sat nav

[Ch3tan]

OKay, my dad wants a sat nav. Now I can get the basic navman i320, the Tomtom Go, or the Tomtom 300 or 500.

Now are the higher end tomtom's worth the extra cash? Money isnt the main issue, want something that will do everything for a long time.

 

[Tom]

Theres a new TomTom out called the One. Might be worth a look at. Also, Aldi do some cheapy satnav systems now and again.

If you get a TomTom, make very sure your protect the product code - my friend has lost his and its proving a nightmare to get it sorted.

 

[SoWat]

I've just been through all this too.

I started looking at the TomTom, and they initially looked quite good. You don't get a mains charger for the 300, which may not be an issue, and the 500 was quite expensive for its feature set.

The Navman 520 looks nice and compact, though the screen did look a little small. It also didn't have full postcode search... at the time I looked anyway.

I ended up getting the Garmin C310, which has full postcode search. It's the same shape as the TomTom (i.e. not easily stuffed in a pocket), but I figured I'd get something which worked well in the car and worry about carting it about afterwards. It works very well, especially with the Speed Camera POI installed from pocketgps.

I'd suggest that you pop down to your local Halfords. They have a demo section of all the SatNav kit they sell, and even if you don't buy from there it's well worth getting them to show you them all in action.

As an aside, Argos have 20% off all SatNav systems until next wednesday... so if they have the one you want, compare the prices there before splashing out.

 

[JBP|]

I use a TomTom 300 at work, It's not bad allthough it does occassionally seem to loose the road (especially if its a new road).

There are quite a few extras you can buy,and stuff you can utilise with the uuse of a bluetooth phone but i dont use them so i dunno how good they are.

 

[GDW]

Dont buy TomTom if you plan doing any driving in Ireland. Map coverage is limited to Greater Belfast and Greater Dublin

 

[Bodhi]

What's the bloody matter with you people? Can none of you read a map or something?

 

[throdgrain]

Women cant read maps its a biological fact

 

[DaGaffer]

What's the bloody matter with you people? Can none of you read a map or something?

*Agrees with Bodhi shocker*

I've got Sat Nav and I think its vastly overrated; you rely on it without really knowing where you're going, so when it inevitably fucks up (like taking you down a newly blocked street or taking you a route you know is going to fucked up with traffic, or simply not knowing the road is there at all, like the M6 toll), you're in trouble. Sat Nav is yet another device that encourages you not to think.

 

[WPKenny]

I've got TomTom on my Symbian OS phone and it's great. Only time it's gone really wrong was today when it took me to a High Street very close to another road called High Street which was the one I wanted to be at.

Other than that I think they're great and take a lot of the stress out of driving.

"There's a turn coming up, is this the one I want? Hurry up! That road there, yes we're on that road. No, the red one, not the blue one. Fuck too late. Oh it was the turning? Great. Oh wait, here's a sign.."Next exit 15 miles". Shit."

 

[JBP|]

What's the bloody matter with you people? Can none of you read a map or something?

Sat nav is fecking great if your going somewhere for the first time and saves lots of time asking people where the fook you areand looking for the right page of the map.


Allthough i sort of have the feeling your going to tell us you can read a map and drive at the same time and you never ever get lost driving in in a new place

 

[~Yuckfou~]

What's the bloody matter with you people? Can none of you read a map or something?

Why would you want to when you can use sat nav. Reading a map when in the middle of a busy city is not only almost impossible but asking for an accident. Why do you post here instead of writing letters to us?
As an (ex)salesman doing 60K+ miles a year I would have had a lot more hassle without it. Plus a map will not bleep when you approach a "safety" camera.
My vote goes with whatever flavour TomTom suits the purpose. I have been using TT more or less since it's launch on an ipaq. I also use the pocketgpsworld speed camera POIs.
Something else that just struck me is that a map won't find you the nearest petrol station when on the motorway and you know you probably won't make it to the next service station. (because you've been too busy talking to the missus and missed your stop :/ )

 

[Turamber]

I like my TomTom Go, excellent piece of kit for an affordable price. I often have to visit new clients/potential clients/other professional advisors so the machine is invaluable. I simpy don't have time to fart about in the office looking through maps and printing off routes, just put the address into the SatNav and off I go.