Ex TT user seeking advice on 3590LMT

NukeThemAll

Currently I have a Tom Tom v1. Looking through the forums I see that modern TT units are proving problematic: indeed, the manager at my local Halfords warned me about the number of TT units returned as unfit for purpose. My old TT1 works well and I've been very happy with it. The improvements I'm looking for are: some form of traffic info; bigger and better screen; lane guidance at awkward junctions; reasonable-cost (or free) map updates.

The 3590LMT seems to offer what I want but I'd really appreciate the views of those Garmin users, especially those who are ex-TT, in trying to answer the following:

(1) Is Garmin routing up to or better than TT standards?
(2) Is coverage in the UK good enough to make lane guidance useful?
(3) Is 3D traffic any good?
(4) Is 3D Live traffic (subscription) better than TT HD traffic?

And of course I'd love to hear any views on other things I might need to know before I commit to switching to Garmin

Thanks
_________________
TT GO app on Android Phone

walkerx · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:20 pm Post subject:

I recently purchased the Garmin nulink 2390 after being a user of tomtom devices for the past few years and put up with their problems with the hd traffic issues and faulty devices (had 2 faulty devices in the last 18 month and the 3rd device still issues with the software).

I read a lot about Garmin and some people having issues and others not - people complain about it taking them the wrong route but i had this with tomtom, but so far not had any issues in the 2 weeks I've had it.

So to answer your questions (based on me having the via live 120 uk)

1) - Currently in my view yes, so far it's not given me any issues - sometimes a bit slow on recalculating if didn't go the way it says, but had same issues on tomtom device

2) So far again this is proving fine, unlike the tomtom device my nulink only shows land guidance on half-screen and route on other half. on tomtom the lane guidance took over the full screen

3/4) the traffic on the nulink is shown different to how it is on the tomtom - on tomtom it shows it down the edge of screen (when it actually works) - on the nulink it has a car symbol which changes color and at top of the screen if coming towards a delay it does say what the delay is - so far it's worked everytime i've used the device unlike tomtom which can still be looking for the hd traffic information after i arrive home. Also the traffic is updated more often than tomtom hd traffic.

In regards to maps, unlike tomtom, garmin offer lifetime map updates for a one-off payment or they include it with the device. for my nulink 2390 it cost £75 for full european maps on lifetime. For tomtom it's £40 a year for uk/ireland maps only. The 3590LMT offers lifetime maps so you be saving there straight away.

the routing display is totally different that tomtom as well and takes a bit of getting used, but

Now here's something else to think about

the garmin nulink 2390 is currently £135 at halfords and comes with live services built in, for the extra £75 you get lifetime map updates thus costing total £210

the garmin nuvi 3590LMT is currently £245 and to get proper life services you need a smartphone to run the app on it which then connects to your satnav via bluetooth and thus uses your mobile data plan. if you don't do this then traffic is sent via the standard RDS-TMC system.

So why pay the extra for a device that has to rely on a smartphone app to provide the live services to function on the unit.

Also what happens if you lose your phone? How are you going to get live services then? Will they allow you to update your phone and still use the software without losing any subscriptions? What if you don't have an android device? If you have an android device is it compatible?

Based on all this I would say if you want a live device, get one that includes it in the unit itself and not as a separate entity.

If you have to use a mobile device then use an app - on android you can use google or if htc/samsung you can use their built in navigation software or you can download co-pilot for a reasonable price and subscribe to PGPSW and install CamerAlert...

Whateva choice you make, make sure it does what you want it to do

NukeThemAll · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:15 am Post subject:

Thanks walkerx - much appreciated advice. I note that the nulink 2390 comes with a year's live traffic subs and after that it's payable so the overall cost saving isn't huge. I do already have an Android phone, but since it's an old low-res small-screen HTC Wildfire it isn't suitable for running a Nav app but would be fine for live traffic via Smartphone link. (Wonder how much data is passed on a typical journey? Just thinking of a typical 250-500 Mb a month data plan.....). BTW, changing phones isn't a problem with subscribed services since they'll no doubt link to eg a Google account or Paypal or ....ie not phone-specific, so that 's not a concern. And, Garmin say that Smartphone link will be available (sometime) for an iPhone.

The attraction of the 3590 is the large screen and high-res display. Supposedly it has a more advanced navigation algorithm ('Guidance 3'). But, as I said in my original post, I'm concerned that its routing (as supposedly reported by others) can be bizarre and not up to TT standards.

Regarding lane guidance....any feel for how comprehensive the coverage is?

Thanks again and any further advice much appreciated: I'm always hugely impressed by the depth of knowledge, helpfulness and general politeness and patience of contributors on these forums
_________________
TT GO app on Android Phone

xtraseller · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:22 pm Post subject:

Your concerns over Garmin routing may indeed be with merit

I purchased a Garmin 2545 LMT recently - thats one of the new series, but with Guidance 2 (not 3) and it was awful - no comparison to the TT or Navman units, so much so, I had to give up on it

I currently use a Navman Panoramic (7" High Res Screen) and find its routing excellent, as is it's lane guidance - but no live services, which I really miss (I think!)

Often I think - should I give the 3590LMT a go - but hold off purely because of routing. I can live with the cartoon-looking maps, but good routing is a must

Also, I have a Navigon 92 Premium Live (which being Garmin owned, is I presume the same Traffic as I would get via their smartphone app) - and while it is very quick collecting traffic info, and collects lots more roadworks / incidents locally than my TT1000 Live can, it seems to fail badly as picking up slow moving traffic - which is what I wish mainly to avoid

So I would be interested - like you - to hear from users who use a TT HD Traffic unit and a 3590 with 3D Live Traffic for comparisons on that and routing in general

By the way, lane guidance coverage is pretty good on the Garmin
_________________
TomTom Go Live 6100, 600
Garmin DriveLux 50, D-Smart 70, NuviCam, 3598, 2699, 2798
Mio Navman 695
Nexus 6p, Apple iPhone 6sPlus and Microsoft Lumia 950xl running TomTom, Garmin, CoPilot, Navigon, Sygic, Here Drive, Google, Waze, MS Maps

NukeThemAll · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:43 pm Post subject:

Thanks xtraseller - that's really interesting info regarding routing. My old TT1 has (fingers crossed) very, very rarely given me a route which is seriously non-optimum and as such I've grown to depend on it without feeling the need to check the proposed route in detail. Which? reports rate the Garmins highly but I often wonder how extensively they test and the level of expertise of the testers. Additionally Which? don't test 'reliability' ie a map or software update which renders the unit prone to serious glitches or non-operation.

Strangely, one attraction of the Garmin is that, unlike TT's .ov2 format, I won't be faced with the maddening limit of 20 sub-categories for downloading pgpsw POIs (let's hope that one day this will be fixed - please?). But that's not enough to sway me if the main raison d'etre of sat nav ie dependable routing, is a backward step compared to TT.

Any current Garmin users wish to comment - please - on how good the routing is? As well as comments on traffic info (free and subscription)

Thanks
_________________
TT GO app on Android Phone

Andy_P · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:10 pm Post subject:

NukeThemAll · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:15 pm Post subject:

Thanks Andy - next time I download POIs that will certainly make things easier. Might even sway me back to TT.....hence the request for more info before I commit to Garmin.
_________________
TT GO app on Android Phone

xtraseller · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:34 pm Post subject:

No problem, but it would be nice to have some Garmin Guidance 3.0 users who can help us out with their views on the system

One thing in particular I would like to know is, is Guidance 3.0 just the same old rogue Garmin algorithms with extra features (such as 3D Traffic) built in, or is it truly a new and improved routing system

I don't want a 3590 if it routes me the same way as my 2545 did, because it just wasn't right (for me)... but I do like the mount (though not quite TT1000 series mag mount), and I also like the Lifetime Map feature (come on TomTom, even all new Navman - Mio units have this - and they use your maps!). Then there is the high res display - I've been using a Navman Panoramic (7" High Res) and a TomTom 60 (6" High Res) and both are great to look at, much crisper text and maps, so difficult to go back now.... and of course the nice build (a bonus, but not essential)

Or do I just sit and wait for the next TT to come out and see what it brings? (really like their new Speak and Go system... just would like Live Traffic too)
_________________
TomTom Go Live 6100, 600
Garmin DriveLux 50, D-Smart 70, NuviCam, 3598, 2699, 2798
Mio Navman 695
Nexus 6p, Apple iPhone 6sPlus and Microsoft Lumia 950xl running TomTom, Garmin, CoPilot, Navigon, Sygic, Here Drive, Google, Waze, MS Maps

Anita · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:05 pm Post subject:

NukeThemAll · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:30 pm Post subject:

Thanks Anita - although that particular conversion route isn't for me (we're a Mac-only household) there are some Java-based converters which will do .ov2 to .csv and vice versa - so if I defect to Garmin I don't have to lose all my 'personal' POIs. I'll definitely try the .csv download and convert route!

As xtraseller said, though, we'd both like to hear from Garmin users about their experiences of Guidance 3 and traffic (free and subscription) - surely there must be some of you out there who can help? Please?
_________________
TT GO app on Android Phone

xtraseller · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:15 pm Post subject:

I cannot believe there are no Garmin 3590 /3490 users out there who wish to share their experience with us...?!
_________________
TomTom Go Live 6100, 600
Garmin DriveLux 50, D-Smart 70, NuviCam, 3598, 2699, 2798
Mio Navman 695
Nexus 6p, Apple iPhone 6sPlus and Microsoft Lumia 950xl running TomTom, Garmin, CoPilot, Navigon, Sygic, Here Drive, Google, Waze, MS Maps

NukeThemAll · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:21 pm Post subject:

Having looked through the 3590 manual, it implies that when searching for a destination to navigate to, you can change the default search area from 'nearest to where you are' (default) to somewhere else eg a town. So a simple Q I hope someone can answer: will it keep this preference long enough to navigate to a custom POI? And does the device switch back to default on its next search?

On a TT it's easily accomplished by eg navigate to POI, then you're given a choice of POI near you, or POI in a town etc, so I'm wondering if the Garmin accomplishes this feat - which means searching through custom POIs (eg hotel list, supermarket etc in a distant town) is so much easier.
_________________
TT GO app on Android Phone

xtraseller · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 10:02 pm Post subject:

Well due to the lack of feedback from Garmin owners, I decided to get a short-term unit today, a TomTom Via 135

The navigation and routing is the usual quality you would expect from TT - and the Speak and Go is surprisingly accurate, although needs to be touch free as opposed to one-touch (a fix is I have read, in in the works)

This will (read: should) last me until the hopefully announce a new Live unit with Speak and Go and IFA at the end of the month

Pity about the Garmin - when reading some forum replies I read by one user something like it had taught him loads of backroads in the local town he never knew existed ... he was saying this positively, but that is exactly the type of routing I don't want myself, and typically have received from past Garmin models
_________________
TomTom Go Live 6100, 600
Garmin DriveLux 50, D-Smart 70, NuviCam, 3598, 2699, 2798
Mio Navman 695
Nexus 6p, Apple iPhone 6sPlus and Microsoft Lumia 950xl running TomTom, Garmin, CoPilot, Navigon, Sygic, Here Drive, Google, Waze, MS Maps

NukeThemAll · Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:11 pm Post subject:

Thanks xtraseller for your efforts. I've now started a new thread on TT forum, because I might just consider a refurbed TT Go 750 Live
_________________
TT GO app on Android Phone

NukeThemAll · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 7:05 pm Post subject:

And in fact I DID buy a TT 750 LIVE - see the thread on the TT Forum. At £82 I couldn't resist....
_________________
TT GO app on Android Phone

	PocketGPS
	Web