Sat Nav

HaX

HaX

HaX

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Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
2,080
Location
Berkshire
Hi there,

Looking at getting myself a Sat Nav and speed camera warning system. As I understand it, it is possible to go down two routes - 1)Purchase a pocket PC with a GPS receiver and get Tom Tom Sw for it 2)Purchase a dedicated bit of hardware eg a TomTom.

Basically, the functionality I would like is Sat Nav (by post code) and speed camera warnings.

Cheers

HaX
 
what's the question? IMO it's better to go pocketpc / phone type pocket PC and gps dongle. I use a bluetooth GPS dongle that cost £45, and my phone (which is a small pda type phone, the orange spv m500), so its only cost me £45 + the software, and it works as fast/faster than the tomtom one, which is £240, and it's a lot smaller. Most people i know who have tomtom ones etc, only take it out when they really need to cos of the size to take out of the car. I leave my bluetooth GPS in my door panel, and carry my phone out with me obviously, so i always have gps no matter where im going, if i end up needing it ive got, and its far smaller to carry :)

Tom.
 
I got the TomTom One this week and I'm very impressed with it. Its very quick (I cant compare with PPC version though as I havent seen on running but this is certainly very fast at claculating routes and screen redraws are very smooth).

As for the size - yes, that is a consideration. The unit itself is pretty small - certainly small enough to just tuck in the door panel or in the glovebox (but you couldnt fit it in jacket pocket comfortably) but the mounting bracket is a bit bulky. I planned to just leave the bracket attached to the windscreen all the time but according to the instructions it will lose suction? Dunno if anyone can confirm if thats actually true or not?

Overall though I'm very pleased with mine, and its so simple to use even the mrs can manage it (it searches by street name or full 7 digit postcode)
 
As I mentioned earlier in my post, all I want is GPS SatNav and speed camera warnings as cheap as poss.

Cheers

HaX
 
Cheap as poss? Get a secondhand PocketPC and add TomTom and a wired GPS receiver. You don't need a powerful Pocket PC - TomTom works fine on my iPAQ 3630. You'll likely end up with a bulky mount on the windscreen and a tangle of wires over the dash.

Another option is to get a SmartPhone (I like the Orange SPV M500) and add TomTom and a Bluetooth GPS reciever.

Otherwise look at the TomTom One dedicated unit. The software has exactly the same functionality as the PocketPC version, it's got the latest GPS chipset (fast bootup and better reception) and it's small and compact. We got my Dad one for his birthday and I keep borrowing it and leaving my iPAQ in the glovebox.
 
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Basicly If you go the PDA path, you need TomTom and a wired/wireless (via bluetooth) GPS reciever.

The speed camera alerts you can download for free and are updated every month.

You can also download lots of other Points Of Interest (POI's) points for free.
 
Rednut05 said:
Basicly If you go the PDA path, you need TomTom and a wired/wireless (via bluetooth) GPS reciever.

The speed camera alerts you can download for free and are updated every month.

You can also download lots of other Points Of Interest (POI's) points for free.
Click to expand...

The PocketGPSWorld speed camera database is now chargeable. The last free update was February IIRC.
 
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