A decent SatNav

Jawgap · 02-09-2014 12:21pm #1

Anyone care to recommend a decent SatNav, say less than €200?

ironclaw · 02-09-2014 12:45pm

Google Maps in Europe and Apple Maps in the US. Honestly. A smart phone and data plan would stand to you far better than any GPS on the market in my opinion. There are free Apps such as NavFree (Completely offline and no need for data) which I've used extensively in Ireland and the US.

Dash mount GPS will go the way of the cassette and floppy disk in the next 10 years.

JohnBoy26 · 02-09-2014 1:22pm

http://www.halfords.ie/sat-nav-audio/sat-nav-gps/sat-nav/garmin-nuvi-2597-lm-full-europe-5-sat-nav

Kevhog1988 · 02-09-2014 1:24pm

i have the budget garmin… (£69.99) in uk…. its absolutely excellent.

Gazzmonkey · 02-09-2014 1:27pm

I've been using a tomtom start 25 for the last two years, never let me down yet.

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/products/car-navigation/start-series/start-25-europe/

Anjobe · 02-09-2014 1:30pm

+1 for the NavFree app, excellent if you have an iPhone or an Android.

Yakuza · 02-09-2014 1:44pm

ironclaw wrote: »

Dash mount GPS will go the way of the cassette and floppy disk in the next 10 years.

^^ I'd say a lot sooner than that ^^. Many new cars come with GPS / SatNav incorporated (even if they are a pain to update) but soon new cars will be connected to the internet in their own right and online maps will be the main source of info.

micks_address · 02-09-2014 1:48pm

I agree google maps is excellent but data roaming makes it costly to use in the UK

I bought a Sat nav app for my htc one called sygic, worldwide maps lifetime updates for 39 euro.. the htc's screen is nearly as big as most standalone nav units.. you can download the maps to sd card (about 50 mb for ireland, 350 for Uk) It seems like decent enough software

That being said I am looking at maybe adding a double din stereo to my car with nav built in.. but they are pricey...

John_Mc · 02-09-2014 2:33pm

TomTom Western Europe for IOS is €55. I bought it recently for €45 because it was on sale.

It's absolutely excellent in terms of functionality, updates automatically and doesn't require any data. I drove 3700km around France in July and had no problems whatsoever

Stinicker · 02-09-2014 2:35pm

ironclaw wrote: »

Google Maps in Europe and Apple Maps in the US. Honestly. A smart phone and data plan would stand to you far better than any GPS on the market in my opinion. There are free Apps such as NavFree (Completely offline and no need for data) which I've used extensively in Ireland and the US.

Dash mount GPS will go the way of the cassette and floppy disk in the next 10 years.

Once you go outside the main towns you will find 3G data coverage to be sporadic and basically this idea may work for navigating around Dublin and even the the 3G in Ireland terrible. It is far better and more reliable to have an offline mapping system or else have the maps stored on the phone itself so the phone could be used while out of coverage or roaming in Europe.

Yamanoto · 02-09-2014 2:36pm

I don't think Apps or even Nokia Here+ maps come anywhere close to a dedicated Sat Nav in terms of functionality or ease of use.

I took one of these with a rental last week & found navigating by voice command a terrific feature.

http://www.halfords.ie/sat-nav-audio/sat-nav-gps/sat-nav/garmin-nuvi-2597-lm-full-europe-5-sat-nav

02-09-2014 2:38pm

I have a Garmin Nuvi 40, I think. Halfords have a Nuvi 42. I presume this is the newer version of the one I have.

I paid €99, and this one is €99, so I'm guessing it's just the updated version of mine.

http://www.halfords.ie/sat-nav-audio/sat-nav-gps/sat-nav/garmin-nuvi-42-lm-western-europe-4-3-sat-nav

Anyway, I really like mine. It's been great, and has paid for itself time and time again. I have google maps on my phone, which is also decent, but once you go somewhere with poor coverage, or cross into Northern Ireland, you're generally fecked. The Garmin, on the other hand, has never let me down.

I'd highly recommend it. Only downside is the battery life is only about an hour, so you need to have it plugged in (to the 12v socket in the car) pretty much constantly. However, in it's defence, everyone I know with a Sat Nav (of various makes) seems to have the same problem.

Supergurrier · 02-09-2014 2:54pm

Having been stuck outside manchester with data roaming refusing to work going home when I was running late for a ferry in holyhead while trying to find m56.

There is alot to be said for offline satnavs

Zcott · 02-09-2014 3:27pm

Supergurrier wrote: »

Having been stuck outside manchester with data roaming refusing to work going home when I was running late for a ferry in holyhead while trying to find m56.

There is alot to be said for offline satnavs

Yep, and thats why TomTom for iOS is great. Works entirely offline.

ironclaw · 02-09-2014 4:10pm

Stinicker wrote: »

Once you go outside the main towns you will find 3G data coverage to be sporadic and basically this idea may work for navigating around Dublin and even the the 3G in Ireland terrible. It is far better and more reliable to have an offline mapping system or else have the maps stored on the phone itself so the phone could be used while out of coverage or roaming in Europe.

Same in the major cities in the US e.g. NYC, LA and downtown San Diego. Hence why NavFree is my primary. That said, GPS coverage can begin to get bad in high rise location (A complete non issue in the UK and Ireland)

pred racer · 02-09-2014 4:50pm

Supergurrier wrote: »

Having been stuck outside manchester with data roaming refusing to work going home when I was running late for a ferry in holyhead while trying to find m56.

There is alot to be said for offline satnavs

That's why you should use navfree, download the map before you go, completely offline after that.

Works perfect in the U.S. And Europe, haven't tried it anywhere else.

Arbiter of Good Taste · 02-09-2014 5:03pm

I want to get a cheapy one for a driving trip around Scotland. Would people recommend Garmin over Tom Tom or vice versa? Or are they both pretty similar?

JohnBoy26 · 02-09-2014 5:24pm

Arbiter of Good Taste wrote: »

I want to get a cheapy one for a driving trip around Scotland. Would people recommend Garmin over Tom Tom or vice versa? Or are they both pretty similar?

From having both I'd pick the Garmin, I found it to be a nicer unit with better mapping for rural areas. It also has a much better suction cup.

My experience of tom tom is of an older unit however, maybe they have improved since.

I've recently picked up another garmin though and I find it to be a great unit.

biko · 03-09-2014 10:06am

I've had Tomtom XL and really liked it. Nowadays just use my phone.

darragh o meara · 08-09-2014 11:41am

micks_address wrote: »

I agree google maps is excellent but data roaming makes it costly to use in the UK

I bought a Sat nav app for my htc one called sygic, worldwide maps lifetime updates for 39 euro.. the htc's screen is nearly as big as most standalone nav units.. you can download the maps to sd card (about 50 mb for ireland, 350 for Uk) It seems like decent enough software

That being said I am looking at maybe adding a double din stereo to my car with nav built in.. but they are pricey...

This would be of interest to you so

http://www.halfords.ie/sat-nav-audio/car-audio/dab-radios-car-stereos/sony-xsp-n1bt-double-din-smartphone-cradle-receiver

I have the single din version and it's excellent. I tried out the double din and a HTC will fit in the cradle, obviously the Xperia fits a little better and has charging support but they have a spare usb for other android phones.

Another option would be Pioneers AppRadio, had one in my last car and used it with the Iphone. Again it was excellent. They now do an android version too.

A decent SatNav

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