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TheRookie Occasional Visitor
Joined: May 03, 2005 Posts: 5
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 6:52 pm Post subject: In-dash GPS - to buy or not to buy : that is the question! |
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First of all, I would like to say "hello everyone!" to members of this forum as this is my first post here.
Now, to the question...
For some time in the past I was proud owner of Toyota Prius, which had full map dvd navigation. Unfortunately I had to part with it for some reason, so now I am looking for GPS for my Mondeo.
AFAIK, there are several options available on the market:
1. Laptop (which I have anyway) + USB/COM/BT GPS receiver. Probably cheapest but leat convenient (at driving time) option.
2. PDA (PPC) + GPS (BT/SDIO/CF) - more compact but less flexible than option 1. Requires me to buy PDA for which otherwise I see absolutely no use.
3. Dedicated transferrable (Mitac 268/9, etc). Expensive, no TMC option so far.
4. 1-DIN satnav (SVDO, Blaupunkt DX, etc). Same price as option 3. Usually features TMC and speed sensor (great advantage when signal is lost). Clean install (i.e. no wires). Cons: target for thieves; no full map screen
5. 2-DIN or flip monitor (Alpine, Pioneer, Panasonic, etc). Seamless map, DVD playback, full map, TMC, speed sensor, etc. But look at the price tag!
So far I am convinced myself that option 4 is the way to go. Unfortunately, it looks like everyone I know is thinking that I am going to make a mistake. After a brief search on the web, I've found that there are almost no resources on Blaupunkt DX devices (this is the one I am thinking of).
So far my questions are:
1. Are these devices really bad?
2. Is TMC working OK in the UK (I hate driving on M1 and M6!)
3. Is installation of in-dash navi really that difficult?
4. How good their maps are? (I am pretty sure that it would be impossible to switch to different s/w like TT or Destinator).
Any other ideas/considerations are really welcome. |
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Darren Frequent Visitor
Joined: 11/07/2002 14:36:40 Posts: 23848 Location: Hampshire, UK
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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I used to have a DVD based Nav system in my last car, a Jag. It wasn't a patch on my PDA based set-up and Jaguar's was one of the more modern.
Blaupunkt's are not the best, indeed the DX is discounted because it is behind the best available nowadays. And even the best do not allow use of custom POI's, speed camera's etc nor do many have full & Digit PostCode.
Get a TomTom GO or PDA system and you have all the above and TMC. and you can take it with you between cars and update maps far more cheaply. _________________ Darren Griffin |
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TheRookie Occasional Visitor
Joined: May 03, 2005 Posts: 5
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: | Get a TomTom GO or PDA system and you have all the above and TMC. |
AFAIK (but I could be wrong) there are only two portables allow use of TMC - Navigon MobileNavigator|4TMC @ 300 quid and TomTom Go (via BT/GPRS, which require additional payment) @ 340 pounds.
In case of Navigon, I would have to buy PDA, which in my opinion is useless piece of kit (apart from navigation of course ). So it is going to be v.expensive (cheapo PDA with BT will cost me at least 180 isn't it?).
In case pof TomTom I would have to pay subscription (roughly 200 EUR/year for Europe - I travel a lot) plus GPRS charge + roaming charge while abroad. This makes this option even more expensive than Navigon isn't it?
Are there any other TMC options available?
BTW, talking about PDA - I can possibly loan Dell X30 (the one with BT) from my friend and also loan BT GPS unit from other friend (he using it with his laptop). Are there demo-versions available from maps sotfware manufacturers? I don't need maps of everything, just Midlands will do - then I would be able to compare different packages myself and to buy the one I like. |
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gingernut777 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Nov 03, 2004 Posts: 251 Location: Earth where else
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 6:39 am Post subject: |
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Any TMC will require a subscription, no matter what sat nav you buy. _________________ Using an A to Z
Sextant & Compass |
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Darren Frequent Visitor
Joined: 11/07/2002 14:36:40 Posts: 23848 Location: Hampshire, UK
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 7:36 am Post subject: |
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gingernut777 wrote: | Any TMC will require a subscription, no matter what sat nav you buy. |
Whilst partly true, most units that uses RDS-TMC pay the licence fee up front so any subscription is just rolled up into the initial purchase costs.
And don't forget that in some countries, access to TMC data via RDS is free of charge completely. _________________ Darren Griffin |
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TheRookie Occasional Visitor
Joined: May 03, 2005 Posts: 5
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 9:33 am Post subject: |
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Agree. For example, Blaupunkt offer TMC UK map CDs for 150 quid whether non-TMC version is 90. In contrast to this, they also sell EU maps (major roads) with TMC for 30 pounds, so it looks like that the only country wich require subscription is Rip-Off Britain.
Anyway, are there any RDS-TMC-enabled GPS devices for PDA apart from Navigon? |
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alix776 Pocket GPS Moderator
Joined: 03/05/2003 14:45:49 Posts: 3999 Location: leyland lancs ENGLAND
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 11:07 am Post subject: |
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the gprs is not that much i drive around nine hours a day and haveing an update set at 5 mins works out around 1/2 a meg perday and there are some cracking gprs packages out there at the moment with tomtom you can set the traffic to update at set intervals ie 5, 10, 15 mins etc _________________ currently using aponia truck navigation on windows phone. Good bye IOS don't let the door hit you on the way out .
Oh the joys of being a courier.
device Lumia 950 xl |
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TheRookie Occasional Visitor
Joined: May 03, 2005 Posts: 5
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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Vodafone charges up to 15 EUR/MB when roaming abroad. As I travel a lot to Europe, it will become a very costly option. |
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Darren Frequent Visitor
Joined: 11/07/2002 14:36:40 Posts: 23848 Location: Hampshire, UK
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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TheRookie wrote: | Agree. For example, Blaupunkt offer TMC UK map CDs for 150 quid whether non-TMC version is 90. In contrast to this, they also sell EU maps (major roads) with TMC for 30 pounds, so it looks like that the only country wich require subscription is Rip-Off Britain.
Anyway, are there any RDS-TMC-enabled GPS devices for PDA apart from Navigon? |
Alturion are launching a UK version of their package with a GPS-TMC Mouse. I have it in for review at present although the TMC licence hasn't been agreed yet so no TMC _________________ Darren Griffin |
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TheRookie Occasional Visitor
Joined: May 03, 2005 Posts: 5
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 10:24 am Post subject: |
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Yesterday I had a chat with Blaupunkt tech support.
TMC in TravelPilot DX is simple, but due to single-tuner architecture, unit must be always tuned to Classic FM. In addition, unit can not play audio CDs at the time of navigation. So, if audio is needed during navigation and TMC, then the solution will be installing CD changer or buying additional TMC box.
Also, DX series is now out of production, which explains low prices (270 quid to be precise). |
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