Sat Nav or Phone?

Svein_Forkbeard · 3 July 2018 at 10:55AM

What are people using these days?

My TomTom has died in the heat and interestingly I had to use my android phone yesterday and Google maps. Which saved me 50 minutes by giving me an option to avoid a car on fire on the Edinburgh ringroad. Which I thought was brilliant, but obviously relies on data.

My problem is, do I want my phone cluttered up with Google Maps when driving?

What is the best option? I think I would prefer a standalone option unless you guys can persuade me otherwise?

suki1964 · 3 July 2018 at 11:00AM

I have only ever used google maps

Mr Suki has built in sat nav but I still find google maps easier to use

Svein_Forkbeard · 3 July 2018 at 11:02AM

suki1964 wrote: »

I have only ever used google maps

Mr Suki has built in sat nav but I still find google maps easier to use

The problem is see is using Spotify and taking the very odd call (hands free) at critical moments could be an issue

Fennite · 3 July 2018 at 11:07AM

you can download google map data for offline use. Data is so cheap now, that using google maps shouldn't really be costing a great deal of money.

Rambosmum · 3 July 2018 at 11:15AM

Googlemaps.

We use Spotify and take calls - all using 'ok google'. When in driving mode Google is very clever and usually connects to the in car Bluetooth etc.

I'd never buy a sat nav. Just get a decent holder, a decent charger and a decent data package (I pay £15 sim only for 8GB on Tesco mobile).

Svein_Forkbeard · 3 July 2018 at 11:17AM

Fennite wrote: »

you can download google map data for offline use. Data is so cheap now, that using google maps shouldn't really be costing a great deal of money.

Thanks I have no problem using data on my phone but what other options do you have?

JessyRM · 3 July 2018 at 11:20AM

I use my phone, my sat nav was stolen and I never felt the need to replace it. A good holder is needed. The only issue I have is when I'm in rural areas and need to set a new destination - can't always do it due to signal. I don't do anything else on my phone whilst driving, there is a setting that puts calls automatically to VM if I'm using maps.

System · 3 July 2018 at 11:45AM

Phone. I have a Tomtom but its sat in a drawer unused for a few years now. Traditional Satnav can't compete with Google Maps both for the accuracy of the information due to how long it takes them to do a map update and all the extras such as business locations - when delivering to stores for my company I just type in the business name and the town, don't have to type in the address.

There are free offline offerings for those times where you're out of signal or have no data. I use HERE WeGo which is free and if you've enough storage you can download offline maps for the entire world.

Arklight · 3 July 2018 at 12:03PM

What you tend to find is that a phone will get pretty hot running live maps, maxing out screen brightness, running GPS, polling data between mobile towers in a moving vehicle, playing music via Bluetooth and all the background apps. If you have it in a holder on the dash it can get very very hot.

If it's plugged in you may well find that the power drain is too much for the USB charger and the phone will need to draw on the battery to make up the difference. It will then be discharging and charging simultaneously, which creates even more heat, directly in the battery.

All this heat spells death for Li-ion batteries and if you toast your phone in this way regularly you'll be rapidly ageing yours.

For that reason if it's a phone you care about I would avoid using it as an all in one, at least on long journeys. There is a reason why 2 year old windscreen fitted Sat Navs can barely hold a charge.