best satnav?

CardinalWolsey

wongataa wrote: »

Which is fine if you plan the route when you have a mobile data connection but if you need to start a route when you don't Google Maps is useless. Just something to be aware of.

You can download significant areas of mapping from Google for offline use. In the app (on Android), select the menu button, and choose OfflineMaps, then Select Your Own Map. This will work for route planning, but obviously you'll need a data connection for traffic info.

Tallaght

I used a tomtom driving all over europe with work and never had a problem.Ideal for locating all petrol stations around europe.

knightstyle

Just a simple question, do the phone apps use satellite signals or phone signals for navigation? Where we are in France at the moment there is no mobile signal for much of the region.
We are using a 5 year old Garmin and it is fine. My main gripe is that it insists on a street and places such as Nantes Airport do not have a street in the address!

wongataa

CardinalWolsey wrote: »

You can download significant areas of mapping from Google for offline use. In the app (on Android), select the menu button, and choose OfflineMaps, then Select Your Own Map. This will work for route planning, but obviously you'll need a data connection for traffic info.

I know. Handy if you plan in advance but sometimes that is not possible.

RumRat

One of the best for use on the phone IMO is 'Here WeGo'. It's based on the old Nokia maps which MS took and used on Windows phones. Now owned by a consortium of car manufactures including BMW & VW, Ford also use them in their vehicles.
If you like Garmin, then this is where they get their mapping from.

iltisman

I have used TomToms for years and I think they went through a golden era between 2006-2011 when the top of the range models 730 s etc were really good. Recently I bought a TT Go5200 for £200+ because it had traffic etc .It is absolute rubbish, much more difficult to operate and the traffic info is a joke. I will be digging out a old TT and just put up with the outdated maps etc.

gardner1

iltisman wrote: »

I have used TomToms for years and I think they went through a golden era between 2006-2011 when the top of the range models 730 s etc were really good. Recently I bought a TT Go5200 for £200+ because it had traffic etc .It is absolute rubbish, much more difficult to operate and the traffic info is a joke. I will be digging out a old TT and just put up with the outdated maps etc.

Have to agree the new ones are rubbish i tired it and after a week it went back to tesco carefully wrapped for full refund
Got hold of a go 820 live with 5 yrs traffic for £100

mgfvvc

knightstyle wrote: »

Just a simple question, do the phone apps use satellite signals or phone signals for navigation? Where we are in France at the moment there is no mobile signal for much of the region.
We are using a 5 year old Garmin and it is fine. My main gripe is that it insists on a street and places such as Nantes Airport do not have a street in the address!

Smart phones have GPS (satellite navigation) built in so they mainly use satellite signals and should work fine with no phone signal. If they rely on a central server to actually do the route calculation and searches that can cause issues. I had problems with the HereWeGo app being unable to find an address when it had no signal. Once it had its destination set it was fine.


Does your Garmin not have Nantes Airport in the transport section? Mine has places of interest as well as address search.

RumRat

mgfvvc wrote: »

Smart phones have GPS (satellite navigation) built in so they mainly use satellite signals and should work fine with no phone signal. If they rely on a central server to actually do the route calculation and searches that can cause issues. I had problems with the HereWeGo app being unable to find an address when it had no signal. Once it had its destination set it was fine.


Does your Garmin not have Nantes Airport in the transport section? Mine has places of interest as well as address search.

HereWeGo needs you to download maps, from within the settings.
Not having a signal shouldn't be a problem.

Fennite

I use both a Garmin satnav and google maps at same time. If i'm in an area with poor singal or abroad I use maps.me app, which uses open street maps. This has given me turn by turn navigation in Peru, Morocco and Thailand. The garmin is good as a back up but i'd never spend ££ on a standalone satnav unit again, no need with the plethora of apps on mobiles.

I love the way google warns me of traffic ahead and dynamically reroutes me. Waze is great as you can report accidents and blockages.

I download off line maps for google maps and maps.me. When I get in the car, and choose a route, google will give me several options and show how heavy the traffic is on each route if I zoom in.