Which system is best for my needs? Any ideas? Forums

Bluenote

Hi, I`ve been looking into GPS and it seems the more I look the more choice and confusion I come across. Can anyone explain (in fairly simple terms please) the different capabilities of the type of systems available.
Although the price is a consideration I am prepared to spend upto £1000, 400-600 would be better though.
I am to use it widely throughout Europe, I want voice support and route correction.
I am also going to be fitting a reversing camera, so something that combines with that could be an advantage, as long as it isnt a sacrifice in another area.
I do have a good laptop, but does this mean the laptop has to be running constantly on the road using a laptop based system?
I would also like to be able to have as much access to Europe as possible without having to shell out for more maps.
Really sorry if I seem a bit dense Shocked

, but I will use it a lot in life so I dont want to get it wrong. Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks. Martin

takeaflight

Hi look at Tomtom Go, I use one of these we have two mounts so swap it between cars, you can down load your own points of interest, so for example I have speed cameras and caravan club sites.

If you are to use one abroad wait till the end of the month for the tomtom 700 comes with uk and europe.

bb695

I would agree - the Tomtom go 700 sounds perfect (other than the reversing camera )- it should have all Maps of Western Europe built in on a hard disk. It is due to be released in a week or two, but the release date has already slipped a couple of times.
It is completely portable - (I have a Tomtom300 - runs for about 5 hours from its own battery or can be run from ciggy lighter)

Paulway

Hello Martin,

You pay your money and take your choice.
A lot has to do with what you want and what you are happy with, e.g. Size of screen, are you happy with interactive screen or do you want buttons?
In essence there is little difference in outcome between expensive fixed and portable units. So what others believe to be best may not be what you like so you do have to try for yourself.
I have GPS in my car, DVD based, but is only of use in that vehicle. I wanted to be able to use the same unit between different vehicles, so that ruled out fixed units anyway.
I have had and used several different units and my current assessment of those I know are as follows:-
I have a laptop with navigation software but I am reluctant to keep this in the van and I have seen a couple of horrors where the hard drive has been damaged by being jarred on rough roads whilst being run as a GPS system whilst driving.
So I first bought a Garmin Streetpilot 3. Fairly bulky, expensive but its biggest drawback was its inability to put sufficient mapping into memory meaning that you had to have a laptop available to alter the mapping if you deviated from your chosen itinery. Also the European mapping was not that good.
Armed with the knowledge gained from this I looked at Tom Tom Go which I was quite impressed with, but decided that it was not best value for money as it only came with UK mapping and EU was at the time unavailable and was quite expensive to add when it did. Also you had to stick with TTom software for future update. There are several other types like this Navman IC series to name one other.
This led me towards PDA types, after looking at several, (CoPilot5, Tom Tom on several PDA's, Navigon ) I decided to buy a Navman PiN with Smart ST V3. The reason for this is that it came with full European street level mapping, some software does not go to street level in Europe, as the hardware is actually a Mitac Mio 168 Digiwalker, (the same as several of the other models rebadged) it enables you to use other software and not be stuck with the branded one and it was an extremely good price on the net, under £300.
Being a PDA but with the advantage of an inbuilt aerial, so no additional connections other than to your power supply and no dreaded jacket, it has the advantage of being able to be used as a diary, notepad, calculator, Office type products and any other package that you can buy (or freeware) for PDA's. You can use it independantly whilst walking, because of its built in aerial, and is particularly useful for finding your way back to somewhere if you don't know the area and walk about, e.g. you log where you park and then when you want to return you use it as a destination. The voice direction is clear and can easily be heard in our Boxer, and the rerouting is the quickest and most inteligent I've seen, obviously as with any software they are all being improved as time goes on.
It has very good mapping, to street level in UK and Europe and will hold most of France, Germany, Benelux on a 512Mb SD card. Although it says up to 512Mb guaranteed you can use a 1Gb SD card, it does work I use one. Smart ST is clever in that you can load a full 1Gb of mapping onto the card and switch in and out those that you are using so making routing quicker, but having the others available should you want them without having to download from your laptop.
Hope that helps and does no more to confuse you
Paul

stormywhether

I feel qualified to discuss this point being very clever.

I have a HP iPaq 4150 and a Fortuna GPS Bluetooth Receiver.

I also have TomTom 3 and all the Euro maps.

In addition, I have Memory-Maps which effectively are Ordnance Survey maps of the UK.

I tell you what I can do:

I can plot in great detail an itinerary covering multiple stops across the continent. I can plot an A to B from my house to the supermarket if I want.

I can go out on my mountain bike with my iPaq mounted on the handlebars (got an Otterbox for this) and the Bluetooth in my rucksack, and follow precisely bridleways and quiet roads anywhere in this wonderful county. I can do the same thing when I'm walking.

Such is the convenience of an iPaq/Bluetooth Receiver combination that it beats by a long way the immobile TomTom Go solution.

Of course, if you want this sort of set-up only for driving places then it's a different matter.

But let's face it, who wants to get lost on the way to the pub?

Wink

DABurleigh

If you are not comfortable with computers and software, go for an all-in-one box you can easily move between vehicles.

If you are comfortable with a Pocket PC and software, go that route as the value for money is far better, it can be used for other applications, but crucially, it is more futureproof in that the interesting things that are happening in GPS navigation are down to 3rd party software and data. If voice instructions are important, check the reviews for volume level or buy a custom powered mount with built-in speaker.

I am also a Memory Map fan, and have been for years. But it is not a sole answer if you want routing or voice, or unfortunately - still - for Europe.

Dave

RainDancer

Hello Bluenote.

I use a laptop which runs navigator gps which works very well. I bought Navigator on the internet for about £150. It has all the european maps you will need and comes complete with a usb gps mouse . Yes you do have to run the laptop all the time. I have just ordered a 8 inch touch screen to sit on the dash board so I can keep the laptop out of site. The good thing about navigator it doesn't say '' DO A U TURN'' if you make the wrong turn it just says recalculating. Seeing you have a laptop this may be a cheaper option for GPS. I hope this helps.

trevor

It is a matter of chioce.

I have used a laptop but found that it is better to have the screen where you can see it.

So I have just bought an Acer N35 with built in GPS(£224 from Ebuyer), it come with Destinator software which is OK. I have also load on of my sd card with tom tom so I have a choice of what navigation software to use as well as a fully functional PDA.

Cheers

Trevor

takeaflight

Go for Go even I can use it and the wife who was dead against it uses it all the time

theflyingscot

hi guys

i use infomap navigator 4 europe on my laptop , full kit is available on ebay for £100, thats where i got mine . in my opinion its the best laptop type system , dont know much about the other types.
cheers
kenny+stella