Which Sat Nav

Bomber133 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 05, 2009 Posts: 5

Hello All,

I am looking for a Sat Nav but not really sure which is the best one to go for.

I am looking for a Sat Nav that is good for European roads as planning a trip to France in the next few days as well as speed cameras.

Bluetooth functionality would be useful as would traffic updates.

I will download the database from this site as it seems to be the best around.

I wondered if there was any particular model that people would recommend. I am coming down to either a TomTom or a Garmin. I had thought about a Pogo Drive or a Snooper model but have heard the mapping is not great.

I had a look at the Garmin Nuvi 765 plus various TomToms at the weekend in Halfords and now more confused about which model to go for.

Is there a great deal of difference between the TomTom 720, 730 and 740 models (other than the Live services of the 740)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as to which sat nav people would recommend.

Many thanks in advance,

James

Andy_P · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:27 pm Post subject:

I'm a TomTom user and never really liked the "look and feel" of Garmins, but obviously many people do, so try to have an actual hands-on play with them somewhere, one brand will usually just feel "right"!

As for the TomTom's:

In case you weren't aware, the main difference between TomToms are that any one that starts with a "5" (520,530,540) is that it is UK and Ireland mapping only. A 720,730 or 740 is Western Europe (including the UK) and a 920,930 or 940 is W. Europe and America.

The 720 and 730 are functionally identical, just a different colour surround to the screen. They are likely to come with a newer map and software, but the 720 can be updated to exactly the same spec. for free, using the "Latest Map Guarantee" in the box.

One stupid thing with the 740 is that it *doesn't* have the mp3 jukebox player that is on the 720/730 (you only get it on the 940 model)

Avoid any of the "One" models as they will not have Bluetooth.

I would try to get a 720/730. See Mike's reply in THIS TOPIC

mikealder · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:52 pm Post subject:

Save you following links click Here for a link to the sales page where you can grab a bargain while they still have stock, you won't beat that price from anywhere else - Mike

Bomber133 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 05, 2009 Posts: 5

Thanks for the info guys,

This is incredibly helpful. Is it a big job to download the updates? i.e. is a time consuming job or is it quick and relatively simple. Excuse my ignorance on this!

Cheers,

James

mikealder · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:00 pm Post subject:

The speed of download if you have a decent internet connection for the application updates is a few minutes (application update circa 50MB), for the map it can take a couple of hours as its around 2GB in size - Mike

Andy_P · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:10 pm Post subject:

TomTom have a PC/Mac utility called "Home"....
It makes the updating of software and maps relatively painless (wait for all the replies saying it wasn't!! Laughing

)
Although it isn't very well liked by a lot of us, the one thing we *really* don't like using it for is making the all-important backups of your maps etc. - it's better to do that by just copying everything to your PC using normal copy and paste methods.

mikealder · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:20 pm Post subject:

If you do get a TomTom perform a full backup using Windows Explorer, there are some instructions on the FAQ page which can be found by clicking Here The backup is #1

Then update the software (known as Navcore) on the device using Home, it probably needs to be updated twice, the first stage takes it to Navcore 8,300 the second stage takes it to 8,302 which is currently the latest. You can find out which version of Navcore is installed to the device by tapping the sat strength meter (lower right corner) followed by the version box, the resultant screen offers lots of information about the Navcore and map version.

With the device updated to Navcore 8,302 you then use the Latest Map Guarantee to update the map, the Home software will also want to update the Text To Speech voice files if you get a 720, these are around 50MB each - you can choose to do this later if you want to.

With the device fully working with the latest Navcore and Map installed make another Windows Explorer backup to the PC - Mike

gatorguy6996 · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:07 pm Post subject:

My biggest complaint with my TomTom is exactly what MikeAlder has posted: Absolutely necessary to keep a backup copy of the application and data. I've had to revert to a previous application already, have had issues with the latest map guarantee, experienced bluetooth use rebooting my 930, and having to reload voices after one of the recent app updates. Stability has been a problem off and on. In comparison, my Garmin has never needed to be reset, it doesn't care what application version you're using to be able to use the latest maps, and tho I backed up all files when new, none of it has ever been needed in 17 months of use. I like some of the additional customization I can do on my TomTom, but sometimes I question if it's been worth the trouble. My Garmin has always done as it should, other than a little bout with the announcement hiccups a couple months back. Much more trouble-free.
_________________
Garmin 1695 / 255 / 760 w/MSN - Droid w/Google nav + Navigon - Navigon 8100T - Dakota10 - GPSMap76C - GeoMate Jr.

Andy_P · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:48 pm Post subject:

Without wanting to get into "brand wars", I can honestly say that apart from the well-reported problem with "stuttering voices" that is now pretty much fixed, I haven't had any of the other problems gatorguy mentions - and I muck my TT around a lot! Smile

gatorguy6996 · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:58 pm Post subject:

Certainly not any intent to start a TomTom vs. Garmin discussion, and not trying to discourage the OP from the purchase of a TomTom. Just pointing out my personal experience with the two platforms, which may not be typical. My 930 was one of the very first in NA, purchased back in June of last year as I recall so it's quite possible that issues with the original run have been corrected since. Still, my Garmin, which obviously doesn't have the interface customization available to my TomTom, has been rock-solid. It's certainly reasonable that the more options you have available, the greater chance of problems. But overall, I do like my TomTom Smile

_________________
Garmin 1695 / 255 / 760 w/MSN - Droid w/Google nav + Navigon - Navigon 8100T - Dakota10 - GPSMap76C - GeoMate Jr.

Bomber133 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 05, 2009 Posts: 5

Thanks for the replies. I am probably going to go for the TomTom 720 and upgrade to 730 spec.

I have one other query. Many apologies for this, but does the 720 come with sufficient memory to load the UK and European speed camera database from this site or do I need to upgrade the memory? What is the total file size. I need Uk and France as driving to France next weekend.

Thanks again,

James

Bomber133 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 05, 2009 Posts: 5

Thanks for the replies. I am probably going to go for the TomTom 720 and upgrade to 730 spec.

I have one other query. Many apologies for this, but does the 720 come with sufficient memory to load the UK and European speed camera database from this site or do I need to upgrade the memory? What is the total file size. I need Uk and France as driving to France next weekend.

Thanks again,

James

mikealder · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:28 pm Post subject:

Whilst the speed camera database contains thousands of locations the required files for a full speed zoned set up including spoken alerts for each camera type and speed will easilly fit on the device without needing additional memory.

If you want to add a load of mp3 files to the device to use the audio jukebox then I would suggest a memory card for storring the music. An updated 720 can use the SDHC style memory cards upto and including 32GB in capacity, a 4GB or even 8GB card can hold loads of music - Mike

kieeee · Banned Joined: Feb 27, 2008 Posts: 22

I am using Garmin Nuvi 760. The screen easy to read and colors vibrant. Bluetooth works great. this is prolly one of the most useful things i have ever owned. i do a lot of driving for work, and never knew how much time looking at a map takes up. the bluetooth makes it easier to drive as well, with a big work truck like mine.

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