Portable Satellite Navigation Units
in [Aussie Drivers]
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From: D Walford on 2 Apr 2010 17:17 On 2/04/2010 10:14 PM, Noddy wrote: > "D Walford"<dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote in message > news:4bb5cdb8$0$8766$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com... > >> I've lost count of the number of times I've dropped it but so far I've >> never done any damage so I don't know why you think they aren't durable, > > Mainly because I've known 4 people who had Garmins that lasted less than a > year before they were broken or fucked, and that put me off buying one. Even > looking at the things in the shop they looked cheap and flimsy compared to > others (and in particular the TomTom). I'm only familiar with the nuvi 250 and it doesn't fit that description but maybe other models do? Daryl
From: D Walford on 2 Apr 2010 17:23 On 3/04/2010 12:04 AM, Clocky wrote: > Noddy wrote: >> "D Walford"<dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote in message >> news:4bb5cdb8$0$8766$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com... >> >>> I've lost count of the number of times I've dropped it but so far >>> I've never done any damage so I don't know why you think they aren't >>> durable, >> >> Mainly because I've known 4 people who had Garmins that lasted less >> than a year before they were broken or fucked, and that put me off >> buying one. Even looking at the things in the shop they looked cheap >> and flimsy compared to others (and in particular the TomTom). > > When I was working at DSE for a bit a few years ago (yeah yeah I know) we > sold the Garmin units but to me they looked and operated like they were > aimed at the cheap and nasty end of the market. We had quite a few returned > for credit where the customer upgraded to a Tom Tom or even Navman, happy to > pay extra. > I did buy a Garmin because at the time it was the cheapest of any with a known brand name. Its over 2yrs old and has never given me the slightest problem, I also find it easy to use, it even has a feature that I've not heard on any other GPS which is spoken warnings about speed/red light cameras, my wife's Mio cost almost double what I paid for the Garmin and it has a lot more features like blue tooth but it isn't any better at navigating than the Garmin. Daryl
From: D Walford on 2 Apr 2010 17:25 On 3/04/2010 4:02 AM, Kev wrote: > D Walford wrote: > >> Free from where? >> It cost me about $100.00 to upgrade mine, I looked on the net but >> couldn't find any free maps. >> > http://www.gpsunderground.com/forums/index.php > latest maps for most GPS > Garmin is up to 2010.30 Thanks, I'll have a look. Daryl
From: Noddy on 2 Apr 2010 17:35 "Kev" <kevcat(a)optunet.com.au> wrote in message news:4bb6012d$0$12922$afc38c87(a)news.optusnet.com.au... > What were they doing, trowing them at brick walls??? I doubt it :) They were just being used in day to day roles like anything else, and their "survivability" seemed to be pretty poor. > I've got Garmin and always used Garmin, always been good with no problems > plenty of people I know have Garmin and never have problems I'm sure they have, just like I'm sure there's plenty of TomTom owners who have had problems. I'm only going on the people I know personally with the things, and of those the TomTom owners seem to be the happiest. > How can they look cheap and flimsy?, they are just a screen inside a > plastic case, just like all the others The Go730 is in a hard rubber case, and it also has a better screen bracket than the equivalent Garmin in my opinion. > My Nuvi can be used for offroad with the Garmin Topo and 4WD tracks > maps(down to 5 metre contours on the Topo overlay and over million klms of > roads and tracks Australia wide) > and then I can add the Blue Chart marine maps and use it in the boat Nice. > I have a 3.5inch Voxson unit too, runs Windows CE5 > when I Trashed the the OS I found out it's a rebadged Binatone Carerra > a reflash with Binatone firmware and it's up and running again with IGO > 8.4 Amigo > > I like the IGO software better than anything else out there because there > are so many different skins available that open up a lot more options so > you get a whole lot more out of the unit than just navigation I had a few different skins on my old unit that ran Igo 8, but after a while the novelty wore off and I just stuck with one and used it like that. I've currently got 4 different skins for my TomTom and got sick of playing with them after a couple of days. -- Regards, Noddy.
From: Chrlz on 3 Apr 2010 03:44
On Apr 2, 5:50 pm, Dingo <dingo...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > I know nothing about them. What basic features should I look for, how > much should I expect to pay, and where is a good place to buy? Thanks. I'd reiterate much of what has been said but to summarise, most of the known brands are similarly featured - so just try the units out and see which interface you like. I tend to agree that of the big three, Garmin seems to have a nicer interface but that's just me. As a couple of suggested tests, you should be able to: - enter an address easily without having to ask for help from the shop assistant.. - get into 'browse' mode, where you can move around and zoom in/out and use it like a map.. Some of the newer units have 'terrain' data, which makes the view truly 3d. Sounds gimmicky, but I really like it and at times it adds to the usability (esp. when offroad.. or lost/wandering..!). If you are in a region with freeways, lane guidance is worthwhile. I really like how IGO displays not just the next maneuvre, but the one after as well - do the big three do that nowadays? And what about TMC? I don't know how well that works in Aus, but it sounds good.. I now have a cheap gps running IGO 8.3 (+ Ultra skin). If you go for a generic unit, I think IGO is the software to get - just make sure it is up to date and has the Sensis maps. Terrain data, lane guidance, speed limit and compass continually displayed, next maneuvre, good browse mode, sensible speed warning system... No wishlist left. |