gadget lust manifesting in Sat Nav query

newbiejim · 15 Jan 2006 at 18:06

so I kinda fancy one of these, the Tom Tom One as it looks a fair price etc.............anyways I dont really need one but I`m sure it would come in handy but as a gadget how does it rate?, do you tire of it easily and get fed up of wrong maps etc?, OR (and what I want to hear) is it huge fun and continues to be fun and practical? I have read the sat nav related stuff on here and most seem pro........

rG-tom · 15 Jan 2006 at 19:35

ive not been driving long, but i absolutely love tomtom and have noticed other people who use it and have for a while, still love it. It's amazingly useful

Will never go somewhere I don't know without GPS again now

Tom.

Altered Corpse · 15 Jan 2006 at 19:49

If you want it just for it being a gadget seems completely pointless. You'll only ever use it when you would have used a map. It's nothing more than a tool but a very useful one. When i had to use a map it usually involved planning it the day before and then getting lost till the stage a 30 minute journey would take me 3 hours. Sometimes i wouldn't even arrive. With TomTom i type in the post code and go. It's that simple.

newbiejim · 15 Jan 2006 at 21:04

yeah it wouldnt be totally pointless but I guess I would only use it in earnest infrequently.......BUT when it is useful I guess it would be really uselful.........like visiting a friend in Glasgow who's house I have never been to before.........thanks for the replies

Bill101 · 15 Jan 2006 at 21:19

you could go the PDA route and then you can have two gadgets in one, you can never have enough shiny technology

newbiejim · 15 Jan 2006 at 22:38

yeah I had one lol.........an HP 4150, i fancy the dedicated Sat Nav solution tho (more easy to justify to g/f).......... ic an see myself getting one and driving around just for the sake of it......how sad is that lol

Skywalker · 15 Jan 2006 at 22:52

I have tomtom5 on my nokia 6680 and i must say it rocks and is always handy

NiCkNaMe · 16 Jan 2006 at 01:16

Not only is it useful for actually getting there, the speed camera database is pretty nifty too... espsh for those dodgy mobile sites

newbiejim · 16 Jan 2006 at 17:21

well i went and got a Tom Tom One, yes very impressed, the interface is really good and quickly grasped........however coming out of Glasgow it got itself in a pickle because of a *new* stretch of road (M77)...........I say new it opened May last year , also soem weird street names in my locale AND my house number not recognised, still the house has only been here 30 odd years............gripes asides it does work and even findign addresses quite close I can see wont be such a hit and miss...........IMHO the Sat Nav market will be won by who gets the best/most accurate mapping.......

thebrasso · 16 Jan 2006 at 17:27

For me I wanted a satnav unit, pure and simple, no bells and whistles that did the job and didn't cost a fortune.

I went for a Garmin i3 in the end...mapping seems very accurate, you can import your own POI's in, and its portable.

Desmo · 16 Jan 2006 at 17:42

newbiejim said:
IMHO the Sat Nav market will be won by who gets the best/most accurate mapping.......

Seeing as there's only really two or three big players in the mapping industry, there's not a great deal of difference between all the sat nav software out there. They all buy their mapping data from the same two or three companies.

I wouldn't have bought one unless I did plenty of travelling. I'm running TomTom on my PDA and my mobile and it comes in handy on lots of occassions

newbiejim · 16 Jan 2006 at 17:47

They all buy their mapping data from the same two or three companies.

ah I didnt know that...........how can the updates/maps take so long/be wrong.............surely they must improve this, I can see lots of opportunities for advertising etc with these systems once they get it together.......

Desmo · 16 Jan 2006 at 17:49

They do get updated but it can take a while. A bypass near me has only just appeared on the latest UK map but the road has been there for a year or so now. What version map are you running? GB is now on v605.

MrSix · 16 Jan 2006 at 18:13

Yesterday I returned from a 140 mile return trip to Surrey. I typed in my mates postcode on saturday morning and arrived at his door, stress free, 1 and a half hours later.

I can't rate mine highly enough.

Only problem is, my mum knicks it (as she has now) to get to far flung places across the UK that she has to visit for work. Gutted?!

newbiejim · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:24

Desmo said:
They do get updated but it can take a while. A bypass near me has only just appeared on the latest UK map but the road has been there for a year or so now. What version map are you running? GB is now on v605.

Yes its v605 I have so I may have to wait a while, though you would imagine the main motorway into Glasgow from Ayrshire should be in the next update though from what I read on various forums the updates can be not as good as you would expect

[Death] · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:49

my nokia 6680 with tomtom5 rocks