Sat Nav or Maps on iPhone

WLITC

Friend has mentioned he wants a Sat Nav and I was thinking of getting him one for Xmas. Now I don't drive very often, but about a year back I used my iPhone/Mpas to drive through central London and it was great. My only experience with a Sat Nav was 4-5 ys ago when I borrowed one and I remember it lost the signal/satelitte a number of times.

So quesion is, do I get a proper Sat Nav or should I get him a mount kit and a car charger for the iPhone instead? Do Sat Nav's still lose satellite often? Do App versions suffer less from this as they use mobile signal too?

giraffe69

Versions on a tablet use gps i.e they work without mobile phone signal. Some free software has limitations(e.g. no speed cameras). You need a decent mount and they vary by vehicle. Not a great idea to use a suction mount on the windscreen with a larger tablet. Brodit are a good make.
My Satnav (oldish TomTom) rarely loses signal.

ariba10

The big advantage of an internet connected device is that the maps are always up to date.

TadleyBaggie

I use TomTom on an iPhone and have no problems. Because it has a data connection I subscribe to the live traffic data too, which is very useful.

Iceweasel

Best advice would be to get a Garmin (or TomTom) with lifetime updates - often included in a promotion.

Mine has live traffic data and is hands-free bluetooth connected to my Blackberry.

I get at least 4 updates a year as and when the maps are updated by Nav-Teq who do the maps for almost every manufacturer/system - so the internet i-Phone stuff would be no newer.

As for losing the signal - that is most unusual - except in tunnels or multi-story car parks.

If I can see the sky - I have a signal.

I wouldn't even consider using a smart phone instead of a 'proper' dedicated Sat-Nav.

I've tried all the options - including a built-in Sat-Nav and a portable Garmin or TomTom is the way to go.

It can be transferred from car to car and carried with you on foot in a city centre.

Stoke

Horses for courses, mobiles are good, but I prefer a dedicated GPS for various reasons.

Andy_L

Dedicated GPSs:

IME are faster to acquire the GPS signal & update routes
require the maps to be updated by plugging it into a computer
can be left in the car

Smart Phones:

Cheaper as you own the phone already
require you to buy a map package unless you rely on always having a fast enough data connection for Google maps

Stoke

Modern GPS also may have TMC live traffic.

daveyjp

I recently used an iphone satnav to see what it was like. It is very poor compared to a the Garmin I own. It seemed to select a route which was as close as possible to as the crow flies, which meant lots of back streets, junctions etc.

It was slow to calculate routes when I deliberately ignored it and it was giving instructions on which exit to use at a roundabout after I had already exited.

Mr_Mink

Iceweasel wrote: »

It can be transferred from car to car and carried with you on foot in a city centre.

Whilst I agree the Garmin are great Sat Nav's, my one and a half year old one that came with my car can only go about 5 mins under it's own steam since the battery is so hopeless. In the on-the-go regard, mobiles do have one up on a Sat Nav.

Wh05apk

I think this depends on use, if just for occasional use then a phone based system is fine, if being used for multidrop van deliveries daily then a dedicated system would be best, I have an inbuilt system in the car as I like it to be neat without trailing wires etc, but also use a phone system occasionally for new roads/estates etc