sat nav

[scotty]

Hi all, can anyone recommend a satnav please. A mate of mine says that garmin are the best , I have no idea but scrolling thru the adverts on line there are so many that your brain starts to fry !! i know that i would like it blue tooth compatable but after that am stuck !! Has anyone got any ideas please, many thanks

[TWR]

From what I have heard about these things the only advise I can offer, look up the details of each one, how the are put together regards SN, from what I have heard about some & you will have seen the likes of HGVs ending up down lanes, streets that have become one-way, Streets are no-longer there, You can bye cheap but what normally happens when you bye cheap? you end up buying another, If you are intending to bye one & money is no problem, go & do your Internet homework & go onto Sat Nav forums.

[rov1200]

The sat navs I have used tend to be useless for most situations but improve greatly when nearing the destination. An 8 digit postcode input is a must. Many omit very small villages. Some need to be permanently on charge via the cigar lighter as the battery runs out after 2 hours. Some will not tell you you're heading in the opposite direction to your target. Some charge extra for speed camera warning and others you have to pay to update. Tom Tom are said to be very good. But you will find its the survival of the fittest as the market now has reduced to just a handful of makes.

[joxville]

I used to own a Garmin but dropped it, smashing the screen. I needed a sat-nav rather quick so a friend loaned me his Tom Tom, which I then went out and bought on my return. I felt it's applications and ease of use were superioir to the Garmin though I'm led to believe they share the same mapping technology software/supplier.

The price of sat-nav's have dropped considerably so having one Bluetooth enabled shouldn't be too expensive.

[joxville]

Incidentally, I live in the South of England and used my TomTom on journeys to the Far North of Scotland and on the Orkney Islands-not once did it give me the wrong info.

[Panic Button]

Garmin or Tom Tom. They are both good, and each has some features better than the other.

Here is a widescreen Garmin at a good price with free delivery. A good price because it is slightly obsolete, but I wouldn't worry about that.

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page .jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0378907698.1237501353@@@ @&BV_EngineID=ccfladegkdljddjcflgceggdhhmdgml. 0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=983 723&category_oid=

[Stevesw]

Got a Garmin for the bike and a Tom Tom on my phone for the car. Have to say I prefer the Tom Tom as it seems to have a better user interface. My Garmin sometims throws up some strange routes.

[sandmaster]

My daughter was in London for 4 years and I often visited her. I drove through central London with confidence using my Tom Tom One.
I have noticed that many people speak highly of the Garmin as well - but I will certainly buy Tom Tom again.

[pagey]

I used a Tom Tom for 4 years in and around London and all over the UK. I've used many others in rental cars and built-in units. Nothing I have used comes close to the Tom Tom. It is the original and best, and the Tom Tom One is a bargain.

Menus are very intuitive. You just use it like you are speaking to yourself...
Natigate to>
Point of interest>
In city>

I wish car manufacturers made them embedded instead of giving you some half-cocked mess with no touch screen.

[Whickerman]

I have a Garmin Nuvi250, and it's fine, but an upper end Tom Tom can't be beaten for functionality and ease of use, and when i change mine it'll be to a tom tom.

One thing you should check is if the satnav allows you to 'forward plan' a trip, very helpful if you know you'll be somewhere in particular but want to go elsewhere, say if you're on hols.