What Satnav?

murphydavid

Looking for a new Satnav and found one on Amazon that is cheap just what I want and has 35 - 5 star reviews and proclaims “Life time map updates” Being of a sceptical nature I tried to find out the truth of that statement. This one states it is a Winston make but there are a number of makes that all seem to be the same machine and state Lifetime map update. I have tried to research them but Amazon reviews are the only ones I can find and none of them have commented on trying to update the maps. Maybe because they are new and no one has tried. I’m sure they don’t update via satellite and I know companies like Garmin make a big issue of managing their maps. So are these satnavs some kind of Chinese clones where the maps don’t actually update, similar to their 9000mAh batteries that only actually hold 400mAh if your lucky another scam sold on Amazon.

EssexExile

Use a phone & Google, why buy a satnav?

Carrot007

EssexExile wrote: »

Use a phone & Google, why buy a satnav?

Indeed. It does not use much and can be used offline if you download the relevent map area before setting off.


And does a damn better job than any paid for option I have ever seen.


(bike and truck specific options maybe excluded, not that I have need).

veggieblob

I have the TomTom app on my phone. I'm used to a TomTom Satnav so I did this when my last one packed up. It does cost £14.99 pa but it updates frequently (and always when you visit a new area) and gives you constant traffic. I didn't get on as well with Google maps but I have friends who love it.

murphydavid

The reason I use a satnav is for money saving. With pay as you go mobile that is usually connected via internet modems data use is very low and I can get by on £25 a year. The cheapest plan is minimum £60 a year and that has limited data, When travelling using a mobile map app the cost of payg data over the 5 years a sat nav lasts is considerably greater. If you have a need for a mobile contract and have spare data fine otherwise sat nav wins in my opinion

AnotherJoe

murphydavid wrote: »

Looking for a new Satnav and found one on Amazon that is cheap just what I want and has 35 - 5 star reviews and proclaims “Life time map updates”

1. 35 all 5 stars is very suspicious. Check via "fakespot" and 2 Lifetime" is meaningless,what happens when they dissapear?

Being of a sceptical nature I tried to find out the truth of that statement. This one states it is a Winston make but there are a number of makes that all seem to be the same machine and state Lifetime map update. I have tried to research them but Amazon reviews are the only ones I can find and none of them have commented on trying to update the maps. Maybe because they are new and no one has tried. I’m sure they don’t update via satellite and I know companies like Garmin make a big issue of managing their maps. So are these satnavs some kind of Chinese clones where the maps don’t actually update, similar to their 9000mAh batteries that only actually hold 400mAh if your lucky another scam sold on Amazon.

As per others can you not use your phone or an older spare phone? Most of us have one knocking around? With Waze or Google Maps? The only companies id trust with lifetime updates would be garmin and tomtom but google maps are so up to date i dont see how these companies can match that.

RumRat

Lifetime updates being of any use would be entirely dependent on how long the device lasted.
The reviews for it only go back to august so no longevity reports.
They give you a website to go to for downloading updates. Only time will tell how reliable that is.
You pay your money and take your chances with anything cheap. It looks like a generic Chinese SatNav that's re-badged by several companies.
That said, if you get 12 months out of it, for that price, it may be worth it.

Carrot007

murphydavid wrote: »

The reason I use a satnav is for money saving. With pay as you go mobile that is usually connected via internet modems data use is very low and I can get by on £25 a year. The cheapest plan is minimum £60 a year and that has limited data, When travelling using a mobile map app the cost of payg data over the 5 years a sat nav lasts is considerably greater. If you have a need for a mobile contract and have spare data fine otherwise sat nav wins in my opinion

As I said google maps supports offline maps, download them when you have wifi.

murphydavid

Carrot007 wrote: »

As I said google maps supports offline maps, download them when you have wifi.

Many thanks. I must say I overlooked your comment earlier and its a really good solution.

Tom99

Carrot007 wrote: »

As I said google maps supports offline maps, download them when you have wifi.

You can download quite a large area onto your phone to use offline so you don't need to download a new map every time.
I have the south of England as far north as Liverpool and as far west as Bristol, takes about 1GB of space on the phone.

bengalknights

Another thumbs up for Google Maps (offline Mode) or Waze if using data.