opinions on fitted sat nav please?

[Yeti_Man]

But I think the point (that may only be more obvious to people that actually use a Columbus) is that you dont need to keep looking across at the big screen once the destination has been input. The maxidot thats straight ahead in the instrument binacle is all you then need to safely reach your destination so I dont see why the negativity is any more relevant than to Bolero users changing radio stations etc on their headunit or making adjustments to the air con settings (which are even lower down). If you need any additional info then you can look at the screen but I hardly ever do and Ive used mine regularly in areas/countries I dont know.

[900000]

I agree with both Yeti_Man and hmibennett here...  I just glance at my TomTom every now and then as well...  It is a personal thing that I think the Columbus screen is too low and for me that weighs even more against its cost. A big free standing new sat nav like Rockhopper showed in his Freelander, sitting in your line of sight, is in my book just a better way to spend you money.

 

It is a moot point in this thread since the Columbus or Amundsen are what they are.  Both have repeater directions in the Maxidot.

 

Ultimately only the OP can decide if he wants to spend that much money on something that will go obsolete so quickly.  Neither unit is bad per se, with the Columbus generally regarded as one of the best of its type.  The Amundsen is only mediocre in comparison but then it costs a LOT less.

[Jock]

Can I just throw my 2d (OK, 2p these days!) worth in here.

I used to have a Garmin Quest which was handy for swapping between car and bike - and it was waterproof (tested!)

When we got the "old" Yeti, I upgraded to a Nuvi (because of the larger screen and bluetooth connectivity).

The "new" Yeti, being an SE+ has the inbuilt SatNav - I didn't think I'd like it, or even use it, but ... First of all, it's always there (I did, on occasion, leave the Nuvi at home - not a lot of use there, was it?) I find it easier to use than the Nuvi for entering our destination and it's actually much less distracting than something stuck on the windscreen - especially with the Maxidot display - I leave my "co-driver" to watch the main display and really only refer to the Maxidot myself.

I also like the "instant positioning facility" (hit the NAV button on the Amundsen+ and then it Info button and you know exactly where you are), I have used that frequently and it's very useful.

Updates are available if you know where to look!

[Yeti_Man]

I agree with both Yeti_Man and hmibennett here...  I just glance at my TomTom every now and then as well...  It is a personal thing that I think the Columbus screen is too low and for me that weighs even more against its cost. A big free standing new sat nav like Rockhopper showed in his Freelander, sitting in your line of sight, is in my book just a better way to spend you money.

 

It is a moot point in this thread since the Columbus or Amundsen are what they are.  Both have repeater directions in the Maxidot.

 

Ultimately only the OP can decide if he wants to spend that much money on something that will go obsolete so quickly.  Neither unit is bad per se, with the Columbus generally regarded as one of the best of its type.  The Amundsen is only mediocre in comparison but then it costs a LOT less.

I can see your points. The only thing I would add is that the cost is nearer £1600 than £2000 and id quibble with the comment regarding it becoming "obsolete so quickly" Ive had, fundamentally, the same unit since 2007 in my Octavia VRS estate and Ive never found it has become obsolete or even dated in those six and a half years. Over time as new features are introduced, you simply slip a disk in and perform the firmware upgrade ie interface and map updates to keep things looking fresh, when the bluetooth audio streaming started to appear across the VAG head units or when issues were discovered with new mobile handsets... I certainly couldnt do that to our £350 TomTom unit as they wanted me to go and spend the same again on a later unit!

[aerofurb]

And just to remind everyone, Columbus is much more than a satnav.

 

So, in summary to date: t

 

Those that have got one think it's great.

 

Those that haven't got one think it's rubbish...

 

 

 

[rockhopper]

And those that had one, miss it.....

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[aerofurb]

Sorry to have missed you out of my mini poll...  

[alittlerock]

Well the columbo unit sounds great, ie being able to store music... the salesman said it could even play DVDs & videos? is this right? Would love to see that in action!!

 

HIgh command is still balking at the 1500 (ouchie) price tho. 

 

[alittlerock]

Another Q, can it playback video file types from the SD card n stuff (getting  very excited at thought of playing my BJJ instructionals while I drive to BJJ!!)

[prodata]

So, in summary to date:

 

Those that have got one think it's great.

 

Those that haven't got one think it's rubbish...

Exactly!

Personally, I'd never buy another car without built-in satnav. I've also, for various reasons, got a Tomtom that lives in the drawer under the passenger seat. But that scarcely ever sees the light of day now - far too much hassle, small screen, not easy to use. But yes Columbus is expensive, a rip-off even, for what it is, but it's a toy I'm prepared to pay for. I guess if you working to a tight budget then built-in satnav can easily be passed over. But if cost isn't critical then it's a really useful adjunct to navigation.

[Yetigreenline2]

If you want updates for the Columbus or other units you go here they have the latest updates and also add cameras onto the software

http://gpsunderground.com/forum/car-navi-system/car-gps-systems/volkswagen-seat-skoda/

Expensive it is not.

[rockhopper]

Well the columbo unit sounds great, ie being able to store music... the salesman said it could even play DVDs & videos? is this right? Would love to see that in action!!

HIgh command is still balking at the 1500 (ouchie) price tho.

Yes. Only used it to test it on mine.

It only plays video through the DVD slot.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[MarieK]

I'm almost afraid to ask what BJJ is 

[alittlerock]

Lol

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu!

[briwy]

I had a Columbus in my Octavia Estate and we now have one in our California camper.  Both vehicles came with it in,  (Octavia a company car and company policy dictates in car sat navs, the California is secondhand with it already in so I haven't forked out for new.

Our Yeti doesen't have one as we bought that new and I wasn't forking out for it so a Garmin sits on the dash but it's a pain moving it all the time.

I think it is a good unit, as mentioned it does a lot more than just a sat nav (really handy for DVDs waiting for a ferry) and the music storage is excellent.

The sat nav works pretty well in my opinion, one really good thing is the easy zoom control on a knob rather than a fiddly thing on a touch screen.

Easy enough to update as well via stuff on the web.

Traffic info is free in all the countries it covers as well unlike a lot of portable satnavs where it is usually subscription based and sometimes needs yet another trailing wire for the aerial.

My only main niggle is that whilst it is possible to upload speed cameras onto it there is no audible (or visual) warning unlike portable sat navs.

[Nick P]

I've had a Columbus and more recently a dnx520vbt in my Octavia and they're great units. However, I won't be having any built-in nav in the yeti. The nav on my galaxy s4 is simply better, offering clearer and more accurate directions. A Bolero will be just fine.

[alittlerock]

So tjere are different types of sat nav that can be ordered then! ?.

[Llanigraham]

Not that I know of!

Perhaps Nick could explain what the "dnx520vbt" is?

[Nick P]

I can do better than that. Briskoda have partnered with our friends over at Google to bring our users a cool feature to give more information about any word used on the site.

 

Simply double click the word - it's now highlighted. Now press Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+T, then Ctrl+V and hit enter.

 

In less than a second you've got a wealth of information at your disposal about that word or phrase, all conveniently displayed in a separate tab so you can return to the forum thread once you've attained the desired level of knowledge on the subject.

 

This mechanism is clever in that it keeps a lot of explanation out of band, but easily accessible on demand, saving posters' time and keeping threads more concise.

[nickguzzi]

Or double click, to highlight, then right click.  Left click on appropriate option, which on mine is the 3rd one down. 

Hand never leaves your mouse. 

[Nick P]

Hand doesn't leave the mouse in my method either. All the keyboard stuff is done with the other hand. I'm confident it's faster as there's less time spent positioning the cursor. Your little finger doesn't even need to release the Ctrl key as you fly through the C, T, V, sequence.

[JCP]

So it is a columbus style unit for those who don't value DAB capability.

[Nick P]

Yes. The DNX521DAB is the newer version with DAB.

[Llanigraham]

Nick P,

That doesn't work in Firefox, so perhaps the sarcasm was a little unwarranted.

[Nick P]

Hmm, odd, I found it works fine in Firefox.