Lidl have one in their deals section for next week

Lidl Online

Can't comment on how good it is.

Well having looked at many options, the Tomtom One XL looks like the best option for me. It has the larger screen, good for inputting, and with the latest Tomtom software upgrade will allow the navigation bar to be set vertically up the side of the screen, making it the clearest graphics of the lot. It takes coordinates inputs as a destination and seems intuitieve to use.

A question for Tomtom users. Does the camera database spot possible mobile sites and fixed sites?

Chris

Yes Tomtom does have fixed and mobile camera sites.

My Garmin Nuvi 200w has the same.

you may have to download the latest sites from Here

Pretty straightforward on TomTom. Download, unzip and copy and paste into the map folder. you also need to set up the proximity alarm**

On the Garmin you need the POI loader from the Garmin Website.

Chris, I let our Rapid Response Team use my Tom Tom One

yesterday and they were looking on the internet to buy some.

Great kit and so easy to use, and the safety camera option is

well worth it!

Finally decided on Tomtom One XL. For anyone else looking for a good deal on the Tomtom One or One XL, Makro will be having them in from the 19th Dec at:

£99.99 + vat for the Tomtom One V3 Cracker

£119.99 + vat for the Tomtom One Europe

£114.99 + vat for the Tomtom One XL GB

£134.99 + vat for the Tomtom One XL Western Europe

£169.99 + vat for the Tomtom Go 520

£189.99 + vat for the Tomtom Go 720

These are the best deal I have seen on these products to date.

One last question. If I get the European map version, are the UK maps as good as if I get a UK map version? Are there compromises by having Euro maps?

Chris

The maps are the same, europe or uk version.

Same question with a different twist - looking at a trip to the States (LA area) Aprilish ,and thinking of hiring a car .Sooner than get mapped up (and probably lost ) looked at hiring a Sat Nav - but for price and cost in $$ buying looked the better option.

Q- any one out ( US OF a ,pref California way or UK )reccommend one( not too pricey as I am still a map fiend at heart ) that will take UK updates ( oh and be reasonably user friendly --Mrs VWD although she will not drive (things about dogs and barking herself)--may have to use it and anything not easily understood by a total techniphobe will possible make my sitting down uncomfortable.

Having tried both out in shop, I think I prefer the Tomtom interface and graphics. Particularly useful is the way in which the Tomtom has the little icon in the bottom left telling you which way you are going at each junction as well as the map view. The Garmin unit does not give you this option, but does have a better map view. Still to decide, but would like to be able to track down coordinates or find a way to put them in. Is it possible to generate and program in your own POIs and if so, how?

Chris

I use POIedit to edit POI, favourites etc.

Same question with a different twist - looking at a trip to the States (LA area) Aprilish ,and thinking of hiring a car .Sooner than get mapped up (and probably lost ) looked at hiring a Sat Nav - but for price and cost in $$ buying looked the better option.

Why not hire one with a SatNav fitted as standard ?

Turned up at Makro at 7:35 on the first morning of the sale and got my Satnav. They were sold out of Tomtom One XL (yup, in 5 minutes), so I had to have a European version instead.

The unit is generally pretty good in terms of its mounting and operational layout. Programming up routes and making setting changes is intuitive and simple. The device is versatile and customisable so it is easy to get settings and maps to appear as you like them. The voice command is able to go loud enough to be heard in the MR2, so no problem in the Fabia.

To see how well it fares and how reliable it is, I have been using it a couple of days and nights locally. Route selection seems to be pretty much spot on. The system gives you the options of fastest or shortest routes and a few others too. The fastest route selection keeps you on main roads most of the time, and on a route I use around here often, it did pick me a main road based route that would have been quicker using a little rural road short cut, but for someone driving at an average pace on the rural road, the main road route would be as least as fast. A couple of times the device has plotted a route with no problem but failed to notify a junction. An example today, the system reckoned 3.5 miles to the next roundabout, but did not mention the T junction that I would need to turn left out of. It did show it on the map view, but did not produce any sort of direction command.

Another funny was when it got lost heading up to an interchange and had to recalculate. Don't knowif it was the very high approach speed and short braking distance that phased it, but when I came through the same way today (but at about half the speed), it worked fine.

The maps supplied were the latest issue and are out of date in several places locally by over six months.

Much entertainment can be had selecting shortest route if you are in a rural area. The device hangs up its safety and efficiency hat and picks routes on "interesting" roads. Great fun.

Don't know if anyone else does this, but I find that on a road I don't know, the device reveals enough detail in map view to spot straights coming up that are suitable for potential overtakes and on B roads, gives a good idea of where the road is going ahead. Obviously you cannot rely on the info (or spend too much time looking at it) but is is anther useful feature.

Good stuff:

Finds location in seconds

Good route calculation

Fast enough to reroute

Easy to operate

Clear driving directions with icons summarising each junction

Good voice clarity

Good when directions are close together

Good map views with smooth screen traverse

Bad stuff:

Speed limit advise is hopeless, you will get nicked very quickly if you relied on it

Not all house numbers available in quite a few roads, so you need to aim for nearby addresses

No mobile sites on camera database

Map is latest version but is locally quite a long time out of date

All in all, pretty impressed with the gadget.

Chris

I think they all have little 'quirks' :(

I think they all have little 'quirks' :(

I am sure they do. I am not in a position to compare it to anything else, but it seems mostly fit for purpose.

Another gripe, the battery lasts less than 2 hours. There is no in house recharger supplied (mean) and the car power lead is short. It just reaches if I mount the unit in the centre of the screen, but not if I mount it in my preferred bottom right position. Going to have to do something with the leads to power this and the Talex.

Chris

I am sure they do. I am not in a position to compare it to anything else, but it seems mostly fit for purpose.

Another gripe, the battery lasts less than 2 hours. There is no in house recharger supplied (mean) and the car power lead is short. It just reaches if I mount the unit in the centre of the screen, but not if I mount it in my preferred bottom right position. Going to have to do something with the leads to power this and the Talex.

Chris

I got a 3 in 1 car adapter (fed from Cigarette lighter) for around £6 from eBay. Draper version IIRC (from reputation and 'features').

Afore I forget - you have a damn good Xmas and New Year

...and maybe see you again next year

Found out why the unit gets lost a bit at the local interchange. It seems that because the slip road and dual carriageway run close to on another, it thinks it is back on the dual carriageway and starts recalculating the route. It then flips back again.

Power is via a mini USB socket. Did the Ebay 3 in 1 have a mini USB outlet?

Chris

No - 3 cig lighter sockets

No - 3 cig lighter sockets

Have seen similar at Maplin. I will check out the way the mini USB is wired. If I can find suitable connectors I am going to wire in power points for this and the Talex in both cars so it is just fit and plug in, no dashboard spaghetti.

Chris

no dashboard spaghetti.

That is a downside - luckily only use the Garmin every now and again.