Big Momma Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Brian Thank you. I am in communication with Alpine at the moment over the current problems and they seem wiling to try and assist so I will see what they come up with. However, if I am not satisfied and change then it would appear Tom Tom is the way to go. Very many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwaviation Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 If you can get it try IGO 2008 on a PDA, I have ditched TomTom totally as this just blows it's socks off - Brilliant plus full street level mapping for the whole of the EU plus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Brian Kirby - 2009-03-17 6:42 PMI must say that wasn't quite how I read the TomTom website, Basil. What I understood was that Mapshare has limited functionality, allowing you to transmit a reversed traffic flow, or a closed street, for example, but not to add a newly constructed road that has not yet been mapped. For new roads, you need map updates.Map updates (up to 4 per year, but with no commitment to release that many - and with the exception of the GO530/730), seem to have to be bought on subscription for, as they say, "the equivalent of £7.95 per quarter". The GO530 (UK maps) and 730 (European maps) come with 2 years updates included in their price, whereafter, I guess, you just buy the updates as above.That was the reason I asked, since what it says in the box is likely to be more binding than what it says on the website.Hi Brian, you are absolutely correct in your understanding, though there are several other features of 'Mapshare'. Not sure how what you are saying is any different to what I posted though.My understanding is that there are four updates per 12 months (not with no commitment as you have suggested) seehttp://www.tomtom.com/page/mapupdateserviceas I have only just subscribed to the update service I can't yet say from personal experience, but since I have had mine there have been four complete map updates (V710, V715, V8.0 and now V8.??) I was given V7.10 (under the 'Latest Map Guarantee') and V7.15 as my deal included updates for one year. There were also several minor updates over that year. As my V7.15 is now over 4 quarters old I decided to take the offer of updates up, so I will have a definitive answer after a year.BasP.S. Also just found the 'Latest Map Guarantee' up to 30 days for ALL devices on this page seehttps://www.tomtom.com/latestmap/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 The following may also be of interest (or not!!) see http://www.tomtom.com/lib/doc/Maps%20White%20paper_UK.pdf Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Basil - 2009-03-17 1:27 PM ............You then have the ability to update (daily if you desire) after that with others reported map changes free from any charge, plus you can of course join the map update facility that allows you to have the latest maps for around £9 per quarter. Bas BasilI read the bit I underlined above, quoted from your earlier post, as implying there were free map updates for a period, which I knew applied to the GO530/730 models for 2 years, but not other models. It is quite true they allow free updates (for, is it 30 days?) on all models to allow for older stock to be updated to current maps after purchase, but I did not realise you were referring to that. Apologies for any confusion.I said "without commitment", because although they say up to 4 updates per year, they do not actually commit themselves to introduce 4 updates per year. Hope all clear now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Hi Brian, thats fine I understand the confusion now. Might be worth reading the PDF link in the PS if you are interested as that definately states that they do four updates per year, well I hope they do as that is what I am paying for now! Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Agreed, Basil. The "up to" bit I quoted was only from the website, so their offer is very clear and fair. Top marks to TomTom. If only they would release the Truck version to the public, the world would be almost perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Brian Kirby - 2009-03-19 4:32 PM ........... If only they would release the Truck version to the public, the world would be almost perfect! I remember reading a statement that they put out regarding vehicle against size, can't for the life of me remember where, but ( this is using my words) they said that currently they did not feel that the available information on road size that they were able to incorporate into the mapping was satisfactory to make a viable standard for public release but was for a later development when they did. So you may well be right in that the Truck one being spoken of is on trial. Regards Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 I too am a bit puzzled as to the difference between the 730 and 740. As far as I can glean the latter has free updates for 30 days followed by a £7.99 per quarter charge for access to subsequent updates. The former seems to come with 2 years free updates. Does anyone concur? My gut feeling is that I could do without the "live" and all the bells and whistles, as long as the mapping is spot on for the foreseeable future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 Having said that the lowest price for the 730 and 740 is virtually the same! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dikyenfo Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I have the TT but have also got aNuvi in case the French police get funny about the speed camera issue . I bought the quarterly update for TT and the entire life of the unit updates for the Garmin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 Have just picked a Tom Tom and Garmin seller's brains about this issue. The 730 currently has 2 year's free map updating whereas updating the 740 is dependent on the £7.99 quarterly fee after your initial 30 days. After the initial 2 years with the 730 one would have to pay to update the current maps, much in the same way that one would update an old paper map. Typically this would be a bit of software on a DVD or SD card and could cost anything up to about £50. When asked about the "Live" part of the 740, the stockist said that he hardly felt it was worth the extra. The difference between the 730 and 730T is that the 730T has traffic updates sent to the unit so that if you are travelling down a road with problems you will be informed of any problems on the screen of the unit. Given the choice of Tom Tom or Garmin, the stockist said that there wasn't much to choose between the quality of the mapping in Europe or otherwise. BUT there was a huge difference between the former and the latter's customer services! In fact he actually recommended the Garmin Nuvi 660 over either of the Tom Tom's. Given that the Garmin costs £134 as opposed to £245, I am leaning towards the former. Does anyone have anything to say about the Garmin Nuvi 660? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffersonCampervan Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Jackal - 2009-03-22 5:08 AM Does anyone have anything to say about the Garmin Nuvi 660?the numbers ending in "0" are last years models - the ones ending in "5", which replaced them, have faster processors & in some areas lane-specific directions. YMMV on these upgrades. We have both a 770 & 755 - the 755 is noticeably faster to boot up & route. That being said, both are more than adequate - but you should be getting "discontinued model" pricing on anything ending in "0". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I have stuck with Garmin since 2000. Mainly because their support is superb with a free phone number, and they are patient and informative. Plus they exchange faulty units whereas TT I believe expect you to send unit of and have it repaired. maybe worth asking somewhere like Halfords for clarification on this...... Also if you have the Mapsource maps on DVD you can plan and organise your routes in comfort on your PC and upload/download routes etc.... between the two. My eyes are poor and getting worse and this is a godsend. Most GPS are fine for A to B navigation and that's all most people want........Motorhomers need a liitle more I bekieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 Thanks for the advice regarding the newer models. Looked at the 660 and was baffled at the contradicting reviews. The 670 gets much better reviews but I can't for the life of me see how it differs from the 660. Even the manual is the same! I can get the 660 for £120 but the 670 costs £180. Any ideas why? Don't need an mp3 player or photo frame (!) and certainly don't need FM transmission, just want the most reliable mapping and the ability to avoid more than one place per direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 JudgeMental - 2009-03-22 3:14 PM ...... Also if you have the Mapsource maps on DVD you can plan and organise your routes in comfort on your PC and upload/download routes etc.... between the two. My eyes are poor and getting worse and this is a godsend. ............ However, check this very carefully. I bought a Nuvi 760T last year and that model did not come with the mapping DVD, it was all pre-installed. I whinged at Garmin, and was told that the only units now sold with maps on DVD, as opposed to pre-installed, are the Zumo models. Without the maps on DVD you cannot initially install the maps to a PC, to do as Eddie suggests. If you pay a one off £100, you can currently get a lifetime entitlement to mapping updates, with up to 4 updates per year. This is only available as a download (3Gb!), but it does put the maps on your PC. You then need a further free software download to be able to use them for route planning etc. This offers a work around, albeit a bit pricey in initial cost when added to the cost of a Nuvi, but with individual map updates (download or DVD) costing around £60, not at all a bad offer over the longer term. It will leave you without PC based maps until you decide to buy updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffersonCampervan Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Jackal - 2009-03-22 1:05 PMThanks for the advice regarding the newer models. Looked at the 660 and was baffled at the contradicting reviews. The 670 gets much better reviews but I can't for the life of me see how it differs from the 660. Even the manual is the same! I can get the 660 for £120 but the 670 costs £180. Any ideas why? Don't need an mp3 player or photo frame (!) and certainly don't need FM transmission, just want the most reliable mapping and the ability to avoid more than one place per direction.Over here the only difference is that units with a "7" as the middle # are exactly the same as those with a "6", EXCEPT that the "7"s have BOTH North American & European maps. Otherwise there is no difference (this is why I have a 770)So the the 670 = 660 + US/Canada maps. (over here 670 = 660 + Euro maps)Performance-wise, they should be the same in all other respects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 Many thanks JC, on that one. You would have thought it was obvious but many websites just list them as being very much the same. Even Garmin's isn't exactly explicit. Has anyone any idea how you avail yourself of the £100 one off fee for all future Garmin mapping updates? Is it just a case of registering the set and purchasing it online? I must say that I'm certainly tempted by the 660 at £120 despite all the mixed reviews. Can't see that Tom Tom's 730 could be worth double despite all it's bells and whistles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 You can purchase mapping package from Garmin once unit is registered I believe.... You cannot transfer or carry out route mapping on a PC with the 600 series Garmin Nuvi's. You can purchase latest copy of Mapsource Europe DVD for approx £60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 Many thanks, Judge. At £120, it's cheaper than I was going to pay for the Tom Tom. The £120 I'll save will be put to the subscription. I'll let you all know how I get on with it when I get back from La Plagne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Jackal - 2009-03-22 8:32 PM Many thanks JC, on that one. Has anyone any idea how you avail yourself of the £100 one off fee for all future Garmin mapping updates? Is it just a case of registering the set and purchasing it online? Just go here http://tinyurl.com/cjqhq2 and all will be explained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 If you buy a 600, then later think you want to map and route plan on your PC or laptop, and can't.........You will regret this decision. There are a few people on here who have made this mistake and expressed their disappointment in previous threads on the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Or go for the Tom Tom GO720, still available for around £130 which has the 30 day latest map guarantee that will give you V8.?? mapping the same as on the GO730 and the latest GO740 with all the latest facilities the same as the GO730 and you will find that PC mapping, which has been available as a third party add on for years, is now included with the latest version of Tom Tom Home V2.6. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron. Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I have a nine year old built in satnav system in my BMW which allows me to input 'main roads only'. It has never led me down narrow roads when in that mode - anywhere. My all bells and whistles Tom Tom 730T certainly has in the motorhome. How is it that such a vital facility has been bypassed in modern units? You could say that the likes of the Tom Tom are really only meant for cars. However, even cars don't necessarily want to be going down narrow lanes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian0354 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Hi All, Can anyone tell me if there is an up-to-date machine which has the feature that sold me on my old Garmin 360; that is of "speaking" the road names not just the number. We find this useful especially in France where my wife can lookout for the road name while I keep an eye on the traffic lights! The road name can be so much more useful than simply direction. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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