Hi I'm new to in car infotainment system (2020 Superb SE) so bear with me if I sound a bit of a luddite.

The Bolero of course does not come with a sat nav, so I have two options, my Samsung A11 using google maps or my trusty Tomtom, both having bluetooth and usb connectivity.

Out of the two I prefer using the Tomtom.

 

Is it possible to connect the tomtom to the Bolero screen and it's audio? The Skodas bluetooth finds the Tomtom but will not connect to it.

If not, is it possible to connect the Samsung android to the Bolero, I have connected via bluetooth for the phone which works great. it was the maps on the screen I wanted.

 

One other consideration is that if I use the phone, I only have a 2Gb data allowance, I don't often use data, and only switch it on when needed.

Appreciate any advice, I have a feeling I'll be reverting to the Tomtom stuck to the screen, which I don't mind

Cheers Terry

Edited 29 April, 20215 yr by DeeDah

If you use Android Auto with a USB connection and Google maps you can download maps while connected to your home WiFi so the only data usage while in the car would be for traffic information.

Hi, I'll try the Android route and see what the maps are like, I've used google maps on the pc but not for navigating round the streets.

I'll have to try it on something like a motorway where the Tomtom lane assist tells you which lane to get in, invaluable on a motorway which you are unfamiliar with.

Of course Tomtoms have a plethora of other useful bits, speed cameras, petrol stations, nearest hospital in case you crash while looking at your sat nav.

I'm not sure what google maps capabilities are, I'll give it a try this week.

 

Cheers Terry

20 minutes ago, DeeDah said:

Hi, I'll try the Android route and see what the maps are like, I've used google maps on the pc but not for navigating round the streets.

I'll have to try it on something like a motorway where the Tomtom lane assist tells you which lane to get in, invaluable on a motorway which you are unfamiliar with.

Of course Tomtoms have a plethora of other useful bits, speed cameras, petrol stations, nearest hospital in case you crash while looking at your sat nav.

I'm not sure what google maps capabilities are, I'll give it a try this week.

 

Cheers Terry

I've been using Google Maps via CarPlay on my other car for several months and have been very impressed - I think you'll find the capabilities are not very different from your TomTom, certainly more than on a PC.

Hi again, I've just come back inside after syncing the Android Auto to my phone, the map came up automatically so a good a start.

I will try using it offline, i.e. no data usage, no satellites, and I'll probably use it in tandem with the Tomtom the first time I use it to see how they compare.

I always put it on for our regular trips to the brother-in-laws  in Lowestoft, I know the route like the back of my hand, but I often forget about some of the speed cameras.

I Hope you don't mind me picking your brains on the google maps.

Can you use it offline or do you need to be connected to the web for positioning.

Will it only work when connected via usb, or will bluetooth or wifi work?

 

Cheers Terry

 

 

15 hours ago, DeeDah said:

I will try using it offline, i.e. no data usage, no satellites,

Satellites are need for positioning but don't come out of your data allowance.

 

If you download the maps to your phone while on WiFi then they will be used by default while you are in the area covered by the downloaded maps. I have the whole of south west England downloaded which covers 99% of my journeys.

 

Whether Android Auto will work wirelessly depends on the car, most don't hence the need for a USB connection to the car.

I'll give it a go offline, when I've pulled up Google maps on my phone it had the whole of Britain on, but zooming in to Lowestoft only showed  boundary lines until I switched on wifi, It was as if it refreshed the whole map, however I did a bit of checking and it looks like having mobile data switched on whilst using sat nav is not that greedy especially on google maps, about 0.7Mb per 10miles or 0.75Mb per 20 minutes, so in effect a trip to my brother in laws  360 miles or 7 hours there and back it would use about 25Mb, at that kind of usage I could do 80 round trips a month.

What I would do of course is not rely on someone on the web saying these are the figures, next trip out somewhere I'll use the phone, then logon to O2 and check how much it's actually used.

Looking promising at the moment, and the Tomtom will be a good backup, until they stop supporting it, it has lifetime map updates but only until they stop support on that model.

Plus I have a Garmin that is lurking in a drawer somewhere, which is possible to get free updates off the web.

I know that certain Android 11 phones have 'Android Auto WiFi' but the cars app has to be 'Android Auto WiFi' as well, it's the price we have to pay for the ever changing technolgy out there.

Thanks for your help on this

Cheers Terry

26 minutes ago, DeeDah said:

I'll give it a go offline, when I've pulled up Google maps on my phone it had the whole of Britain on, but zooming in to Lowestoft only showed  boundary lines until I switched on wifi, It was as if it refreshed the whole map, however I did a bit of checking and it looks like having mobile data switched on whilst using sat nav is not that greedy especially on google maps, about 0.7Mb per 10miles or 0.75Mb per 20 minutes, so in effect a trip to my brother in laws  360 miles or 7 hours there and back it would use about 25Mb, at that kind of usage I could do 80 round trips a month.

That's fine so long as you always drive in areas where there is mobile coverage, but I'm in north Devon where there are many not-spots which is why even though I have an iPhone I gave up on Apple maps because I kept losing maps and appeared to be driving on a sheet of graph paper (as they don't support offline maps) and now use Google maps so I always know where I am!

Edited 30 April, 20215 yr by PetrolDave