Kitz Forum
Computers & Hardware => Other Technologies & Hardware => Topic started by: Astral on August 16, 2007, 08:51:40 AM
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I'm looking for a sat nav for work. I've tried a Tom Tom One which was good as far as interface was concerned, but I wasn't very impressed with the re-routing when I deliberately went off course. It only seems to try to send you back to where you went off route, rather than calculate a sensible new route once you have strayed far enough for it to be quicker to go another way.
Any suggestions?
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It may be a woman thing - but I prefer the "Medion" one to "Tom Tom"... only because it tends to give a bit more warning for things like "Turn right" where sometime I feel TomTom can leave it a bit late.
The one thing I do like about Medion is that it will normally say things like "Turn right on to the A123 etc" rather than just Turn right.
If your'e used to TomTom, the interface isnt quite as good though... and its still quirky... and you can still "fight" with it if you don't want to go the way its telling you :/
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We use Tom Tom and providing we take some of it's suggestions with a pinch of salt !! it seems to do the job ... re ...re-routing I've wondered sometimes if it is applying it's re-routing to the original choices of fastest, shortest routes etc... and whether when it appears to send you back to whence you came is it the "shortest" or "fastest" re-route if you see what I mean. It does an excellent job for me here in the depths of rural France when I'm looking for a village that's not too obvious on a map .... I've no experience of any other system ..but with them appearing fast and furious at the moment perhaps there is a better alternative ..... :)
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I'm obviously very old-fashioned but I prefer the Michelin Road Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland (and the appropriate version for each European country). It's not only easier to use but it also marks roads which have good scenic views and a variety of panoramic viewpoints accessible by car.
I feel I've got enough things/people/organisations telling me what to do that I don't really fancy buying a machine to start telling me what to do next :-X
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The real beauty of Tom Tom is that instead of hubby giving me sideways looks when I'm reading the road map upside down ::) IF Tom Tom sends us the wrong way I just blame 'her' (we have the woman's voice ) ..... ;)
Another good source for routes is the Via Michelin site .... you can print out the route for your 'navigator' it gives you local tourist attractions, places to stay etc .... On one trip post-Tom Tom one of the printed versions manoeuvred us around North East France, Germany, Poland and the Chez Republic, without a hitch !!! makes one wonder why we have Tom Tom really ;D
http://www.viamichelin.fr/viamichelin/fra/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm
Mappy is another good source for routes as well ....
http://www.mappy.fr/
You can change the language as necessary .....
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I've ordered an Acer V210 from Amazon (via Kitz's shop, natch) because the basic V200 version got a good review in PC Advisor, but this model has free for life TMC traffic updates. It apparently does the navigating very well, but doesn't have all the gizmos that you never use like MP3 player, photo viewer etc etc.
Only one snag. It's not in stock!!! I shall have to be patient.
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I wish you hadn't done this. I've been resisting the temptation to get a satnav for ages, because I have no real need of one. Now you're going to make me jealous. :-\
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I don't think they Linux based ones yet, Eric, so you're OK for the time being. ;)
Anyway, I'd have thought by your time of life, you'd know the way to the corner shop.
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Er... I seem to remember something about a shop nearby, but I do have difficulty remembering things these days. Now what was it we were talking about? :'(
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i have tom tom on my compact m3 phone .... it leads me 'up the garden path' sometimes but recalculates routes pretty quickly. it only says 'turn around' until it knows i'm closer to the recalculated route than the new route it has found.
(took me into a scrap yard once and wouldnt let me out :'( )
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I had a bit of fun when I was trying out the Tom Tom. My last car had built-in sat-nav, so I set them both for the same destination.
Two bossy ladies telling me what to do......heaven! ;)
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I'm obviously very old-fashioned but I prefer the Michelin Road Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland (and the appropriate version for each European country). It's not only easier to use but it also marks roads which have good scenic views and a variety of panoramic viewpoints accessible by car.
I feel I've got enough things/people/organisations telling me what to do that I don't really fancy buying a machine to start telling me what to do next :-X
I agree, as I'm just about to get my atlas out and plan my journey from south-Derbyshire down to Pevensey bay near Eastbourne with out going on any Motorways and missing out large towns also London.
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>> Two bossy ladies telling me what to do......heaven!
Glutton for punishment more like :D
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>> I agree, as I'm just about to get my atlas out and plan my journey
I have to do that if Im going anywhere I dont know - I get panicky at the thought of not knowing the route or being stuck in traffic not knowing which way to turn next. I dont actually own my own sat nav but a certain kind soul lends me his on occasions.
Last time I went to Sheffield though he was using it elsewhere so I got all the instructions... and still ended up someone "talking me in" over the phone.
Dunno how I used to manage years ago - cause I used to do quite a bit of driving to other places back then. :/
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I've got Autoroute, plus on the web, Multimap, Streetfinder, AA and RAC. I've got several map books.
I'd only get confused if I had satnav as well.
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I still love maps and I don't really need satnav for getting from town to town. Satnav really comes into its own in an urban situation; no more trying to look at the map, read (often missing) road names and trying to be in the correct lane.
I used to use Autoroute quite a lot, but once got into a pickle in France with it. I was going south down the motorway from Calais and knew I had to take a right onto another motorway. Trouble was I panicked too soon and got onto the m'way to Paris. I turned off at the first exit but of course i had to pay to get off (payage cunningly concealed) and didn't fancy paying again to get back on the other carriageway, so I set off south across country but with no directions cos I was off route. Ended up in Rheims having gone through the champagne vineyards and tried to find the motorway again. Eventually found it, but couldn't find any place names on the m'way signs that were on my Autoroute directions. Had to phone the factory I was visiting (thank goodness for roaming) to find which way to go.
Arrived eventually, but would never rely on Autoroute, alone, again.
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Astral, I hope you managed to sample a few glasses whilst in the Champagne region ...... :congrats:
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I was only there for a day, but I did have a champagne cocktail before dinner. The company I was visiting, who made oak flooring, used to send champagne over at Christmas.
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but I wasn't very impressed with the re-routing when I deliberately went off course.
Sorry but I have to disagree with you, or at least with my "original" TomTom One.
Like yourself when I first got it I tried all manner of wrong turns and only once did it want to get me back on the same route as from where I deviated from, it may just be the area that you were/are in at that particular time.
Not to mention the ease of planning a journey with the full 7 digit postcode, although I believe more and more Satnav systems have now followed Tom Toms' (who were the first to use the full postcode) system.
And did I mention the Speed cameras, don't buy them from TomTom, www.Pocketgpsworld.com (http://www.Pocketgpsworld.com) is far cheaper and superior at only £11:00 per year or £2:00 per month if you want, which also give you access to "all of the different brands of satnav systems" so if you have two different ones, you only need pay once (but thats probably cheating).
I did try the Medion to start with (borrowed it from my neighbour) but did not like having to fiddle with the different buttons or the tiny stylus that came with it, it was very confusing, give me the TomTom every-time.
which also give you access to "all of the different brands of satnav systems"
But not for the Medion (I just looked for my friends Medion SatNav)
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I have a Medion PocketPC running TomTom (that's all it is ever used for) and I just use my finger to control it rather than the stylus - the buttons on the screen are usually big enough for me.
It does usually take forever to get a fix on its position though, compared to the Medion Navigator software that came with it.
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I use my Navman regularly when out doing deliveries, but usually only for the final bit to the destination. Then back again till it gets me onto a road I know. It got a bit confused today after following it's instruction to take the third exit off a roundabout, it was a new road that was not in its system, so it went and sulked for several miles as according to it I was going across fields.. ;D
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I recently acquired a set of the new UK and Europe maps.
At one of my local islands I was instructed to take the fifth exit, nothing wrong with that except their are only four exits, so it wanted to take me all the way around the island back past the turning I was coming out of to take the next exit (which is the First exit) ;D
it went and sulked for several miles as according to it I was going across fields..
This is always the biggest problem, as it depends on how old and accurate the maps are.
But to be fair, I know of several roads in the A-Z that either no longer exist or have the wrong name to them, and even after contacting the A-Z people they still did not change the mistakes..
Also only today I was looking in the latest BT telephone directory for a Comet Electrical store, however apart from there only being four listed, one of them has not existed for at least 5-6 years (they pulled it down).
But basically whatever ever satnav system we have and get used to is the one that always seems to be the best.
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Talking of maps and directions... this is what M$ AutoRoute does for me about 9 times out of 10 if I put my postcode in as the starting point.
Yep Im really going to do that - NOT!
ps yes my settings are correct - it just insists I need to go via Ireland :(
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Have you checked M$ settings to check that there is not any "Travel Via" destinations set-up?
ps yes my settings are correct - it just insists I need to go via Ireland
Still maybe worth a second look, maybe.
Although I did read somewhere of something similar where the person ended-up in the English Channel.
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>> Have you checked M$ settings to check that there is not any "Travel Via" destinations set-up?
100% certain - I twiddled with the settings many a time in the past to try and get it to work properly - but it just wont have it no matter what I change.
The only way it will work is if I put in a "stop" via Preston or somewhere around the M55.
I know we are surrounded on 3 sides by water, but its almost as if autoroute thinks therefore you must go via ferry.
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What happens if you put in the settings "Avoid Ferries" or whatever the setting says?
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It's no fun then :P
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i'll b using my tomtom to get to blackpool 2morrow ... kitz, if u look out ya windows at 3ish i'll give u a wave on the way past ;) ..... on my way to c dave of course !!
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I see to remember a bit back when someone wanted to go from, I think Nottingham to somewhere in Devon and added not to use motorways. Their route went via Dubiln. Cork and northern France... :o
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According to Panomania's satnav, the area where I live doesn't exist... and I don't exactly live out in the sticks.
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What happens if you put in the settings "Avoid Ferries" or whatever the setting says?
It doesnt make one blind bit of difference. (See below which show the current options set). But in the past Ive adjusted them all.
Neither does swapping between the quickest and shortest route options either.
Ive also noticed that it isnt just my postal code as I first thought either cause Ive just tried my home address to london and its also done the same stupid routing.
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>> kitz, if u look out ya windows at 3ish i'll give u a wave on the way past
I'll be heading up towards town at sometime around 3, so rather than wave from my window I'll wave from the car. :)
Hope you have a good time seeing dave :)
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If anyone is thinking of buying a Sat Nav system I can HIGHLY recommend Tom Tom's 'after service' ! I had cause to contact them today after a 'blip' with our contraption ....spoke to a lovely Frenchman here called Stefan :love2: who listened to my tale of woe (the on off button was stuck in and wasn't connecting; we had made every effort to fix this ???!!!!) he then proceeded to set up a dossier and steps were put in hand for me to download an address label, telephone UPS or DHL for collection from me and onward delivery to the Netherlands, repair, and return by the same means ...all free of charge (item bought in April 2006) ..... feeling extremely pleased with this successful call, imagine my face when hubby walked in with Tom Tom WORKING !!! he'd fixed it ..... :blush: :blush: with him looking all pleased with himself (quite rightly I suppose :-X) I then had to telephone Stefan to ask him to cancel said dossier as I was married to Mr.Marvel !! ::) So if you are interested in Tom Tom they are extremely good !
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I have got a navman f20 satnav which is very good, if you take a wrong turn it works out a new route,(does not tell you to turn around)
updates are easy, and has buttons to get you to the nearest petrol station, car park, you can store your favaroite places, if you not sure of the post code you can type the street name
good alround satnav would recommend it,
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Glad you posted, Paul. You've just reminded me to give a final update on the sat-nav saga.
I ordered the Acer V210 from Amazon and just before the due delivery date they sent an email to say there would be a delay of 3 or 4 weeks. I decided to hang on and, you've guessed it, they sent another note to say they didn't know if they were going to get particular model.
A few days later Amazon had an offer on the Garmin Nuvi 610T. The reviews seemed good and it had TMC and was only slightly dearer than the Acer, so I ordered it.
It was delivered next day, worked straight out of the box and has a 4 1/4 inch screen. The re-routing is extremely fast and the routing has been very good so far. TMC seems to work well, although I have only had one journey where there was any significant delay, so the jury is out on that.
I'm happy with it, so far. It comes with a neat little leather case for when you need to stash it away when you leave the car.
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I have got a navman f20 satnav which is very good, if you take a wrong turn it works out a new route,(does not tell you to turn around)
Paul, I think you will find that depending on where you are, you will get a "do a U turn" sometimes, OK in a town it will just take you round the block, but it is not going to send you several miles extra just to avoid a U.
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The Garmin can be set whether to accept U-turns, or not. I have U-turns disabled because I can do a U-turn myself, if it is safe/easy/possible, and it will soon recalculate if necessary.
I forgot to say that my only criticism of the Garmin is that the map is a year or more out of date and you don't get a free initial update when you register it. You do get a month trial of the speed camera database though. I don't know whether it is worth subscribing to though.
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Astral, My Navman does not have the U turn disable, so I did not realise that some have the option. It is now over 2 years old and typically there are no new map updates available, you are expected to buy a new system... :no: I did however get a compatable Gatso update recently which was a free download.
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I don't know whether it is worth subscribing to though.
As I have mentioned on various occasions, anyone interested in speed safety camera's might like to take a look at:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/ (http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/)
For £19 per year you get notifications twice monthly of the latest updated camera updates.
(Monthly £2 purchases have now been removed)
However, whilst the list of compatible sat-nav's is quite good, it does not cover all sat-nav's.
If anyone is interested and having problems accessing the list "prior" to purchasing, just let me know which system (make and model) and I will check it out for you).
Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to review your post.
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Hopefully this link may help, if you Scroll down a "little" there is a list that may help.
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=35213 (http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=35213)
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so I did not realise that some have the option.
Actually, ralph, neither did I until I started playing with this one. I think I may have slagged of the Tom Tom One further up the thread for it's poor re-routeing performance. I'm wondering now whether the one I borrowed had U-turn enabled. If so, I would always turn U-turn off if you have that facility.
Thanks, OF for the link. That is £10 cheaper than the Garmin update service. Let's hope I'm compatible!
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Thanks, OF for the link. That is £10 cheaper than the Garmin update service. Let's hope I'm compatible!
Garmin iQue M3, Quest 2, nuvi, StreetPilot 2720, StreetPilot C310, C320, C330, C340, i2, i3, i5
These are the Garmin from the list of campatible SatNavs.
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Thought i wasn't on there for a mo, but it looks like all Nuvi's are OK. Thanks for that, OF.
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Thanks for the link OF, I was going to try to download the gatso update but first I had to reload the software into my PC. Got that done OK but can I get it to run........ Click on the shortcut and it just starts to open the freezes. Task Manager shows it 'Not Responding' ... So removed and reinstalled, same again so I give up... :comp:
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Ralphw:
Have you checked to make sure your AV is not blocking the install?
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I know it works ok with the Navman 510, using "SmartST.Navman.iCN.510" because I did my brother-in-laws a couple of months ago.
Although because of the fidly way the Navman has to be updated, I only used the "consolidated" camera update.
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Ah I'll have a look later when I've got a few minutes, phone has been going mad recently. Thaks OF...
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here is a good link for all things satnav, including updates
http://www.scdb.info/en/
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Thanks paul..
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Kitz,
What version of Autoroute do you have? When I bought mine, I checked out reviews and found that the later version then 2001 was buggy and not so detailed. So I bought 2001 (and got it for just over £11) and haven't had any problems.
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Its an OEM version that came with the machine about 3 years ago.
OEM Version 11.00.18.1900
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I'm now on AutoRoute 2007 and like all these things it has been 'improved', updated and now contains even more useless add-ons. As a result it is a lot slower to startup and calculate a route. That's the price of progress I suppose.. :(