Sat Nav or Phone?

takman

Richard53 wrote: »

Going a bit against the flow here. I don't drive for a living, and I rarely need to be anywhere in the fastest possible time. I commute to work along a well-known route, and any other mileage is generally not under pressure of time. So I prioritise ease of use above shaving seconds off a route.

Having said that, I am old-school enough to prefer a separate device. I have used a phone to navigate when I needed directions quickly, and it was OK. But for regular use I much prefer my TomTom. It's clever, consistent and very user-friendly.

Even a phone is better than the built-in satnavs I have used (Skoda and Mercedes). Both seemed clumsy to use, have some serious inaccuracies in the mapping and, worst of all, the screen is buried somewhere by your left knee.

I know I am being left behind by technology here, but it's my preference.

If your not concerned about potential traffic or how long it takes to get there then i find the best way is to look at the route online before you go. You then don't need a Sat Nav at all and know exactly where you need to go. This is what i prefer to do as and only use Google Maps on my phone if it's somewhere difficult to find or if i'm expecting traffic and need to get there quick.

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

The BIG difference is between the size of the phone screen and the size of the SatNav screen. We zoomed in to make it easier for me to see the map on the phone, but still quite hard to read. Brightness: maybe we needed to adjust that too, didn't think of that.

And THEN we found that it didn't seem to be updating so well: with the SatNav the arrow that was our position stayed in the middle of the screen, but with the phone we seemed to 'lose' our position quickly.

It does depend on what phone you have. I have the Galaxy S7 edge which has a 5.5" screen which is bigger than a typical Sat Nav screen and it's not the biggest phone you can get.

If you have a small phone with a poor GPS then i agree it would not be very good. But if your buying a phone and a GPS then you could combine the money you would spend on both and get a very decent phone with money left over.

takman

Arklight wrote: »

I might be slightly more biased against Google because having to arrange a roaming data connection overseas requires some arrangement and cost.

What countries are you visiting and what network are you on?. I have a contract with Three and there are a lot of countries where you can use your phone at no extra cost including data, this includes the US and the EU.

Arklight

takman wrote: »

What countries are you visiting and what network are you on?. I have a contract with Three and there are a lot of countries where you can use your phone at no extra cost including data, this includes the US and the EU.

Unfortunately we aren't on 3 at work. The Vodafone international roaming package IT have chosen (and refuse to change) is almost comically unsuitable for international roaming. Something like £5 for every 3MB of data.

I usually buy a US Sim card with data and use that. Phone plans in the US are extortionate compared to what we are used to, but it's $100 for data for a month rather than explaining a £2k+ phone bill.

robatwork

Takman - shhhhh!

The more that are happy with TomTom/Garmin the merrier.

Savvy_Sue

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Sue are you using the maps app or viewing in a browser window? I found Google maps laggy and sporadic when viewing in a browser but pretty good when using the dedicated app. Traffic info does have annoying tendency to occasionally disappear completely though. Usually when I need it most.

I think it was the maps app, but I left it to DH to play around.

DoaM wrote: »

Check if your car's infotainment system supports Android Auto / Apple CarPlay. If it does then you can integrate Google maps (for example) into the same screen as where the car's satnav resides. The benefits?

Bigger screen (than the phone)
Familiar location (for satnav)
Phone is plugged in and charging

I'll get DH to take a look because that's all above my paygrade ... It would never have occurred to me to call the radio and CD player behind the SatNav an 'infotainment system'.

takman wrote: »

If you have a small phone with a poor GPS then i agree it would not be very good. But if your buying a phone and a GPS then you could combine the money you would spend on both and get a very decent phone with money left over.

that's why I'm letting DH play: his phone is better than mine, which regularly seizes up and runs out of space even though I am not a heavy App user. I need to buy a new one, but I MUST have a small one: if it doesn't fit in my pocket, it's no use at all.

Richard53

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

It would never have occurred to me to call the radio and CD player behind the SatNav an 'infotainment system'.

Nor would it to any normal human being. It's a ghastly word for a silly concept.


My wife's Skoda has an infotainment system. It is so self-important that if you want to drive without the radio or satnav on, you have to endure a display in front of you that says "THE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM IS SWITCHED OFF!" as if you didn't know and needed telling.

Svein_Forkbeard

Thank you all for the replies as with most things ion life their are a number of ways to skin a cat.

I'm starting to think Google maps is the way forward mores so because of the expense of a decent all singing Sat Nav these days.

I have been looking for a PAYG Data only sim, appears to be a bit like hens teeth. Any one know of any?

mgfvvc

Svein_Forkbeard wrote: »

I have been looking for a PAYG Data only sim, appears to be a bit like hens teeth. Any one know of any?

There ain't no such thing as a data only SIM, as far as I know. You can get data only plans, but the SIM will still allow text and voice and you get billed for those.


If you want data on PAYG, O2 and Three are a penny per MegaByte. Everyone else seems to charge vastly more for off plan data.