1st ever sat nav - need europe, which one?

[Pearcy93]

I am just trying to figure out which Sat Nav unit to buy as my 1st unit.

I 'was' looking for a 1 box solution, but...

-It does seem that you either have to get a 'camera detector biased' unit like the Pogo/Snooper, OR a Navigation biased unit like the Tom Tom/Garmin.

From what I've since read on here it seems like the best option would be to get a Garmin/Tom Tom with euro maps & then get the PWG maps for £19 per year.

The £50 per year updates to Pogo drive are a bit steep imo considering the upfront cost of the unit.

Struggling at the moment, as what I want is:

-A reliable unit (Garmin seems better from the user reviews)
-Euro mapping
-Multi waypoints
-Wide screen
-Would prefer text to speech (but don't want bluetooth & MP3 etc. as I won't use them, & you only seem to get text to speach with the expensive units that come with everything else!)
-Traffic 'may' be useful

I may have to compromise on the text to speech (+Traffic) & get something like a Garmin Nuvi 250W Europe... they seem cheap for what you get.

Although having said that the Nuvi 350T isn't that much more expensive & has traffic (free updates for life) BUT is an old model/not widescreen.

Do I really have to fork out the extra to get something like a Nuvi 760T when I don't need the MP3/bluetooth etc?!

Is the cheapest text to speech Nuvi the 350? - what is the cheapest widescreen Garmin with text to speech?

So confused! - Having read quite a few user reviews, the only thing I think I've found is that I think I'd prefer Garmin as the Garmin units are a little bit more reliable than the Tom Tom's (+if the unit inc traffic, updates are free for life on Garmin).

Help!!!

[mikealder]

Its a shame the US spec TomTom One XL isn't available in Europe as that would fit your requirements very well, including Text To Speech (the Euro models of the XL don't have TTS which is a real shame)

I should also point out if Multi Waypoints on a single journey are required the Garmin devices will struggle with this as they only allow a single via point on route, the TomTom products have the Itinerary function to allow mult points on route but the software cannot optimise the route, it will simply go from A to B to C etc. - Mike

[john877]

I think the route planning feature is available on the Garmin 760

[Andy_P]

Don't forget that TomTom are the brand leader, so statistically you'll get more people complaining about them, but more perfectly satisfied customers too!

[Pearcy93]

Ok, thanks for the replies - re Tom Tom, yes the One XL Europe does fit the bill apart from no TTS! (the equivalent Nuvi is I suppose the 250W Europe which is slightly cheaper).

The Go 720 does fit all the criteria & I have seen it for £187.99, so looks like a good deal. However, it seems to get very mixed owner reviews & there seem to be quite a high percentage of people having problems with them considering they haven't been out that long.

Also, I'd have to pay for traffic updates on the Go 720 which are free for life on the Nuvi 760.

Why is nothing ever simple!

Any owners of any of the models care to share their experience?

[Pearcy93]

-oh, & I prefer the way that the Garmins clearly report the type of speed camera across the top of the screen.

[Andy_P]

I'm biased, although I slag off the company, I still love my TT 720.

Yes there have been more problems with delivering the free Map guarantee, Mapshare updates etc. than there should have been.
But the unit itself is a cracker.
The only major problem with some early ones was duff handsfree, but that seems to have been largely sorted.

And I have large flashing signs on-screen AND voice warnings telling me the type of speed camera and the relevant speed limit, so that's not an issue .

I much prefer the TT's display and menu structure to Garmins, but that's just personal preference.

[mikealder]

If you want RDS-TMC with the device look at the 720T which includes the RDS-TMC receiver, I am not going to say it works 100% but it is better than the Garmin RDS solution from my experiences.

For camera alerts there is only one choice, the PGPSW Speed Camera database which can be installed to either device on your short list, the TT products also offer the full spoken alerts without requiring the use of the computer generated TTS voices.

If I were you I would take a trip to your local Halfords and have a play with the various devices prior to purchase, you might find you like the display or sound of one device more than the others, personal choice counts for a lot when purchasing a nav unit - Mike

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