed with the roof down!

[ck4707]

BEagle

I use a Nokia Hands Free Kit in both vehicles, NOT connected in anyway to the TomTomGo.

Maybe I am getting old, but I find the traffic info on BBC radio more than ample, the sat/nav gets me there, and I have a phone to talk to people, all needs covered!!!

TomTomGo is great as a stand alone unit, I have not found any need to connect it to other technologies, I like to keep things simple!!!

Now that my reasoning is out of the way, to answer your questions;

the European maps costs about £100 for them all.

The unit connects to the PC via a USB connection and shows as a mass storeage device.

All the data is held on an SD card, obviously you may need more than one card depending upon which maps you have/use.

Before I bought the sat/nav I used MS Autroroute, now no contest !!!! Autoroute is great for use at home, but on the road it is very much a very poor sub for sat/nav.

CK

[Irish Steve]

Autoroute is great for use at home, but on the road it is very much a very poor sub for sat/nav.

If you have a passenger, or an empty seat that's got room for a laptop computer, autoroute works well with a GPS attached, with one caveat. Microsoft call it Autoroute 2005, but the map is horribly out of date in some important areas, (like the new toll M6 section is still missing) and Ireland looks like it's a part of the Gobi desert outside of Urban Dublin!

Other than the point above, Autoroute with a coupled, (therefore cheap) serial or USB GPS is a useful solution, and a large screen can be very useful in the urban areas. I've used the same concept in Orlando, around Florida and in Denver/Colorado using Delorme's street Atlas, and it has saved a load of hassles on several complex trips.

And before I get shouted at, I've no connections with Microsoft or Delorme.

[windy1]

Can we broaden this thread a little?

I know how to get to my destinations but I would like a fast update on major snarl-ups. The RDS traffic broadcasts are so-so but what do people think about the traffic master derived info?
.... and can I buy that without satnav bundled in?

[Abbeville]

Bermmmmp!

Any other feedback before I stick me 'and in me pocket?

A

[FunkyMunky]

I've been using the Mitac Mio 168 with Medion Navigator and PocketFMS. Very loud system and a good, accurate reciever mounted on the back. Gets a good multiple lock on satellites. Tried with tom tom software too, ran out of space on the SD though :p

[Coconutty]

.. as no-one else has mentioned it ...

I use "Navman" (http://www.navman-mobile.co.uk/) and my set up is a Navman GPS 3450 "sleeve" that my Ipaq H5550 slides into - the sleeve has a built in GPS antenna plus a socket for an external antenna if required.

Having upgraded from Navman's "Smart ST Pro" - Version 1 software to the latest Version 3 for Pocket PC there have been some big improvements - Version 1 seemed very "buggy" with no 3D views and out of date maps which didn't give "Navman" a particularly good reputation.

Latest version has the 3D view, latest maps ( with M6 Toll etc ) and works very well ( for me ). The main problem I had to overcome with my setup, was the woefully inadequate volume for the voice instructions - the built in speaker of my Ipaq is very small - apparantly to make space for an SD memory card slot, and it simply cannot be heard while driving.

I purchased a set of mini external battery powered speakers for about £10.00 and have them velcroed on the dashboard. They simply plug in to the Ipaq earpiece socket and are loud enough to be heard over the Radio / Cd Player.

You can also obtain mounting cradles which power the Ipaq, either "Hard wired" to the car electrics or which plug into the cigar lighter socket - keeping the battery charged, and with a built in speaker if required - such as "Brodit" available from "Handnav" (http://www.handnav.co.uk/index.php) - tailored to your specific car model.

The benefit of using this set up over a stand alone system is that there is integration with Outlook so you can plot routes to addresses in your "Contacts" lists, although it is sometmes a bit laborious if you don't have the full address and post code stored.
The system is portable so you can taek it walking with you ( if that's what rattles your cage ) and you can also use the Navman with other mapping solutions such os "Memory Map" where you can get Ordnance Survey Maps, Aviation Charts etc etc, aswell as working with the FREE software Flight Planning program "Pocket FMS"

The Navman maps are supplied on CD ROM ( I was sent the full European map pack ) and you then buy licence(s) to activate the maps you want to use - you have to register on-line and enter the licence number ( to prevent piracy / copying etc ) before you can download the maps to the Ipaq, which is done via Microsoft Active Sync and the cradle / cable that came with the Ipaq.

All available in the UK from "Total PDA" (http://www.totalpda.co.uk/) or any of the other suppliers already mentioned.

......... and to finish I too have no relationship with any of the products mentioned other than being a satisfied customer :ok:

[spannersatcx]

I've just bought a Dell Axim and Tom Tom wired GPS as it was on offer, I have to say it is a brilliant bit of kit! I've installed the speedcamera database on top of the Tom Tom and it wails a siren and tells me when I'm approaching a known speed camera.