Satnav recommendation please

[John S]

I have a limited amount of time in which to make a choice on a satnav unit.Since I know very little about most things and absolutely nothing about everything else, I am turning to the brainstrust on all things automotive, that is you the 901reg.
I remember recently there was some talk about an sd card based system as opposed to cd? i think....??
any help most appreciated
TIA
cheers

[e72phil]

John,

I have several Navman units which are so easy to use with very intuitive software. GPS car nav systems have realy matured in the last year or 2 as well as getting very affordable.

Decide on how big a screen you need and that'sll determone how many $$$ you spend. You can get a good Navman (say S30) for around $300, even cheaper on special. Screen size is OK but could be a little larger.

Garmin also make good units but Navman, being NZ based, probably have better support - especially in updating maps etc.

I have a lot of Navman stuffon my yacht including a new chartplotter which is the nautical version of car nav. I love their software and ease of use.

Seems everyone sells this stuff now, even Officeworks.

[Fishcop]

John, I'm a fan of Garmin. I use the Nuvi 350 which is loaded with Australia as standard, and takes SD cards for other countries which can be rented from various places (Johnny Appleseed here in Brisbane for example). My unit also runs Bluetooth to interact with my mobile phone and acts as my hands-free in the car. I paid about $450 12 months ago - they're cheaper now.

[John S]

Thanks for the advice Phil
anyone got an opinion on which units to avoid?

Fishcop, if you're listening, from memory you bought one for your NZ trip last Year. I can't sem to find the thread.....

[John S]

Thanks John, you were listening....I must learn to type faster

[Andrew B]

John

for what its worth Choice magazine seemed to give Tom Tom a good wrap. I have a Garmin unit. I also have a SD card for anyone travelling to Europe and wants to borrow it.

Simple and very accurate. If it can get you around Naples then it must be good.

Can be updated on line and now tells me every school zone and speed camera etc. Directions are in a female voice and warnings for cameras etc are a male. Are in polite 'pommy' English and easy to listen to.

Johhny Appleseed have an office in Concord (located on right, heading west about 1km before m4 entry) and are helpful, link below for them and what I bought:

http://www.ja-gps.com.au/garmin_nuvi300.aspx

Regards Andrew

[alexwebster]

have Tom Tom, and they are great!

[Earlysport]

This is actually what I do for a living. I'll make a few points;

There are only two map providers for Australia - Sensis and Navteq. They are much of a muchness. Sensis only update once a year, Navteq up to four times, so typically a Navteq map unit will be more current. That said, Navteq is not in any of the Tier 1 brands - yet. So TomTom ( no.1 market share ), Navman ( no.2 ), Garmin ( no.3 ) use Sensis.

Hardware wise most are also very similar. Samsung 400mhz ( or equivalent processor ) and SIRFSTARIII GPS receiver being the high performance 911S of nav devices. The 911T is the Centrality Atmos setup ( anywhere from 266mhz to 333 mhz ). The only real difference is speed, and for most of the NAV application software the Centrality does a fine job.

So then it just comes down to the NAV software, as Phil has pointed out, some are more user friendly than others. That said, the Nokia Gate5 software which has popped up on some very cheap generic units is pretty good, with stuff like predictive txt input and so on.

They do vary in their support of speed camera Point Of Interest data etc. Nokia supporting only one type ( say, speed only ), and something like a TomTom able to support up to a dozen or so with seperate warnings for each ( school zones, red light cams, etc ). You can get regularly updated data from www.roadsafety.com.au ( one of our sites ).

So, if I was buying a GPS right now, I'd probably buy a no brand $199 unit which will have a Centrality processor ( adequate ), Navteq map ( good ), and Nokia software ( pretty good ), and hopefully the thing will work for a couple of years without breaking down! ( All these devices are made in China or the Phillipines )

Craig H
------------------
69 911E Stock
69 911E RS Replica 3.0L Webers 915
82 911SC becoming IROC 3.8L
93 968CS Delivery Wagon :-)

[SIR70t]

Thanks Craig,

Love the industry 'inside' view...

Shane

[Condorman]

I have Factory Sat Navs in my Cars, however at Xmas I used a Tom Tom in and around Noosa for 2 weeks and the speed camera option saved me a couple of times!!

[John S]

Thanks guys for the feedback. Sounds like I wouldn't go to far wrong by choosing any of the main three brands. It was interesting though to read Craig's "insider" info and suggesting a cheaper 'no name' unit...
Anyone got an opinion on screen format? Just like TVs and laptops the widescreens look so much better, are there any worthwhile advantages though, because the premium is substantial.
TIA

[Fishcop]

I'm a believer in "bigger is better" also But I've had no issues with my little 3"...

[CamBiscuit]

John I think there is a procedure available now that may help that...!!!

[John S]

any details Cam?

[CamBiscuit]

Aren't you married to a doctor John..??!!