Best Sat Nav for £300 ish?

Best Sat Nav for £300 ish?

Author
Discussion

escobar

Original Poster:

701 posts

229 months

Sunday 12th February 2006
quotequote all
No idea about these kind of things. I travel most of the country and now feel like its time to get myself a Sat Nav kit...but what is the best system for about £300?

Can they tell you where Speed Camera's are etc....

Pickled Piper

6,387 posts

242 months

Sunday 12th February 2006
quotequote all
OK, the only input I can give is Tom Tom One. Appears to do everything it claims, very easy to set up and use. £249 from Halfords Website (£279 in store).

pp

escobar

Original Poster:

701 posts

229 months

Sunday 12th February 2006
quotequote all
Any thoughts on Navman iCN 510!?

tinman0

18,231 posts

247 months

Sunday 12th February 2006
quotequote all
Mio 269+ at around £330 online.

A friend has one, and managed to crack it. He is a serious techie after all.

He ended up putting PocketPC on it and then loading TomTomGo software onto it to see what it was like against the Mio. He came to a number of conclusions.

TomTomGo has better menus in terms of speed - they feel fast. However, the buttons are too small for fingers when you are inputting addresses. The maps have a better feel to them over the Mio.

Mio had clearer maps, better input interface both in terms of menus, and data entry. However the device sometimes "thinks" for a few moments when its searching which is annoying but doesn't detract too much.

I personally found that between the TomTomGo 700 and the Mio 269(normal and the +) was that the Mios had far better aeriels and much faster satellite aquisition. The TomTom only needed to see a tree and lost sight with satellites - it seriously needed its external aerial. The TomToms i used hated tunnels with a passion, resulting in a 10 minute freeze when it was back in the open.

Up to now things are fairly evenly matched between the Mio and TomTom. However, the Mio stands out for one very simple reason - its communication is MUCH much better.

For instance, the Mio says "Please". It asks politely to take that right turn. The TomTom demands you turn right. More people then you would imagine have picked up on it. Also, the TomTom simply repeats its demands the closer it gets to a junction - this also winds people up. The Mio on the other hand changes what it says and how it says it the closer you get to the junction. Overall, the Mio is easier to live with on the dash.

(I have a Mio 269+)

>> Edited by tinman0 on Sunday 12th February 17:21

Myobb

175 posts

229 months

Sunday 12th February 2006
quotequote all
I have a Mio 168 with Co-pilot Live & its crap! With the top down on my Convertible I cant hear the instructions & when the sun shines off the screen its unreadable.Total waste of money.