Basic SatNav dilemma

Tom_W · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 10, 2008 Posts: 3

Hi all,

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name's Tom, I'm from West Yorkshire but now live in Durham having jus graduated. So, to business!

Apologies for yet another newbie 'which one shall I get?' question, but I am (ironically enough) utterly lost in all this business.

Basically I'm looking for a simple, functional Satnav. I don't really have any need for bluetooth, MP3 etc, I just really want it to tell me where I am and where to go, and get it right. I've done a little research and it seems to be a choice between a Tomtom one v3 with EU maps and a Garmin nuvi 250. Ironically both of these have EU maps which I doubt I'm going to need but it's only £5 extra where I've found and it seems silly not to.

So really, any guidance as to which to get would be appreciated as I don't have a clue. As I've said my main criteria is being able to calculate my position and the best route correctly. Other criteria would be volume and clarity of instructions, battery life, and general usefulness of them. Finally, do either of them charge their battery when they're connected to a computer (I'd rather not pay an extra £20 for an at-home charger).

Of course if anyone has an alternative suggestion for a better choice (in the very low hundreds) I'm all ears.

Many thanks,
Tom

john877 · Lifetime Member Joined: Mar 16, 2007 Posts: 468

Hello Tom and welcome to the forum

It is really down to personal taste !! the best thing to do is go to a somewhere like Halfords or John Lewis and have a look at how the mapping looks and the how the software looks .
Both Sat navs are the two most recommended brands and both will do the job you want .
My preference is Tomtom because I like the way the mapping is more fluent in use and just has a better interface not as cartoon like as the Garmin .but they both have there faults
Regarding the charging the Tomtom charges by connecting via a USB point on the computer but the charge will not last on a long journey .A in car charger is provided to plug into your power socket and is used to power the sat nav while on a journey.

Tom_W · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 10, 2008 Posts: 3

Hi John, and thank you for the advice. Unfortunately I've yet to find anywhere (other than online) that has the V3 in stock. Is it worth me attempting to judge the v3 by the v4 (i.e. are the differences more about features and memory than practical differences)? Can I also just check that you mean the Garmin DOESN'T charge via being connected to a computer (I understand plugging it in in the car makes sense but I might also use it out and about and would rather not be reliant on a car to charge it)?

Also, I've done a bit more research and have a couple of questions if I may impose for a little longer?

1. Do either/both of them tell you '2nd exit' rather than just 'left/right' on roundabouts?

2. Am I correct that the Garmin's battery life is a lot longer than the tomtom's? (I'm always a little sceptical of what the manufacturers say)

3. Is Tomtom's map update thing useful and worthwhile, and does anythine similar exist for the Garmin?

Many thanks again,
Tom

Andy_P · Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 4:14 pm Post subject:

TomTom One 3rd Edition (called v3 by many shops) is on special offer at Halfords. Saw loads of them today (I'm looking for a "One XL Classic" without luck today)

mikealder · Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 4:58 pm Post subject:

MaFt · Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:12 am Post subject:

the garmin batteries do last far longer then tomtom's. for example if i pull out a garmin from the cupboard after a couple of months of not using it it will still turn on. no such luck with tomtom!!

garmin have apparently started 'nu-maps' which gives you similar to tomtom's map update program and navigons fresh-maps. i've not seen much about this though other than people mentioning it on the forum - a bit of googling is probably in order!!

it IS personal preference though, like others suggested, try get hold of some in a shop - even if you can't get a one v3 any tomtom will have a similar menu structure etc (some extra features will be missing) but at least you can get a feel for tomtom and garmin etc

MaFt

Zebb · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 28, 2008 Posts: 55

john877 · Lifetime Member Joined: Mar 16, 2007 Posts: 468

Being a Tomtom user I do not know a great deal about Garmin but they are a very reputable brand .!!
Regarding the way the sat nav directs you the Tomtom states take the 3rd exit( unless you buy one with a text to speech option which then reads the road names out).!! one difference between the Tomtom and Garmin unless things have changed and is what swayed my decision to buy a Tomtom again was the way the Tomtom displayed roundabouts ( I thought the way Garmin displayed them they looked like a blob until you got there) and also the next turn is displayed as an arrow in the corner of the sat nav where the Garmin is text at the top of the screen .
I hope my comments do not spark a Tomtom Garmin war from posters as it sometimes does !!THEY ARE BOTH EXCELLENT SAT NAVS .

I believe Tomtom gives you a latest map guarantee where if the mapping is not the latest you can upgrade in the first 30 days FOC .

portman · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:59 am Post subject:

Can i suggest you get yourself down to Sainsburys, they have the Tomtom 510 and the Magellan 4010 for £29.99 if you can find one, you might be lucky, now that really is a bargain!! There are also the Medion E3410 and E3115 at the same price but not as good.
_________________
Samsung Mega
Tomtom 500

john877 · Lifetime Member Joined: Mar 16, 2007 Posts: 468

You may find this link useful

http://www.find-satnav-deals.com/

Tom_W · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 10, 2008 Posts: 3

Hi again,

Sorry about the delay. I've been stupidly busy as of late. I just thought I'd update you all. I didn't find anywhere close that still had the Tomtom V3 in stock so I compared the Garmin to the V4, still didn't find any differences that pulled me towards it, so I went for the Garmin due to its battery life and all is well (I doubt I'd have been disappointed either way to be honest). So, thank you all very much for your help.

All the best,
Tom

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