Agreed that the TT One is one of the best units out there. I got my Wife one for Christmas and I was very impressed by it, even after using TT on my mobile for a good while prior.
I have seen the Garmin I3 on sale for as little £99 so posted that as the brief was for the cheapest, not the best value for money.
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You asked for the cheapest. Answer: Garmin Streetpilot i3.
It was recently chosen as 'Best Buy' by a well known consumer magazine (I don't know whether I am allowed to say Which one). I have owned Tom Tom and i3. i3 does a brilliant job.....why pay more?
When you get yours, be sure to download the full manual from their web site. Also, follow their recommendation and buy two AA NiMH 2300mah batteries.
After a good ten hour initial charge, insert same and select Settings/System/Battery Type and alter the default to NiMH. This makes sure that the 'power remaining' display is accurate.
Enjoy!
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Sorry but I have to disagree. The i3 does a half decent job. Its hard to see, too quiet, not at all user friendly on the move, and suspect reliability. Most retail at about 130 quid and as such is not that good value.
Its an opinion of course.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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One man's meat....
>>Its hard to see.......I have never needed to look at the SatNav screen when driving (I found that the larger, brighter screen on Tom Tom was a distraction)...voice prompts are more than adequate for my needs.
>>Too quiet.......only if the volume on ICE is turned up too high.....
>>not at all user friendly on the move......at first I thought that the instructions to turn left or right were premature but with experience I now prefer this as it avoids the need to *suddenly* move into another lane. On the rare occasions that I have turned too soon, within a short distance I hear the word "Recalculating" and know that I have made a mistake. I then have the choice of following the amended route (which arrives very quickly) or returning to the original route....no problem.
>>and suspect reliability......is another man's poison.
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It was recently chosen as 'Best Buy' by a well known consumer magazine (I don't know whether I am allowed to say Which one). I have owned Tom Tom and i3. i3 does
>>
Which issue of Which was this in, 007?
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Update - (a) my TomTom One arrived this morning and I think it's brilliant; (b) The Link have dropped the price to £200 incl. VAT and delivery. At the moment they have stock.
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Will any of these items work thru a 'metallised' windscreen ie heat blocking thing? If not how much is an aerial and extension lead and where does one install the aerial, please?
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Will any of these items work thru a 'metallised' windscreen ie heat blocking thing? If not how much is an aerial and extension lead and where does one install the aerial, please?
If there is no socket for an aerial you can use a reradiator-external receiver picks up signal and runs to a device near your satnav and radiates the signal,your unit then picks that up.About £50-70.
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Update - (a) my TomTom One arrived this morning and I think it's brilliant; (b) The Link have dropped the price to £200 incl. VAT and delivery. At the moment they have stock.
Chris, glad you're pleased with it. I am delighted with mine too. One thing, though: there's no case, and it's going to get scratched quickly unless you're careful. I got one of these cases, which I can highly recommend: tinyurl.com/k42z5
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AS, my understanding is that some windscreens may affect performance. However, apparently some such screens have an area that is clear; either you position your GPS device to take advantage of this or use an external aerial. Suggest you google for accessories for whichever satnav you're thinking of getting. Best of luck.
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AS,
I have had a Navman PiN and now have a Medion PNA 250 (cost £149 from Aldi - think TVM recommended it as good value and it is) and both have worked perfectly with the thermal (?) screens on 2 Berlingos and a Xantia - 9 satellites picked up generally. Both though have a socket on their aerial thingys for an external aerial. Have seen them advertised very cheaply on ebay but have not needed one.
I can highly recommend the Medion for £149 - very easy to use, good early guidance (about half mile in advance for turnings, roundabouts etc. Easy to put in postcodes, addresses etc. comes with detailed street maps of UK and main roads of Europe, I have just bought street level maps of France for £70 and input campsite, restaurant, supermarket addresses (it has a lot of these as POIs also). Haven't used TomTom so can't compare but the Medion seems pretty good to me. Maps are up to date also - has the new autoroute from Rouen to Alencon on it which only opened about Nov 2005. Think the Medion is very similar (rebadged??) to Navman 520 (or is it 510???).
HTH
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Phil
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The Medion PNA 150, PNA 250, Navman icn510 and icn 520 all use the same chasis (hardware with slight cosmetic diferences) made by MIO. ( a MIO 6 xxxx something)
The software varies tho, with navman utilising their own software, and Medion using badged Navman software. The PNA250 uses very recent Navman software.
You can get a re-radiating antenna if you have problems in car. This is small magnetic weatherproof plastic block antenna, with a small re radiating aerial you place close to the sat nav.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Doh stupid TVM - he meant to say the medion uses badged NAVTEQ software.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Thanks for clarification TVM, but
"Medion using badged Navman software. The PNA250 uses very recent Navman software."
seems very different from my old navman software, Medion has "Navigator 5" but old (3 years??) Navman PiN has "Smart ST" software. Has navman changed to Navigator? or is Navman PiN different from icn 510/520?
cheers
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Phil
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NW - plenty of cases on e-bay. Get one, they make a difference.
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PS, the Medion comes with two cases (one resistant with room for memory cards etc, one for sticking in your pocket to protect screen etc), various charging leads/computor connection leads etc. with adaptors for continent, and a bicycle mount as well as 2 different car mounts. Cases are thick canvas, not leather. pretty comprehensive kit for the price.
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Phil
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NW - plenty of cases on e-bay. Get one, they make a difference.
Umm, the point of my post as that I did get one, and posted a link to it. They do indeed make a difference.
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you're right :-O natty bit of kit by the way.
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My best mate has the Garmin i3 which he uses in his Mondeo - absolutely delighted with it. Paid £129 at Halfords; about a fortnight later it went up to £139.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Which issue of Which was this in, 007?
Um.. Personaly Computer World?
www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/compare/2153...v
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Well I picked up a Fujitsu pocket Loox pda that has a sirf III chipset gps receiver built in (no antannae either) and comes with the Navman Mobile Navigator 5 software which has been ditched in favour of Tomtom 5. Bargain at £150 incl car kit, sd card for maps etc from Expanysys.
The sirf III chipset is superb and its quick to lock on to satellites and even gets a great reception indoors. Its also a very good pda, running the latest Windows Mobile software.
MM
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That package looks very good at that price.
Seems to be lacking an in car mobile mount/car power supply tho?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Yep it was an excellent price. It comes with a car mount (for the Loox so fits well unlike some of the generic ones), suction arm & in car & ac power adapter (even has a euro plug as well).
Bit of a billy bargain!
MM
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You don't have a link to that do you Marky??
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yes of course, here www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=126746
This is what I ordered and can confirm it came with the full car kit, although it was not clear on the advert.
MM
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FOR THE ATTENTION OF: drbe
Sorry for the delay in answering your question (>>Which issue of Which was this in, 007?)...I have been off-line for a couple of days.
The answer is *probably* March 2006. I cannot be certain because I do not receive the monthly magazine. Instead, I subscribe to the on-line version of 'Which?' and it was there that I saw their report on Sat-Nav devices.
If you would like to read it, all you have to do is to take up their offer of 30 days free access to all their reports...here...trial.which.co.uk/home.php?source_code=J1AJ04 . Simply type GARMIN into their search engine and up comes the report.
You are not obliged to become a regular subscriber but perhaps, like me, you will be so impressed, that you will want to! Lots of motoring related reports too.
HTH
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Thanks 007
I am a subscriber to Which? and couldn't find any reference to satellite navigation in recent issues.
I have tried putting GARMIN into their search with a return of 0 results.
Not point scoring, but as a subscriber, I wanted to read the report at first hand. I don't subscribe to Computing Which? and it may have been in there. It seems the July edition will have a report on portable sat-navs, if it does I will let you know.
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Just wanted to say that I owe Marky Mark a pint for his info/lead on the Siemens Loox PDA/Satnav. Just got it today (ordered yesterday) and well impressed even before I have actually tried out the satnav bit. The Loox is wafer thin compared to my old Ipaq 2210 and it seems to be quality kit. I probably won't use the Navigon software (too used to Tom Tom, so will put that on it)I, but the carkit will certainly be put to good use. A 2gig SD card is on its way so the PDA will double up nicely as an MP3 player for the times I can listen at work.
I have used TT Mobile on a Nokia 6630 for a while now, but have recently been looking for a dedicated all in system as the bluetooth connection between my mobile and the GPS receiver can be fiddly. I don't use satnav enough to warrant paying TT One prices and I have been put off by complaints about the Garmin I3 so this one was a nice compromise.
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Finally got my SD card, but having a problem loading TT Navigator on the Loox PDA. If Marky Mark sees this please let me know how you went about loading the TT software. I have done the procedure before on a previous PDA so its not like I am clueless, but for some reason the Loox won't load the TT software when I insert the SD card. I am beginning to think that the Loox is locked to the supplied Navigon software, but I would really rather not use that.
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All sorted now, kept installing and re-installing files until it suddenly burst into life...would have been nice to know exactly what I did to get it working though 8-)
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Marky / Trancer,
Just wondering how your Loox PDAs are doing now ? You still recommend? I see the price has went up on that wensite to nearer £190 but do they still represent good value at that price? I would be looking to load TomTom onto it as well?
Any thoughts / advice appreciated.
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Works fine, I got Tom Tom loaded on it in the end. Occasionally it takes a little time to lock onto the satelitte when you first start up Tom Tom. Usually you are up and running in 30 secs, but there was one instance where it took over 2 minutes to satellite lock. The PDA is like any other really, standard Windows Mobile interface, touchscreen etc, and I find the speaker loud enough for navigation if my radio volume is at a low level, no need for amplified speaker mounts.
The supplied car kit is fine too, though I didn't use the supplied suction cup flexi arm. I attached the PDA holder to a dashmount bracket I already had in the car. I also got a different car charger lead as the one supplied needs an adapter (supplied) and when connected looked too bulky for my liking.
I don't think I would have bought it at £190 (seen them on Ebay for £150ish) when Tom Tom Ones can be had for near enough £200 if you look for them. Having said that the only real advantage I can see with the One is much faster satellite fix, larger screen and much louder volume that wouldn't struggle to compete with a loud radio. Advantage with the PDA is using it for other things. I have a 2 gig card loaded up with hours of music and on quiet nights I have the headphones on listening at work.
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Not the cheapest but if you get the chance to specify a system for a company car etc (ie someone else is paying) it is hard to beat the Smartnav system for ease of use. Basically a mobile phone in a box - push a button on the dash and speak to a real live operator - state destination - route downloaded to vehicle then follow audio prompts. Biggest benefit is the human interface - you can actually just ask for the nearest place to get a coffee and get a result!
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