Tom tom 500 or Garmin Nuvi 300 ???

[GPSamurai]

Basically which sjould be bought?

About same price, tom tom has bluetooth, nuvi lots of other add ons - non of which i expect to use.

have read that garmin maps are better ??
garmin smaller

tom tom more common in uk and can have a 'play' with it in shops, garmon i can't find.

which would you buy? (and why?)

[StevenGourlay]

I have no personal experience with the Garmin unit but have used TomTom range a lot over the years. What exactly are you looking for?

Full postcode?
Handsfree?
Euro maps?
Traffic updates?
Speed camera install?
_________________
Regards
Steven Gourlay
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[GPSamurai]

They both do full postcode, they are both touch screen , they both can have europe maps if you want and you can install the cameras on both if you want.

The tom tom will give you bluetooth but i have no need for that.

I want to know which is the best in terms of.

accurate mapping
alternate routing
reliability
battery life
physical robustness
recalculation speeds (and does it simply ask for a u-turn)

in other words I am interested in the the navigation aspects rather than the add ons

thanx for your time

[MrGumby]

If you don't want bluetooth, why are you looking at TT500? The TT300 would offer a more appropriate comparsion with nuvi 300. In fact, go for the One, not the 300 - it's smaller and has a better receiver chip (same as nuvi).

So, nuvi vs TT One? They're very different. Others will have their own views, but here's my summary, based more on extensive research than practical experience. You need to double-check any points that are important to you, although no doubt plenty of people here will correct me (my ulterior motive for posting!).

Nuvi strengths:

• Small, attractive, pocketable
• Text-to-speech (e.g. "Turn right onto High Street" instead of "Turn right")
• Brighter display?
• Better mapping (according to most users)
• POIs – more detail, easier to locate, more accurate on map
• Automatic switching to night mode.
• Other frills such as MP3 player

TomTom One strengths:

• Speed-dependent volume
• Multiple via points - great for advance route planning
• More routing options (fastest, shortest…)
• Faster route calc/recalc?
• Smoother scrolling?
• Better auto-zooming?
• Generally better spoken instructions, e.g. reassurance such as “keep left” or “go straight”
• Dedicated “Go home” button
• Latitude/Longitude display
• Qwerty-layout keyboard
• Paper manual
• More accessories available

The majority of people who had used both to any degree missed many TomTom features but overall preferred nuvi.

Me? I'm waiting until I see what gets announced at CeBIT!

[MaFt]

text to speech isonly on the nuvi 350 NOT the 300.

there's a review of the tom tom one on the main site (link here) and there will also be a review of the nuvi 300 sometime soon (i wrote it, so i know it's on its way!)

as for recalculations when you go wrong the nuvi can have various settings changed such as 'avoid u-turns', 'avoid toll roads', avoid motorways, avoid unpaved roads etc etc.

the battery in the nuvi will last about 5 to 6 hours before needing charging, whereas apparently the tom tom one will only last about 2 hours before recharging. you can charge both via the in-car charger but if you don't like wires everywhere then the nuvi will last a lot longer on battery - handy for using it as an mp3 player or audible book reader or language translator etc outside of the car.

hope thats a bit of help

MaFt

[MrGumby]

Lots of interesting comment here, but takes a lot of reading between the lines:

http://37signals.com/svn/archives2/garmin_nuvi_350_insanely_recommended.php

[GPSamurai]

Thank you all.
Look forward to reading the review....
:D :D

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