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Have u thought about getting a smartphone like a nokia 6600 off ebay which comes with bluetooth gps receiver and tom tom software? should be within ur budget.
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microdirect.co.uk have Navman PPC with SpartST v3 on offer for £208. Proper screen, good software.
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We now have our Garmin i3's and I am pleased to report that that it performs well with good timely prompts by a nice natural sounding english female voice, small screen but big enough and although not a touchscreen I found the scroll wheel and controll button a doddle to use.
We tried hard to get lost but were immediately directed back to the correct route.
All in all for the price I am greatly impressed, and although I have no experience of any other sat nav's I find this perfectly adequate with many features and fail to see what else I would need in one It was a further £1 cheaper at Staples due to the competition reducing their prices to match.
Regards Mal.
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Hi just thought you might be interested in an update on the two Garmin i3's, not good news!!.
One was returned and replaced because of a faulty scroll wheel within 24 hours, and today the second, mine, has also developed fault on the scroll wheel and will be returned for a full refund.
I will do a bit more research before I choose my next sat-nav.
Regards Mal.
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PC Pro has a review of PDA sat-navs this month. You can find the reviews on their web site at www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/ .
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Thanks for that WS looks like I may spend a bit more money because of the moral of the story being "you only get what you pay for" perhaps.
Regards Mal.
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It's worth mentioning that the Acer n35 recommended in the PC Pro article doesn't always get quite such good reviews elsewhere.
Have a look at Amazon.co.uk for some customer reviews, and also reviews.cnet.co.uk/handhelds/0,39030064,39188423,0...m .
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As follow up to Tesco having Navman units. they actually have Navman TomTom Go (300,500,700) and the Acer unit. Personally think the UI on TomTom is excellent.
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Don't know if this will be suitable:
www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=3VZ7
It's £119 including VAT.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I just read that too Stuart. Carefully! There isn't door to door satnav as far as I can tell - it can guide you to large towns, but not to specific addresses.
It's worth reading the spec of any cheap system properly and making sure it can do what you need it to - before buying!
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>>I just read that too Stuart.>>
It came via a dabs.com e-mail and I did notice it mentioned some 2,500 towns etc.
I only passed it on out of interest - I've never really had any great use or even interest in sat-nav although I've used it in an S-Class - rather valuable at night on narrow Cornish roads when last down there...:-)
However, it's claimed the dabs.com example was £199 before the reduction, so the limitations you mention may well have a bearing on the fact it's been reduced so substantially..-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Link to another thread- www.grandprixlegends.com/ThingsForTheCarSite/pages...p have a system for £199 that works direct with a smartphone, thinking of one for my 6680.
HTH,
Alex.
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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It's worth mentioning that the Acer n35 . . . doesn't always get quite such good reviews. . ..
There seems to be an anomally here somewhere. The Cnet review is just one review and says it is OK but nothing to rave about.
Elsewhere, ebuyer displays 128 reviews for it of which more than 80% give it 5 stars and rave about it and the rest are almost all 4 stars.
Their reviewers also talk of inserting much bigger SD cards -- up to 1 gig! -- to be able to do other things with it, like playing music etc.
They also have a cure for the re-boot oddity, highlighted by cnet, that occurs when re-inserting the SD map card. They simply rename the boot file.
They also keep back-up copies on other SD's.
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Acer N35 has got very fiddly annoying interface & build issues (highest return rate out of all the main consumer units - actually the Magellan 300 was even worse but everywhere soon stopped selling it). I'd seriously recomend a TomTom 300 which are doing the rounds for 299.99 at the moment, in a different class to the Garmin i3 and Navman 320 as is has a touch screen of 3.5" size so much easier to use. Even better, there's a TomTom One coming out very soon priced at around the £249.99 mark which is 3.5" touchscreen and full tomtom functionality - well worth the extra cash. Considering the current price war going on with sat nav, someone will probably drop it to 229.99 for xmas anyway - a complete bargain.
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Bought an I3 also ...no problems.
There is a published issue with the scroll wheel - which is cured by updating the i3's firmware from the Garmin website.
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I've just bought a Navman icn610 from dabs - half price (£179) at the moment - excellent value.
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I've just bought a Navman icn610 from dabs - half price (£179) at the moment - excellent value.
To save anyone looking this is not available now sadly
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Gosh that sold out quickly - there were 60 left instock at the weekend, 40 yesterday and now none. Sorry folks.
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Acer N35 has got very fiddly annoying interface & build issues (highest return rate out of all the main consumer units
Bmwfan, It sounds like you might have just saved me a problem. I was awaiting an email reply to mine that asked if the latest 'Destinator PN' software for the n35 had postcodes (I suspect it does not!)and was going to buy one if they said yes. --- I will go back to sitting on the fence for a while.
Any views on this PN software?
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- bmwfan: Acer N35 has got very fiddly annoying interface . . . I'd seriously recommend a TomTom 300 which are doing the rounds for 299.99 at the moment
The Navman ICN 520 [Touch screen, 5 digit post codes, POI etc] is presently being offered for same price. Looks an interesting stocking filler. Any views?
The software, when the 520 was released in July, was version 3.5 with version 4.0 to follow. So 'what software' might be a useful question for the £299 sellers.
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My Garmin I3 works fine.
What's the problem with the scroll wheel? (and what's the fix?)
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Sorry, I have to admit my ignorance - I've never used satnav and rely entirely on OS maps for my work. Is there a satnav system that can utilise OS map ref numbers? Do they normally work on address/postcode?
A couple of weeks ago when I was working in Norfolk a chap stopped his car and asked where he was - I informed him 'Overstrand'. He was using his satnav and said he thought he was in Fakenham - which is about 25miles WSW. I should have asked him what make his satnav was!
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Memory Map (and others) use OS map refs and can locate you to an accuracy of a 10 fig grid ref (Is that to 10 metres?)Latest version, I hear, has both 1:50,000 maps for the whole country and 1:25,000 for large areas. Don't think it is a true "satnav" system in the usual sense but it's brilliant for walking, cycling etc (and finding out exactly where you are on a Scottish mountain in very thick fog/low cloud!!)
www.memory-map.co.uk/
Phil
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Thanks for the comments re: Memory Map - I'll check the website.
I think that a 10 fig grid ref (i.e. 5 eastings, 5 northings) should take you down to a 1 metre square. The first 2 figures identify a 1km square.
I've been using a handheld GPS unit which gives you 10 figures, but accuracy depends on local GPS coverage and, I suspect, cloud cover and atmospheric conditions. I haven't used it for a few months but IIRC, at best, it was accurate to 10-20 metres. I suspect that, just because it gives you 10 figures, it doesn't mean it's accurate to 10 figures [just as my my Mondeo speedo goes up to 150, it doesn't mean it'll do that!].
My boss told me that he will be testing a new 'GPS' unit which uses land-based stations in addition to satelites - and that is reckoned to be more reliable. I must remember to ask him how he got on with it.
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As it happens, been using the ICN520 today. It does the job fine, the volume could be louder tho.
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Maybe it is now "satnav".
Quote from Memory Map site "Plan routes, print maps, interface with a GPS and use "real" maps that give you the same detail as the paper originals! Use with a Pocket PC for a complete colour handheld navigation system.
Available with a choice of inclusive maps."
Someone will be along to tell you!!
Phil
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