Help with USA, Europe and UK Sat nav please

blue_monkey_2

I am trying to find a sat nav that will cover UK and Europe, but as we are hiring a car for a week in the USA we thought we might try to get one with that on too. Any ideas? I am getting confused.

I have found Tomtom Start with UK & Europe for £99.99 but it is £60 for USA Maps. I have found a Garmin Nuvi 1370 for £180 and this has all of them but then the Tomtom will be cheaper. Is one better than the other?

I've no idea what I am doing, can someone help please.

eslick

with the tomom start you will need to delete the current maps and add the US ones, then when you get back do the reverse.

We have a Tomtom xl and have to do this, its easier to buy one with a SD card slot.

the start one is the basic, to get a SD card one will be more expensive but worth it, if you would get back from the US and need to use the UK maps to get home you wouldnt be able to do this.

a few relations have bought refurbs from here, great quaility

http://www.totalpda.co.uk/tomtom.10026/

and often have them with the US maps as well.

Ours model has lane assist and iq routes as well, this is a great feature to have.

Not sure about the other makes, we went for the tomtom because it always seems to get the best reviews

jimmyriddle77

I lent my friend my TomTom last year to go to the USA but said he ended up renting a GPS unit from the car-hire firm as he said it was free anyway! I think he said they are fairly cheap to rent as well. Worth haggling I spose. Good Luck!

blue_monkey_2

Thanks, this is most useful. I am going to find out how much they charge for the Sat Nav over there first and if not, look for the Sat Nav with the SD card slot.

Hammyman

Got a Nokia phone with a built in GPS? If so, download and install Ovi Maps form the Nokia Ovi Store which is free. Get a big memory card and download the maps you need onto it (8GB should get most of the world) and all you'll need is a mobile phone holder to stick on the windscreen and a charge lead to run the phone from as it eats the battery when using satnav on the phone.

I've compared Ovi Maps on my Nokia 5800 to my Tomtom XXL and Ovi Maps, whilst not as good interface and a bit wierd with the voice warning timings, does a good job and takes comparable routes.

blue_monkey_2

He has an iphone and has downloaded something onto it already and we use that while out and about as a family, but first it sounds rubbish and I do not think I could listen to it all the way to Paris, it sounds distored (not to mention that it seems to 'lag' and we end up having to turn around and go back as the turnning comes up before it shows on the screen) and second, if I lost it he would hit the roof and it is a lot to replace as he got it on pAYG. I thought that it would be easier to have a sat nav I could use if I needed it too, instead of relying on his iphone.

I am getting a Blackberry something-or-other next week and apparently that has Blackberry Maps on it too (for free? I've no idea right now) so maybe I could use that when I am out. The Europe Sat Nav ap he wants has risen to £70 and halfords have a sat nav with European Maps for £69.99 so this is why I was trying to work out what was what.