best sat nav ??

kendun

I think the Tomtom one is a really good sat nav system.It gets the satellite reception quickly compared to other systems(mate's got a garmin and the tomtom's loads quicker).Has good touch screen options and is quite compact.
I havent used any of the software options yet.
I would definitely recommend this sat nav system.Have not had any problems till now and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Bernie

...a Garmin Streetpilot C510 (Car), Garmin Vista Cx (Handheld, used for cycling and walking) and I have an Ipaq Pocket PC/Phone with TomTom 5 (used with a Bluetooth GPS).

The Ipaq is my constant work companion so is the kit I carry and use most frequently. It is fiddly to set up compared to the dedicated GPS units such as our C510 but since I use it in the car as a phone (with a BT earpiece), it is a real all-in-one solution for me - complete with a daily update of camera locations. At home, synch-ed with Outlook, I control the phone from the PC - excellent for typing proper text messages, amending details, whatever. However, if it was left out in the rain... it's dead!

I find the C510 acquires its location very quickly. It is a doddle to use, controlled purely through the touch-screen. It is far superior to TomTom at re-routing when you turn off of the current route. The TomTom will doggedly try to get you back the route it first found even if you don't want to (for example when we left the static M25 after Xmas, it just kept trying to get back into the jam). You have to force TomTom to find another route which means you have to start operating the kit while driving (yeah! I know, you can stop, but not on a red route). By contrast, the Garmin will start from scratch immediately if "realises" you're "Off-route" and have dumped the current calculated route and then it will find the best new route from where you are now and where you want to be.

The C510 has an internal rechargeable battery so can be used away from the car. Again, another unit that inclement weather would kill...

The Vista is waterproof and has been across the Cairngorms in the foulest of weather where it didn't skip a beat.

The C510 is our lastest bit of kit - bought the De Luxe version (Halfords, now £199.99, 4% off with Quidco). This package deal comes with City Navigator NT Europe V9 that can be used with the Vista Cx to provide auto-routing in that device - brilliant for cycling. The C510 also has camera locations and free lifetime traffic info that is used to get you round hold-ups in real-time. If you own another Garmin unit that can auto-route, this package is very attractive option.

...so, the advice from me, as a long time GPS fan and gadget geek, is that your choice of GPS unit should a case of finding the unit that provides the solution YOU need. When I leave the house, I take the kit that does the job I need doing.

milkydrink

Bernie wrote: »

...a Garmin Streetpilot C510 (Car), Garmin Vista Cx (Handheld, used for cycling and walking) and I have an Ipaq Pocket PC/Phone with TomTom 5 (used with a Bluetooth GPS).

I find the C510 acquires its location very quickly. It is a doddle to use, controlled purely through the touch-screen. It is far superior to TomTom at re-routing when you turn off of the current route. The TomTom will doggedly try to get you back the route it first found even if you don't want to (for example when we left the static M25 after Xmas, it just kept trying to get back into the jam). You have to force TomTom to find another route which means you have to start operating the kit while driving (yeah! I know, you can stop, but not on a red route). By contrast, the Garmin will start from scratch immediately if "realises" you're "Off-route" and have dumped the current calculated route and then it will find the best new route from where you are now and where you want to be.
.

The TomTom One is a touch-screen & it re-routes itself for you. It's a TomTom 5 (?) you have.
You can get online offers with codes, (look in the code folder) the best price I've seen was about £165 online with codes from Dixons. I saw that on here.

Slapps

Bernie wrote: »

...a Garmin Streetpilot C510 (Car), Garmin Vista Cx (Handheld, used for cycling and walking) and I have an Ipaq Pocket PC/Phone with TomTom 5 (used with a Bluetooth GPS).

so do u get lost alot then ?

i have the older tomtom one and it's paid 4 itself times over. i love my tomtom but i do think that it's the norm when it comes 2 sat nav's, personally if it gets u from a to b then it does it's job.

tho u do have 2 use some common sence so that u don't end up drivin on railway tracks like some in the news lately lol

jdcampbell

kimevans wrote: »

The TomTom One is a touch-screen & it re-routes itself for you. It's a TomTom 5 (?) you have.
You can get online offers with codes, (look in the code folder) the best price I've seen was about £165 online with codes from Dixons. I saw that on here.

Best price on Tomtom One is £158 at https://www.autobestbuy.co.uk

Wrt to what someone said before about Tomtom'd re-routing wanting to take you back to the original route; this is true, but you just need to ask it to recalcualte the route if you want to reset it from where you are, which is only 3 taps on the screen. On older version you could change the routing algorithm from quick(which took you back to the original route) or comprehensive (which recalcualted everything if you went off the route). I can't seem to find that option now, so I presume it has gone.

Bernie

jdcampbell wrote: »

Best price on Tomtom One is £158 at https://www.autobestbuy.co.uk

Wrt to what someone said before about Tomtom'd re-routing wanting to take you back to the original route; this is true, but you just need to ask it to recalcualte the route if you want to reset it from where you are, which is only 3 taps on the screen.

Quite true, but then the TomTom software gets a huff on and studiously avoids using any parts of the original route and deliberately generates a complete new route as far from the old one as possible. Using TT, I find that after passing the thing I was trying to avoid, I have to go through the screens again to make the kit recalculate the original route again. A nuisance and a distraction. Garmin's kit simply has a more elegant solution in this situation.

Like everything else, some stuff is better than others in certain situations, I have built up a collection of GPS units simply because I've not found one to have all the answers - for example, only the Garmin handheld is waterproof and floats, good thing for the great outdoors. The Ipaq has an excellent, vibrant display - but must cosseted and be treated very delicately.

So if any tells you that Brand X GPS kit is the answer to GPS life, the universe and everything - it isn't!

...and no! I never get lost! I now consider having a GPS to be the same as having a watch because, like all humans, I have no inherent sense of time and space! Best bit of technology for years....

:beer:

Clowance

Bernie wrote: »

Like everything else, some stuff is better than others in certain situations, I have built up a collection of GPS units...
:beer:

Ok so which is the best for navigating in Europe. We are going to France (Paris environs) soon and need to get around, and far less importantly, also in Corfu which has rubbish roads apparently. We wouldn't use it much in this country as we rarely go anywhere we don't already know well.

We are not looking to pay much, either!

Has anyone bought a second hand one (probably from an upgraded gadget freak) and is this a good way to go?

Bernie

Clowance wrote: »

Ok so which is the best for navigating in Europe. We are going to France (Paris environs) soon and need to get around, and far less importantly, also in Corfu which has rubbish roads apparently. We wouldn't use it much in this country as we rarely go anywhere we don't already know well.

We are not looking to pay much, either!

Has anyone bought a second hand one (probably from an upgraded gadget freak) and is this a good way to go?

Oooh! Far to difficult to say which unit would be best? I'm on a hiding to nothing to answer that! ...do you want a colour screen? what size screen? sound? internal battery? waterproof? internal memory capacity for maps, amount of detail on the mapping? Do you want to be able to access the mapping software on your PC? What other software do you want to use with your hardware?

The whole area is as big a minefield as buying a PC in terms of variables.

I would say that all the modern units are moving towards a common set of capabilities. Your idea of buying some-one else's kit is an excellent idea - I flog off my redundant kit through eBay each time I upgrade to add some new capability. I have been doing this for about 7/8 years, gone through about a dozen different car and handhelds to reach my current state of GPS Nirvana!

Just make sure you have a list of questions about your must-have capabilities to ask the seller before jumping in. Once you've used whatever you buy, you will have a new, longer list of questions for the next time!

:beer:

akane_2

The government is considering banning all Sat/Nav with a display and only units that give voice commands will be legal.

petetidball

I got a Navman F20 a couple of weeks ago and I love it. It's really easy to use and seems to be one of the cheapest. It was £150 at Asda but I managed to get it for £102 with postage on ebay. Keep an eye on ebay and you should get a good deal.