Is Dedicated Satnav Reaching The End Of The Road?

jayengee · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 18, 2007 Posts: 5

I recently bought an HTC Desire and like the mapping facility but in all honesty I can't see it replacing my Satnav. My Garmin is now several years old and I'm considering replacing it. The big problem with smartphones is battery life. I'm still having to recharge mine daily even though I'm not a huge user of it. The big advantage of the Satnav is the camera database and the custom POI's. Some of the postcode searches haven't been too accurate, but at least it gets you into the right area. Like others on the Forum, I often use my GPS simply for the camera warnings locally, and I do a database update immediately prior to a long trip, even those I do regularly, simply because the roadworks average speed cameras are up to date.

danjackson · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 09, 2006 Posts: 1

ianbet · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 28, 2006 Posts: 7

Long live the PND leave the mobile for phone calls, messages and sado's that have to have them by their side every waking moment.

s3elan · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 10, 2006 Posts: 1

PND's are they dead?
In my opinion no they are not. I have used tom tom 6 and pocket GPS speed cams for many years. I have a dedicated Ipaq 2210 permanently installed in my car with amplifier. Same as a PND. I have tried various smart phones none of which perform as solidly as the PDA. Mine has been bomb proof. God help you if you are using a smart phone and a call / message comes in just as you are getting to a complicated city road junction. I intend to stick with my trusty PDA for a while longer. Thanks for the great speed cam files. Never drive anywhere without them.

Parish_Church · Lifetime Member Joined: Mar 04, 2006 Posts: 1

Whilst I find it convenient to have Satnav on my Smartphone (HTC HD2 with 4.3inch screen) I would not consider giving up my PND (TomTom 920T).

On the HTC I use Sygic's Mobile Maps 10 which has full voice direction but I still find the programme less 'user friendly' than TomTom and adding the PocketGPS camera data is somewhat fiddly. That said it does provide a very useful backup and is much better for out of car use so I guess there will be room for both for some time to come

Highwayman

richardt63 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 21, 2006 Posts: 1

Two problems with smart phones as GPS: the screen is too small and you need a data connection. I travel in Europe on business and am self-employed so I don't use the smart phone for naviagtion overseas as the cost of the data is way too high.

mikealder · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 2:36 pm Post subject:

nbPoppy121 · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 2:39 pm Post subject:

drifter410 · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 5:41 pm Post subject: ipad as a PND

My TomTom maps are now over due for update. But I am delaying updated because I will be looking at purchasing a ipad 2, and purchasing sat nav software for it. I have a laptop cradle to fit the ipad, and will mainly use it on my motorhome. Giving me a large displayed amps hopefully. Any comments or experienced problems, please let me know

MrGumby · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:52 pm Post subject:

People on this forum are a savvy lot but it'll only be a minority of drivers overall who have smart phones and they'll always want PNDs.

Me, I've had a couple of PNDs over the years but much prefer the convenience of a single, easily-portable device. I never have to cart a PND with me or risk leaving it in the car.

TomTom Nav 6 and 7 worked well enough on XDAs, now I have TomTom on an iPhone 4 (with the pgpsw camera database and countless custom POIs). Have also tried CoPilot on all of them and Navigon on iPhone but have always finished up reverting to TomTom, with all its faults. I use Cameralert when I don't need navigation (and yes, mods, I've written a review on iTunes!).

I've used phone nav all over the world and find the screen plenty big enough. I have an active holder in my own car, so it's easy to keep the phone charged (in fact, I rarely have to bother charging it between trips). In rental cars, for my XDAs, a bean-bag holder worked well. For my iPhone, I take my Arkon iPhone car kit with me (and a vent mount, not the windscreen sucker - it's illegal to put the phone in the windscreen in some US states).

I can see the attraction of PNDs but they're not for me. I look forward to the day when the smartphone becomes fully integrated into cars, hooking up to their displays, sound systems, etc. See the current issue of PC Pro for a very interesting article on the subject.

MaFt · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 7:36 pm Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 7:42 pm Post subject:

MrGumby · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:06 pm Post subject:

wildcard · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 13, 2004 Posts: 44

I choose my Nokia N8 largely on its sat nav capability - but not as a replacement for my TomTom 940 . I use the Nokia as an electronic AtoZ -so in town , on foot or when using public transport . ( I do like the Wake-Up app to stop me missing my station ! ) . But - the Nokia still can't compete with the TT - particularly in the speed to acquire a GPS fix . In the City of London for example I sometimes can't get a fix at all.
My feeling is the standalone car device will eventually be replaced by inbuild sat nav - once people like BMW & Mercedes realise you can't continue to get away with charging an extra £1500 for a £200 add-on.
If they were smart - the device would include a SIM , not just for a traffic subscription but for text messages from the manufacturer eg special offers , advertising accessories , new car launches , servicing promotions from nearby dealership garages , map updates , petrol prices , warning of future bad weather etc.
Updates via removable SD as well - so could double as an MP3 player .

MrGumby · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:19 pm Post subject: Re: PND v Smartphone v Inbuilt

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