Replacement for iCN510

seanipops · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2005 Posts: 8

Hi All

This is my first post, please be gentle :D

I've had an iCN510 from Navman for just over a year now. I've been really impressed with it but I dropped it a little while ago and now the screen has all but blacked out. I'm now looking for a replacement and would appreciate some guidance.

I'm a medical sales rep covering the whole of the UK and found the Navman suited my needs very well indeed, not least because it saved me from a certain six points Wink

I've found the mapping plenty good enough for my needs and immediately found it meant I could schedule an extra appointment a day.

The features I liked best about the 510 were

ETA
Nearest POI (useful for cancellations when I can go and cold call the nearest Hospital)
Fold in GPS receiver meaning I could stick it in my shirt pocket

I very nearly bought another iCN510 as they are now half the price I paid a year ago but I thought I'd have a look at what else in on the market. I have recently become aware of some other features that would be really useful like

The ability to sync with outlook so that you can look up a contact and then navigate straight there.

The ability to navigate around roadblocks

I also own an O2 XDA Mini-S which I realised could also be used to run the software. My concern is that I already use the XDA as for outlook, browsing and as an mp3 player and worry what will happen if someone rings when the Sat Nav is being used. Do any of you have experience of using software on an XDA and if so which SW and GPS receiver?

I've got a budget of £200 ex VAT. I know I can get another 510 for that but I'm keen to see if I can get anything better for the money.

Lastly my car is a Citroen with athermic glass so I bought an external aerial for my 510 - is the connector universal or will I have to buy another if I don't buy a Navman?

Many thanks in advance
Sean Ayling
www.bedfont.com

Mojo · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:06 am Post subject:

If you like Navman you can get the N40i for £225. Go to www.navman.com/pipeline it's a limited offer only...
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philpugh · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:26 pm Post subject: Re: Replacement for iCN510

seanipops · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2005 Posts: 8

Thanks for that Phil, that was just the sort of feedback I was looking for. I'd always wondered if phone, outlook, and sat nav was too much for one device.

I'm now leaning more towards an in-car device like the navman I had before but perhaps with a T1 added.

If anyone has more feedback I'd be grateful

Sean

mikealder · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject:

Sean, I wouldn't dismiss the idea of the Mini-S quite so quickly, it will work fine with a Bluetooth GPS and Bluetooth earpiece at the same time.

When a call comes in or is made the TomTom Audio is muted, but you can still see what is going on via the display.

The big plus point is there is less chance of leaving it in the car (because its your phone) and therefore is far less likely to be left in the car and stolen.

There are a number of bundled options comprising of navigation software and Bluetooth GPS units at well below your budget figure, although I would also recommend a decent quality mount for the Mini-S if you do try this method. One other plus point for the PDA based phone option is the seamless connection to the GPRS which can be handy for some of the features such as Traffic, Buddies etc. Also if your Points Of Interest (POI) files contain actual telephone numbers you can dial straight out from within the TomTom application.

Some of the earlier XDA devices were problematic handling multiple devices simultaneously, but the Mini-S does this function fine - Mike

seanipops · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2005 Posts: 8

Thanks Mike

Some interesting points made there. I used to have an XDA Exec and the BT connection on that was much less reliable that the Mini-S. At 3.57pm each day the BT on the phone would turn itself off 8O

I'm liking the smaller Mini-S a whole lot more now that I've got used to the keyboard too. I tend to use the phone a lot though so I'm slightly wary about a SW + GPS version, although muting the Tom Tom in call sounds pretty cool.

I'd like to get a GPS receiver that will fit my existing external antenna (for my Navman), are the fittings uniform (I'd be surprised)?

Is there a particular SW+ GPS bundle you would recommend? Thanks for the feedback

Sean

mikealder · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:54 pm Post subject:

So long as you get a SiRF-III GPS unit you shouldn't need the external aerial, they are considerably more sensitive than the device you are used to. I have put a number of SiRF-III GPS units in difficult reception places, glovebox etc and hire cars with problematic athermic windscreens without problems.

Its difficult to choose one above the others, look for battery life expectancy above 10 hours between charges is good, higher than this is obviously better.

The I-Blue unit offers 28 hours from a single charge and is a great receiver, I only played with one for a few weeks but was very impressed with it, others prefer the GlobalSat units, which again are a quality receiver. I myself use Holux GPS units and am more than happy with them.

As for the Exec, it is great for Internet usage, but to be honest as a phone I never really found it that reliable and the bluetooth via headset was problematic to say the least.
The Mini-S is a considerable improvement, the even newer Artemis (or XDA Orbit) is even better, when can you next upgrade the phone as the Orbit negates the bluetooth GPS it is built in to the hardware, this particular phone is a great all rounder - Mike

seanipops · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2005 Posts: 8

OK I've had a look at Tom Tom Navigator 6 on mini SD and Zycast SG-278 SiRF III Bluetooth GPS Receiver and am very tempted. However I've had a look at compatibility and the chart on the tomtom side doesn't list the Mini-S only the Exec as compatible.

Are you sure this will work with the Mini-S?

Sean

mikealder · Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:22 am Post subject:

One of the chaps in the office has TTN6 loaded to his XDA-Mini-S and it works very well. The reason for the device not being listed on the compatibility devices list could be something as simple like the have not tested it yet.
The fact it is not on the list doesn't mean it won't work.
However you should be aware that if you do encounter a problem TomTom support may refuse to assist due to you loading there product to an un-tested device (this has happened previously with other devices, not the Mini-S though) - Mike

seanipops · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2005 Posts: 8

Mike

Thanks for all the advice. I'm posting because I did end up buying TTN6 and the Zycast SG-278 GPS receiver and thought my feedback might be useful to others in a similar position to mine.

I've had it for about a fortnight and this week used it on a trip to Yorkshire and County Durham. For the first part of the journey I used the system together with my existing iCN510 so I could come to terms with the way TTN6 interpreted the maps. This was a good idea because where Navman says continue straight, TTN6 often tells me to turn right and then immediately left when it comes to a crossroads that isn't exactly at right angles.

That aside I've had no trouble with the software as all; the interface is really straightforward and being able to enter a full postcode (it does feel slightly odd entering it without the gap though) is a significant timesaver. It has, however, failed to navigate directly to any of the contacts in my XDA (maybe because all my post codes have a space in them).

Perhaps one of the more useful features is the roadblock option which I successfully used when the M1 was shut between J19 and 18 due to the high winds last Thursday. I may invest in tomtom Traffic when I've worked out whether or not the GPRS data transmission is likely to push me over my bundle allowance or not.

The software was relatively straightforward to set up; it did take me a couple of goes to pair the receiver correctly but this was due to my failure to correctly assign a com port to the receiver.

Speaking of the receiver, I have to say how impressed I am with it. It's smaller than I expected, uses a commonly found battery, has a hardware on/off switch, uses a mini usb charging interface and a mMCX connector for an external aerial. As you'll have known from my earlier postings, my car has an athermic windscreen which has been a pain in the bum quite frankly with my navman.

I quickly found out that I no longer need the external aerial; furthermore I found that I can indeed leave the receiver in my glovebox and forget about it. The mini usb interface is a good idea because, in theory, you can use a wide range of charging options. However, for some reason it doesn't seem to like my XDA car charger. The time to first fix seems much quicker than my last device and in the short time I've had it, I've had no problems.

Before I bought this, my main reservations were that the XDA mini-S would not handle, phone calls, emails and sat nav. I have to say this has not been an issue although I would not have had the courage to do this with the XDA Exec I used to have. I also thought that the screen on the XDA might be a touch on the small side. Again this would appear to be unfounded. Even if it were, the fact that I only have to take one item out of my car at night, heavily outweighs that one.

Mike, I'd just like to say thanks again for all hour input. It has helped me make a well informed purchasing decision and saved some money to boot.

Thanks again
Sean

mikealder · Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:09 pm Post subject:

Sean, Glad to hear you are sorted out and happy with the unit, the nav to contacts is one to spend some considerable time on, if your address book isn't in the exact format the TomTom software expects it simply won't work (To be honest I gave up with this "feature" some time ago - I find it easier to create a POI file containing all the contacts and phone numbers etc and use this - its more reliable TBH).

The really big PLUS point of using TomTom on a PPC phone is you are far less likely to leave it in the car for some low life to steal, a phone you take with you, a PDA/ PNA at times you might leave behind.

Get used to the spoken prompts because, as you point out they will differ from the Navman - time will sort this out though. As for the TomTom Traffic, use your free one month trial to monitor the traffic (GPRS related traffic that is) to work out a cost relative to how you drive etc. - consider installing SPB GPRS Monitor - it should have been supplied on your devices application CD, configure it then you can see what is going on and work out what it will cost.

BTW it works just as well on the Exec, but the phone on the Exec isn't too good IMHO, the Mini-S is far better - Mike

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