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Sat Nav Systems

19K views 35 replies 13 participants last post by  CJRamze 
#1 ·
There are quite a few out there,TomTom are very popular we sell loads of those at work,also sell Navman which are a decent unit,i think it all depends on what you are needing it to do,wether you are going to use it abroad or not aswell.
 
#2 ·
hi i use a tomtom satellite reciever and a dell axim pda.
i was given the reciever and bought the pda from ebay and downloaded tomtom programme off of internet for free{shops charge around £100 for tomtom on a flash memory card}
have just downloaded/installed tomtom5 from net with no probs.

tomtom system has some useful features like speed camera warnings(again downloaded for free} and poi (places of interest}which includes phone number and website both of which can be updated from internet or added to manually

the guidance is easy to use giving options like fastest/shortest/walking/scenic routes and postcode location.
the shortest route generally works ok but the fastest route tends to favour motorways/a-roads and will often add several miles to a journey by using this type of road which is ok at night when roads are quiet but not much use in daytime traffic it will also let you avoid areas on route add waypoints and recalculates route in seconds if you take a wrong turn.

other options include various different voices including celebrities colour options for maps and live traffic/weather info{if connected to internet)

because i went for the version that runs on a pda i can update for free and get new versions at any time and also have my own pc in car so i can play games when im bored! golf and space invaders at mo

total cost from start(tomtom go) up to now(tomtom 5} including updates/extras/new versions/maps = £100 for purchase of pda which i can continue to update for free aslong as i can use the internet. it can also be used in different cars.
 
#5 ·
I have a Navman 610 which works very well. As Side Show said you can download the camera sites free, plus you can download all kinds of POIs (Points of interest) free from poihandler.com. It got me to Spain and back.
I am in Ashurst Wood if you want to take a look.

John.
 
#8 ·
gonna be getting myself a tomtom ONE, as its the smallest one (lol no pun intended) that they do.

Only bad thing about it is the sound quality/volume, due to the smaller speaker involved. but not particularly worried - not like its a headunit or anything....
Waiting for prices to get a bit better tho.... sitting just above £200 at the moment.....
 
#9 ·
I did a sort of mini review on the Garmin Streetpilot i3. You can find it here: http://www.seatenthusiasts.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=47421

Has all of the normal features, Postcode search, speedcamera database, points of interest with phone numbers etc plus you get a disc mount as well as the windscreen mount. The disc mount is absolutely ideal for the flat part on the top/middle of the Leon dash, doesn't look out of place at all. The best point is that its £170 or less, better value than any other system I've seen.



 
#12 ·
RobDon said:
That one is WAY too small for my eyes, I'd probably crash trying to focus too much on the tiny screen. I've just ordered a Tom Tom ONE, will upgrade it with the speed camera software, hopefully now I won't get lost going to events such as Kames and Alford this year!
Hmmm, speedcamera database for the TomTom is £50 for a 1 year subscription, its free on the Garmin. If you have normal healthy eyes, the screen size of the streetpilot is more than big enough. I know this from the last 2 months of owning it.

I just couldn't justify paying twice as much (once the speed camera database is added) for the tomtom when the Garmin does all the same things and has a more accurate GPS system (WAAS, updates from ground stations as well as satellites). Garmin have been in the business since the outset and their products are rock solid. I have a Garmin GPSMAP 396 that I use when I'm flying, you really can't buy better.
 
#14 ·
Ahh, Its just when I looked on the TomTom site, they charge £50 a year for it.

Don't get me wrong, the TomTom is very good and probably looks better, I just don't think its worth the extra money. Coming from an aviation background, you just can't beat Garmin for quality and reliability. Function over form and all that, a bit like the Leon :D
 
#15 ·
I got the Tom Tom ONE, excellent bit of kit. Don't worry about the £50 a year for camera software etc., as I got a CD from eBay that is packed with everything for £5! I now have all the safety cameras on it plus stacks more, the guy also says to email him every 3 months and he'll send you any updates - sorted!

I looked at some sat-nav systems in Halfords, sorry but the Garmin is TINY, couldn't use that at all. I got the ONE online for £249 with free next-day delivery from here:

http://www.satnav2u.com/products/details.cfm?PRODUCT=1N00.060&tduid=a54fe1ba7055f1ca978be10a875f2b10
 
#16 ·
as i mentioned earlier you can get any updates for sat nav for free. all you need is a pc and internet. just use a torrent site(bitcomet, bearshare etc} search for what you want, download to pc, connect sat nav to pc and install. i have latest maps, voices, poi and camera alerts on my tomtom all for free!
 
#18 ·
barrabbas said:
as i mentioned earlier you can get any updates for sat nav for free. all you need is a pc and internet. just use a torrent site(bitcomet, bearshare etc} search for what you want, download to pc, connect sat nav to pc and install. i have latest maps, voices, poi and camera alerts on my tomtom all for free!
I have trouble with this.
I use tomtom navigator 5 on my PDA (Ipaq 4700) and it has the GB maps and the GPSW Speed camera database. All works perfectly, and when its not being used to get me from A to B, its being used to play games, watch DVD quality films or surf the net on GPRS or WIFI. Brilliant bit of kit.
When i get the maps from the net like mentioned above, i can't activate them to my key so they are useless.
Any tips?
 
#19 ·
hi davey on the move try downloading a few versions of the map you want and theres a good chance one will work or download a keygen which is a smart little programme which generates a new key for you or do a google search for a new key. a bit of trial and error usually works in the end.
incidently i picked up a lady passenger recently who told me that she brought a navman sat nav kit and the thing clears its programmed route if she uses her mobile phone whilst driving and a friend of hers has the same problem.
navman could be one to avoid, although an honet citizen like me would never use a phone while driving:-]
 
#20 ·
barrabbas said:
hi davey on the move try downloading a few versions of the map you want and theres a good chance one will work or download a keygen which is a smart little programme which generates a new key for you or do a google search for a new key. a bit of trial and error usually works in the end.
incidently i picked up a lady passenger recently who told me that she brought a navman sat nav kit and the thing clears its programmed route if she uses her mobile phone whilst driving and a friend of hers has the same problem.
navman could be one to avoid, although an honet citizen like me would never use a phone while driving:-]
I have a map on there already as a trial, and got a few different key gens, but none seem to work. Will try a google search and see what that brings.
As for Navman clearing itself if you use the phone, thats a strange one. the phone must be setup to it via bluetooth or something? Could try turning bluetooth off on the phone, or pairing it to a dedicated headset as phones can only pair to one device at a time.
Cheers for your tips
DOTM
 
#21 ·
All the TomTom products are excellent IMHO. I own a GO 500 and have had a play with the others coz I sell them.

- GO 300 has UK maps;

- GO 500 faster CPU than 300 plus UK European roads & Bluetooth mobile 'phone compatible;

- GO700 as 500 but with more RAM & has hard disk that contains UK & all european roads, oh & a remote control;

- TomTom ONE pretty much replaces the GO 300 and is easier to carry around.

7 digit UK postcode searches possible - many other sat nav systems only do 4 or 5 or may not do postcode searches at all.

All the screens are large and fully touch sensitive, there are no buttons to press, just big clear icons to tap. Lots of in-built customisation available and software add-ons from 3rd parties. TomTom release software updates FOC to registered users.

New TomTom GO 510, 710 & 910 products launched at CeBIT on 9th March - keep an eye out for them. You will be able to get an RDS/TMC receiver that will pickup traffic info.

The Sony NV-U50, U50T and U70T units look pretty good too. The voice instructions will tell you the number of the road you are to turn onto. The 'T' models have RDS/TMC capability.
 
#22 ·
Cheers for you input on the Tom Tom range.
Do you know how much the new range will be on sale for?
A mate of mine is interested in the new 710, but hinted at the 910 if the price isn't too much more. Haven't found any date for sale either, just sometime this month AFAIK.
Cheers
Dave
 
#23 ·
Dave, I won't have prices on the new range until they land in store so unfortunately I can't give you advance notice, and we never know when new products are going to arrive, they just turn up on the back of a huge lorry along with everything else. We might get to see the TomTom rep before they launch, but I doubt it.
 
#25 ·
No off the shelf stock in our store of the new TomTom models as yet. However, at the time of writing, if a customer walks into the store and places a paid order I can now get the 510 & 910 models within a week.

323551 TomTom GO 510 - £349.99
323578 TomTom GO 910 - £499.99

and the 710 is on about a 14 day lead time

323560 TomTom GO 710 - £399.99

They are also available for order on-line, which probably means other stockists have got them for sale now also.
 
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