Garmin Nuvi vs Tom Tom

[Brocks]

I've spent some time looking at sat navs and am tossing up between a TOM TOM one or 510 and a Garmin nuvi 310. I spent an hour at halford playing with them and can't decide.

I like the functionalilty of the TOM TOMs TT One is fine bar for lacking traffic data. However they are excessively bulky. With two mobile in me pocket and a wallet full of mothballs, I'd hardly call the Tom tom a pocket device

The NUVI is a great size but is harder to use. The display looks a little more cluttered too.

So please have a vote above to help me gauge your opinion....

[greeningr]

I'll be interested on the result of this as I'm looking at going for a Nuvi.. to replace my TomTom 3 on my PDA

[R-man]

I had a Tom Tom 500 and found it to be great. Some good options available for downloads, and most of all its easy to use - which when you consider you will use it while driving, has to be a key thing. HTH.

[Big Davie]

RoadAngle6000........get the best of both worlds, :)

[Brocks]

Bump!!

[greeningr]

I've purchased a Navman ICN 520 from Halfords this weekend. They had £130 off bringing it down to £169.99 compared it to the Nuvi and not a lot in it the price makes it a real winner.

[parapaul]

I've got TomTom on my PDA atm, and I have to say for ease of use, it's ideal.

I do find that its navigation is a bit iffy, though....

For instance, drove form Stoke up to Middlesborough last weekend. I knew I roughly needed M6, M62, M1, but I programmed the TomTom anyway. It was doing fine until I was about to join the M1, and the stupid thing keeps saying

"in 800 yards keep right"
"in 100 yards keep right"
"now, keep right"

which confused me, as the motorway signs were clearly saying to take the next exit on the left. But, being me, I thought maybe the machine knew a better way round, or maybe i'd mis-read the signs, and so I stayed in the right hand lane. Next comment from the TomTom?

"at the next exit, make a U-turn"...... :mad:

and I've also had a few occasions where it directs you off a motorway or dual carriageway, onto the roundabout and then bu&&er me, if it doesn't just send you back onto the same road.... :flail:

maybe the garmin would be better?

:confused:

[greeningr]

I've used tomtom and now the Navman 520 to get me from Mid wales to Basingstoke and back. TomTom kept changing it's mind whilst on route and as a consequence I had to do a number of U turns. The navman, routing was fast and precise and a lot easier to use.

[ed taylor]

I have a tom tom,It is not too bad but has taken me off the motorway, only to take me back on to it again. it is not perfect but it gets me to where I am going easier than reading a map.I suppose they will "iron" out these niggles as they bring out new editions and updates.

[greeningr]

Everyone, Can i suggest that you have a look at the forums on here as it covers all aspects of GPS navigation http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/

forums located http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=index

[Brocks]

Good find GG......

[Brocks]

Well for the record I ended up getting the Navman Icn 520 which was greatly reduced at Halfords. It has some mistakes in it but hasn't failed me yet....and it was a bargin.

[greeningr]

Brocks, I've been led to believe that there is going to be a downloadable software and map update at the end of the year for these units...

[Brocks]

I have to down load SP1 yet. On dialup it take nearly two hours. Tried before I went to sea and the dial up disconnected with 5 minutes to go!

Hows the anti glare screen working?

Learnt one lesson...It doesn't work with Renault Windscreens. They have UV protection that blocks the satelite signal. However I did get a week signal from the passenger side window!

[sph73]

I had a Garmin I3 it was good for the money only £120 quid but the routes it brought up were sometimes a bit ropey.
I have just bought the tomtom one version 2 . It was only released friday in Halfords first at £199 its replacing the old tomtom one that a lot of places currys etc are still trying to sell off for the same price . It really is a fantastic bit of kit real slim line and obiously bang up to date.
I just put the speed cams on off pocket GPS world and also the camera voice alerts so now its just the dogs :) :D

[greeningr]

I have to down load SP1 yet. On dialup it take nearly two hours. Tried before I went to sea and the dial up disconnected with 5 minutes to go!

Not sure if you can get the XP service pack 1 on cd but you can definately get SP2 see here http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx


Hows the anti glare screen working? Fantastic. made a huge difference and also have the Brodit powered mount.


Learnt one lesson...It doesn't work with Renault Windscreens. They have UV protection that blocks the satelite signal. However I did get a week signal from the passenger side window! Get yourself an external airel (bad spelling I'm sure) they are magnetic and will stick to the outside of the roof. Fitting that to mine gives me 100% perfect signal and the vectra doesn't have a heat reflective screen.

[Brocks]

Not sure if you can get the XP service pack 1 on cd but you can definately get SP2 see here http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx

Fantastic. made a huge difference and also have the Brodit powered mount.

Get yourself an external airel (bad spelling I'm sure) they are magnetic and will stick to the outside of the roof. Fitting that to mine gives me 100% perfect signal and the vectra doesn't have a heat reflective screen.

I meant SP1 for the Navman software. Apparently it offer more features.

Where did the anti glare screen come from? And which Brodit mount....

As for reception. I had it in my coin tray last night and still got a full three bars...Nice bit of kit in it!

[greeningr]

Here you go

Screen protector
http://www.widget.co.uk/asp/product.asp?product=499&ph=search&keywords=covertec&recor=1&SearchFor=all&PT_ID=all
The one you want is AAAH0347 Covertec Screen Protector for TomTom Go
As they come in packs of 2 I have a spare one. PM me your address and I'll send it to you.

Mount
http://www.siocommunications.co.uk/Shopping/view_product.php?product=215035&searchlink=yes&search=NAVMAN&page=1
You might have to trim the power cable a tad to get it to fit as it is a little tight.

[Brocks]

GG,

I was ablout to take that anti glare screen off you till this morning. I bought the external aeriel today and sat it on the top edge of the boot. The wiring runs down the back seat back, along the interior sills and pops out at the ashtray which I don't use as I don't smoke. If I open the ashtray and park hte sat nav at an angle infront of the gear stick, hey presto I have a glare free image, No windscreen signs to thieves and the sound is much better.

The aeriel hides under the boot lid when I park up and the other end tuck away inside the ashtray. Take the sat nav out and theres no clue I have one!

Where did you site yours?

[greeningr]

I've sited mine where my old PDA sat on a Brodit dashmount over the right hand side center vent (it obscures the central screen a little, but I can live with that)

It means that it's place perfectly for a quick glance to the left to see where i'm at.

BTW what is this GG stuff. my initials are RG :-)?

[Brocks]

BTW what is this GG stuff. my initials are RG :-)?

:doh: ..Had Greengrowler in me head for some reason...Someone take me out and Shoot me! :behindsof :loco: :bolt: :frusty: :sorry: ;)

[greeningr]

:doh: ..Had Greengrowler in me head for some reason...Someone take me out and Shoot me! :behindsof :loco: :bolt: :frusty: :sorry: ;)


Never mind.... I'll answer to absoultely anything :flail:

[Ross DTi 2.2]

I'm buying a Garmin Nuvi 350 next month. For obvious reasons I need something with full European mapping on it and in my opinion the Nuvi 350 looks much better and has better functionality than the TomTom units.

There has been a LOT of criticism of the TomTom Go 510/710/910 on pocketgpsworld's forums, I've only ever seen shining praise for the Garmin Nuvi in reviews etc.

[Ozz]

Hmmmm, Our biggest insurance company did a test on these last week & the Garmin came out on top by quite a margin over the Tomtom 710-910 except for user friendliness.

[Silver V]

in my van i have smart nav.... and in my car tom tom mobile, both of them pi ss me off especially the smartnav, but the smart nav is hard wired into van and use's mobile phone signals aswell as gps. prefer tom tom though, is a nice colour 3d layout.

[Ross DTi 2.2]

My car had smartnav and hands free phone kit fitted when I bought it but I've never used it. I use a Garmin StreetPilot i3 at the moment and I have to say its never sent me wrong. The only reason I'm changing to a Nuvi 350 is because I'm not paying Garmin £200 for map-data for Holland, Belgium and France on top of the £100 I've already paid for a Germany/Czech Republic card.

Garmin's mapping/routing is second to none, we put a lot of trust in them. The ONLY GPSs guys in my regiment buy are Garmin and Magellan.

[mucklestone]

Not that tom tom are bad but garmin are a much bigger name in GPS in general. Planes use them as do boats. I've dropped a handheld one in the sea before - with the battery cover off!!! and it still worked!!!

Just saying that if there used by people who really do rely on them if the weather goes bad they've got to be pretty good.

[Duncan]

You're talking about handheld ones though, and Garmin (and Magellan) are the leaders in that field. Car SatNavs are somewhat different - they don't need to be as robust, or even as accurate, as the handhelds as they won't be getting used by people on the side of a mountain in the fog.

Just noticed the date on the previous post to yours, and your other posts this evening - you going round resurrecting old threads 'cos you're bored? :lol:

[****maverick****]

I have a Tom Tom One and haven't had any problems with it at all. My only gripe is the size of memory that comes as standard on the SD card, I aint got the room to install the full europe maps and only just enough for a couple of voices. Personally, you cant beat Yoda from Star Wars giving you directions.. :icon_lol:

I've looked at the newer version (nice and slick) but couldn't see an SD card slot anywhere on it (maybe its internal) and ain't sure of the memory size either..

Mav.

[Big-Pete]

I've had a lot of sat nav units over the past 7 or so years, including some garmins from the little and now rather old Emap upto the streetpilot series, I thought they were fantastic.. Then i discovered the 1st Tomtom (now called tomtom classic) when they first came out and it just left the Garmins for dead... I've bought a few tomtoms since then that i use for work, so far i've had the tomtom 500, tomtom710 and now the tomtom720.. We also have a navman f20 which was bought as a cheap spare unit but its very poor compared to the tomtoms, even the lesser spec tomtoms are far better....

Garmin & tomtom both have good names in sat nav, so its down to personal preference, but for me its got to be tomtom.. some garmin units look similar to tomtoms now and the map view on garmins has changed aswell to look more like tomtoms 3d view which tomtom had out quite a while before everyone followed suit and copied it... and as i dont have a plane and i sold the jetski last year i have no need for garmins plane and boat nav expertise (unless i win the euro lottery tonight...!!)

[Big-Pete]

I've looked at the newer version (nice and slick) but couldn't see an SD card slot anywhere on it (maybe its internal) and ain't sure of the memory size either..

Mav.

If you mean the new tomtom 720 it does have an SD slot, but they come with the maps built in now on internal memory, the only use for an SD card on these is for the like of map updates & music files...

And you have map share on these now...

[safer than safe]

I have personaly tested these on my PDA phone: TomTom, Route66, Germin, Destinator, iGo, Mio, Navigon, Navman and Medion.

TomTom is by far the best and most uder friendly ( and by that I also mean that there is a lot of stuff on the net)

MioMap is close second but has some minor isues.

But I read in a few reviews now that new CoPilot Live 7 is even better than TomTom. Hoping to get my hands on one soon to test.

Personally.... the one I use most is the one built into my Vec:icon_bigg with 2007/2008 original CD from ebay for £6.