Worth noting that if you have n iPhone 4 or above (probably also a 3GS) you don't need an expensive mount, anything that holds the phone up will do. Added bonus of the iPhone TomTom is I've had it 18months now and not had to pay a penny for map updates so far, also you can just decide you want traffic for a month for a couple of quid if you're doing a long journey it's most useful.
Cheap Sat Nav...
- Thread starter dokko
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It's not due to lack of lane guidance, it's due to the stupidity of the general public.
If your sat nav tells you you're exiting the motorway in 1.5 miles, you've got absolutely loads of time to move into one of the left most lanes. Plus, the gantries over head will tell you the exit, which lane, and how far it is. It just requires a bit of common sense and forethought, but most people take the MUST GO AS FAST AS POSSIBLE IN THE OUTSIDE LANE OH CRAP I NEED TO COME OFF BETTER TACK ACROSS THE ENTIRE MOTORWAY IMMEDIATELY SOD EVERYONE ELSE attitude. Same with roundabouts. Even the oldest of sat navs tell you whether you're going left, right or straight over at a roundabout, thus, if you know your Highway Code, you should be OK in 95% of circumstances.
Is that what lane guidance does? tell you to get left when coming off?
Okay that's pretty stupid, can't say even right lane exits such as M6 toll off any great difficulty.
I thought lane guidance would tel you which lane to get into when you come off the motorway - i.e. left lane for exits 1+2, middle lane for exits 3+4, right lane for exit 5. The OP seems to suggest this too. Does it exist on higher model sat navs?
In that case I do have lane guidance and it's bloody annoying (telling me to keep right past every junction - ffs).
Yes, it does. But it's no replacement for common sense.
True, i bought a tomtom start a while ago for like £80 as a "spare" unit incase the gf wants to use one or whatever. It works absolutely fine obviously, basic but it has everything you list i think.
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I am tempted to get an iPhone Tomtom now as it gives free updates where with a Tomtom unit you got to subscribe which is annoying. Especially round birmingham where there have been some new roads recently. VERY scary when approaching a road and I see a roundabout but the satnav doesn't show the same!
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Yeah really scary, how do you cope
Try when you have to go between the church and the reception venue in the middle of a job.
Not a problem at all for Google Nav as when I do that I have Calendar already with the reception/church locations saved so I just click > Navigate and it does it via Google maps right away. Never had a problem like you've mentioned but Google Nav is pretty much up to date always anyway and directions are specific right down to the name of the road/roundabout.
No idea how that works for you though as this is Android exclusive only!
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I did but before setting off from the church the bride says to you "we like a photo of our car arriving at the venue"
Now it means you got to get them before they do, getting lost isn't really an option.
That kind of scary, I don't care about getting lost, it always recalculate but I need to be on time and with it up to date.
Common sense cannot tell you what lane scheme local road planners have decided on for purely local reasons.
So.. Coordinate with the driver and tell him to give you 5/10 minutes' head start to get there first then? Or, like mrk said, research the job prior to the event so you know exactly where you're going. Plus once all the photos are done you can shoot off anyway and get there nice and early. You're not a guest, you don't have to hang around. It's all about common sense. Lane guidance or any of that crap, while nice to have, isn't a necessity.
I don't think I've ever arrived at a wedding reception after the bridal car anyway
Yeah I see plenty of roundabouts where left is the right lane, and you keep right in order to turn left.
Maps can never be 100% up to date. Peoples' absolute reliance on modern technology is quite scary sometimes.
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Yeah I see plenty of roundabouts where left is the right lane, and you keep right in order to turn left.
I give up.
Clearly...
Most over-used word on the internet, is that. It seems half the more "precious" folk on this forum simply use it as an "insult" to someone who disagrees with them and they have no rebuttal.
I would have thought an OCUK staff member such as yourself is supposed to set more of an example of maturity on these forums. Clearly I was mistaken.
Most over-used word on the internet, is that. It seems half the more "precious" folk on this forum simply use it as an "insult" to someone who disagrees with them and they have no rebuttal.
I would have thought an OCUK staff member such as yourself is supposed to set more of an example of maturity on these forums. Clearly I was mistaken.
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Howard, you don't get it.
Research....google maps is only so up to date, for example, I know there are roads around here that is not on google maps. As for research, i done a job in scotland this year where I needed to fly up there, how do you suggest I "research" that? Then taking into an out of date Tomtom that could be 2 years old...imagine arriving at a spaghetti junction when the Tomtom only shows a T junction. All the roads that leads off it are dual carriageways. What are you going to do?
As for leaving early, 10 min head start. What do you think I suggest to tell the client after they come out of the church, wedding car parked outside and all the guests getting into their cars to go. "Hold up guys, I might get lost, give me a head start"
er, no.
Often after they come out of the church they just want to get into the car, if it is raining, they are not going to hang around. Would you want your new wife stand there with a brolly in the rain in her white dress while give the photographer a head start?
er, no.
As for getting the photos done and shooting off early...you don't know how I work, I am often the LAST person to leave, yes, I am there when the music stops and the caterers have all gone home. You simply don't understand what I do and make assumptions.
And yes, I have arrived at the venue AFTER the bridal car, 10 mins actually, because the Tomtom said straight on when i should have taken a slip road off a roundabout/spaghetti junction thing that i should have taken. It wasn't about lane guidance, it was simply wrong, and yes, I only updated it 2 weeks before that, not like they could built that in 2 weeks.
Research....google maps is only so up to date, for example, I know there are roads around here that is not on google maps. As for research, i done a job in scotland this year where I needed to fly up there, how do you suggest I "research" that? Then taking into an out of date Tomtom that could be 2 years old...imagine arriving at a spaghetti junction when the Tomtom only shows a T junction. All the roads that leads off it are dual carriageways. What are you going to do?
As for leaving early, 10 min head start. What do you think I suggest to tell the client after they come out of the church, wedding car parked outside and all the guests getting into their cars to go. "Hold up guys, I might get lost, give me a head start"
er, no.
Often after they come out of the church they just want to get into the car, if it is raining, they are not going to hang around. Would you want your new wife stand there with a brolly in the rain in her white dress while give the photographer a head start?
er, no.
As for getting the photos done and shooting off early...you don't know how I work, I am often the LAST person to leave, yes, I am there when the music stops and the caterers have all gone home. You simply don't understand what I do and make assumptions.
And yes, I have arrived at the venue AFTER the bridal car, 10 mins actually, because the Tomtom said straight on when i should have taken a slip road off a roundabout/spaghetti junction thing that i should have taken. It wasn't about lane guidance, it was simply wrong, and yes, I only updated it 2 weeks before that, not like they could built that in 2 weeks.
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Then tell me Raymond, how exactly do you expect a Tomtom to solve these issues for you?
I'm not trying to insult you, but these are problems people deal with day in, day out. A complicated junction is only as complicated as you make it. If you think calmly about where the Tomtom is sending you, you can then decide which lane you require. If you miss your exit on a roundabout, you can just do another lap!
If someone has just passed their driving test and is thrown into a massive junction with nothing but a sat nav to tell them what to do, yes I would understand their trepidation. But if you're an experienced driver, it's something that should come naturally.
I'm not trying to insult you, but these are problems people deal with day in, day out. A complicated junction is only as complicated as you make it. If you think calmly about where the Tomtom is sending you, you can then decide which lane you require. If you miss your exit on a roundabout, you can just do another lap!
If someone has just passed their driving test and is thrown into a massive junction with nothing but a sat nav to tell them what to do, yes I would understand their trepidation. But if you're an experienced driver, it's something that should come naturally.
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I want an up to date system, hence iPhone instead of subscribing to Tomtom updates.
I want the latest info to minimise the chances of these events happening. I know it is not foolproof but i need to know at least it has the latest data pack on it at all times.
Bottomline, it works out cheaper to get the iPhone app.
That's my point, i don't know where your point is about common sense. That has nothing to do with what i am on about.
I want the latest info to minimise the chances of these events happening. I know it is not foolproof but i need to know at least it has the latest data pack on it at all times.
Bottomline, it works out cheaper to get the iPhone app.
That's my point, i don't know where your point is about common sense. That has nothing to do with what i am on about.