GPS units,what's good?

[CAMS290]

Don't buy a Navman Platinum Series, I have a Navman S100 and it is the most fiddly awkward thing to use compared to my old Navman F20.
It is all done by touch screen and it is slow to react to inputs, and if you have large fingers you WILL be putting the wrong key strokes in

[cheyne666]

I bought a Navman because it was easier to read as it offered a larger screen size. I use a Tom Tom in the work car though and I prefer this to my Navman and you can download extra voices i.e. James Bond, Darth Vader, etc onto a SD card and load them to it.

[au^dude]

Is there any that have free updates?

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by cheyne666

I bought a Navman because it was easier to read as it offered a larger screen size. I use a Tom Tom in the work car though and I prefer this to my Navman and you can download extra voices i.e. James Bond, Darth Vader, etc onto a SD card and load them to it.

I was looking for a Homer sound for my Navman but gave up. Looked like a pain if you wanted to edit the sounds. Probably not such a bad thing, I'd end up always driving past my turn just to hear Homer yell 'Doh!' :

[NFLANE]

i use the eclipse avn6000 its not exactually cheap thou @$2200 but its not just a sat nav its takes dvd,mp3,ipod,cds,reverse camera etc

[mickvxbs]

Originally Posted by au^dude

Is there any that have free updates?

I just bought a Navman s150 and it has a free upgrade to the 09 maps.

I don't know why it doesn't already have the 09 maps, as it is 09 last time i checked .

It seems to be a good unit so far, but i also own a Garmin GPS(as opposed to a navigator) and whilst i have had a prob with it the after sales service was second to none!

[[Tonko]]

Originally Posted by au^dude

Is there any that have free updates?

Garmin - Nu maps Guarantee.
Navman - Across the range
Tomtom -No but you get a subscription to a crappy magazine.

[Pinch]

'I like TomTom's.

Had a Mio, was ok, just prefer the TT. Didn't like my Dad's Garmin Nuvi I had when he swapped me when he took my TT to Europe.

I have an older (UK) TomTom G0700. Don't think it was ever sold here. If you don't have a SD card slot and want to run maps like Western Europe you need GB's of hard drive, not the MB's that Australian Market non-SD card units have. Ie can't put Western Europe maps on an Aussie TT One V3 (even though the TT website will take $140 of your hard earned for a download!!!! - or at least they used to).

Mine has a 3GB hard drive with Australia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Canada and the US. Cost me $400 on evilbay and has been good. Really like the menu (as does the Mrs) and the Suburb first has never really been a problem. Biggest issue is hemisphere re-orientation - takes about 30mins. Ie last used in Sydney, next used in Italy takes 30mins before can get satellites for the first time. In relatively the same area (ie country) will load up in normal time though.

Don't leave on walking routes when we get back in the car though. I did and incredibly kept driving against any reasonable thought that I was on a road instead of a walking track. The result is actually on video!

So TT good, Mio Ok, didn't like Garmin - kept telling me to turn only right when the side street was there, rather than before.

[xygt01]

s 30 nav man basic works a treat and never had a fault easy as

[mickyyyy]

maps are always released mid yr which is about now or next couple months

[saam]

Garmin works for me....

Although i had a sony YES SONY some two years ago when i went overseas, i purchased that unit with the intention of getting an australian map and the fact that it was the biggest screen on the market at the time

I couldnt find an australian map for it 2 years ago so i ended up selling it on ebay to someone in france

[GT-E]

Thanks TONKO for your honest views of the different GPSs ont he market.
I went and had a look at many and agree that the 265w was the best unit in the sub $500 segment.
I managed to pickup a new unit from JBHiFi for $328, after I showed them that Ryda were selling them for $345.
Yery happy with the purchase.

[CHEETR]

DO NOT BUY S150 4.3" navman, i have always owned them and just bought the new one, and its a bucket of crap

[au^dude]

Originally Posted by [Tonko]

Garmin - Nu maps Guarantee.
Navman - Across the range
Tomtom -No but you get a subscription to a crappy magazine.

So the navman has free upgrades since when? I have one and i have to pay $90 for a new one.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by au^dude

So the navman has free upgrades since when? I have one and i have to pay $90 for a new one.

You get the latest map when you buy it, if it does not have the latest map on board you can down load it for free, ONCE ONLY.

None have free map upgrades but you can always make your own and then give it to everyone else....

[au^dude]

Originally Posted by flappist

None have free map upgrades but you can always make your own and then give it to everyone else....

You offering :

[Whitey-AMG]

Bought a Navman S300T from Hardley Normal for a very good price a couple of weeks ago when they were discounting them up to 30% ( End of Financial year sale ).


PROS
An excellent unit......fast start up and map load.
Excellent street pronounciations , with very good positioning accuracy. Actually tells you your destination BEFORE you get there unlike the older units that marked your destination 50m after you'd passed it !!

Lane guidance and directions is awesome.....very easy to follow with very clear Intructions and constant reminder of the road name you are on and the road/ street name you will be turning into to.

Traffic alert by SUNA is included and also works very well , although the alerts are not anounced by voice...you get a chime and then you have to read the alert on the bottom of the screen

The 3D instersection graphic is also quite a nice feature as an aesthetic, but serves no real use.

Easy to use menu , and an excellent looking unit with a very good Windscreen mount. ........easily the best looking unit on the market and the silver and black highlights suit the GT interior perfectly...... :voldar02:

CONS

The Glide touchscreen can get annoying as sometimes you enter a menu instead of just scrolling.
The BLUETOOTH can be temperamental and doesn't always connect straight away. It also does not seem to have to auto detect which means that if your phone gets disconnected for whatever reason , you then have to go back through the menu to reconnect.......not very practical.

The FM transmitter is a *&^%*@# JOKE !!!!!!!!!
It does not work well at all.........the transmitter is too weak and all you get is static with the occasional connection............useless for a top end device like this.

The School ZONE speed alerts are annoying as they come on regardless of the time. Should be a built in feature which only alerts you during the morning and afternoon. No use warning people at 8.30PM at night !!!!

CONCLUSION

A great unit , very accurate with a temperamental touch screen and bluetooth. FM transmitter is a joke, but the actual navigation functions are brilliant. Got a free upgrade for 2009 map and a lifetime subscription to the traffic alerts all included.

Would I recommend it.........YES and NO.........

If you can live with the touch screen and bluetooth quirks.........YEP
If you really want the FM transmitter so it plays through your car stereo.....buy another brand.
If you want a very good navigation device with good accuracy, excellent spoken instructions and clarity and fantastic looks..........YEP

Clear as mud then..............

[DRU842]

Had the Tom Tom 1 for a few years now & I'm very happy with it but the maps are becoming dated & I would like the lane guidence.
I've never had any of the problems listed here with late turn notification but have experienced the 'tall building' syndrome.
The Tom Tom Home for updating, back-up etc is brilliant, provided you keep it up to date and I've found http://www.ozpoi.com/ to be a great community site for POI's advice etc.

[dbirdy]

I have both a Hitachi and Navman. Both a great units.

If possible, I would buy one with video in, so you can hook up an external dvd drive etc and use the gps as a screen. This is what is good about my Hitachi.

[duaned]

I have had the following.
Navman S60 - Heap of crap. Very slow, average sound quality, bit of a PITA to use.
Only thing positive about it was the mount!
TOMTOM GO720 - Crap mount, unreliable. The thing went up in smoke!
Only positives were the audio quality and the ease of use interface.

I now use a Garmin 260W. It has been reliable. Windscreen mount could be better, but does the job. Soon I will upgrade to a new model.
Anyone have a Uniden Trax here?

[[Tonko]]

Originally Posted by duaned

I have had the following.
Navman S60 - Heap of crap. Very slow, average sound quality, bit of a PITA to use.
Only thing positive about it was the mount!
TOMTOM GO720 - Crap mount, unreliable. The thing went up in smoke!
Only positives were the audio quality and the ease of use interface.

I now use a Garmin 260W. It has been reliable. Windscreen mount could be better, but does the job. Soon I will upgrade to a new model.
Anyone have a Uniden Trax here?

The windscreen mount comment is interesting, I would have thought it would be much appreciated after the TomTom.

Trax series - The Trax436 is the flagship model and not too bad, the Bluetooth is a bit fiddly to start with, but features for $$$ it cant be beaten.
1 year warranty is a bit rough, and i have seen some power issues... But for $270 (wow sight and sound) its not a bad bit of gear.

Originally Posted by ESP

CONS

The Glide touchscreen (Navman 300T) can get annoying as sometimes you enter a menu instead of just scrolling.

This has been fixed with te Free software update and the new MY series, i got a hold of a MY55 and was impressed.

[EFPWR]

I've had a TomTom One for a while (used it for work). It's a good unit, can't comment on the voice telling you to turn too late as I never have the voice on, it'd get irritating. It suffers tall building syndrome too. Cop a red on elizabeth st then it says you magically flew into a side lane and are just sitting there. I laughed when I first noticed it. I've never really had a problem with the suburb first thing. The only downside I can say about it is I'm not the biggest fan of its mount. I'm sure after taking the ring off the back enough times those spring loaded prongs on the back will wear pretty easily.

Before the TomTom, I bought some cheapo one from Aldi. (Trying to cut costs). Worst mistake ever. I used it out in the country once (am a cabbie btw), it told me to turn into a side street then into a court, turn around and go back to where I started. Thank god I didn't have a customer on board. Needless to say I returned it later that day and forked out more for the TomTom.

Goodluck in your GPS hunt.

[daikin]

Im using a MIO unit, pretty basic and simple without the new stuff e.g. bluetooth. Maps are generally not very well updated but it has a good battery life and has not died on me since purchasing it march'08. Toyed around with a mates new Navman and i was pretty impressed. good luck

[Mechan1k]

Have had a Garmin Streetpilot 7210 for a LOOONG time ... until the touch screen eventually died (after 5 years or heavy usage) ... it was one of the higher models at the time ... and expensive.

I got good use out of it ... and now purchased the Garmin 265WT (widescreen with SUNA traffic) ... which works very well indeed. Traffic channel works amazingly well in Sydney too. The new model is much more compact and the way the speaker is mounted on the rear it bounces back off the windscreen and is very clear.

Also the bluetooth function works much better with my phone the crap Blueant ever did as well.

All in all I have been extremely pleased with the Garmin products over the years.

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by [Tonko]

This has been fixed with te Free software update and the new MY series, i got a hold of a MY55 and was impressed.

Woohoo....will have to plug it in to the Laptop and download the latest software update for the S300T then.......

Now they only need to fix the FM transmitter and the Bluetooth pairing and we're done........:nutsycuck