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My Old Magellan Roadmate has become somewhat unreliable these days, so thinking about replacing it with something more up to date. any recomendations? Don't want anything too fancy, 12V power only will do, don't really need road traffic conditions, or camera positions etc.

 

Bob.

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I use TomTom on my iphone - works very well and no need for another device.

 

£27.50; Traffic, whcih I do use if extra and paid annually.

R

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I've had both TomToms and Garmins over the years. Both have their nice features and annoyances, so not much to choose between the two. However Garmins often come with free lifetime map updates, which is a good option to have and definitely preferable to the useless map corrections provided by TomTom.

 

Steve

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But a smart phone does not have to stowed carefully when you park up your TR, you just put it in your pocket!!

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As far as I know Tom Tom offers lifetime map update for all their models. I'm very happy with my Garmin Streetpilot, 10 years old, a little oldfashioned by now, but still works great. It's a bikers GPS and limited waterproof.

A few years ago I purchased lifetime map update at xtra costs, but unfortunately the memory chip does not allow for all Europe.

 

An important issue is the size of the screen and the way to install it in the car. Some models can only be fitted to the windscreen, what I hate, but Tom Tom offers quite an amount of features to install. Look for the position of the connections,,,, behind or underneath....., some might prevent fitting it to the dash

 

In case you use the SatNav with a heat reflecting windscreen you will probably need an external antenna, it will allow anyhow for better reception in any car. ;)

 

I must say that I have far less handling problems with my Garmin than with the Tom Tom. A feature I use most when on travel is selecting the map, scroll it up, indicate a point on the touchscreen and ask the GPS to bring me there. :)

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Bob, get a smart phone and the 'Navfree' ap, the 21st century awaits you !

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Have had both and personally marginally prefer Garmin to Tom-tom, others will prefer Tom-tom menus/options. You can purchase and download them to your SMART phone if you don't want another piece of kit.

Google maps works well on Smart phones but the maps are on line so you need coverage and budget. Nokia maps are excellent and preload to your phone via your Broadband. If you can't run Nokia then the Navfree App also preloads to your smart phone and works OK. The refresh rate is slow on the free version but it works OK.

Using a SMART phone as a satnav you must have a holder and be aware that it can ZAP your battery.

Live traffic info is one of the big benefits of electronic navigation and can save hours, I would go for a system that has that.

My Garmin (with life time updates and free traffic) is great in my Eurobox where I use it as a handsfree for my SMART phone, the integration is seamless and automatic.

In the TR top down, could do with a brighter screen and a louder voice! Check these as well before buying.

Mike.

 

Mike

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Couple of years ago, I bought and sold 40 or 50 second-user sat navs. I played with and tested them all.

Overall, Tom-Toms and Garmin came out best for me. TomTom having lots of set-up options if you wanted to use

them, while Garmin was best for simple interface, and really straightforward useability. In 3rd place I put Navigon,

I liked the way Navigons did the screenmap displays.

 

I've also tried most of the free Android smartphone satnav apps.....

 

1. Google Maps satnav function is good. A little basic, and has a really robotic voice guidance as standard. No speed camera data.

 

2. Waze is OK, clear, simple screen display. For me, quite a high rate of not being able to find an address when I type it in. Speed camera alerts built-in.

 

3. M8 . Rather good. More reliable than Waze. Speed camera alerts built in.

 

All the above 3 operate 'online'. That is , they require a useable data connection on your mobile phone. So if you pass through a poor area for your network, the app stops working.

 

The other main free alternative is Navfree , as mentioned earlier. Very good app, nice to use, presents the guidance well. It operates offline. What this means is that theoretically you don't require a mobile network data signal for it to work, because the maps are stored on your phone. So when you install the app from the Google app store ( Play Store ), the next thing you do is download the map for the country of your choice. First country is free, subsequent ones are payable.

 

Navfree seems less tolerant of poor GPS-reception areas than other apps I've tried.

Navfree has no speed camera alerts as standard (upgrade payable).

 

Of the well-known Satnav names, I haven't tried any of their smartphone apps, with the exception of Route 66, (30 day free trial, then payable). Works well, very nice.

 

What do I use ?

 

On my phone..., M8 and Navfree. I also have the free speed camera app Cameralert that I run in the background when I use Navfree.

 

Simples...

Edited by amclpreston
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OK guys, I have gone for a "Garmin Nuvi 52" £99 in Argos.

Have had a good play with it, & it seems to do all I want, & is a hell of a lot faster to respond tocommands than my Magellan ever was.

& hopefully it won't keep locking up.

It's got free map upgrades (4 per year for the life of unit which means until the format of the maps changes to suit a new generation of satnavs.)

 

Thanks for all the advice

Bob.

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