I used Tom Tom from when it was on a Dell PDA and they have always been brilliant. Always just bought the cheapest as well, The One.

Since I got the Passat I've been using the built in nav which I was sceptical about but it hasn't let me down yet. As a back up I have Waze on my iPhone just in case.

Regarding mounts the best by far I have ever used is Brodit mounts from www.dsldevelopments.com, expensive but worth it!

Don't get a new TomTom

Software is pathetic

Still using very slow cpu's - browsing map is v.slow

smartphone/tablet + waze or similar is way ahead imho

I have just bought myself the new Tom Tom truck satnav, top of the range and I honestly cannot fault it, it is even better if you get the traffic warnings lead thingy with it, all in it is my professional drivers choice!!!!!

Seen this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360577738276?item=360577738276&_trksid=p5197.m462&_trkparms=

any reason why?

The which? best buys are all tommy or garmin.

The tommy that I had was frustrating when programming in a postcode, as it doesn't take the full code. This is where google / android wins hands down, I've never once had a problem finding a house or a POI including factories / businesses.

I like the idea of Garmin also because of the free / lifetime map updates. TBF the traffic avoidance on my tomtom worked well

I originally mentioned the Becker, as they too had free lifetime updates, but upon checking their site it seems you have to pay for them now :( SWMBO has one and it's been faultless, until now and they want £99 for a new map Not worth it for a seven year old sat-nav IMO. Get a Garmin or a Tom Tom

Have you thought about getting a cheap Skoda/VAG - MFD2 Sat nav unit and replacing your stereo (not sure which version you have) then recode with VCDS. Then just download the Europe maps from a certain site and burn to disc. I have done this although my Intergral SATNAV was already fitted when i bought the car but its got me to Italy through France and Switzerland a couple of times. Although im on 2009 maps atm.

trouble is,,,,,,,,,,,,he only wanted to go to the shop for a paper :rofl:

trouble is,,,,,,,,,,,,he only wanted to go to the shop for a paper :rofl:

lol

Having tried copilot it's not that great after all. It's quicker to get a gps fix, but it takes ages to load up, can't find half the POIs (way behing google maps in this respect), and since I've only got a 4Gb SD card, I have no memory left for anything else.

So, a separate device it will be. What is the advantage of bluetooth on the more expensive Garmin devices? I can see there is some kind of phone link where you upload POI and address info from your phone direct into the garmin device, do they also work as a hands free phone keypad / speaker?

My garmin has bluetooth & works as a hands free with my phone.

ASUS, backspace key stupid touchpad, red wine, FFS!

And again...

Bought a Tom Tom 825 from Halfords on impulse, got fed up of searching and wanted something in my hand today. Read the reviews afterwards, and within 2 hours it was back for a refund (which was £10 more than I paid thanks to a **** up in the bar code scanning). £48 every year for traffic made the decision easier, had assumed lifetime meant just that. Garmin 1-0 Tommy

So I fitted a new holder for the S3 off the air vent, much closer to may hands and line of sight and drove over to Pembs this afternoon.The copilot app does the traffice thing just as well, the map graphics are as good, and on an S3 it's as quick as you can get with re-routing. Much as I think I need a new shiny toy in the car, I cannot see what I'd get for another £200+, after all, I've already got built in bluetooth hands free calling, I can play the voice through the aux input to the bolero, I can search for any location using google, wikipedia or yell and they throw up the phone number too. Try that Tommy, ha!

So, for the time being, am going to stick with the phone app, after all most of the cost of a satnav device must be the hardware, followed by the software license and update management. When part of that comes free with Android, it's another part of the cost equation in favour of a phone app

Magellan app for Playbook - £3.50 (A side-loaded Android ).

Connect at home using wi-fi, plan the journey (App automatically downloads the map sections (Free) you need), then go, with turn-by-turn directions, weather, traffic.

Nice big 7" display on the PB (Got a doubler sucker holder on the windscreen), which when not displaying maps does all the other PB functions. If you need to radically change destination en -route, just bridge it to my curve (Or sometimes, if I'm lucky use BT FON wi-fi) and download the new map sections. Accesses anybodies maps (Google, bing, etc) and downloads all except Google.

Hardly use it for directions as the odd occasions I do travel to new locations, its mostly by motorway and is not time critical, so I can afford to use the "Sun" compass and paper maps - more fun. I just use the PB or a hand-held walkers Garmin to confirm my location when I really get lost (Some say I should permamnently ! ).

If only car manufacturers would install on-the-go-wi-fi in cars, can you imagine ythe possibilities - wake-up radio authority frequency licencers - huge econmic opportunity for after-market suppliers.

Nick

Edited 4 February, 201313 yr by Clunkclick

Probably a very stupid question but im new to smartphones as i only got my samsung galaxy a week or so ago. I have a really low data allowance as basically i download what i need at home on wifi. If i used my smartphone as a sat nav i.e GPS enabled, would this eat into my data allowance? If so that kinda sucks and makes it pointless as a sat nav unless you pay for unlimted data.

Maybe GPS doesnt use up data allowance but im sure someone told me it did. Can someone advise please?

Sorry for hi jacking thread.

I think it would eat your data as the GPS just triangulates your position, data would be required to load the maps, unless there is a way of downloading the maps to sd card etc prior to setting off. although i think it would still need a certain amount of data.

Probably a very stupid question but im new to smartphones as i only got my samsung galaxy a week or so ago. I have a really low data allowance as basically i download what i need at home on wifi. If i used my smartphone as a sat nav i.e GPS enabled, would this eat into my data allowance? If so that kinda sucks and makes it pointless as a sat nav unless you pay for unlimted data.

Maybe GPS doesnt use up data allowance but im sure someone told me it did. Can someone advise please?

Sorry for hi jacking thread.

The following Android app is brilliant as you download all the maps via Wifi and it then acts as an offline SatNav (no data requirements).

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.navfree.android.OSM.ALL

You could actually turn off the data on your phone, have GPS on and still navigate properly to postcodes :-)

Edited 4 February, 201313 yr by Lemming

Probably a very stupid question but im new to smartphones as i only got my samsung galaxy a week or so ago. I have a really low data allowance as basically i download what i need at home on wifi. If i used my smartphone as a sat nav i.e GPS enabled, would this eat into my data allowance? If so that kinda sucks and makes it pointless as a sat nav unless you pay for unlimted data.

Maybe GPS doesnt use up data allowance but im sure someone told me it did. Can someone advise please?

Sorry for hi jacking thread.

Google navigation which is free in Android and uses Google maps which are streamed via your mobile data connection.

Copilot and the Tom Tom app download maps onto your phone, and just use the gps receiver (which doesn't require a mobile data connection). However, some of the in app services such as live traffic data and the Google location search for require a data connection. Neither are mandatory though.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

The following Android app is brilliant as you download all the maps via Wifi and it then acts as an offline SatNav (no data requirements).

https://play.google....android.OSM.ALL

You could actually turn off the data on your phone, have GPS on and still navigate properly to postcodes :-)

Downloaded this last night. Cheers for the tip. I will try this out in comparison to my Tom Tom to see how it compares but in fairness its free and im sure it will get you to the destination plus i dont use Tom Toms live services anyway as they require a subscrpition so i cant really see how it wouldnt suffice for most people. My tom tom is a few years old now and the map needs updating so this phone app may make the tom tom redundant.