Car sat nav query

[Fokkerwokker]

Can any kind soul point me towards a website that gives realistic car sat nav performance/price comparisons? Can't seem to find one.

Ever so ta, in anticip, and season's greetings!

FW

[Lancelot37]

At the risk of starting a long discussion - I've tried three makes and prefer TomTom maps system.

[green granite]

What SATNAV? - In-Car Satellite Navigation - TomTom, Magellan, Garmin, Navman, Sony (http://www.whatsatnav.co.uk/index.html)

[Fokkerwokker]

Thanks folks.......post Christmas pud reading!

FW

[spannersatcx]

and for best prices see Compare GPS Prices - Exclusive Discounts (http://www.find-satnav-deals.com/)

[planecrazy.eu]

You cant beat TomTom, i used to sell them, and then went and worked for a Logistics Company where i have used pretty much every satnav under the sun...

TomTom is by far the best (excluding some very expensive truck or built in options) and you get brilliant value for money.

Used to be the case that TomTom had a price range that retailers could sell them for, so you didnt tend to find one place had it miles cheaper than the next. There was offers, and all that, but on the whole, prices are pretty similar.

Seems pointless buying one now, unless its a christmas gift, you'll find money off them in Jan Sales.

There are a wide range of tomtom devices, get the sales person to run through the differences and match what you need it to do, to what it does do, as usually people have features that they will never use.]

I purchased one from Holland recently, and was around £30 cheaper when p+p was taken into account...

[Capetonian]

We have had TomToms for three years. I have used others at times, and the only one that comes close to TomTom in ease of use and accuracy is Garmin.

I have also downloaded maps from the TomTom website, used their support line when I had a query, and can't fault them in any way.

They are Dutch, I think that says it all. They make what is arguably the best electrodomestic equipment (Philips), run one of the world's best airlines, and a well organised and friendly country!

[potkettleblack]

Yep very organised those Dutchies. Shame it takes 20 mins to taxi in from 18R to our stand though:) Nice airport but guys give me bleedin 18C!

[Compass Call]

Avoid Navman like the plague. Shuts down when it feels like it, ancient maps, map updates never load correctly, has a preference for one lane roads - with or without surfacing - irrespective of what settings you input and lastly 'technical support' - what technical support??????

Now, as for TomTom - SUPERB!!:ok:

CC

[The late XV105]

I've been a TomTom (v5 on a PDA) guy for years - very happy - but when the missus wanted a basic sat nav I went Garmin (Nuvi 1340) after doing some research. The proof of the pudding was me needing to leave the country on business when the sat nav arrived and she needed to use it. No probs. She unpacked it, switched it on, and used it.

Since then I have used the download service to load the Czech / Slovakia / Poland map and found the service slick and easy. I also like some of the features that are not just available where (at least my old) TomTom didn't have them, but that they are also accessed directly from the navigation screen. The visual lane assist is nice too especially on four lane and more stretches of road.

Comparing basic system with basic system, the only disadvantages to TomTom that we have found are:


Emily's irritatingly dry and authoritarian voice (she runs Volvo's irritatingly dry and authoritarian sat nav voice a close second), so we are now directed by the mellow tones of the other preloaded voice, Daniel. Much nicer, and more a rival for TomTom's Jane.
No reminders ("At the roundabout take the second exit"....pause..."Take the second exit"), only the original command


So, are we happy with Garmin? Yes. Would we be happy with TomTom? Probably, yes. It was mainly the (poor) experience of multiple friends and colleagues with the TomTom download service that put me off.

[BigEndBob]

Depends what else you would like to do with your sat nav, look here;
F&H BRAND NEW 4.3" V1 Sat Nav - UK and European Maps, Lane Navigation, Postcode Search, TFT flat Touch Screen - ALSO plays MP3 & MP4 - Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167473/show_product_video/playvid#)
then;
F&H 4.3" v1 Widescreen - Full Walkthrough Guide (http://www.simplesatnav.com/pctforum/index.php/topic,2395.0.html)
then if you like;
NEW!! F&H 4.3" Widescreen Black Menu (http://www.simplesatnav.com/pctforum/index.php/topic,2446.0.html)
then;
How to install MM on F&H 4.3" (http://www.simplesatnav.com/pctforum/index.php/topic,2277.0.html)
7th post, disregard the renaming.
then;
Memory-Map : Maps UK : In the Air CAA VFR Charts (http://www.memory-map.co.uk/maps_uk_intheair.htm)
all in less than £70.
6Volt 4.5A lead acid battery from Maplin @£5 i have a stand alone 9hr aviation gps.
Works but haven't tried it airborne yet.

[green granite]

6Volt 4.5A lead acid battery from Maplin @£5 i have a stand alone 9hr aviation gps.

I trust it has a release note with it. :E

[BusyB]

TomTom's have been good. Customer service is impossible if you forget to change your profile to your new email address. You cannot email them or phone them for anything other than Technical queries. Registration queries apparently don't exist.:confused:

[Loose rivets]

Although I found it impossible to believe, the Sony boasted INS for areas where the signal couldn't reach. A reviewer said that he decelerated in a tunnel, and it showed the changes in speed perfectly.

Is this a common feature, or just Sony?

[BEagle]

I've been using Garmin for years and would thoroughly recommend them.

On the few occasions I've contacted customer service with queries, they've always been very helpful.

I have a nüvi 660; one of the reasons I chose it over tom-tom was the higher quality of look and feel which it had. I don't normally bother with voice commands as the magenta line and screen prompts are good enough IF you have a dash-mounted system:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/660.jpg

I don't like windscreen sucker mounts, so installed the dashtop 'automotive' mount. But if I'm in Europe or North America on business, I take a windscreen mount and fag plug power lead with me so that I can use my familiar nüvi 660 in the hire car.

Were I to buy a new GPS, it'd probably be a Garmin aera which has both automotive and aviation modes - and fits my existing dashtop mount.

Although my nüvi 660 doesn't have an 'INS' included, it does have 'road following' which, in 'Faster Time' or 'Shorter Distance' navigation modes stabilises the present position to the road map if the satellite signal is problematic. If you go into a tunnel, the system maintains the last known velocity, so it doesn't get totally confused. I was in a tunnel in Germany last year, with a road junction in the tunnel and a significant number of bends - but the nüvi caught up as soon as I came out into daylight again.

GPS has really taken the stress out of motoring in unfamiliar areas - I don't know how I managed before I had one. I bought a nüvi 360 at Birmingham airport some years ago and read the manual during my flight to Frankfurt and thence to Bremen. Got to the hotel and connected it to my laptop to register the system, download a software update and initialise the TMC subscription. Just as well, because the next day we had to drive from Bremen to Dresden on unfamiliar roads. Funnily enough, although I flew back to the UK from Dresden, my colleague without a GPS took a wrong turning in old East Germany on the way back to Bremen and wasted over 3 hours....