CAR Sat Nav, Best options 4 Ireland NOW ?

sunny2004

Hi,
I want to start this thread to find out the best options at present to Irish users, Best maps, Best product etc..

I appreciate there are other threads but wanted to get the latest ideas in one place so please forgive me if I am putting you through this again

My requirments are
Great Irish road coverage
option for handsfree use of my mobile phone, Very important !
European maps but to be honest its unlikely I will need them soon
online upgrades for maps and firmware

Any ideas or experiences are very much appreciated.
Thanks.
Sunny

sunny2004

OK, I am long enough in the tooth to know if you dont get replies then its something to do with your post lol

OK.
First could I ask if it is possible to be GPS that connects to your phone by blue tooth to allow you to use the phone through the gps system ??

kevmac

Garmin with their V9 Navteq maps.

A Garmin Nuvi model with bluetooth and FM transmitter to go through your car stereo.

Garmin with V9 Navteq maps.

Garmin yearly upgrades for all maps: around €75 for UK/Ireland. V10 expected around Christmas.

My latest GPS is the Nuvi 670 (with Europe and U.S. mapping) – a stunning piece of hardware.

sunny2004

kevmac wrote:

Garmin with their V9 Navteq maps.

A Garmin Nuvi model with bluetooth and FM transmitter to go through your car stereo.

Garmin with V9 Navteq maps.

Garmin yearly upgrades for all maps: around €75 for UK/Ireland. V10 expected around Christmas.

My latest GPS is the Nuvi 670 (with Europe and U.S. mapping) – a stunning piece of hardware.

your system is a nice piece of kit.. quite expensive..
could you explain this to me.........

With nüvi 670's wireless FM transmitter*, you can hear audio, including voice prompts, MP3s and audio books, through your vehicle's stereo.

does this mean if i want to hear the voice instructions I cant listen to cd's or radio ?

also is it the only model that will allow me to use handsfree with my phone?

sorry for the dumb question, I'm new to GPS...

kevmac

670 has FM transmitter which you use by tuning into a unused frequency. You can't play a CD at the same time.

But the Nuvi tells you a phone call is coming in and you then switch to your preset on the radio to talk.

The 670 has an FM transmittter but the the 660, 610T, 370, 360T and 310 all have bluetooth so you can use the Nuvi itself as a handsfree.

The great thing about all of them is that the Nuvi sucks out your Phone book and has it available on screen - as well as your call history.

I highly recommend www.mysatnav.ie for buying stuff as the guy who owns it gives great service - not the cheapest but for a few Euro more you get someone in Ireland who actually knows what they're talking about. (I have no connection to mysatnav.ie)

sundodger5

i have route 66 mobile 7 running on my nokia phone. just bought the software. bluetooth gps and bigger memory card off e bay. good coverage for ireland as it uses navteq maps.
i think the website is www.66.com

sunny2004

Firstly cheers to everyone who took the time to reply.. Appreciated

kevmac wrote:

670 has FM transmitter which you use by tuning into a unused frequency. You can't play a CD at the same time.

But the Nuvi tells you a phone call is coming in and you then switch to your preset on the radio to talk.

The 670 has an FM transmittter but the the 660, 610T, 370, 360T and 310 all have bluetooth so you can use the Nuvi itself as a handsfree.
QUOTE]

Now, am i getting this right.. Firstly, its only the 670 that uses the radio ?
Secondly, if the above is correct the others use bluetooth, so I hear the incoming call and the persons voice out of the satnav speaker using blue tooth ?

Again, I apologise for my satnav Virginity !!!

Doodah7

sunny2004 wrote:

Secondly, if the above is correct the others use bluetooth, so I hear the incoming call and the persons voice out of the satnav speaker using blue tooth ?

Yes you are correct.

sunny2004

So I suppose my options are one of these,
660, 610T, 370, 360T and 310 all have bluetooth
none have mp3 because none use an FM unit?

Is there any independent site that gives reviews ? as I have no idea what the differences are,

or can anyone give me pointers that will allow me to shorten this list ?

sunny2004

Hi,
I came accross a garmin 610t with Mapsource data ?
What type of maps are they?

opus

kevmac wrote:

I highly recommend www.mysatnav.ie for buying stuff as the guy who owns it gives great service - not the cheapest but for a few Euro more you get someone in Ireland who actually knows what they're talking about. (I have no connection to mysatnav.ie)

I like to buy from Irish companies as well if it was only a few Euro more but mysatnav.ie were 36% (€82) more expensive for the GPS I bought (Airis T920)!

optiplexgx270

sunny2004 wrote:

Hi,
I came accross a garmin 610t with Mapsource data ?
What type of maps are they?

Mapsource is Navteq maps.

sunny2004

Cheers, I agree with the price difference is a bit steep even allowing for shipping the item here etc..

thanks for the info on the maps.. Sorry about all this, as I stated this is a completely new territory for me, no pun intended..

*idea.. are TOM TOM units up to the job map wise in Ireland? say the 910

can the installed garmain voice be changed ?

johnnyrotten

I have the Garmin Nuvi 360T with full European mapping, Bluetooth handsfree phone facility, MP3 etc etc.
Dixons were selling them last week for €450. they were €580
An excellent piece of kit IMO

sunny2004

The reason I asked about the tomtom 910 as an option is that I see it has a 20gb drive and in addition they released v6.75 maps last week (thanks to steve for that info) So I was wondering if anyone has used these maps and what people thought ?

I also like the idea of changing the voice lol

thesteve

Hi Sunny,

let me tell you of my GPS experience and it may shed a little light on the situation...

- Last year I bought a TomTom One v2 here in Germany. It came with mapz of Germany, Swiss and Austria and major roads of Western Europe. The coverage of Ireland was terrible.

- I purchased the downloadable map that was on their sute, advertised as UK and Ireland. After paying 60 euro the coverage of Ireland was worse than on the German map! After hounding them they gave my money back for the downloaded map and chnged the description on their sute

- Disallusioned now I heard about the Garmin Nuvi and their coverage of Ireland. So I bought one on ebay for 460 euro. I powered it up and the coverage was excellent, but I did not like the user interface. For example the distance to ocation was not on the mail screen, if you wanted to change the voice volume it was more than one click (dangerous while driving), etc

- In the meantime the latest version of the TomTom maps came out (not 6.75, the one before, think it is v660.1219), I installed these and they were as good as the Nuvi. So seeing as I preferred the TomTom interface, I put the Nuvi back on ebay.

- Now the 6.75 maps are out. I downloaded them but have not installed them (lent the TomTom to a friend who is crusiing around Italy as we speak - b@stard), but I will try them when I get it back. The only differences I forsee will be new roundabouts, new bypasses, etc.

- I am happy with the TomTom with the latest maps, I have family in the country and it is programmed with roads that even have grass in the middle of them...

My 2 cents...
- Steve

sunny2004

I am starting to come to the conclusion that this is complicated, but I appreciate at some point and with the help of others that it will all just sit into place and when I'm up and running I will wonder what all the fuss was about.. For now forgive my ongoing stupidity

Few questions

1/ navtec have on their site an option to see your own address, as in check addresses to see if they are there.. handy to work out the quality of the maps.. Navtec are Garmin maps.. my question is does the maps supplied with TomTom have the same facility somewhere on their site ?

2/ If i am going with Garmin, (based on the majority?) is the 360 version the most cost effective v options...

3/(dumb question) Can you change the voice on Garmin products like the way tomtom can ?

sunny2004

http://mapinsight.teleatlas.com/cfl?Language=EN&ClientId=MapInsight&PlaceFindCountry=IRL&PlaceFindAdministrativeArea=

I think that might be the answer to my 1st question LOL

thesteve

To answer based on my experience;

1/ No

2/ Not sure here but the Nuvi I got was way over priced. The FM transmitter is crap, it's very 'plasticy', etc

3/ I am 99% sure you cannot

el diablo

I'm also considering the Nuvi 360. so much info here. I don't know where to start...:rolleyes:

thesteve

I am not sure of the features of the 360 but in my opinion if the price difference is the screen size, go for the smaller screen and therefore cheaper model. It does the job perfectly, lets you know when to turn in plenty of time, unless you're driving a jet

sharkman

sunny2004 wrote:

The reason I asked about the tomtom 910 as an option is that I see it has a 20gb drive and in addition they released v6.75 maps last week (thanks to steve for that info) So I was wondering if anyone has used these maps and what people thought ?

I also like the idea of changing the voice lol

I have a 910 and cant fault it , however V9.75 maps are not as good as the previous V660.1256 release .

thesteve

sharkman wrote:

I have a 910 and cant fault it , however V9.75 maps are not as good as the previous V660.1256 release .

I presume you mean 6.75 unless you know someone working in TomTom ... I haven't got around to loading up the new ones yet, do you mind elaborating on 'not as good'?

Cheers,
- S

eirman

sunny2004 wrote:

Few questions

3/(dumb question) Can you change the voice on Garmin products like the way tomtom can ?

I have a choice of 8 english accents on my Garmin Nuvi 660

sharkman

thesteve wrote:

I presume you mean 6.75 unless you know someone working in TomTom ... I haven't got around to loading up the new ones yet, do you mind elaborating on 'not as good'?

Cheers,
- S

Sorry , My bad !

Running both on the 910 and there seems to be less info on the newer maps , Ie . Castleview estate in Swords is missing on new , but was there on the old . I will give it a good go next week .

thesteve

Cool, would be interested to see the results. I'll give it a go here in Munich and see how it is...

knighted

i bought the nuvi 660 b4 xmas and its the business -upgrades for free on website -i thought it was good here but when i brought it to the uk it was 10 times better -picks up every speed camera including handhelds and displays the speed limit zone u are currently in -lots of info -hasnt let me down over here yet except the new housing estates

handyman

i have the fujitsu siemens loox n100 with mobile navigator 6 (1.16.00). I live in 'rural' Ireland and the mapping is pretty good from what I can see, however it did try to send me down two one way streets in Cork!
It also has France preloaded on it. I am going to France this summer on holiday and will be depending on my satnav to guide me around but I spoke to a guy today and he told me it's only good for 'major' roads and won't be any good in the cities? I am thinking of changing but I want to be sure the one I buy this time is pretty excellent on Irish rural roads AND that the european mapping is quite detailed also.
Any help wold be appreciated.

handyman

knighted can i ask what part of the country are u in? have u travelled a lot of rural roads or are u basing ur knowledge predominately around dublin? i ask because as i said, i live in the back of beyonds! and at one point i wanted to go to glanmire in cork but instead of taking me a very direct route it took me in through the whole city - needless to say i didn't take this route when it prompted me to but had i not known the other route i would've ended up in all kinds of traffic

el diablo

knighted wrote:

i bought the nuvi 660 b4 xmas and its the business -upgrades for free on website -i thought it was good here but when i brought it to the uk it was 10 times better -picks up every speed camera including handhelds and displays the speed limit zone u are currently in -lots of info -hasnt let me down over here yet except the new housing estates

just checking do the Garmins detect speed cameras in Ireland? anyone know?

sunny2004

Thats a very good question.. do they ??

FrankGrimes

Man, whoever would've thunk GPS systems would be so complicated :eek:

I'm looking for a GPS system for my car and have read this whole thread but just amn't sure yet what system I need, so any suggestions are much appreciated.

I want to get a handsfree kit for my car, and since good ones seem very expensive, if I can get something in around the €300-350 mark that does handsfree over bluetooth well while also giving me directions, that would be ideal.

An FM transmitter is out as I don't want to forego listening to music on journeys just to get directions. The ones that are listed as playing MP3s - is that just off SD cards or can you plug a mini-jack from an MP3 player into them?

Basically my priorities are the following - are there any systems that meet these and cost under €350?

1. Good handsfree phone call functionality
2. Good integration into the car - not too big, can be charged in-car.
3. Good coverage of Irish roads
4. Map updates that don't cost a bomb.
5. Ability to change the voice if it's head-wrecking would be nice.

If I was to buy from Germany would it have poorer Irish maps than pixmania ones (even if it lists 'Western Europe' as the covered area)?

el diablo

bedlam wrote:

Not by default. You would have to download POI (Points Of Interest) files that have them listed and install them on your GPS. These typically come at an additional cost. I'm not sure how comprehensive the POI for speed cameras are Ireland is.

ok, thanks. my Garmin Nuvi arrived today. bought it brand new on eBay for £170. haven't had a chance to check it out yet...;)

sunny2004

Is it only the Garmin 670 that gives directions by reading street names ? instead of turn left, saying turn left on dame street ???

optiplexgx270

sunny2004 wrote:

Is it only the Garmin 670 that gives directions by reading street names ? instead of turn left, saying turn left on dame street ???

No my Nuvi 370 does it also.

Ronan Raver77

Hey Guys,Im thinking of working as a courier during the day aswell as my regular night work.Anyone recommend me a good satnav i will spend around 350.Need one that good store a few drop off points on the 1 journey etc..Anybody here who use them for courier some input...As you can tell i dont know much about satnav.

Nuvi 370????

optiplexgx270

Ronan Devitt wrote:

Hey Guys,Im thinking of working as a courier during the day aswell as my regular night work.Anyone recommend me a good satnav i will spend around 350.Need one that good store a few drop off points on the 1 journey etc..Anybody here who use them for courier some input...As you can tell i dont know much about satnav.

Nuvi 370????

370 would be overkill and > 350.

I'd recommend the 310/350 depending on if you want european maps. Although the street name thinfg is handy.

Ronan Raver77

Cheers.
I know on satnav you can see a list of closest petrol stations can you do the same feature with say Industrial Estates???

CrowdedHouse

Ronan Devitt wrote:

.Need one that good store a few drop off points on the 1 journey etc..Anybody here who use them for courier some input...As you can tell i dont know much about satnav.

Nuvi 370????

Nuvi's don't do drop off points,only one 'via' on route

sunny2004

so the garmin 670 and nuvi 370 are the only two that read the actual roads out ??

sharkman

My TomTom Go 910 also reads the road names to you .

sunny2004

For the love of god !!!

Why is it so hard to pick a Sat Nav !

Ok 3 options which read the actual road names out,
But the best maps for Ireland are v9 maps supplied with the Garmin products ?

I like the look of the tom tom, but have concerns with the map coverage...

sharkman

sunny2004 wrote:

For the love of god !!!

Why is it so hard to pick a Sat Nav !

Ok 3 options which read the actual road names out,
But the best maps for Ireland are v9 maps supplied with the Garmin products ?

I like the look of the tom tom, but have concerns with the map coverage...

Once to TomTom has Map version 660.1256 from navteq you are OK . They can be uploaded to the unit at a later date , so youldnt worry about it !:D

optiplexgx270

And the tomtom 6.75 (teleatlas) has newer roads just to throw a spanner in the works (e.g. the road from the tesco petrol station in dundrum to the lower kilmacud road is missing on the navteq v9 software ). But im sure with the update expected later this year that will be sorted (and with better overall coverage with the rural / older roads its better overall) but will cost approx 75$.

sunny2004

Thats not a spanner that's a grenade !! lol

Is there no real answer to the map situation ! ??

The TomTom910 has all the specs I want but I really worry about the Map situation with this unit.. most people seem to go for garmin which on average seem to be much more expensive. In fact I have seen TomTom 910 on the internet for £220 sterling, and the Garmin 670 is about £430 ? thats a high difference for items with similar specs, in fact the TomTom on paper when it comes to specs looks better, with the exception of the mapping..

For me the important things are,

Map coverage, As I live in a small town !

Reading out the actual road names ! as I wish to actually learn something

Bluetooth link to my phone, for safety.


Optional specs, not a deal breaker

Reading of text messages by bluetooth from my phone, not a deal breaker,

Directions read by elvis, bono, frank sinatra . LOL LMAO... not important just funny

sharkman

Sunny , where are you based , you can check out my 910 if you like .

sunny2004

Sharkman ! that is a kind offer, I am in Carlow, but before you start laughting I am origionally from Dublin and visit most weeks !

sharkman

Ok , well next time your in The Big Smoke give me a shout and you can see if the 910 would suit .

sunny2004

Sharkman.. PM sent !

Ronan Raver77

Garmin are the only sat nav company that OSI give there map details to...If that means much:) My mates dad wrks for them.

sunny2004

You see this is the type of thing that gets me worried ! :eek: