Sat Nav - Which one to get?

[W00DY]

So does anyone know lot's about Sat Nav's?

We need to get one so I thought I would ask here first (since I always seem to get an answer for all life's questions!!!) before googling and retail shopping (shudder).

Which one?

Cheers,

[devilla101]

I've had personal experience with only 2 GPS's. TomTom 720 and Garmin Nuvi 760.

For feature rich device and for extensive customisation my vote would go with the TomTom 720.

For simplicity of use the Garmin Nuvi 760.

Regarding the Navman, stay away from them since when I was doing my research the Navman lineup has always been plagued with problems.

My personal preference is the Garmin Nuvi 760. Reliable bluetooth connection with my phone, map is less cluttered and the voice is less annoying (my opinion). Also the software is simple and less buggy than the TomTom 720.

[BBJ]

Have Fun Woody, I have been looking at these for sometime now and for all that i have looked have some bad habits even the dear ones so it is a matter to look at what you can handle but here is a start that i looked at and realise that none are perfect.

Was told to look for text to speach and bluetooth will be the main things you will need as other with all the bells and whistles are not worth there money. make sure your phone will work with the bluetooth as this has been my setback all that i have looked at Tom Tom, Garmin,Navman atc... will not work with my Samsung SCH A701, it see's it but i can not conect so it looks like another phone with bluetooth to try it out maybe a cheap one just to use so this is why i have not got an in car gps as yet.

check this link out on reveiws; http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-systems/?tag=ont.car.gps

Cheers
John
BBJ

[makario]

bought my dad a Tomtom One V3... not the best. Got them lost when he used it in Brisbie.

[digitor]

So does anyone know lot's about Sat Nav's?

I guess you're talking about a GPS receiver - do you want one to use as a glorified street directory, or for off-road use, or for connecting to your camera or .... ?

There's a million options out there, not always do you get what you pay for.

Cheers

[W00DY]

I guess you're talking about a GPS receiver - do you want one to use as a glorified street directory, or for off-road use, or for connecting to your camera or .... ?

Cheers

Hi Mate,

Basically I am after a glorified street directory where I can program different locations in and then choose them throughout the day. Off road trails would be awesome if they have them... we have a Pathfinder and love to go exploring and camping. I want one for in car use (which is also portable) so not sure if connecting to the camera is available as well (if it is then cool!!), the priority functionality is the street directory with memory etc...

Cheers.

[digitor]

One of these Garmin Nuvis http://www.octapc.com.au/prod3865.htm might suit your needs - sort of the best of both worlds! This one comes with pre-loaded city navigator maps.

I use a GPS 76CSx, which works well for me - but my interest is mostly off road / handheld use - but it works for turn-by-turn nav as well - if you buy the right maps. There are excellent maps available free (shonkymaps), which are better than any commercial equivalent, for off-road or country use.

Cheers

[chrisk]

i travel interstate about twice a week, QLD/ VIC/ SA/ TAS so a gps is pretty important for me. i got a tomtom 720, i dont know if its the best or not. didnt really do much research either apart from the fact that i had the mio digiwalker and it was crap and a mate had a navman and had nothing but problems.

i can say is that it works well, is accurate, easy to use and i've had no problems with it. make of that what you will...

[surenj]

One more consideration would be time to "recalculate" and locate satellites in general. This varies between units. My friend swears by him Garmin but I think he is biased.. Just another factor to think about but difficult yo test drive so to speak. Ask the store whether you can take one but return it if it doesn't work for you..

[rookie2]

I too am in the market for a street directory/easy to use &view sat nav with decent battery life.

Relies who use GPS for cray fishing have just bought high end Garmin models for travel around Oz and speak highly of them for reliability.

JBHiFi have the Garmins and Tom Toms on sale (some with redemptions) that are looking pretty attractive - probably the Garmin Nuvi260W would suit my needs best. $360 with the $50 redemption _ I havent checked via the net yet.

Just my 2c worth.

cheers
R2

[Pa]

we have tom tom, it does what we want it to

[bwhinnen]

I've got a Garmin Nuvi 760 and love it. I have the US and Australian Maps on it, used it extensively through Brisbane and through LA, Vegas, San Diego, Seattle and places in between.

The TTS is good, the maps are good, the unit works well, easy to use, easy to program, satellite pickup is pretty good, although can take time in bigger CBD areas.

Some of the builtin waypoints are a bit out of date, but that is nothing to worry about.

We even used it when walking around in the Seattle CBD without any problems.

I also have a heap of POI (points of Interest) set in the Australian maps for speed and red light cameras as well, the good thing about these is they will warn you if you actually exceed the posted speed limit (if set correctly).

[RDW]

Hi Woody,
I too laboured over which one, how much to spend and what features are really needed. Then my phone contract expired and I renewed with a new Nokia E51 running Symbian OS. For only $45US, I then purchased an Holux M1000 GPS receiver which is about the size of a matchbox including 22 hour duration rechargable Lith. Ion battery. This bluetooths into the phone. Downloaded Tom Tom V6 software into the phone and bingo!?! Full current Australian (US/Can., Europe, Asia & Sth Ameriaca available) mapping, voice direction, Red Light and fixed Radar Camera positions, speed limits, estimated time to destination, current speed, trip duration and distance. Additionally, the phone's standard GPS software permits point to point navigation by Latitude and Longitude cordinates, current speed, average speed, maximum speed, current altitude, trip duration and distance. This Holux GPS receiver is the latest high sensitivity (WAAS compliant) unit available and it's reception is better than any other GPS I've experienced, road, aviation or marine.
I have used this little baby to navigate by air halfway across the country and back as well as using the Tom Tom mapping in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. I also use it to record my regular exercise distance and duration whether walking or jogging. The screen is only small, but that is little compromise compared with the efficiency, functionality, portability and usefullness of this combo setup. The Holux will also bluetooth to my laptop and link into my aviation navigation software to give me full screen moving map aviation GPS using World Aeronautical Charts as the moving maps--pretty darned cool I can tell you, although I haven't actually used this feature in the plane yet. The Nokia E51 was free on the plan and the GPS receiver $45US. You will need to be computer and software savvy to set this up, but it is a great solution and very inexpensive.

[Photoaction]

Choice has road test on them and some great info even how they work when exposed to dashboard heat etc..I chose a mio on the data i read , that was in my price range and hasnt missed a beat in the last 2 yrs...cheers

[ATJ]

Don't get ATMOS - they can be a real killer.

[Ant]

I have an old Garmin Legend in one car and my iPaq with tom tom in the other. They both do what they need to do (although living out in Lyndhurst I need to update the maps on both for eastlink). I much prefer the Tom Tom, but that is because it is bigger and faster than the garmin. Just about any unit will do what you need so pick one at the right price and go for it. I havent used a Melways in about 6 years.

Ant.