Apologies in advanced if this has been asked before!
Having always thought SatNavs were just for people who couldn't read maps I
have now come back down to earth and realised that I need one.
The choice has left me bewildered.
Can anyone recommend any decent and unbiased online reviews or comparisons
that would help me make my choice?
I do not want to subscribe to any subscription services as I only drive
occasionally.

"T" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Apologies in advanced if this has been asked before!
> Having always thought SatNavs were just for people who couldn't read maps
> I have now come back down to earth and realised that I need one.
> The choice has left me bewildered.
> Can anyone recommend any decent and unbiased online reviews or comparisons
> that would help me make my choice?
> I do not want to subscribe to any subscription services as I only drive
> occasionally.
And does anyone know what the letter "T" means in relation to Garmin?
Thanks

T wrote:
> Apologies in advanced if this has been asked before!
> Having always thought SatNavs were just for people who couldn't read
> maps I have now come back down to earth and realised that I need one.
> The choice has left me bewildered.
> Can anyone recommend any decent and unbiased online reviews or
> comparisons that would help me make my choice?
> I do not want to subscribe to any subscription services as I only
> drive occasionally.

www.pocketgpsworld.com is probably your best bet for reviews. The problem is
that most people will only own one device and so can only give opinions on
what they have. I've had a TomTom GO700 for the last four or five years and
it's been brilliant (sat here at home in Preston, Lancashire, and entered
the address of our hotel in Gdansk, Poland, and it took us there without any
hiccups at all).

TomTom seem to have the major market share of satnav's for driving purposes
and I certainly love mine. You can add lots of POIs (Points Of Interest),
eg, I know I'm sad but I have KFC and Pizza Hut on mine, along with LPG
filling stations and many others.

Good luck in your quest.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, T says...
>
> Apologies in advanced if this has been asked before!
> Having always thought SatNavs were just for people who couldn't read maps I
> have now come back down to earth and realised that I need one.
> The choice has left me bewildered.
> Can anyone recommend any decent and unbiased online reviews or comparisons
> that would help me make my choice?
> I do not want to subscribe to any subscription services as I only drive
> occasionally.

Tomtom. Easiest to use interface and navigation is no better/worse than
any other.

They all have their individual mapping quirks and non are perfect
although Tomtom does have the ability to report errors and also to
download corrections other users have made.

--
Conor

I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't
looking good either. - Scott Adams

T wrote on Jun 28, 2009:

> "T" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Apologies in advanced if this has been asked before!
>> Having always thought SatNavs were just for people who couldn't read maps
>> I have now come back down to earth and realised that I need one.
>> The choice has left me bewildered.
>> Can anyone recommend any decent and unbiased online reviews or comparisons
>> that would help me make my choice?
>> I do not want to subscribe to any subscription services as I only drive
>> occasionally.
> And does anyone know what the letter "T" means in relation to Garmin?
> Thanks
>
>

If you are referring to in-car models such as the nuvi 760T the 'T' means
that it can be connected to an FM traffic receiver which supposedly indicates
areas of traffic congestion etc. See the Garmin website for information on
this.

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire

T <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Can anyone recommend any decent and unbiased online reviews or comparisons
> that would help me make my choice?

It's a simple choice between TomTom and Garmin. The rest are really
dreadful. If you're a sheep and want the same as evryone else go for Tom
Tom. If you're a bloke and you feel safer completely removing the sat
nav from the car when you park go for Garmin, because Garmin make the
slimmest sets and they can fit in a shirt pocket. Tom Tom make dreadful
great bowling balls.

Garmin currently seem to lead on price.

You haven't mentioned what sort of driving you do, I take it since you
seem to be a Sunday driver that you don't drive in the rest of Europe,
so you don't need European maps. In that case a sub £100 "Britain and
Ireland" unit would do you fine.

So you're looking at a TomTom between £120-£150 or a Garmin for
£90-£150. The Garmins will be wide screen for the price of the Square
block Tom Tom.

In use there's little difference between them. If you ever travel
outside the UK then the Garmin becomes a no-brainer.

Steve Firth wrote:
> T <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Can anyone recommend any decent and unbiased online reviews or
>> comparisons that would help me make my choice?
>
> It's a simple choice between TomTom and Garmin. The rest are really
> dreadful. If you're a sheep and want the same as evryone else go for
> Tom Tom. If you're a bloke and you feel safer completely removing the
> sat nav from the car when you park go for Garmin, because Garmin make
> the slimmest sets and they can fit in a shirt pocket. Tom Tom make
> dreadful great bowling balls.
>
> Garmin currently seem to lead on price.
>
> You haven't mentioned what sort of driving you do, I take it since you
> seem to be a Sunday driver that you don't drive in the rest of Europe,
> so you don't need European maps. In that case a sub £100 "Britain and
> Ireland" unit would do you fine.
>
> So you're looking at a TomTom between £120-£150 or a Garmin for
> £90-£150. The Garmins will be wide screen for the price of the Square
> block Tom Tom.
>
> In use there's little difference between them. If you ever travel
> outside the UK then the Garmin becomes a no-brainer.

Why do you say that 'outside the UK then the Garmin becomes a no-brainer'?

I've only ever had a TomTom GO700 so can only comment about that but in my
posting to the OP at 11.38, I say:

*I've had a TomTom GO700 for the last four or five years and it's been
brilliant (sat here at home in Preston, Lancashire, and entered the address
of our hotel in Gdansk, Poland, and it took us there without any hiccups at
all)*

The above example was for a one-off specific trip to Gdansk but, for our
annual holidays over the last four years it has faithfully navigated us
around Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland completely
effortlessly and without a single misdirection or problems of any sort
whatsoever.

I've never had a Garmin (and when this unit dies, because it's been so
brilliant I'll probably replace it with another TomTom) but I fail to see
just how it could perform any better, or be any better, than a TomTom.

"Pete Zahut" <dont@bother> wrote:

> Steve Firth wrote:

> Why do you say that 'outside the UK then the Garmin becomes a no-brainer'?

Why not? Do you have any evidence to counter the point?

> I've only ever had a TomTom GO700 so can only comment about that but in my
> posting to the OP at 11.38, I say:

So out of the one GPS unit that you have tried that one GPS unit is the
best of all the GPS units that you have tried?

> *I've had a TomTom GO700 for the last four or five years and it's been
> brilliant (sat here at home in Preston, Lancashire, and entered the address
> of our hotel in Gdansk, Poland, and it took us there without any hiccups at
> all)*

Yes, of all the satnavs you have tried, the TomTom is the best. I think
we've established that.

> The above example was for a one-off specific trip to Gdansk but, for our
> annual holidays over the last four years it has faithfully navigated us
> around Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland completely
> effortlessly and without a single misdirection or problems of any sort
> whatsoever.

Umm hmm so it was the best of the one unit of this kind that you've ever
had.

> I've never had a Garmin (and when this unit dies, because it's been so
> brilliant I'll probably replace it with another TomTom) but I fail to see
> just how it could perform any better, or be any better, than a TomTom.

So you've not owned a Garmin, never intend to buy a Garmin, don't intend
to ever try a Garmin but you can state without fear of contradiction
that the only satnav that you have ever used is much better.

I'm glad we settled that.

"Steve Firth" <%steve%@malloc.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1j212ou.m6oj62ob9te9N%%steve%@malloc.co.uk...
> "Pete Zahut" <dont@bother> wrote:
>
>> Steve Firth wrote:
>
>> Why do you say that 'outside the UK then the Garmin becomes a
>> no-brainer'?
>
> Why not? Do you have any evidence to counter the point?
>
>> I've only ever had a TomTom GO700 so can only comment about that but in
>> my
>> posting to the OP at 11.38, I say:
>
> So out of the one GPS unit that you have tried that one GPS unit is the
> best of all the GPS units that you have tried?
>
>> *I've had a TomTom GO700 for the last four or five years and it's been
>> brilliant (sat here at home in Preston, Lancashire, and entered the
>> address
>> of our hotel in Gdansk, Poland, and it took us there without any hiccups
>> at
>> all)*
>
> Yes, of all the satnavs you have tried, the TomTom is the best. I think
> we've established that.
>
>> The above example was for a one-off specific trip to Gdansk but, for our
>> annual holidays over the last four years it has faithfully navigated us
>> around Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland completely
>> effortlessly and without a single misdirection or problems of any sort
>> whatsoever.
>
> Umm hmm so it was the best of the one unit of this kind that you've ever
> had.
>
>> I've never had a Garmin (and when this unit dies, because it's been so
>> brilliant I'll probably replace it with another TomTom) but I fail to see
>> just how it could perform any better, or be any better, than a TomTom.
>
> So you've not owned a Garmin, never intend to buy a Garmin, don't intend
> to ever try a Garmin but you can state without fear of contradiction
> that the only satnav that you have ever used is much better.
>
> I'm glad we settled that.

My choice will have to be a Garmin then because TomTom charge an annual sub
for their Live services, seems a bit much for traffic updates, I understand
that Garmin provides this for free. I will generally use this for days out,
sometime long distance. I am good at mapping routes and following them, but
when roads are unexpectedly closed then I run into problems. I have also
had trouble missing turn offs due to signs being concealed by over grown
vegetation. European maps do open possibilities that I would never have
considered.

Steve Firth wrote:
> "Pete Zahut" <dont@bother> wrote:
>
>> Steve Firth wrote:
>
>> Why do you say that 'outside the UK then the Garmin becomes a
>> no-brainer'?
>
> Why not? Do you have any evidence to counter the point?
>
>> I've only ever had a TomTom GO700 so can only comment about that but
>> in my posting to the OP at 11.38, I say:
>
> So out of the one GPS unit that you have tried that one GPS unit is
> the best of all the GPS units that you have tried?
>
>> *I've had a TomTom GO700 for the last four or five years and it's
>> been brilliant (sat here at home in Preston, Lancashire, and entered
>> the address of our hotel in Gdansk, Poland, and it took us there
>> without any hiccups at all)*
>
> Yes, of all the satnavs you have tried, the TomTom is the best. I
> think we've established that.
>
>> The above example was for a one-off specific trip to Gdansk but, for
>> our annual holidays over the last four years it has faithfully
>> navigated us around Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and
>> Poland completely effortlessly and without a single misdirection or
>> problems of any sort whatsoever.
>
> Umm hmm so it was the best of the one unit of this kind that you've
> ever had.
>
>> I've never had a Garmin (and when this unit dies, because it's been
>> so brilliant I'll probably replace it with another TomTom) but I
>> fail to see just how it could perform any better, or be any better,
>> than a TomTom.
>
> So you've not owned a Garmin, never intend to buy a Garmin, don't
> intend to ever try a Garmin but you can state without fear of
> contradiction that the only satnav that you have ever used is much
> better.
>
> I'm glad we settled that.

We have far from settled it Mr. Firth.

I openly state that I have no experience of anything other than TomTom and
so cannot comment on anything else. You, however, state <quote> outside the
UK then the Garmin becomes a no-brainer </quote>

Rather than slag me off for only ever owning a TomTom, I'd say that the onus
is on you to back up your claim.