tomtom or garmin

xyz123

hi

looks like my tomtom go 520 is at the end of its life. there is an issue with screen keyboard calibration where it doesnt recognise the correct keys (picks up the keys next to one which i press!). so need a new sat nav.

not particularly after anything fancy.

having not used garmin before i want to find out if its better than tomtom?

ta

John_Gray

Unfortunately your question is rather like, "Is a Ford better than a Toyota?"

You need to say what features you find necessary, useful, or just a waste of money. How much do you want to spend?

I've always had Garmins (well, a total of two!), so my view might be mildly biased.

xyz123

query was about compression between tomtom and garmin from anyone who has used them both and not asking for any particular model.

there are no specific requirements. budget is around £100 to £120. would be nice to have traffic update (without subscription) and map updates but not mandatory!

ballyblack

I have used both. For me Garmin was more accurate!

kwikbreaks

I've used both. I prefer the TomTom GUI. Not noticed any difference in route choices - I've been tricked into cutting a corner using roads with the mirrors scraping hedges both sides and grass down the middle with both - http://www.idontbelieveit.me.uk/satellite-navigators/

The reason I swapped was twofold...

I was paying for the TomTom traffic and speed cameras but my need for traffic disappeared when I retired. When the traffic sub expired it didn't just leave the speed cameras as they were with no updates it removed them which I found very annoying.

Maps get out of date slowly but at the time you couldn't just update to current you had to pay a fortune to bring an old map up to date.

Anyhow I saw a Garmin for just over £100 which came with free lifetime map updates and traffic alerts.

I flogged the TomTom on eBayfor ~ £50 and bought the Garmin.

Points to note..
I paid for a year of Garmin cameras. When I let it expire the camera warnings were not deleted - they won't get updated of course but few councils now are installing cameras anyway.

The subscription based TomTom HD Live traffic is imo better than the Garmin traffic which is based on Traffic Master cameras. I think some TomToms offer that option too.

I'm pretty sure I saw a TomTomnot long back which offered inclusive map updates.

I will stick with the Garmin but some of the reasons for swapping are no longer applicable.

spud17

kwikbreaks, you've linked to the wrong picture, that's the equivalent of a motorway for some of us.:)

prowla

Have you got an iPhone?

I replaced my TomTom with the app on the iPhone.

wba31

Plus one for the smartphone option. I did buy Tomtom for iPhone but Apple maps and google maps nav are perfectly fine for free...

If you don't have a smartphone, my father in law has a garmin with free traffic, quite useful.

I used to have a tom-tom xl - and i would put the traffic alerts thing on my car stereo... i preferred the ui of tom-tom, it's far simpler. my tom-tom didn't last as long as the father in laws garmin though...

searchlight123

Well I just bought a garmin nuvi 2508 because it had free lifetime maps and traffic after only using tomtoms. Hate it. Going to sell it and get another tomtom. The garmin digital traffic is rubbish compared to tomtom hd traffic in terms of accuracy.
You cannot create or edit personal poi categories on the go with a garmin.
I can't wait to get back to a tomtom. I reckon if tomtom is equivalent to windows then garmin is equivalent to Linux. You need to work a lot harder to get a garmin to do half what a tomtom can do easily.

macman

If you want traffic reports and mapping updates without an annual sub then your choice is made for you: it will have to be a Garmin.

RumRat

Navigator, free on Android, has, so far, never let me down. My TomTom died in the middle of a trip and forced me to use one of those map thingies!!:eek:
Don't think I'll pay for another one.