Sat Navs

[HEPZIBAH]

When I bought my car last year I chose against the option that had an inbuilt Sat Nav system. I decided that the best part of £1000 was too much of an extra to pay for something that I didn't think I really needed.
I realise now that, much as I'm still a good map reader, I no longer have the mental capacity to retain all the required directions to get me from A-B (especially when it may involve a sudden C and D too!). Even using route planners and print outs for specific journeys it can be a problem finding somewhere to safely pull over and check the next stage of the route.

So, I'm now thinking that perhaps a Sat Nav may be an asset after all! My problem is...no doubt regular readers of my posts will have guessed... I have no idea what to buy. I've looked on line at all the obvious places and now got myself totally confused about what I really require. I do know I don't want to spend the earth. I also know that I need a sensible sized screen and an option for voice information (hopefully with a voice I can be confident with and not irritated by).

I've discovered that you can have a UK only, a UK and ROI, a UK, ROI and Europe, and a World Wide version. So, now I'm arguing with myself about how much of the world I'm really likely to drive these days. It is just possible I may consider taking my car over to France or Spain, but it is only a vague possibility so I wonder if it is worth the extra expense. I very much doubt that I'd be doing any driving anywhere else in the world these days, although I do get tempted to hire a car sometimes when I visit Morocco.

If you've managed to get this far in my post, and you know anything about Sat Navs - have preferences, useful suggestions etc. - I'd be very happy to know more. As usual, I have Gadget Fever.

[BBLUX]

Hi Hepzi,
Because we were travelling in Europe for a few months last Summer we bought one of these:

Our old 18 year old Navman was way out of date and the casing was sticky and perished!
The Garmin proved very easy to operate and the 5" display was easy to see. It comes with PC software so you can plan routes in advance.
Now we have our French car which came with built in SatNav!

[Horus]

I would backup Bblux’s choice, I have the same model of Garmin Satnav and can highly recommend it, although mine is UK maps only and is therefore the Nuvi-57-LM
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Satelli ... MG8F0?th=1
You get lifetime updated maps for UK and ROI plus a very useful speed camera alert that gives you fixed camera positions and also for mobile traps. The voices options are pleasant and not annoying, another good feature is that directions are given in a more helpful way and rather than just saying “turn left” it will say something like “At the traffic lights turn left” or “Turn right onto London road”. Directions are very clear and very good at putting you into the correct lane as you approach complicated roundabouts or motorway slip roads and junctions with a generated image of the lane you should be in.

On motorways and main carriageways it will automatically shift to a split screen displaying the exact junction details as you will see them yourself, including local road signs as they would appears in real life. Lots of other useful features such as nearest food outlets, shopping malls, petrol stations, cinemas etc. are all updated to the locality you are in at the time. There is a free download from Garmin called ‘Basecamp’ which I find particularly good as it can be used to guarantee that you do not suffer from that common feature of all Sat-navs which is “I know best” which can be their biggest failure when planning a route. Something I did notice about this latest Garmin is that if you make a mistake, then instead of the usual “where possible, make a U-turn” it will just modify the visual map to take into account your changed route and redirect you accordingly to resume the original direction, which is far less annoying. One thing it is not so good at is the pronunciation of certain place or road names because it uses that typical mechanical syllable pronunciation, so that Pikemere Road becomes “Pik-e-meer Road” but it all adds to the fun.

[Bombay]

Garmin is a great product they have been making aircraft avionics for years.

[Dusak]

These devices must truly have been one of the best inventions since the accompanying wheels. I had them in the UK, gone were the days when you would suddenly find the windshield covered with a large scale pap as it was folded over for the next section and an elbow in the left eye socket from the map reader. One of the best uses for me was when I was out at night time pricing up jobs, lead straight to the front doors.

[John Landon]

Just say to your Mobile Phone " take me to xxxxx" a few moments later and it will do all the work for you.
You'll need to buy a phone holder so the phone is in audible range and easy to see if necessary, and plug it into the charger.

[newcastle]

Who needs SatNav when you have a chauffeur.

"Fetch the Rolls Parker" works for me

[FarleyFlavors]

Have you considered just using your smartphone (assuming you have one)? As John Landon says, all you'd need to buy is a holder for the car and a charging cable/adapter.

There's a free app called Here We Go which does a fairly decent job. You can download maps to your phone to save having to use data whilst driving. Maps are available for France, Spain and (I just checked) Morocco.

If you have an Android phone, though, there's an app that does a really terrific job - TomTom Go. The beauty of this is that it has real time traffic information and will divert you onto a faster route if there's heavy traffic. You get the first 50 miles each month free as a taster but once I realised how useful it was, I signed up for the unlimited service - £14.99 per year or £34.99 for three years. Highly recommended.

[HEPZIBAH]

Thank you chaps. I can honestly write in a positive way what we often see written as a negative comment in posts 'I knew who was going to answer this even before I posted!'

There were two brands that I had been looking at - TomTom and Garmin. I currently have a TomTom on loan from a friend but so far not had a journey that I could put it to the test.

Last night, other friends also enlightened me about being able to use an android smartphone for journey planning and route guidance. I don't know why I didn't think of it as I have on the odd occasion stopped mid journey and looked up the next stage on one of the map programmes. Having checked it out last night and discovering it will talk to me too, I have decided that I'll try using my phone first before committing myself to more expense. If it does not incur extra costs e.g.data usage, and I can see the screen well enough then it will probably suffice. I'm going out for the day on Saturday, and although I do know the route reasonably well it will be a good test to see how I and it get on.

[HEPZIBAH]

Who needs SatNav when you have a chauffeur.

"Fetch the Rolls Parker" works for me

A good employer is one that can show to their employees that they know how to do a job themselves, and are capable of doing it, but are prepared to pay someone else to do it if they do it as well as or better than their boss. My chauffeur needs reminding of this.

[FarleyFlavors]

If it does not incur extra costs e.g.data usage, and I can see the screen well enough then it will probably suffice.

Just ensure you download the map to your phone first and then turn off data usage before you set off. It could get quite expensive in terms of data usage otherwise!

[Horus]

I would only comment by saying this, as a keen photographer I can take a photograph on my mobile, I can edit it and generally mess about with it, however choose how good the phone is it will never compete with the capabilities of my dedicated cameras and editing software, I compare using a phone app to navigate as opposed to a dedicated Sat-nav to be about the same.

[Dusak]

I was just wondering what I mean by a large scale pap.

[HEPZIBAH]

I would only comment by saying this, as a keen photographer I can take a photograph on my mobile, I can edit it and generally mess about with it, however choose how good the phone is it will never compete with the capabilities of my dedicated cameras and editing software, I compare using a phone app to navigate as opposed to a dedicated Sat-nav to be about the same.

Point taken and understood.

[FarleyFlavors]

I would only comment by saying this, as a keen photographer I can take a photograph on my mobile, I can edit it and generally mess about with it, however choose how good the phone is it will never compete with the capabilities of my dedicated cameras and editing software, I compare using a phone app to navigate as opposed to a dedicated Sat-nav to be about the same.

I can't comment on Garmin devices but I do have a TomTom SatNav unit and I can assure you that their Android app is just as good (and a lot cheaper, of course).

The only minor advantage to the dedicated SatNav unit is that it has a slightly better GPS receiver. When driving through Manhattan recently the SatNav lost its signal a little later than my phone. We had to resort to using an old-fashioned paper map - the horror!

[Horus]

I can assure you that their Android app is just as good (and a lot cheaper, of course).

I can't comment on the TomTom, but it does beg the question as to why they bother to make dedicated devices if there free phone app is so good.

[FarleyFlavors]

I can't comment on the TomTom, but it does beg the question as to why they bother to make dedicated devices if there free phone app is so good.

Well the TomTom app isn't free, but it is much cheaper than buying a dedicated unit. Also, sales of SatNav units are a fraction of what they were before the rise of smartphones. There isn't really a good reason for having one anymore.

[Horus]

How much is the TomTom app then?
And if this is anything to go by I will stick with a proper Sat-Nav
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tomtom- ... 63367?mt=8
I can watch Netflix on my tablet, but much prefer to watch a film on my 50" 4K smart TV

[FarleyFlavors]

How much is the TomTom app then?

Do keep up old bean, I've already mentioned the price

It's £14.99 per year or £34.99 for three years.

And if this is anything to go by I will stick with a proper Sat-Nav

Enjoy.

For the non-luddites out there, here's an Auto Express overview of the various SatNav apps available ("There are so many reasons why smartphone-based sat-nav apps make sense").

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessorie ... group-test

I can watch Netflix on my tablet, but much prefer to watch a film on my 50" 4K smart TV

And I could navigate using a 5" Garmin, but much prefer using my 5.5" smartphone

[Horus]

So basically your wannabe Phone Sat-nav costs you the same as a dedicated device over its useful life, oh and you need to buy yourself a holder for your dashboard. Next time you are trying to navigate around Llandrindod Wells with no phone signal, it will be this Ludite whizzing past you shouting "do try to keep up"
However I am sure that Hepzi now has enough nous and information to make up her own mind and to buy or use whatever suits her the best.