GPS: Airis T920 or Garmin Nuvi 310/360?

Wibbler · 03-09-2006 6:45pm #1

Hi Folks,

I'm considering buying a standalone In-Car GPS unit and was wondering if anyone here could share their experiences with either the Airis T920 or the Garmin Nuvi 310/360. Although more expensive, and with older map data, I've been veering towards the Garmin unit because of the solid brand name and its 'hands free' phone feature.

Thanks!

Colly · 03-09-2006 10:58pm

Wibbler wrote:

Hi Folks,

I'm considering buying a standalone In-Car GPS unit and was wondering if anyone here could share their experiences with either the Airis T920 or the Garmin Nuvi 310/360. Although more expensive, and with older map data, I've been veering towards the Garmin unit because of the solid brand name and its 'hands free' phone feature.

Thanks!

no experience with either, but nuvi seems to be more pocket sized. Also the maps are out dated (currently V8) but are to dramatically improve late this yr if not early next yr with V9. They wont say when or with what navteq maps ie Q1/Q2 maps. But wither way they will then be as closer to 100% coverage than before.

I have bought my dad a nuvi 360 from pixmania should have it by Friday. I got the 360 as it has everyuthing mains charger and leather case. But for myself I would buy the nuvi 310 as it also has bluetooth and is far cheaper and on pixmania.com it can be bought with European maps. I am just waiting for the new maps to come out. I have been tempted by the T920 as it has the Q2 Navteq maps but fingers crossed when garmin release there new maps so will they. As I like the size and look of the Nuvi I have swayed that way but I am sure someone can put up a counter point such as the 120Euro price difference.

Wibbler · 03-09-2006 11:19pm

Colly wrote:

But for myself I would buy the nuvi 310 as it also has bluetooth and is far cheaper and on pixmania.com it can be bought with European maps.

Is that actually the case? When I looked at both I thought that only the 360 had the full detail European maps option. Or is it just that the 360 has all the optional stuff such as carry case and charger etc?

pm. · 03-09-2006 11:51pm

Wibbler wrote:

Hi Folks,

I'm considering buying a standalone In-Car GPS unit and was wondering if anyone here could share their experiences with either the Airis T920 or the Garmin Nuvi 310/360. Although more expensive, and with older map data, I've been veering towards the Garmin unit because of the solid brand name and its 'hands free' phone feature.

Thanks!

i bought the airis t920 last week and im a happy camper, it seems to have all rural roads on it and it comes with the latest map q2 2006, my dad has one to and he is also very happy with it.

Wibbler · 04-09-2006 12:41am

pm. wrote:

i bought the airis t920 last week and im a happy camper, it seems to have all rural roads on it and it comes with the latest map q2 2006, my dad has one to and he is also very happy with it.

Thanks. I'm now very tempted.

I've downloaded the Route 66 Navigate manual from their site and the software looks like it is well thought out. The display appears to be very clear. I notice a lack of a detour option, which isn't a deal breaker for me, but it's a curious omission. Roundabouts seem to be shown on the turn indicators without their exits, but with a number in the centre. Is this the exit number you are supposed to take?

Wibbler · 04-09-2006 12:57am

pm. wrote:

i bought the airis t920 last week and im a happy camper, it seems to have all rural roads on it and it comes with the latest map q2 2006, my dad has one to and he is also very happy with it.

Actually, do you mind me asking where you purchased it? I see Pixmania have them at very good prices. There also appears to be little to be gained pricewise on Pixmania by not opting for the European map set over the UK and Ireland. Anyone know if there are there any gotchas here (E.g. clearance of older stock with older maps)?

Mysatnav.ie also have the T920 but the prices are considerably above those to be had from Pixmania. I'm not sure if this is down to the usual Irish price rip off or whether Mysatnav have access to more up-to-date units. Anyone had any dealings with Mysatnav.ie? Are they any good?

Thanks for all your info folks. It's been a while since I looked at this stuff.

Colly · 04-09-2006 10:12am

Wibbler wrote:

Is that actually the case? When I looked at both I thought that only the 360 had the full detail European maps option. Or is it just that the 360 has all the optional stuff such as carry case and charger etc?

Yep you get more memory, a case, mains charger.

310 just get the car charger, no case, less memory for a good price though pixmania give you the maps of Europe on a DVD which you can load onto the device yourself. I think pixmania are selling the deluxe version which has the european maps.

The less memory would not be a problem as I would just buy a 1GB SD card from shop4memory for 35 Euro. I would buy a leather case myself at a later date and an adapter for mains to cigarette ligther in halfords or somewhere, unless the 360 comes down in price that is.

T920 is ahead of garmin on maps alright so today that would be the best options unless you really like the device garmin are selling you may want to wait untill they release there new maps in a few months.

pm. · 04-09-2006 10:54pm

Wibbler wrote:

Actually, do you mind me asking where you purchased it? I see Pixmania have them at very good prices. There also appears to be little to be gained pricewise on Pixmania by not opting for the European map set over the UK and Ireland. Anyone know if there are there any gotchas here (E.g. clearance of older stock with older maps)?

Mysatnav.ie also have the T920 but the prices are considerably above those to be had from Pixmania. I'm not sure if this is down to the usual Irish price rip off or whether Mysatnav have access to more up-to-date units. Anyone had any dealings with Mysatnav.ie? Are they any good?

Thanks for all your info folks. It's been a while since I looked at this stuff.

i bought mine form mysatnav.ie, i believe you can shop around and get better deals, just make sure that it is the up to date map, nothing as bad as throwing hard earned money down the drain. and on my satnav a roundabout shows up as a roundabout its very simple to follow and if you do go wrong it will bring you a different route. another cool thing about it is if your going away for a weekend just type in hotels and your destination and all the hotels come up just select and drive.

ejcarey · 06-09-2006 4:14pm

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what the windscreen/dashboard mount is like on the Airis T920? I cannot find a good review of it (T920) online but anything I have read in this forum has been very positive. I am not too worried about the software as Route 66 is a well regarded product but the quality of the mount does make a big difference. I have been on airis.es website and I cannot find any good pictures of it.

Thanks
Eamonn...

P.S.
There was an earlier debate as to whether the version of the T920 sold on pixmania had Q2 2006 maps. Although pixmania do not say themselves, there is a consumer review from guy from Ireland that claims it does. At €266 + delivery this makes it a steal.
http://www.pixmania.com/gps-navigator-t920-europe-consumer-reviews/ieuk322094_avispro.html?article=322094

Wibbler · 07-09-2006 12:31am

ejcarey wrote:

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what the windscreen/dashboard mount is like on the Airis T920? I cannot find a good review of it (T920) online but anything I have read in this forum has been very positive. I am not too worried about the software as Route 66 is a well regarded product but the quality of the mount does make a big difference. I have been on airis.es website and I cannot find any good pictures of it.

Thanks
Eamonn...

P.S.
There was an earlier debate as to whether the version of the T920 sold on pixmania had Q2 2006 maps. Although pixmania do not say themselves, there is a consumer review from guy from Ireland that claims it does. At €266 + delivery this makes it a steal.
http://www.pixmania.com/gps-navigator-t920-europe-consumer-reviews/ieuk322094_avispro.html?article=322094

I completely failed to find any reviews of the unit, other than that one consumer review on Pixmania. What that reviewer doesn't say is whether his T920 was sourced from Pixmania, so the jury is still out.

There is a huge difference in cost between Pixmania and mysatnav.ie, which might be down to Pixmania shipping a version with older maps, but there appears to be no way to tell for sure other than parting with the dosh. I'd be prepared take this risk if I thought that there was a way to upgrade the maps in the unit afterwards, but it's not clear to me what commitment Airis has made to providing map updates and whether any are available and at what cost.

Eirlink appears to have 'updated' his maps to Q2 2006 and I'm guessing he has a T920. I'd love if he would tell us more :-)

eirlink · 07-09-2006 10:00am

Wibbler wrote:

I completely failed to find any reviews of the unit, other than that one consumer review on Pixmania. What that reviewer doesn't say is whether his T920 was sourced from Pixmania, so the jury is still out.

There is a huge difference in cost between Pixmania and mysatnav.ie, which might be down to Pixmania shipping a version with older maps, but there appears to be no way to tell for sure other than parting with the dosh. I'd be prepared take this risk if I thought that there was a way to upgrade the maps in the unit afterwards, but it's not clear to me what commitment Airis has made to providing map updates and whether any are available and at what cost.

Eirlink appears to have 'updated' his maps to Q2 2006 and I'm guessing he has a T920. I'd love if he would tell us more :-)

more!:D ...the Airis T920 from mysatnav will come with Q2 2006 maps PRE LOADED for you,as outlined on their website.I have a T920 and Q2 2006.future maps can be purchased and loaded onto the Airis via the SD card.

ejcarey · 07-09-2006 10:08am

Thanks Eirlink,

Can you tell me what the dashboard mount is like? Is if one of the long spinddly ones that you can pick up anywhere or is it more specialised like the ones used by other companies like Garmin? I have seen the ones that Garmin use and they are short and sturdy and do not vibrate. I have a PDA mount for my axim and it is about 10 inches long and vibrates like hell when driving.

Thanks
Eamonn...

Wibbler · 07-09-2006 10:45am

eirlink wrote:

more!:D ...the Airis T920 from mysatnav will come with Q2 2006 maps PRE LOADED for you,as outlined on their website.I have a T920 and Q2 2006.future maps can be purchased and loaded onto the Airis via the SD card.

I contacted MySatNav.ie on this issue and they claim that the Pixmania units ship with older maps and that Pixmania are under no obligation to provide later versions. The chap I contacted also said that MySatNav.ie has negotiated directly with Route 66 to supply the latest Q2 2006 maps on the Airis T920 device and that they are the only online supplier who have done this.

For those of you with PDAs and who want the latest Q2 2006 maps, I'm told that MySatNav.ie can supply them with their version of Route 66 Navigate 7 for PPC.

I think I'll arrange to try out the Airis with MySatNav. If I can get my hands on one I'll report my findings, if anyone is interested.

Regards.

eirlink · 07-09-2006 7:19pm

ejcarey wrote:

Thanks Eirlink,

Can you tell me what the dashboard mount is like? Is if one of the long spinddly ones that you can pick up anywhere or is it more specialised like the ones used by other companies like Garmin? I have seen the ones that Garmin use and they are short and sturdy and do not vibrate. I have a PDA mount for my axim and it is about 10 inches long and vibrates like hell when driving.

Thanks
Eamonn...

Eamonn,
the mount is only ok but due to the weight of the Airis you would need to rest it on/against something to stop vibration.It looks like the standard jobbie alright.however dont let this stop you as the mapping and the screen on the Airis is tops.a little tweaking with the mount and youre sorted.

pm. · 07-09-2006 8:56pm

eirlink wrote:

Eamonn,
the mount is only ok but due to the weight of the Airis you would need to rest it on/against something to stop vibration.It looks like the standard jobbie alright.however dont let this stop you as the mapping and the screen on the Airis is tops.a little tweaking with the mount and youre sorted.

i just lowered mind so the power cord plugs in at the bottom of the unit and sits on the dash, there is very little vibration.

Dusty1609 · 07-09-2006 11:52pm

According to the reviewer posted on PixMania it does ship with the new maps and is now listed at €256 inc VAT!

"written by Mark Murphy on 02/09/2006 on the GPS navigator T920 Europe

Wow, Wow and Wow again,

This is the one and only for the price. Amazing user interface accompanied with quality maps. Ireland has been left in the dark for far too long, and now at last we have the maps to beat the band.. Navteq Q2 Maps 2006. Awesome....

Rock on the
AIRIS GPS navigator T920 Europe "

Has anyone tried to contact PixMania to confirm the map version or are they hard to get answers from?

At that price it would be worth buying the unit and then paying for a map upgrade!

Cheers
Jon

ejcarey · 08-09-2006 9:08am

Hi,

I did. This is the short reply I got:

Thank you for your e-mail. I will here provide the technical information that we have on the product. If you want to find out more you can contact the manufacturer directly themselves.

This was then followed by a cut n' paste of the technical information sheet from their website. So no new information from there!

I have spent some time one the airis.es website and unfortunately my Spanish is no existent and funnily neither is the T920 on their English website. I have not contacted them yet. I am coercing a Spanish speaker to do that for me at the moment

I will let you know if I hear anything back.

Thanks
Eamonn...

Wibbler · 08-09-2006 10:11am

Dusty1609 wrote:

According to the reviewer posted on PixMania it does ship with the new maps and is now listed at €256 inc VAT!

Yes, but he doesn't say he bought it from Pixmania!

jaycee · 08-09-2006 11:33am

Hi Guys ,
Ive been lurking and learning hear for a while and the AIRIS T920 from pixmania looks like really good value .

I also came across a site that mentioned customising them which would be sweet .

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=55445&SearchTerms=,airis

I can't find any on-line review for these units, neither have I been able to find the mft homepage.What I was hoping to find was perhaps an on-line manual like Garmin do , or at least a more extensive list of the features as the list on the pixmania site is pretty sketchy.

(Any existing owners feel free to PM me regarding a manual pdf ... :rolleyes: )

Dusty1609 · 08-09-2006 12:33pm

I recieved an answer from PixMania - a useless oe though!

"Thank you for your email. The Airis GPS Navigator T920 comes with a software: ROUTE 66 Navigator 7."

So no further on there.

Does anyone know if it is simple to upgrade to new maps if necessary?

jaycee · 08-09-2006 1:18pm

Oh ..BTW ..

I just noticed on their Spanish site that there are 2 different models ...

a 920 @ €249 ...and 920E..@ €349... and they are different ..
(The 920E has the software preinstalled on a 2GB SD and is selling for €353 on pixmania )

http://www.airis.es/FRAME/FRAME.ASP?Pais=SP

That's about the same price difference between mysatnav.ie and Pixmania.

I wonder which version is the one on Mysatnav ....?

pm. · 08-09-2006 1:49pm

jaycee wrote:

Oh ..BTW ..

I just noticed on their Spanish site that there are 2 different models ...

a 920 @ €249 ...and 920E..@ €349... and they are different ..
(The 920E has the software preinstalled on a 2GB SD and is selling for €353 on pixmania )

http://www.airis.es/FRAME/FRAME.ASP?Pais=SP

That's about the same price difference between mysatnav.ie and Pixmania.

I wonder which version is the one on Mysatnav ....?

satnav sell the t 920B it comes with a route 66 sd 256 mb

Dusty1609 · 08-09-2006 2:38pm

Right I've ordered one from Pixmania, so I'll post back when I get it and let you know what its like and what maps it has.

ejcarey · 08-09-2006 2:59pm

jaycee wrote:

Oh ..BTW ..

I just noticed on their Spanish site that there are 2 different models ...

a 920 @ €249 ...and 920E..@ €349... and they are different ..
(The 920E has the software preinstalled on a 2GB SD and is selling for €353 on pixmania )

http://www.airis.es/FRAME/FRAME.ASP?Pais=SP

That's about the same price difference between mysatnav.ie and Pixmania.

I wonder which version is the one on Mysatnav ....?

Hi,

I have just noticed something on pixmania. They have 2 versions too except there must be a mistake on their part. The first one quoted for €256 should not have the European maps. It should only have the UK & Eire maps although it does say T920 Europe. The T920 only has regional maps. The second one called the T920E Europe should have the europe maps hence the higher price.
If you read the description of the T920 Europe for €256 it does clearly state that it comes with european maps. This I feel may be a mistake on their part.

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/322094/art/airis/gps-navigator-t920-europe.html - €256
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/392108/art/airis/gps-autonomous-t920e-euro.html - €353

If someone has bought the €256 version T920 Europe, did it come with European maps or just UK & Eire?

Thanks
Eamonn...

Dusty1609 · 08-09-2006 3:54pm

ejcarey wrote:

Hi,

I have just noticed something on pixmania. They have 2 versions too except there must be a mistake on their part. The first one quoted for €256 should not have the European maps. It should only have the UK & Eire maps although it does say T920 Europe. The T920 only has regional maps. The second one called the T920E Europe should have the europe maps hence the higher price.
If you read the description of the T920 Europe for €256 it does clearly state that it comes with european maps. This I feel may be a mistake on their part.

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/322094/art/airis/gps-navigator-t920-europe.html - €256
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/392108/art/airis/gps-autonomous-t920e-euro.html - €353

If someone has bought the €256 version T920 Europe, did it come with European maps or just UK & Eire?

Thanks
Eamonn...

I think the difference is that one model comes with a 2GB SD card and the other doesn't

byrnefm · 09-09-2006 5:46pm

Dusty1609 wrote:

I recieved an answer from PixMania - a useless oe though!

"Thank you for your email. The Airis GPS Navigator T920 comes with a software: ROUTE 66 Navigator 7."

Isn't Route 66 v7 the latest software from Route 66? I think that uses Q1/2006 maps:
http://www.66.com/route66/products.php?cid=IE

Colly · 10-09-2006 1:55pm

byrnefm wrote:

Isn't Route 66 v7 the latest software from Route 66? I think that uses Q1/2006 maps:
http://www.66.com/route66/products.php?cid=IE

Stay tuned I believe Dusty1609 just bought it from Pixmania. I believe all will be okay and it will have the Q2 maps, apparently they give you a link to update the maps anyway figure that is free if they are going to the effort to supply you with a link to it. Let us know Dusty cheers.

I dont believe it is an error on the behalf of pixmania to ship it with the european maps for that price it is just that we get ripped off in Ireland.

eirlink · 10-09-2006 4:53pm

Colly wrote:

Stay tuned I believe Dusty1609 just bought it from Pixmania. I believe all will be okay and it will have the Q2 maps, apparently they give you a link to update the maps anyway figure that is free if they are going to the effort to supply you with a link to it. Let us know Dusty cheers.

I dont believe it is an error on the behalf of pixmania to ship it with the european maps for that price it is just that we get ripped off in Ireland.

Be interesting to see what Dusty1609 gets map wise.im sure he`ll get a link all right,but it wont be free.imagine if that link were to be made public,everyone could link to it and get the maps!

anyway,navteq updates are not free.There possibly will be a facility in place whereby new buyers link to a site,leave their details and,once verified,receive their new maps.

Hopefully he gets Q2 and then it really will be a bargain for everyone.

Colly · 10-09-2006 11:03pm

eirlink wrote:

Be interesting to see what Dusty1609 gets map wise.im sure he`ll get a link all right,but it wont be free.imagine if that link were to be made public,everyone could link to it and get the maps!

anyway,navteq updates are not free.There possibly will be a facility in place whereby new buyers link to a site,leave their details and,once verified,receive their new maps.

Hopefully he gets Q2 and then it really will be a bargain for everyone.

I would be shocked if he got anything less than Q2 maps maybe that is just me and me being optimistic and the fact that they just got them back in stock and people are leaving reviews on the site saying they are Q2 maps so I think you made a safe bet Dusty and we are wasting our time debating it, good move I say on saving 100yoyo or more not quite sure of difference.

BigCon · 10-09-2006 11:25pm

Colly wrote:

and people are leaving reviews on the site saying they are Q2 maps so I think you made a safe bet Dusty and we are wasting our time debating it, good move I say on saving 100yoyo or more not quite sure of difference.

Sorry, I missed this, can you link to where it says they are Q2 maps, I can't see it anywhere?
Thanks.

eirlink · 11-09-2006 12:13am

BigCon wrote:

Sorry, I missed this, can you link to where it says they are Q2 maps, I can't see it anywhere?
Thanks.

BigCon
its at the very bottom of the pixmania page where a customer has submitted a "brief "review.He/she mentions Q2 but we assume its bought of pixmania..may not be.
My sources indicate similar to what is reported in an above post that the Q2 maps available here on the airis are as a result of a licencing agreement with an online retailer/distributer in Ireland.

when dusty1609 posts back the debate will be resolved,if it continues much longer i`ll have Q3!:D

.

GPS: Airis T920 or Garmin Nuvi 310/360?

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