jenskleis

I have a Navigon GPS which has left me stranded on several occasions. The software it far from intuitive, it freezes and if often takes 20 min!!! to find a sattelite.

I am back with my faithful old Michelin Europe Map. Paper never fails,.... well, it can if you shred it in a moment of un-controlled frustration...

Go for a Tom Tom!

Christer

Jens, having driven from UK to Denmark on a few occasions now Imust say that I do not actually think that using the old paper map method is actually possible for a solo driver to use...I mean some of the routes in Germany around a few towns that touches on ring-roads etc. would for me at least be too complicated whilst trying to drive at the same time....

Christer

Funnily enough I have an M600....just got the old one replaced as the screen had stopped recognising the stylus so it made it slightly irritating to text...well I say irritating but more impossible....ha ha

robmug

How does the M600 compare? Any better? (I'm about due for an upgrade...)

Christer

I have no idea, whats the M500 like

robmug

Lol! I 'assumed' that you'd upgraded from the M500...
I'd hijacked to thread anyway...so best to get back to the subject!

brookewebb

No-one know about the Garmin Nuvi?

brookewebb

Christer -
Does it support full postcode searching?Also is there a differemce between plus and non plus model?!

DaveK

I'm surprised about the Russians comment for TomTom. I've got TomTom on a PDA (an old copy though - v3.1 I think) and the main annoyance I find is that it will do everything possible to get you on the damn motorway, even if it's a significant detour to your route. I frequently have to tell it to ignore the motorway and recalculate because I know better!

I wouldn't be without it now - but not sure I'd buy TomTom again for a couple of reasons :

1) If I select a route but turn it off when I start my journey (because I know some of the route) - it will often freeze when I switch it on half way through the route.

2) A couple of times it has tried to take me the wrong way down one way streets.

3) Considering it's only a few years old, I'm pretty pissed off that I can't buy detailed Europe maps for it. Basic maps (main roads) came with it when I bought it - but TomTom only send detailed maps for TomTom5 now, and that's a couple of hundred quid. Very bad support for existing customers in my opinion.

warmfuzzies

Hmmm,

My tom tom go 300 will always try teh shortest route, rather than the quickest average speed route, which means the bloody thing trys to get you off motorways if there's a shorter route.

going to Raymonds for example it will always try to hoof me off the A3 before the M25 junction, despite me trying to get it to go to the M25 junction, it does the same on the way down, even took me off the M25 round a roundabout, then back on the M25 again.....

Annoying to say the least about the maps as well, as they are uniquely tied to each device......anyone a Linux expert here?? and cost an arm and a leg, you can't upgrade them, you have to buy new each time, they also do not take kindly to you telling them that's a shortfall in the product......
I wouldn't buy one again, as I feel I've been treated less than sympathetically over issues such as this.

Kevin

Christer

Brookeweb - no - it doesn't do full postcode searching as far as I know - but I don't consider this a problem - or it hasn't been so far! It seems most of these products have an achilles heel as it were - this one has superior maps and routing etc, I guess the postcode thing could be a downside to some people?

Dave K and Kevin - the Mio lets you put in an option of whether you have a slow, medium or fast car. When in fast car mode, the Mio seems to calculate the route based on th efact that you will pretty much be doing the speed limit everywhere (or even slightly above?!!), so it calculates that if you are going to be doing 50mph on one route and 80mph on the other - even if it is longer then it will route you that way. Local knowledge cannot be beaten if you know for example that the speed limit on one route is 50mph say, but you know you can be doing 80mph that way...but in Denmark the Mio has been proven right almost all the time - my GF will know the shortest route and sometimes the Mio routes that way but in other cases it will route via main roads and we have tested it. Sometimes the Mio will only beat the local route by 2 mins, but I guess it doesn't think ' oh well for 2 mins, the other way is more scenic' it is purely based on the calculation obviously....

robmug

Dave - this is more likely to be the PDA than the software; had the same thing on my old iPAQ; no problem on my M500.
On the PDA versions of TomTom, you can select whether it defaults to the quickest or shortest routes, and you can set the average speed for each type of road. These are features NOT present on the stand-alone TomTom units.

Bins

Anyone know anything about the ViaMichelin X930

Christer

No, but I have used Viamichelin's maps online and they seem really good...but no practical experience or knowledge of the product features I am afraid!

108.5dba-static

Interesting thread - I have a TT 5 on my IPAQ and its fine. However very interested in the Mio. One question - does it do speed camera's/POI's.

Many thanks