Garmin i3 or Nuvi - Northern Ireland coverage?

ianrm

Hi all

I'm researching the purchase of an 'all in one gps' system for a friend who is a doctor and often gets called to the middle of maze like estates in and around north Belfast and the towns of eastern County Antrim. Before I recommend something I need to know how detailed the coverage is (North and South Ireland are notoriously badly served by GPS mapping companies)

Can anyone let me know what the coverage is like down to street level, say around Carrickfergus, on the i3 and on the Nuvi - If the i3 uses the same navteq maps as Navigon it should be ok as I have MobileNavigator 5.2 myself which is pretty good for NI.

Obviously the i3 would be good because of the price. Has anyone any experience or recommendations on a decent all in one system for use in Ireland (at less than £350 would be nice too!)

thanks in advance

Ian

seacon · Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 12:35 am Post subject:

I live in Northern Ireland and have just purchased an i3 from Halfords (£129). It has pre-loaded on it the Garmin City Navigator Europe V8 NT software. The mapping detail is excellent and probably for the first time gives 'total' GPS mapping coverage for the whole province. The detail is down to the smallest street level in towns and very minor roads in the countryside.
I don't believe that it covers Southern Ireland to the same detail though.

In addition, the i3 gives7 digit post code search for Northern Ireland.
Make sure the model you buy has Version 8 of the software preloaded otherwise you will have to send off to Garmin for a free upgrade.

Adjacent to the bar code on the i3 box is marked a very discreet V8 symbol.

Alternatively you could buy a Garmin Quest with V8 software for around £300. This has slightly better resolution on the screen however doesn't do full post code search. It also is an excellant device however for £129 the i3 is amazing value for money!

NH · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 15, 2006 Posts: 12

I just purchased one as well a few days ago and I am more than satisfied. Was down near dublin last night and it brought me straight there as well - except for the new M1 round Dundalk where it showed me going across fields :-) It and the Medion ones both cover here but the i3 is quite a bit cheaper. I have seen both and the coverage is just about identical (they do use the same maps) Also, I downloaded the speed camera database and both here and down South seem to be covered.

seacon · Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 12:54 am Post subject:

NH · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 15, 2006 Posts: 12

You get it from this site, the one does UK & Ireland. Good instructions with it and very simple to upload.

NH · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 15, 2006 Posts: 12

I haven't come on any worthwhile POI's for here yet.

ianrm · Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:53 am Post subject:

Thanks for all the replies - I think garmin use the navteq maps as there base and I have experience of these with my Navigon MobileNavigator 5.2 system on my PDA over here.

Northern Ireland is probably about 90% covered with only the very local roads in the rural parts and the Republic of Ireland is probably about 35% covered with all the major road and towns on it - but quite a lot of detail missing. Mine doesn't have the M1 around Dundalk on it though and the middle of Dublin is not up to date with the Luas changes.

Can the i3 mapping be updated and can you load european maps (for holidays etc) on it?

thanks

Ian

NH · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 15, 2006 Posts: 12

It comes with the latest maps which have extensive coverage both sides of the border. In the north, country lanes are found no problem. European maps are already on it but I'm not sure to what level but I think you can update. Try here for more

http://www.garmin.com/uk/automotive/streetpilot/iseries/spi3/

madhatter2u · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 15, 2006 Posts: 1

I'm a newbie on here as well as I have just purchased the garmin c310. Have to say so far its a cracken wee unit, really pleased with it. Will be giving it a bigger test on Sunday as I'm heading to Dublin.

Andy

bighassan · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 20, 2005 Posts: 12

Using your Garmin i3 in Europe is a breeze if you are prepared to pay enough! A plug in micro SD card for France, for instance, is £90 and other European countries are available for similar prices. I used the French one in the past week and found it was excellent. If you are visiting Northern France it is worth checking out the UK/Ireland card that comes with the i3 as that area is already covered. You can buy cards from

[url]http://www.gpsw.co.uk/cats/cl3_306.html?Skip=10&

The service is excellent - next day special delivery.

Incidentally I live in Northern Ireland and am delighted with my i3 - it improved a lot when the maps changed from V7 to V8[/url]

mhb · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 21, 2005 Posts: 155

I'm glad your card with French maps is good but as I've explained in another thread, I'm pretty disappointed with NavTech's maps on the card covering Spain.

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