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  • #16
    Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

    I find myself telling Fred "no, Im not going that way..." and that hed "Better get with my program because Im taking this route"... ;D

    I would have thought most GPS systems would have had the fastest route option in them? :-/

    I like the sound of the most economical route but how does it calculate that out exactly?

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

      Fastest Vs Shortest is a pain as it try s to calculate an approx time for all lights / roundabouts etc etc and then also attempts to predict the average overall speed...

      Thus the fastes Vs shortest can some time be in reverse .... Depending on teh system your using.

      Try setting you destination and then give it a time byu which you want to arrive... Interesting outcomes.

      Note: Depending on how I am feeling I change my icon and teh voice.. Note to self: Even when teh girls are pissed at x-mas and I am teh taxi driver; they do not like Naughty Nattily..

      I did have great voice of an Indian guy, but the Accent and reference to Elephants and cows on the road meant I forgot to listen to the directions...

      I also like to plot the POIs for coffee stops...

      As well as always uploading and change teh settings on my mates TomTom.. He gets BUNNINGS and GJ.. He hates GJ and has an independent hardware store ;D

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      • #18
        Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

        Originally posted by 2535393922370931373A560 link=1248569358/15#15 date=1248766997
        I like the sound of the most economical route but how does it calculate that out exactly?  
        ECONOMICAL: Least stops, turns and urban areas.

        EASIEST: Simplest with least turns.  Favours motorways.

        At least thats the theory  :

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Best GPS in Car Unit


          Having now completed my extensive research on GPS units, I conclude that Garmin is the best quality. On top of that, there is no such thing as a perfect GPS.  You may find one that is perfect for your needs but it wont be everyones cup of tea (coffee)  

          Balancing features that are important to me with quality and price Ive decided on the Garmin 1390T.  I know the traffic feature is presently over rated, but I believe it is improving all the time.

          The best price on all Garmin units was from Johnny Appleseed GPS and their knowledge and service is excellent  

          Thank you all for your input.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

            I use tom tom 720. Works well but when entering an address unless you have the suburb exactly right it will not accept it e.g. If you enter Burton Ave Ivanhoe Vic it says it does not exist but the most frustrating thing is does not give you an option of the suburb. Burton Ave does exist in Ivanhoe East.
            It has proved to be very reliable but if you are in construction or similar and always in the new estates any of these GPS units will not be that helpfull. I have rung Tom Tom and they make no appologies for that and say that untill a new estate is completed they wont map it.
            Be warned that all the majors in this industry use the same map provider the difference is the way they work e.g. Tom Tom:- to enter an address you enter-Suburb>Street>No.... No option is shown for another suburb.... American method??
            The Navman goes<Street>No.>Suburbs and then list comes up of suburbs with that street... Australian method??
            Also be aware Melbourneites About eight months ago frustrated by the method of entry with my Tom Tom and the lack of support in the new suburbs I rang NavWay thinking it would have the same as Melway maps and challenged thier machine against mine which they accepted.
            I had Six addresses in new suburbs Four of whichTom Tom could navigate to the NavWay Could only navigate to one address managment admitting that they in fact used AusWay mapping nothing to do with Melway at all stating they clearly had problems and would not sell me a unit.

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            • #21
              Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

              Originally posted by 06332233240905353E233A2C560 link=1248569358/19#19 date=1248927746
              I use tom tom 720. Works well but when entering an address unless you have the suburb exactly right it will not accept it
              I always enter teh suburb as the city... Never had a problem here or in Melbourne.


              Originally posted by 042325222F560 link=1248569358/18#18 date=1248924544
              I conclude that Garmin is the best quality

              As you state every one has their own needs...

              For me TomTom allows me to drive off road without any issues... Most others will not.

              POI and ease of use... Truck maps available for some countries... Very handy for low bridges and roundabouts etc..

              Can be easily customised and modded to suit your needs. Many of the other systems are more restrictive.

              The important issue that many forget is the accuracy, and that comes down to hardware and response of the unit / map.

              A few of the systems I have trilled have been out by a significant amount and use a setting to put you on the map (where they think you should be). This is BAD in my books, as it can place you on a road, when your some distance from it... and may be in a new estate.

              The Destinator map had a nice feature where it would display house numbers... Handy when not using it to direct you but your just driving in an area you know, but want to know the numbers...

              At present the latest TomTom map has many of the proposed roads and upgrades for Brisbane.. So while not active, you can still see where you are and drive....

              Rote 66 and IGO also had some nice features, but userbility was a pain not unlike the MioMaps.

              The other issue is TTS which is available on the PNA systems but not on the PDA units..

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

                Originally posted by 032C2527300F232C2325272F272C36420 link=1248569358/16#16 date=1248768154
                I also like to plot the POIs for coffee stops...
                I might get around to this one day.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

                  Have a look at this...

                  http://jrepetto.free.fr/ttmaps/en/manual.html#1

                  Now for off road and walkers this is great... And all on the same unit and same app (so to speak)


                  Note:
                  Can point you to some maps working properly.


                  Toolangi and Black Ranges - tested and accurate.
                  Oways ,Victoria
                  Australia State Maps
                  High Country - Snowy Mountains Victoria
                  East Gippsland
                  South East NSW
                  North East NSW
                  Fraser Island

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

                    I use Garmin Mobile XT for Symbian OS on my Nokia phone. Great application and I use it all the time when I dont know how to get to a place or on coffee deliveries. The great feature I like about this GPS application is that it has Google search. Simply type in the name of the place you want to go to and voila, it pops it up on screen with the address and distance from current location. Another great feature is that although it uses Sensis maps, it also uses Navteq traffic data to calculate routes based on traffic.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

                      Im a bit old fashioned - I use a refidex :

                      Yeah, yeah, get with the times you may say, but no sat nav means my car is less likely to be a target for mongrel thieves.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

                        I have reviewed several of these for publications and ended up buying a Mio myself. What I liked were the spoken street names that werent available elsewhere at the time. Its so much better to hear: "turn left into Smith Street", than "At the next street, turn left".
                        I am currently reviewing a new arrival from Navigon, a European amker just entering the Australian market, and so far, it ticks all the boxes.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

                          Originally posted by 7A4F54535972537958505C53593D0 link=1248569358/24#24 date=1249000294
                          Yeah, yeah, get with the times you may say, but no sat nav means my car is less likely to be a target for mongrel thieves
                          This is why I think the PDA/phone satnav solution is the way to go. I use TomTom on the Imate JasJam and it leaves the car with me.

                          I know of people who have managed to get TomTom Navigator 7 running on a HTC Diamond using the internal GPS receiver. Cool.

                          Of course, TomTom arent exactly making the PDA version a simple thing to embrace in Australia, so I think their market share will erode as people get fed up with carrying a separate unit for satnav when the current and next generations of phones/PDAs will leave them behind.

                          Pity.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

                            Originally posted by 242E2336352A2B3627420 link=1248569358/25#25 date=1249001244
                            I have reviewed several of these for publications and ended up buying a Mio myself. What I liked were the spoken street names that werent available elsewhere at the time. Its so much better to hear: "turn left into Smith Street", than "At the next street, turn left".
                            I am currently reviewing a new arrival from Navigon, a European amker just entering the Australian market, and so far, it ticks all the boxes.

                            Let me know how it goes.. From what I have seen it looks too much like the Mio system and I found that hard to work with.. I also understand it was able to use the IGo maps at one stage ??

                            Just about to upgrade the Car radio with a complete system and it uses WIN CE so in effect is a PDA as I understand it... A shame as I do prefer the PNA as teh Linux OS means that it can do some extra things...

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Best GPS in Car Unit


                              Originally posted by 15203B3C361D3C16373F333C36520 link=1248569358/24#24 date=1249000294
                              but no sat nav means my car is less likely to be a target for mongrel thieves.
                              Not if you remove the GPS as well as the cradle and wipe away the suction mark from the windscreen :

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Best GPS in Car Unit

                                Originally posted by 505A5742415E5F4253360 link=1248569358/25#25 date=1249001244
                                ended up buying a Mio myself
                                Originally posted by 77585153447B57585751535B535842360 link=1248569358/27#27 date=1249007211
                                it looks too much like the Mio system and I found that hard to work with
                                Same here. My daughter loaned me her Mio before I had my Tom Tom.
                                Besides trying to get me to do illegal U-turns at trafffic lights, it appears to have 3 settings:
                                *Fastest
                                *Shortest
                                *Get Dad lost (undocumented)

                                Originally posted by 644345424F360 link=1248569358/28#28 date=1249008531
                                Not if you remove the GPS as well as the cradle and wipe away the suction mark from the windscreen
                                Thats what Ive done in very suss areas but Im putting my faith in human nature now and hoping that in seeing the cradle and power lead prominently diplayed they will realise I took the unit with me.

                                Of course if they just need a cradle and power lead Im screwed. :

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