GPS choices

Submitted: Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 19:43

ThreadID: 48976 Views:2699 Replies:5 FollowUps:2

This Thread has been Archived

garryk

G'day
A in car GPS unit is on our wish list and would like to ask others of their experiences with current models
Our research so far leaves us prefering Garmin or TomTom. but others like Mio or Navman are possible

Which features are most used or desirible ?

Wide Screen ? easier to see but bigger to carry if leaving vechile

Text to speech ? spoken street names

add ins like red light camera and school zones ? it seems like Garmin will include these and TomTom will charge extra ? is that the case ?

Connectivity to your PC ?

Cost of map upgrades ?

Quality and ease of use ?

and do you find yourself listening to the directions or reading the screen when travelling ? if listening is the most common then wide screen is less important but if looking and reading is the way to go then $ 100 extra for wide screen would be money well spent .

Thanks
Garry

I have also asked the same question on caravanners forum

Back Expand Un-Read 0 Moderator Share

Reply By: Member - colin M (NSW) - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 20:26

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 20:26

We found NAVMAN 520 easy to use and really useful around town or anywhere there is bitumen, useless on the dirt. Particularly useful around cities you don't know.
Believe new Sensis chip is due out in November this year so best to make sure you get that.

As driver cant look and drive, most important decision is to locate in best place for Navigator to look at up coming turns, driver can just listen to the comments from robot or human navigator, NAV is usually right.

AnswerID: 258668

Follow Up By: Member - colin M (NSW) - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 20:27

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 20:27

Think the new chip is about $295

FollowupID: 520029

Reply By: wigger - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 20:29

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 20:29

Bought a Garmin 510 recently because did not want to spend more than $5-600 but wanted text to speech after using a Navman. IMHO this is a must feature and ranks ahead of speed camera locations. Speakers are very audible but the price of this is a more bulky unit. The directions being called are more important than whats on the screen so you don't need a big screen.Was using it as a courier and its very reassuring knowing that you are actually on the right street. Maybe not so vital if you just want to find a single destination ocassionally.The software programming for ease of use is very good unlike the stuff you get if you buy one at ALDI.Spent a lot of time trialling Angel, which for the price is nothing pecial,Navman and Garmin and if wanted to spend more would go for a NUVI, but Tomtoms are also good. Am planning to load bush tracks with the info I got on the forum a couple of days ago.

AnswerID: 258669

Reply By: Patrolman Pat - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 20:48

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 20:48

I use a Navman PiN everyday at work and haven't used the voice directions since about day 2. The constant voice is a distraction as i alweayd listen to the radio or CD when driving. I have no problem navigating just by looking at the screen although bright sunlight from the side can be a problem. I would go for a bigger screen over voice anyday.
I've never bothered loading red light cameras and such,if you don't speed then you don't need to know where the cameras are and in SA mobile cameras will still get you anyway.

AnswerID: 258671

Reply By: wigger - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 21:00

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 21:00

This may be of interest to you Garry

Thanks for your reply Doug T (Qld) re bushmaps but at the risk ofseeming to be stoopid can you just explain the steps. I presume a 2GB SD card is necessary. Do I neeed to load IMG2gps software or do I get the complete down load from tracks4Australia. Are shonkmaps just another source option. Do you remove the SD card from the 510 when not using and how does it switch from Nav 7 citymaps to T4A. Tks

AnswerID: 258674

Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (Qld) - Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 22:46

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 at 22:46

You can check which maps are in your nuvi by going to the menu page;
Spanner, Map, Map Info
You should see;
- Tracks4Australia PRO (OZtopo roads and tracks layer)
- Australia 20m Contour lines (OZtopo contour layer)
- City Navigator Australia (standard maps)
If all boxes are ticked then City Navigator will display as it is a higher priority map than Tracks4Australia.
20m Contours is a transparent map and will display on top of City Navigator.
To display Tracks4Australia you need to untick City Navigator.
Please note; with Tracks4Australia selected the unit will not look up addresses or perform 'turn by turn' autorouting.
For all other information CLICK HERE