My 30th Birthday is coming up and my mother has asked me what I would like, my 4 year old TomTom is showing its age now and want a new one with lane guidance.
I have seen this advertised today at Halfords.
tinyurl.com/9ss298l
Is it any good?
Does anybody know if I can have a single view rather than the split view on that picture?
I have also been looking at this
tinyurl.com/cz9eg3y
But the Garmin appeals because of its free updates.
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Buy a decent map for £10 and have a really nice present as well :-)
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I'd seek out reviews on PocketGPSWorld.com. The latest TomTom's took a step backwards in terms of POIs etc. I cannot comment if that TomTom is afflicted in that way. Zero would probably know but he's not likely to reply.
I have to say I still prefer the TomTom GUI but not played with a recent Garmin. For that reason I'd pop to a Halfords or similar to have a try of the GUI.
Don't forget the online Halfords price applies to the collect in store facility. Order online and collect it at the cheaper price.
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And the Garmin screen isn't split in half all the time - there's even photos at the link you provided that show that.
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How about this one? £61.97, I tink.
tinyurl.com/9gqgje5
Last edited by: Duncan on Wed 22 Aug 12 at 22:21
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I've got that one Duncan nice little sat nav sticks well to the window.
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My current one is 4.5" inch so a small one would seem like a downgrade, plus I am not paying! (I shouldn't say that should I!).
About £130 is the maximum budget though.
Good idea about playing with the GUIs, never thought of that.
As for maps I tried to rely on a map to get me to Mobberly avoiding the A56 from Sale to Altrincham. I ended up getting lost in Wythenshawe for a good 15 minutes and wished I had just used the satnav for backup.
However a map is just as essential and use a map far more than my satnav, however when I am in strange places the sat nav is great but I make sure I know the area well enough to avoid getting lost e.g two different places with the same name.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 22 Aug 12 at 22:43
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Unless things have changed, Halfords let you see/use some satnavs. Maybe the Garmins are good now. When I got my TT720 (over 6 years ago I think!) it was the UI I knew and preferred. I had used TT on my iPAQ in 2004 and moved through the various versions.
But the latest TomToms have certain functionality missing. I think I am right in saying warnings related to custom POIs in the vicinity went. And that might be because the PocketGPSWorld POI for speed cameras is better than what TT can offer.
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I see the A56 might be involved in a journey to Halfords? Although there is one in White City which might be the way you go to/from your 'office'. Unless you ventured over to the ones in Stockport.
As an aside, do you still have a Galaxy S? You (or anyone else) can have a spare battery and charger/stand if you want it - free of course. Otherwise I'll just get rid of it on Freecycle.
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>> Good idea about playing with the GUIs, never thought of that.
>>
I moved from Tomtom Navigator 5 on a PDA to a Garmin 1490t and found the Garmin GUI not to my taste. 2 years later it's still not, but I'm persevering. The unit has generally been reliable but can be awfully slow to redraw maps for no apparent reason leaving the car icon in a virtual wasteland for minutes at a time. I haven't yet found a way of doing a quick 'road blocked ahead' routine that was so simple on the Tomtom.
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And your translated links work for me too... no idea why they start awin.
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>> And your translated links work for me too... no idea why they start awin.
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+1
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>> The actual long URLs were:
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rtj - Your long links work fine.
How/Where did the "www.awin1.com/awclick.php?....." etc and "%2B" bits get in to Rattle's tinyurl link? Was it at my end or are those parts embedded in Rattle's original long link?
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The tomtom and Garmin aren't comparing like-for-like, so its worth deciding what's more important to you.
At that price, the Garmin's maps are UK and Ireland only, so AFAIK the lifetime updates only applies to that mapset. Adding lifetime updates for all of Europe cost me €89 for my Nuvi 710 this summer; a once-off update was €49.
Outside large population centres, the Garmin maps and (especially) points of interest aren't updated as often as they should be. The points of interest for the west of Ireland on the 2013 map update are pretty much unchanged from the 2010 map I started with. Not good when you're being sent to a petrol station that's actually long since gone out of business - I've had this happen both in Ireland and in Brittany this year.
The Garmin has a bluetooth link for your phone. Does the Tomtom, and do you want it? Beware - even the new Garmins run down their batteries very quickly when bluetooth is switched on, whether a phone is connected or not.
I've only used Garmins, so I can't compare the tomtom UI, but I don't like the fact that the 710 can only find destinations if I type the name exactly the same as its entered in Garmin's database. For Ireland, at least, this sometimes means the Garmin won't recognsie the correct placename, but insisits on an incorrect spelling its "inherited" from the source maps Garmin used.
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I will just pop to White City its only an 8 minute drive from me, the reason I wanted to avoid the A56 it was rush hour and the traffic down there could be a nightmare, so I went via shaftesbury avenue but I forgot about all the Metrolink works, I went back via the A56.
No idea why the links don't work they work fine for me.
As for my S1, thanks for the offer but I will be replacing it soon, it is starting to show its age now and having problems with signal something which has been improved on the newer phones.
European maps aren't really of interest as me, as I rarely venture further than North Cheshire or Derbyshire.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Thu 23 Aug 12 at 11:29
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Rattle, I've had a 5" screen Garmin 2595 LMT for a few weeks. I like it. It has one or two very slight drawbacks re. planning a route but nothing major. It also has a glitch for which they're awaiting a fix associated with copying from History into Favourites...but that's very minor. I also had to download a fresh Map Download to overcome another fault whereby the Voice Command didn't work.
BUT............
For me the great thing is there's a freephone in the UK with helpful and knowledgeable people who are happy to spend time with me overcoming the issues over the phone and/or by email.
It's not the problems that matter - it's how they deal with them. And they deal with them to the very best of their ability and that counts for a lot with me. So, for me, I'd say Garmin just on the strength of their Customer Service.
PS. The split screen is only at major junctions.
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I'd recommend TomTom over Garmin any day. They're both slow compared to a mobile phone, but the Garmin was atrocious, struggling to keep up in a series of tight turns and giving the most ludicrous directions imaginable as it got confused.
I have a TomTom Live 820 which I picked up for £150 in an airport shop - the main advantage being HD traffic, which makes an unpleasant commute infinity more bearable. The lady does a half decent job of reading out road names and doesn't argue back, and in general the calculated routes are spot on.
You get all the usual niceties of lane guidance etc on any sat nav nowadays. Though to be honest, unless you're doing regular commutes or long driving you'd be better off saving your cash and using Google Maps Navigation on an Android phone, which worked fine for me until I moved dahn sarf.
Edit: 30? Spend it on beer and have a party!
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Thu 23 Aug 12 at 13:40
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Sorry, Rattle...I've clearly misled you. Buy a Tom Tom. I didn't realise my directions were all over the place and struggled to keep up. I thought they were fine...but obviously not.
I don't do regular long commutes and haven't got an Android either so can't comment on saving your cash.
I've not been much help at all, I'm afraid. I'll just pop back into my box.
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>> using Google Maps Navigation on an Android phone, which worked fine for me until I moved dahn sarf.
And me, anywhere in the the world.
However;
-Only for infrequent use
-The phone's desire to keep going into sleep drives me nuts
-They can lose their place and take time to get it back
-Its difficult to see the display and keep both hands on the wheel
-And smart phone battery life is bad enough without the added task of being a sat nav
So if you'll use it a lot, get a proper sat nav.
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If Rattle uses the phone as a phone as well (especially if for business) then a separate sat nav unit makes a lot of sense. You might save money but if you're phone is flat when you need it most...
And yes you could charge it when driving. I've tried that before for my old Samsung Galaxy S. With sat nav running and what should have been a good 1amp charger it barely kept it topped up. It used a lot of power and I don't think it would draw max power when charging in the car. A different charger would sort it but I have a TomTom 720. I also have a car with built in sat nav these days too.
Rattle does have an Android and he says he's replacing it. Probably another Android device?
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Ok there is an annoyance which I think would be a problem with the Garmin after testing it in a shop. It doesn't seem to recognise Greater Manchester in that it thinks Sale is in Cheshire and Manchester is in Lancashire, since I was born in 1982, both places are very much in Greater Manchester as far as I am concerned.
If anybody here has a Garmin could you please to do this very simple test for me, select Manchester as the town/city and then type in Glebelands Road this would be an interesting test as it is only 4 miles from Manchester City centre, is just 10 minutes walk to Stretford which contains a certain Football stadium known as Old Trafford (well it is actually in the border of both).
With the TomTom, I know I can just type in Manchester as the town and it finds most the roads and it is only if I get passed Stockport say I would have to enter in Stockport as the destination.
This is just a very minor issue but it is one that might annoy me.
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I don't know why I'm doing this as my Garmin isn't supposed to be any good...but I just did what you asked and have been given the route to Glebelands Road, Manchester (it's 263 miles from here...4 hours and 7 minutes. Not sure what that proved though as it always gives me any address I type in to it within seconds and proceeds to take me there if I decide to accept it's advice.
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Thanks helps a lot. It would just drive me mad if I was having to type in Cheshire or something really daft like that, as I am not always 100% certain what area I am. The free updates of that Garmin is still too tempting.
What about Navman are they still rubbish?
And I assume the bluetooth feature will allow me to use the phone completely hands free? I wouldn't answer it, but the ability to see who is phoning me on the sat nav would be useful, as I can then decide if I will pull in or answer it when I arrive to the destination.
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I've only had a Snooper sat-nav device before this one so know nothing about any others. I gathered that TOMTOM phone based customer service wasn't so easy to use...but haven't used it to find out for myself. I have free map updates and camera updates (£16 per year) which both work well for me.
As I said, the telephone customer helpline is good, and UK based, and free. I have had a couple of minor issues...one of them is the FM Traffic updates which seem to go for half an hour with no reception (on main A roads and motorways. Also there's a minor bug which stops direct copying from History to Favourites which awaits a software update. They offered to replace the power cord/FM aerial first and, if needed, swap the unit too...but insist I send it back to them at my own expense (Recorded Delivery) ...I pointed out that it wasn't my fault that there's a problem and they should swap it at no cost to me, but they said no. I've now arranged to swap the complete unit with Amazon, who supplied it. No charge from Amazon and courier delivery of the replacement and prepaid label to return the old one. Thanks Amazon...good service!
Bluetooth for the phone is hands free and works OK on my old Nokia. Voice Command for phone or destinations or other functions is good most of the time and I like it and do use it.
Last edited by: kb on Fri 24 Aug 12 at 15:34
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Not sure if I did the right thing or not, but decided to go with the TomTom 60 as it seems to have very good reviews and I didn't need the bluetooth of the other one. It has a 6" screen too which might come in handy.
Hopefully I will get to play with it tomorrow and I will write a short review on it.
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>> Not sure if I did the right thing or not, but decided to go with
>> the TomTom 60 >>
Emma Chissett?
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Speaking personally, Rattle, I'm glad I got the free lifetime map updates, the bluetooth handsfree for the phone and hands free voice commands for the unit itself, free lifetime Traffic FM warnings the unlimited camera updates for just £16 a year and the 5" screen with split screen at major junctions and two year warranty and the free UK helpline....for a little over thirty pounds more than you paid.
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I could have got it for £10 less! I may have made a big mistake but I just know the county thing would have annoyed me a bit and I liked the idea of spoken street names.
A bit late to change my mind now, Argos don't let you take electrical items back unless faulty.
I just know I like my tom toms interface and the one I have just got has very good reviews.
reviews.cnet.co.uk/sat-nav-and-gps/tomtom-start-60-europe-review-50008115/
The free life time map updates is the main reason I was attracted to the Garmin but realistically they the maps will last a few years before the sat nav needs replacing or I just pay for the updates.
Too late to change my mind though :(
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I thought we checked that and mine was OK with the county thing - it just took me there as explained before....and mine does the spoken name bit too.
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.*********
Not worth getting annoyed about really :).
Not sure why that got stared out, all I was saying is I can't change my mind because of Argos is wonderful customer service (no returns unless faulty).
Didn't realise it did the spoken street name thing :( That was something which was making err to towards the TomTom.
Either way it seems to have very good reviews, so no point in me getting annoyed or wondering if I made the right decision.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 27 Aug 12 at 20:28
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The worst bit of electronic junk I have ever had was a Blackberry and that has now been outdone in awfulness by a TT GO Live 825. It has features and functions missing which were available in a 720 5+ years ago. It cannot be backed up to one's computer. It comes with a load of rubbish voices in 20 languages that cannot be removed. The list goes on! Don't go near one!
Last edited by: Meldrew on Mon 27 Aug 12 at 20:23
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Trying to make me feel better? All I need is a very simple and effective sat nav, and for this purpose the Start 60 has excellent reviews. I just think the Blue Tooth would have been a bit of a distraction. It is not something I will use a lot anyway.
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No - I meant lucky you that you have got a sensible one and not the over-hyped trash that is the GO series!
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Hi Rattle,
how goes the TomTom?
8o)
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He's got lost....
As a satnav non-user, I don't understand why you would want a list of 'favourites'. Surely, when you've been somewhere a few times you remember the way, don't you? Well I do, and I certainly get around a bit.
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Handy if you want to get to your "favourite" from a different location surely.
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Ah, yes sorry. Being a non-user I thought 'favourite' meant route, not destination. Blushes.
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Even if you know the route, sat nav can be handy for longer journeys. For example counting down distance to motorway exits. You can then decide based on traffic conditions whether or not to get into the left lane early.
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Don't understand the objection to it running it all the time. I use it for my commute every day, all of twelve miles. It's not exactly as if I don't know the way.
But how else can I decide as I pull out of the drive whether the A14 is blocked this morning at this precise moment, so turn right, or it's fine, so turn left, and then also possibly change my mind at a couple of strategic points if the traffic then blocks as I approach.
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>> As a satnav non-user, I don't understand why you would want a list of 'favourites'.
>> Surely, when you've been somewhere a few times you remember the way, don't you?
It's not always about knowing the way. You also get notification of delays, hold ups, and with the factory fit satnav in my car the dynamic guidance offers an alternate route if a delay is detected.
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 13 Sep 12 at 21:37
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>> He's got lost....
>> As a satnav non-user, I don't understand why you would want a list of 'favourites'.
>> Surely, when you've been somewhere a few times you remember the way, don't you? Well I do, and I certainly get around a bit.
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Yes, because you learn the route.
Many pratnav users don't learn the route because they don't take it in.
They just do what the box tells them to do, with their brain turned off.
Need proof? loads of it about, where people don't see road signs... one way signs, weight/height/width etc.....
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>> how goes the TomTom?
The reason I ask is thatSWMBO has just started a year when she will be driving around the country on her own, sometimes at night.
As I have said before, she's a good mapreader/navigator, but that's difficult on roads you don't know, alone, at night.
So I thought I'd gain a few brownie points.
8o)
On another subject, I couldn't see me using one habitually.
I find that many people who do arrive at the end of the journey, without having any appreciation of where they are (except they're usually in the correct place) or where they've been.
Appreciating that not everone has my geographic skills - detailed elsewhere.
8o) again
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Something that hasn't been mentioned but is invaluable to lorry drivers.....thick fog.
You know there is a roundabout down the road somewhere but it's so hard to see it, or the warning signs in thick fog, but Tom always told me when I was getting close so no emergency stops and the load arrived on the pallets where it should have been.
Pat
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>> Something that hasn't been mentioned but is invaluable to lorry drivers.....thick fog.
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>> You know there is a roundabout down the road somewhere but it's so hard to
>> see it, or the warning signs in thick fog, but Tom always told me when
>> I was getting close so no emergency stops and the load arrived on the pallets
>> where it should have been.
If you cant see the warning signs in time in fog you are driving too fast. A sat nav is not a radar.
Last edited by: Webmaster on Wed 19 Sep 12 at 01:30
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Indeed, what if there was a ( sober or otherwise ) cyclist on the road ahead hidden by the fog? They'd be safer on the pavement if one was available in such conditions of course but, well, that'd be illegal wouldn't it?
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Obviously neither of you have been out in the Fen at 2.30am in dense fog, Tchh.
Call yourself drivers?
Pat
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>> Obviously neither of you have been out in the Fen at 2.30am in dense fog,
>> Tchh.
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>> Call yourself drivers?
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>> Pat
Indeed I have. If you crash into that drain along side the drove in that lorry of yours, you are gonna get wet. If I do it in my car I am going to drown, so is the cyclist you chuck in there.
Anyway, a fog on the Fens is a scary place, you never know what lives out there.
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Is this pratt nav any good? - Mike H
