Trying to decide on a satnav

vinylmusic

Lum wrote: »

Which version of Android are you on?

Version 2.3.5

Lum

The internet connection is for A-GPS (assisted GPS). Basically it looks at which mobile phone mast it's connected to, looks that mast up on the internet to know roughly where in the world it is (Android calls this "coarse location") and uses that information to narrow down it's search for GPS satellites.

If you turn off data, it should still be able to get a GPS lock the old fashioned way, it just takes a bit longer. If you're impatient, you can speed this up if you download the "GPS Status" app, and use that to force it to download A-GPS data from the internet in advance, otherwise it downloads this from the GPS satellites which takes a while.

And here are some instructions to download google maps in advance. You would, again, do this while you are in the house connected to your wireless network

http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/download-map-area-added-to-labs-in.html

The important thing is to find the setting in Android that makes it not use any data when roaming!

That plus downloading the maps in advance is the only bit you really need to know.

The_Grouch

I just bought one of these to replace my brilliant old ebuyer value satnav, which had been hacked to run tomtom.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOMTOM-ONE-IQ-ROUTES-GPS-SATELLITE-NAVIGATION-UK-ROI-/280845307715?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_GPSSystems_GPSSystems&hash=item4163af4f43

I thought it was a good deal, no lifetime updates I'm afraid, but it is quite cheap. I also like the simple mounting bracket on these, especially compared to the horrendous thing that came with the ebuyer one!

nickj_2

i have a garmin nuvi 1350 and whilst it is very accurate , the route it wants to send you on leave a lot to be desired , whilst in france last year i was staying about 5 minutes from a dual carriageway , not once on the return journey would it direct me home on that road , most of the time it wanted to send me down single track lanes , so most of the time i ignored it

vinylmusic

The_Grouch wrote: »

I just bought one of these to replace my brilliant old ebuyer value satnav, which had been hacked to run tomtom.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOMTOM-ONE-IQ-ROUTES-GPS-SATELLITE-NAVIGATION-UK-ROI-/280845307715?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_GPSSystems_GPSSystems&hash=item4163af4f43

I thought it was a good deal, no lifetime updates I'm afraid, but it is quite cheap. I also like the simple mounting bracket on these, especially compared to the horrendous thing that came with the ebuyer one!

For one it doesnt have eurpean maps.
I find it a bit much for a second hand tomtom withg small screen
Whats more I hesitate from buying from ebay. Cant trust a warranty like you can from a regular store
Well thats my feelings anyway.
Is that your ebay account ?

The_Grouch

vinylmusic wrote: »

For one it doesnt have eurpean maps.
I find it a bit much for a second hand tomtom withg small screen
Whats more I hesitate from buying from ebay. Cant trust a warranty like you can from a regular store
Well thats my feelings anyway.
Is that your ebay account ?

Not a great price for a second-hand tom tom, but a good price for a new one from Tesco!

I realise it doesn't fit your requirements, but I thought I would suggest it anyway as it was half the price of the one you were looking at.

stressedofthecentury

On the grabbit board the other day there were some sat navs selling really cheap from Halfords. They were Navman and Navigon for £10 and various TomTom models for £25. The stock checker isn't accurate though as it says they are out of stock, when in fact some stores have them in stock when you go in person and have a look. You can look at which models they are in the clearance section on the Halfords website. Some cleverer person than me may be able to provide a link. HTH.

stressedofthecentury

Also I think there was some Garmin models going cheaper but I can't remember the price of those.

vinylmusic

stressedofthecentury wrote: »

On the grabbit board the other day there were some sat navs selling really cheap from Halfords. They were Navman and Navigon for £10 and various TomTom models for £25. The stock checker isn't accurate though as it says they are out of stock, when in fact some stores have them in stock when you go in person and have a look. You can look at which models they are in the clearance section on the Halfords website. Some cleverer person than me may be able to provide a link. HTH.

I've wasted lots of time on Halfords website . They advertize lots of end of line and refurbished deals but whhen I tried to buy one it was either out of stock or available in a store 100 miles away and they wont send it by mail either.
A complete waste of time
The amount of stock that they advertize but don't have
I think it's deliberate so tat they get found on search engines like Google

vinylmusic

Instead of spending so much on a new satnav I've decided to stick with the one I've got
It's a Medion GoPal
It lacks a few bells and whistles but it has East and Western European maps.
I've been all over France Holland, Belgium and Spain with it and although the maps are now out of date I've found only minor problems
Once it thought I was in a field instead of the new traffic system I was on.
The biggest drawback is POI's
most of those offered by companies are only for TomTom or Garmin etc. Never for Gopal
I was a bit astonished at the cost of map and speed camera updates. Almost as costly as the Satnav itself

One thing I have noticed though
Here in UK most satnav's are sold with UK and ROI maps and you pay extra for European ones
If your in Europe you get European maps as standard and they include UK and ROI
Another example of ripp off Britain

I bought my Gopal in Belgium around 18 months ago
Actually it seems not to have missed a speed camera yet

I only wish there was a way to convert POI's to work with it.

I'm going to play around with my Android phone and hopefully it will get me those POI's that I miss