Any ones to avoid???

paul2000ad · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 6:14 pm Post subject: Any ones to avoid???

Been trying to glean from this forum which sat nav would be 'best' for me, but I've reached the conclusion that it'll be easier to find the answer to "who's got the best socks!". I know, its all a personal thing.
Soooo, I've decided to ask, "are there any sat-nav units to avoid?".
I'm not after much, use about once/twice a month at most, and EASE of use a must, reliability quite high on the list, price unimportant-though I dont want to pay £250ish. for an item which I'll use so infrequently. Oh, and I'd like it to talk, which they all do,............don't they???????

Off to halfords in the morning to have a look, feel and play with what they've got......then buy off the interweb! So thought I'd go armed with the knowledge of what not to buy.

A really big thanks in advance for any help you can provide to this relative novice.

Thank-you.
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Garmin StreetPilot i3 • v8 maps • firmware v3.0 • Audio v2.5 • Owner brightness~Dim •

mikealder · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 6:36 pm Post subject:

Best bet is to stick to either TomTom or Garmin as these offer the best longer term support in way of new software and map updates etc. As for which device if you want it to read out road names then look for Test To Speech on the devices such as the TomTom x20, x30, x40 devices (not too sure about Garmin as I don't use them), the x is a substitue for a number as follows:

5 = UK&ROI mapping
7 = Western Europe mapping
9 = Western and Central Europe PLUS North America as well as a few other hardware additions (probably out of your price bracket though).

Go to Halfords and have a look at the devices, don't pay too much attention to the sales person as they might be on a bonus for selling a specific device or manufacturers device, make up your own mind - then come back here and post questions based upon your shortlist - Mike

paul2000ad · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 7:45 pm Post subject:

Thanks Mike, really appreciated.
Main brands is a good must.

Are there any models which are consistently poor performers that a newbie be best to avoid?
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Garmin StreetPilot i3 • v8 maps • firmware v3.0 • Audio v2.5 • Owner brightness~Dim •

mikealder · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 9:01 pm Post subject:

If you stick to the two top manufacturers then you won't go far wrong, the others simply don't seem to be able to produce supportable hardware in way of upgrades so whilst they might appear cheap for the initial purchase if you take a longer term view and they can prove to be rather more costly.

Another point to bear in mind is what you read on the forums, generally only a few people bother to post up information when the devices are working well, but hundreds will post up information when its not.

Both TomTom and Garmin have had issues with recent software and map updates, I think its fair to say no device is 100% perfect irrespective of the manufacturer - Mike

paul2000ad · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 10:42 pm Post subject:

Thank you, Mike.
Once again, your opinion is ever so appreciated, and taken on board to make my decision.
Tomorrow, I shall be spending money (ouch! I hate doing that!!)
Have a great weekend all!
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Garmin StreetPilot i3 • v8 maps • firmware v3.0 • Audio v2.5 • Owner brightness~Dim •

john877 · Lifetime Member Joined: Mar 16, 2007 Posts: 468

Make sure you go to a store and have a look at how the software works and if you are happy with that model !!
As Mikealder has said Tomtom and Garmin are the makes which are recommended most and are the ones I would suggest !! but they both have there faults .

Have a look at the link below to compare the price at different shops

http://www.find-satnav-deals.com/

paul2000ad · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:31 pm Post subject:

Thanks for that useful link, John.
After playing around with a selection in Halfords, I've settled on the Garmin Nuvi 205w. Haven't bought it yet, but plan to next week when I have time.
Any thoughts or comments on this one guys?
Thanks again.
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Garmin StreetPilot i3 • v8 maps • firmware v3.0 • Audio v2.5 • Owner brightness~Dim •

john877 · Lifetime Member Joined: Mar 16, 2007 Posts: 468

Its really down to personal choice !! there is nothing the matter with the Garmin 205 it will do the job you want !! some people prefer the Garmin some Tomtom it also depends if you have used a sat nav before as you get used to map layout
The things I disliked about the Garmin is that the next turn direction is not shown until closer to the junction ! the roundabouts are shown just as a blob not a full roundabout as on the Tomtom.
With the Tomtom there software updates are a bit temperamental sometimes causing problems !

Its 18 months ago since I looked to buy a new Sat nav things may have changed regarding the Garmin !!

paul2000ad · Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 3:25 pm Post subject:

Thanks for all the advice. Went to Halfrauds today and got the Nuvi 205 for £120.
I know it works, 'cos it got me back home to type this!
Have a lovely weekend all.

Paul.
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Garmin StreetPilot i3 • v8 maps • firmware v3.0 • Audio v2.5 • Owner brightness~Dim •

john877 · Lifetime Member Joined: Mar 16, 2007 Posts: 468

I can recommend the Speed camera software on here of course !!it is really so much better than anything else and at £19 a year its really worth the money and with the chance to get free lifetime updates

I hope you enjoy your new sat nav Smile

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