Help! Which Sat Nav do you recommend

mpet · 4 July 2005 at 10:17PM

I have spent the best part of the evening looking at assorted websites and reviews and am really none the wiser. I want a sat nav for the car, that doesn't have to be permanantly fixed (if you know what I mean). I would like directions to Postcode level and I know that everyone raves about Tom Tom - but which one?

I don't want anything with lots of bells and whistles,(and lots of ££££) but something that will get me from A-B avoiding traffic Jams and easy to upgrade with new maps details etc. (Iwas thinking about £300 but if anyone know something good for less - lead me to it)

Reading this, it sounds that I would be better with an A-Z. despite my total ignorance of Sat Nav'sI'm fairly computer literate despite the stupid questions!!

Thanks

alanobrien · 4 July 2005 at 10:43PM

I know what you mean there is more choice than you can shake a stick at. SatNav is certainly the latest must have gadget out on the high street.

First of all if you have a PDA then your cheapest option would be to get a GPS receiver and mapping software for it.

These can be bought on Ebay seperately or they are sold in bundles by the likes of https://www.totalpda.co.uk and others.

If not and you like the idea of having a simple PDA with satnav built in the the Mio 168 or Acer N35 are both good choices at approx £200 to £250

Link to the Acer
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=82044

Link to the Mio
http://www.totalpda.co.uk/Mitac-Mio-168-GPS-Pocket-PC-with-Destinator-Software.aspx

One point is that the average SatNav will not help you avoid traffic jams, they are just electronic mapping devices. You can put in speed camera databases and the like though

Dont forget there is also the dedicated in car tomtom and destinator models all of which seem to be £300 and above
Happy hunting.

skiddy2k · 5 July 2005 at 10:55AM

would definately recommend the 'tom tom' sat nav's. i feel that thry're by far the easiest to use, and very user friendly. but they do range from over £300.

the tom tom 300 covers uk only, and will range at about £380 from halfords for example, and the tom tom 700 covers uk and europe as well as is bluetooth and an excellent feature is that it alerts you when there are speed camera's on routes aswell! but, they are near to £580, not cheap at all, as you can imagine!

these are portable and dont have to stay in the car, one downfall may be, that the tom tom sat nav's are quite bulky unlike any of the 'Navman' navigations, which tend to be thin and slick.

Skiddy

Shawz · 5 July 2005 at 1:57PM

I would recommend getting a modular system so that you can upgrade different parts of it when you want to. It can also easily be moved between cars.

PDA (Such as a HP iPAq) £200
Sat Nav software such as Tomto 5 (very good) £100
An SD or CF card (pref 256MB to store the maps) £20-30
GPS Receiver £50-£100
Windscreen or Dashboard Mount £20
Power Cable for the PDA when used in car £10

You can find lots of information here

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/

They also have an excellent forum where I have learn't loads here
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums

Hope this helps

itgirlinuk · 5 July 2005 at 2:10PM

My friend has a sat nav installed which helps him with traffic jams. Its called smart nav. This has no screen and only a button. Small piece of equipment on the dash.

http://www.smartnav.com - My friend swears by it and he says it saves him a lot of hassle, as it avoids all traffic congested areas. This costs £499 and the website says £899 over 4 years. Obviously they going to charge you for subscription and updates and stuff like that.

I am investigating Sat Navs too and cannot decide if I want to pay £499 for a system or go for the cheaper option with the PDA.

Ember999 · 5 July 2005 at 2:30PM

I have a Garmin 'Street Pilot 3' and it's marvellous! Directs you straight to the door, voice prompts, can't fault it. I've travelled all over with it and it's never let me down. Mine isn't permanent mount as I wanted to be able to move it between cars etc. so i'd recommend that (also it's not visible to thieve's as I stick in the boot when I have reached my destination). It was quite expensive , just over £600 when I bought mine a year or so ago, but they have come down in price since then. Bought mine in Makro wholesale, so I didn't pay £600 plus.

Ember999 · 5 July 2005 at 2:32PM

Forgot to say, the Garmin 'Street Pilot 3' have upgradeable software, no charge, and covers both the entire UK and Europe!

mpet · 5 July 2005 at 10:53PM

Thanks for the tips. The TomTom sounds good, but I do like the idea of something a bit more portable-PDA perhaps. Back to the research

Mpet

albalad · 5 July 2005 at 11:22PM

There is a "destinator combined sat nav and gps speed camera detector" in this weeks Makro for £199 + vat for the uk only , or £249 +vat for uk and europe.
comes complete with pre-loaded maps and a 256 sd card. It looks about the same size as the tom tom go

I use an ipaq 2210 with tom tom 3 , with wired receiver, have had it a year and now consider it invaluable . Have used it abroad 4 times without problem.

I opted for the wired receiver over a bluetooth one , as after reading various reviews from the sites mentioned above , it seems B/T can be a bit hit or miss especially with heated windscreens.

crankup · 5 July 2005 at 11:22PM

As mentioned above, check out the specialist threads in http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/

I bought a Medion Navigator PDA from Aldi last year. It is essentially the same as the Mio 168. It does the job well, and I installed the Speed Camera database from PocketGPSWorld too which is useful.

I had a trip to Sweden last xmas and the maps that came with it saved lots of potential hassle. I was literally walking down a street holding it whilst taking directions to find a well-hidden venue. A few extra games on it too were a bonus.

If I was buying one today I'd go for a similar package, and see if I could stretch to having bluetooth on it too.

Lazy_Hippo · 6 July 2005 at 9:16PM

You don't get much more portable than sat nav on your phone!
T-mobile currently offering SDA + co-pilot sat nav for free if you sign up to £29 per month 18 month contract. Used co-pilot for a couple of months and it works fine. Supposed to be bringing in traffic avoidence soon. Can be updated with the latest speed - sorry - safety camera database as well. Tom tom also have a product out for smartphones which you can also get on Orange - SPV 500 or very soon SPV 550.

Help! Which Sat Nav do you recommend

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