Uriah Heep Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Anybody have any views on what is a good system. There are so many and I have no serious issues with my Blaupunkt Lucca 5.2 (I think) which covers Europe but many say the Garmin (S90?) is better. Appreciate any views Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Have you tried looking through the Which magazines? I use my local library and track back through the issues to find the latest test on whatever I'm thinking of buying. At least you will get a comprehensive review of whats on the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uriah Heep Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Thanks, thats a good idea. I feel mine is ok but as always there is someone out there quick to point out that "mine can do...../" and if I get a new van I want to make sure I get a decent "map" to go with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 We used to have a Mio 268+ and 6 months ago bought a TomTom One XL Europe and it is great. This morning I tried to program a route to a place near Pornic in Brittany for our Australian visitors who brought with them a Garmin Nuvi, what a nightmare, we could get Pornic but that's all, we had no problem with the TomTom, so they have gone with both SatNavs plus a printout from ViaMichelin.com and my OH so hopefully will return unscathed. The Australian Nuvi has a different mapping system to the European SatNavs I think it is called "Where is". Its very strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Welcome to the forum Uriah, I am old enough to remember the band - they where awful! lol My preference has always been for Garmin. Don't know the 590. but I have the Nuvi 770 with European and US maps installed. My main reason for sticking with them is that certain models allow you to plan routes on PC with mapsource mapping and upload/download routes etc.... Plus customer support is free and very good. as long as you stick with major players which are either TT or Garmin you will be OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Hi, I has a tomtom for 4 years, it failed on me coming up through France earlier this year. I now have a garmin nuvi 350w UK and Europe. The garmin is every bit as good as the tomtom but cheaper. Tomtom is made in europe and has gone up in price because of the value of the euro. Garmin is american and the dollar is cheap. The one thing I do like about the garmin is you can search the map manually and save a point and go to it. So even if you don,t have post codes etc you can go directly to where you want to go and GO Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uriah Heep Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Many thanks for this, of course you remember the band, but "awful" they are still rocking, just relaesed a new album (yesterday) and I am their biggest fan, yeah I know there's no accounting for taste, but I love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uriah Heep Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Thanks everyone, I shall have a look at the TomTom and Garmin but the latter seems to be the prefernce from most people. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Richard, You can do identical map searching with TomTom. My current view is that Garmin are the choice for aviation GPS receivers - where they have no equal - and TomTom for terrestrial ones. For like performance and map coverage, there's not a lot of difference in price and I find the TomTom software much better. Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Also if you are "techie minded", I think that you can play with a Tomtom, Add various POIs, transfer information from Autorout,e make your own voices., etc On the other hand, maybe a good thing not to get involved in ;-) Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 JudgeMental - 2008-06-04 12:05 PM My main reason for sticking with them is that certain models allow you to plan routes on PC with mapsource mapping and upload/download routes etc.... Plus customer support is free and very good. w1ntersun - 2008-06-04 2:30 PM The one thing I do like about the garmin is you can search the map manually and save a point and go to it. So even if you don,t have post codes etc you can go directly to where you want to go and GO Richard You can of course do both of these things with Tom Tom and more. My preference is for the Tom Tom as they without doubt have the most up to date maps and you can update them free on a daily basis if you wish, this IMO is the single most important requirement for a Sat Nav. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Could either or both of Eddie and Basil please explain, for a Bear of very little brain, a bit more about the ability to plan routes on a PC and upload/download to the sat nav?As I understand it, both Garmin and TomTom have this facility. So far so good. However: 1 is this common to all current portable sat navs from both makers, or does it only apply to certain models and, if the latter, which model?2 does the software required to run the mapping on a PC come with the sat nav? If not, what is required and where from, please?3 If the PC software happens to be Autoroute, do you know if it will work with Autoroute 2002? [it's just that I tried upgrading to Autoroute 2007 in April, but found that nearly all the roads in the old Eastern block countries, clearly visible in my 2002 version had disappeared - despite Microsoft's claim for enhanced mapping for Eastern Europe. (Returned 2007 for a full refund (Thank you Amazon) but haven't finished the correspondence with MS yet!)]Apologies for all the questions, but I have been trying to get a straight answer to the above questions from the sat nav manufacturers/importers, and either they don't read, or don't understand, the questions - or don't want to - and I can't get anything out of them that makes sense one way or the other.All assistance greatly appreciated :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 You may find this link usefull http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/165/gps-devices/products.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Brian Kirby - 2008-06-06 9:47 PMCould either or both of Eddie and Basil please explain, for a Bear of very little brain, a bit more about the ability to plan routes on a PC and upload/download to the sat nav?As I understand it, both Garmin and TomTom have this facility. So far so good............ :-)Hi Brian,To answer your question 1 I am not much help as I am a new to TomTom user and my experience is only with the GO720, so I cannot speak for other models in the series. I feel that there is little to choose between Tom Tom and Garmin in function (some features are better on Tom Tom some are better on Garmin) however TT has the ability to be more upto date on maps on a regular and permanent basis and was my main reason for choosing it over the Garmin. I believe that the Garmin provided PC route planing is a little better as it is full screen sized whereas the TT is a replication of the devices screen at an increase in size but nowhere near full screen. However it does mean you can route plan on the Tom Tom device without a PC, I don't know if the Garmin has this facility. So to answer your 2nd question yes both have their own mapping facilities provided with them but niether use Autoroute, sorry!To improve further the TT route planning on PC and to, IMO, make it far superior to the Garmin, I am now using a third party piece of downloadable 'Freeware' (very small) that combines Google Maps and the Tom Tom seamlessly which in my opinion is far better than either of the TT or the Garmin efforts.It allows you to plan your complete route in Google Maps, in the same way as you would if you were using it to produce a paper based version and then download it to your device. As Google Maps is free along with the Freeware program it is a better bet than having to pay for something such as Autoroute. With the 720 this has been absolutely brilliant and IMO is how TT should have made it work.Your 3rd question is already answered above, unfortunately Autoroute does not figure in either units capability AFAIK.Hope that helpsBas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 We also have recently bought the TomTom Go720 here in Spain. No experience of other systems, but we are LOVING the Tom Tom!! Certainly it's mapping of Spain is extremely good. One or two very new roads have confused it, but in the main it's been brilliant. A previous poster intimated that it was only the Garmin system that would let you brouse the map and then just key in a destination; but our Tom Tom Go702 let's you do exactly the same thing. Very handy in Spain, where postcodes are only for whole towns, not for areas within a town. Battery life is excellent, ad the PC software to update maps, upload changes to roads etc, is also excellent. So far so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I have just found out that if you plan a route on www.viamichelin.com it gives you the facility to download to a SatNav, TomTom, Garmin etc. Haven't tried it yet so don't know how good it is but using their printouts, which are excellent, I shouldn't think it would be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Randonneur I believe that all Garmins come with a very basic world map included. You have to have a detailed map of specific areas eg Europe, USA etc. Your Australian friends Nuvi almost certainly has this basic map plus perhaps a detailed map of Aus. The absence of the detailed map of Europe may be the reason that you could only find Pornac and other major towns. I use a Nuvi 760 and this works well in France with detail to street level. The other feature I like is that I can plan routes in advance on a PC (Full screen) and download to the Garmin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 JohnP - 2008-06-07 11:17 AM Randonneur I believe that all Garmins come with a very basic world map included. You have to have a detailed map of specific areas eg Europe, USA etc. Your Australian friends Nuvi almost certainly has this basic map plus perhaps a detailed map of Aus. The absence of the detailed map of Europe may be the reason that you could only find Pornac and other major towns. I use a Nuvi 760 and this works well in France with detail to street level. The other feature I like is that I can plan routes in advance on a PC (Full screen) and download to the Garmin. No that was not the case. Because they were coming to the UK then France then Canada, then USA, then Ireland and back to UK he purchased all the necessary maps from Garmin for the various trips. The mapping system is provided from"Where-Is", not seen this before, but it is not very good. On the reurn journey from Pornic they had our TomTom and the Garmin going and although our TomTom brought them the correct route the Garmin wanted them to keep turning off the main route and onto very small roads. They just wanted to see what the difference was using both SatNavs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Probably the route/avoidance preferences must have been set up incorrectly....... We have had 3 Garmin units since 2000, main reasons being, PC mapping and planning. For a motorhome user this is invaluable for planning trips as simple A to B navigation is not good enough IMO. Secondly, the Garmin customer support which is free and excellent. They always have gone out of their way and on a few of occasions remotely taken over my PC to solve a problem. Plus sent me free goodies as well...... TT customer service has been not very well reviewed (likened to a brick wall) on GPS forums, and newly released products poorly executed causing lots of returns and disgruntled users - again open knowledge on forums. the Garmin PC mapsource side of things is a fully a integrated one with the GPS and PC and been available since I started using Garmin. you install all the maps either via DVD or download on to your PC, It then allows transferring of information in either direction (maps, routes, waypoints, track history) no need to use recent third party applications. TT free mapshare is also poorly rated, I upgrade maps every other year and this normally costs £40 I much prefer this reliability and simplicity. As has been said before stick to TT or Garmin and you will be OK as both are well supported on forums with lots of relevant POI's available. but if you want a bit more from your GPS IMO have a close look at Garmin :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 JudgeMental - 2008-06-07 3:47 PM We have had 3 Garmin units since 2000, main reasons being, PC mapping and planning. For a motorhome user this is invaluable for planning trips as simple A to B navigation is not good enough IMO. This facility IS available as standard on the Tom Tom, not quite sure why you are implying that it isn't. With the exception of the PC screen size it is the equal of the Garmin, though the upgraded method I now use knocks the spots off both. JudgeMental - 2008-06-07 3:47 PM Secondly, the Garmin customer support which is free and excellent. They always have gone out of their way and on a few of occasions remotely taken over my PC to solve a problem. Plus sent me free goodies as well...... TT customer service has been not very well reviewed (likened to a brick wall) on GPS forums, and newly released products poorly executed causing lots of returns and disgruntled users - again open knowledge on forums. I have had occasion to use Tom Tom customer service and this has not been my experience so far, they were quick and helpful and fully resolved the problem and were fully open that it was a problem with their servers for which they apologised, I have nothing but praise for them. There has been some problems around the TMC/RDS product, that now seems to be resolved going by my latest incarnation, and to Tom Tom's credit they replaced all previous versions FOC. JudgeMental - 2008-06-07 3:47 PM the Garmin PC mapsource side of things is a fully a integrated one with the GPS and PC and been available since I started using Garmin. you install all the maps either via DVD or download on to your PC, It then allows transferring of information in either direction (maps, routes, waypoints, track history) no need to use recent third party applications. As is and does the Tom Tom, the only benefit with the standard Garmin package is the PC screen size is larger. With the TT there is only one seamless map. JudgeMental - 2008-06-07 3:47 PM TT free mapshare is also poorly rated, I upgrade maps every other year and this normally costs £40 I much prefer this reliability and simplicity. I am not sure where this information is from as the reports I have seen are quite supportive, personally I rate it. If you wish you can upgrade your maps only once yearly cost around £39.95 and opt out of the auto map updateing, however I have had over 120000 corrections on my map since it was installed and that is only in a couple of months, so once again you cannot be more up to date than with TT, and it's free. JudgeMental - 2008-06-07 3:47 PM As has been said before stick to TT or Garmin and you will be OK as both are well supported on forums with lots of relevant POI's available. but if you want a bit more from your GPS IMO have a close look at Garmin :-D And you will realise that the Tom Tom offers more. :-D :-D :-D Bas P.S. As always you pay your money and take your choice as there is little to choose between them, except latest maps of course. B-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 TT has only offered PC mapping since it brought out "TT Home" a few years ago? And all that is is a slightly larger view of the GPS screen on your PC, hardly comparable really. You really need to see it to appreciate it...... and as for offering more, not when planning journeys it don't. I'll bring it around on my laptop and give you a demo Bas when you change my refillable system over for me! lol :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardoakley Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Hi PCPRO have just done a test on SatNav and rate the TomTom 720 as the best buy see http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/165/gps-devices/products.html I have used Navmans and have found them to be good. Your might want look at the new Snooper Truckman which has TMC and free camera updates - sorts out narrow and restricted roads and low bridges etc regards Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 richardoakley - 2008-06-07 7:32 PM Hi PCPRO have just done a test on SatNav and rate the TomTom 720 as the best buy see http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/165/gps-devices/products.html I have used Navmans and have found them to be good. Your might want look at the new Snooper Truckman which has TMC and free camera updates - sorts out narrow and restricted roads and low bridges etc regards Richard Hardly like with like is it.... TT 720 against a Garmin hand held model and a wrist strap model - no wonder it one! Anyway these reviews are hardly from a Motorhome owners perspective. as some of us like to plan our tours not just simple A to B navigation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Thank you all/both for your replies. For my purposes it seems Garmin would be preferable due to the full screen PC map view it provides.However, just to be clear, does this work in practice in much the same way as Autoroute, Eddie? I know you do/did use Autoroute, as I do, for some route planning, so I guess you'll know what I'm on about. What I usually do is gradually build the route, having first tuned AR to "find" a route that approximates to our preferences, usually just to the ultimate destination for starters (say Calais - Seville). I then get the map out and check AR against that, and pull the route around to eliminate some of the AR sillies (obviously very minor roads etc). Then I start looking for points of interest nearish to the route that look worth a visit in passing, and tow the route around to take them in. I usually locate overnight stopping places while doing this, so that we know within reason when we are likely to arrive. More towing around of the route etc. This continues until either I have mapped a fairly detailed itinerary, or we leave and I finish the planning as we go. It can result in a lot of waymarks, though. Our present plan on Autoroute is now up to 111! Do you know how the Garmin sysyem would cope with that? Or is it better just used day by day, rather than for a whole journey covering several thousand miles?Further apologies for the further questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 "Do you know how the Garmin system would cope with that?" In the same way, you can set a start and destination and let it automatically sort a route, hardly ever satisfactory for touring I believe. you can also do as you describe, pull the route to change it.....but I never do this. I simply choose a start point and choose my route point by point - extending it. if I make a mistake I can simply undo it. you are not far from me, happy to show you...... I still use autoroute as I like the map interface, Mapsource is more basic less detailed in appearance but probably better when you zoom in. you can see examples on garmin site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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