TomTom vs. Garmin - and the winner is...?

qwas75

Hello everyone!
I am thinking to buy Sat Nav. Before I fork out couple of hundreds Euro, I thought I'll ask your advice - which one is better?
I don't really care about UK or Europe maps, but I do care about Irish ones. Features like Lane Assist, traffic info (and maybe built in coffee machine and toaster ) would be very nice and useful addition.
Had some experience with Garmin unit in the past. Wasn't really impressed to be honest. Device was kind of slow, recalculating was like waiting for the next Christmas, missing roads(I could understand if it's a small road in the middle of nowhere, but N road?! Still wonder how this is possible), searching for address was a bit of a mess... But it was couple of years ago. Maybe things have changed since then, I've no idea. (by looking at this forum I wouldn't say they did)
Would be nice to hear what owners of TomTom devices think about their little helpers?

galljga1

I have never used either but have to ask:
Have you a smart phone?
Have you Google Maps?
Is there any advantage to Tom Tom or Garmin devices over Google or Apple maps?

qwas75

galljga1 wrote: »

I have never used either but have to ask:
Have you a smart phone?
Have you Google Maps?
Is there any advantage to Tom Tom or Garmin devices over Google or Apple maps?

I do have a smartphone with Google Maps. Been trying to use it as navigator. Phone got very hot, battery went from 100% to 0 in about 40 minutes (while charging!). Not kewl at all!
I'm a new driver and have plenty of things to worry about (all those road signs, speed limits, pedestrians and (OMFG!) cyclists.. ) There's lots of things going on on the roads
I don't want to worry about if I will get home tonight or will spend the night somewhere in the forest reunited with the nature just because my phone died

galljga1

qwas75 wrote: »

I do have a smartphone with Google Maps. Been trying to use it as navigator. Phone got very hot, battery went from 100% to 0 in about 40 minutes (while charging!). Not kewl at all!
I'm a new driver and have plenty of things to worry about (all those road signs, speed limits, pedestrians and (OMFG!) cyclists.. ) There's lots of things going on on the roads
I don't want to worry about if I will get home tonight or will spend the night somewhere in the forest reunited with the nature just because my phone died

Yeah, I get you, but maybe look at getting a new phone. I have been using Google Maps on iPhone and have had no problems to date. It does power down the battery but when it is charging, it is sufficient.

On the other hand, I would be interested in others' views on dedicated devices.

Modern phones should be well able to build a charge and double up as a sat nav

Sounds like you need to change your charger to be honest. I dont know what type of phone you have but you should be able to get a better charger handy enough on amazon which will more than compensate for the higher drain. You more than likely have a 0.5amp charger where you need a 1 or 1.5amp charger

Dont waste your money on a sat nav, they are more or less obsolete

You could try using a sat nav app with offline maps, that may help in the battery drain, just google offline maps for your phone (android or iphone)

RZoran

Waze app on phone

delly

I would echo what others are saying. I use the Waze navigation app each morning and evening while commuting to work, purely for accurate traffic updates. That's a total of 3 hours and I still have plenty of battery left at the end of day.

qwas75

Here's the charger I'm using for my Galaxy S4 -https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LWYWPGA/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_3Msvvb08NT1N4
Getting new phone is not an option really, it would cost me small fortune.. 360€ to finish my contract + the cost of the new phone

But thanks anyway for your thoughts!

RZoran

Microsoft phones are dirt cheap and have good built in GPS software that allows you to download different maps you can use without mobile service.

Alun

RZoran wrote: »

Microsoft phones are dirt cheap and have good built in GPS software that allows you to download different maps you can use without mobile service.

The same software is also available on Android.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps&hl=en

Cerco

I have used both IPhone and TomTom. For me. The Satnav is way superior to using IPhone. Phone does overheat when used for even short journeys ( 45 mins) and needs recharging. No issues when phone used normally for other applications.
The issue I have with the satnav is the map updates . It is an older model and has insufficient memory to upgrade to latest maps which are also costly.
However newer models come with more memory and "free" lifetime updates.
I will upgrade shortly but now have to decide TomTom or Garmin.

qwas75

Cerco wrote: »

I have used both IPhone and TomTom. For me. The Satnav is way superior to using IPhone. Phone does overheat when used for even short journeys ( 45 mins) and needs recharging. No issues when phone used normally for other applications.
The issue I have with the satnav is the map updates . It is an older model and has insufficient memory to upgrade to latest maps which are also costly.
However newer models come with more memory and "free" lifetime updates.
I will upgrade shortly but now have to decide TomTom or Garmin.

So it's not just me who is looking for advice then

Cerco

qwas75 wrote: »

So it's not just me who is looking for advice then

I have had two Tomtom's so far and very pleased with them. I will probably go for another unless someone convinces me Garmin are better.

pedroeibar1

If you are pleased with a TomTom you will be delighted with a Garmin. I really regret my recent purchase of a TomTom Start25. Almost ten years ago I bought a Garmin Nuvi 610 Regional (UK & Irl) and it has been so good I just took it for granted. (OK, bits of the M7 are not on it because I did not buy an upgrade.)

A few years ago I had to spend £40 / €50 for a map of France but this year felt that spending €120 for a new TomTom covering all Western Europe with free map upgrades was a better deal than paying another €50 for a map of Italy (which for some stupid reason Garmin sells with a map of Greece!)

It was a mistake – TomTom is not intuitive so it is not easy to use and was totally useless at times – rather than a direct route it selected two long sides of a triangle because they were motorways. No facility to ignore that, other than resetting & reprogramming device to ignore motorways and then reprogramming again. Other annoying things - for example, touch the screen on a Garmin and you can immediately and easily give a name to that location and save (e.g. to “Favourites”) Do that on a TomTom? Nope. Want to delete a “Favourite” destination? Hit “edit” & “Delete” on a Garmin, on a TomTom you need to scroll through several screens. Want to save an address to “Favourites”? Easy on Garmin, but again scroll through screens on a TomTom. Want to use Co-ordinates? Easy on Garmin, but on TomTom you must input the degree, minute, second and decimal symbols, (no auto-populate); then, on initial entry if you hit the “back” button it wipes the entire number.

Enter the address of your hotel – tap “save to Favourites” on Garmin, but on TomTom (cut/paste from their instructions) you enter the address and then
Creating a Favourite
To create a Favourite, do the following:
1. Tap the screen to bring up the Main menu.
2. Tap Settings to open the Settings menu.
3. Tap Favourites.
4. Tap Add
[and then go back to find the address and add it]

Garmin is so intuitive I never looked at the instructions, TomTom instructions are rubbish.

On holiday OH in frustration reverted to a paper map. TomTom is back in the box, Garmin is back in the car.

cormie

This is my reply from another thread on a similar topic:

I've been using a Garmin Sat Nav for years, it's been essential as I work in transport and drive to new destinations all the time, all over Europe. I've now started using Google maps as my primary navigation. I'll always have the Garmin on in the van as a backup, but the live traffic updates and route suggestions and ETA's are far more reliable than Garmin which makes it my primary focus. The on the fly route options with the "10 minutes slower, 5 minutes slower, similar eta" are brilliant too. Garmin of course has the advantage of having all the map details and no need for a data connection.

I've never properly calculated how much an 11 hour drive through different European countries uses data wise, I just did a quick google which suggests a 4 hour journey was less than 20mb, so if say 12 hours on the road is 60mb@20c per MB roaming, that's €12, or €1 per hour which is nothing compared to the other costs driving an hour and the possible lengthier journeys without it. Of course if you have a better data roaming plan with the likes of Vodafone Red or eMobile you'll do much better. One warning with Google, if you lose your connection and make a wrong turn, it won't be able to reroute from my experience.

I heard a lot of good things about Here and when I was in a place with limited data connection I downloaded it over wifi before going on the road, I had a quick look and wasn't really impressed at all after all the good things I heard about it. Maybe I just didn't give it enough time?

The Garmin then excels in options such as detour points, looking up favourites, looking up fuel stations along a route etc so I find myself using the two for their own merits.

If someone has a similar experience but still uses Here as their primary navigation, I'd be interested to hear why. If it's possible to get the best of both in one app then it would be nice.

I'd say that if you're having trouble keeping your phone powered even if it's connected, you need a better 12v adaptor and maybe cable. Either of these adaptors will suffice:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M6Q83B4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088U4YAG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage


If you're still having issues, then it's your phone, but I use my phone and have Navigation, music and bluetooth running the whole time for hours and as long as the phone is plugged in, there's no issue.

pedroeibar1

I've no issues with my phone, but use it as satnav for a 14 day driving holiday and the roaming charges would cover the cost of a reasonable GPS. Plus, the hassle of disconnects on loss of signal in tunnels / mountainy regions e.g. north of Italy. Not safe to be faffing about with a small screen on those roads with nowhere to pull over.....

Alun

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

I've no issues with my phone, but use it as satnav for a 14 day driving holiday and the roaming charges would cover the cost of a reasonable GPS.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps&hl=en

or

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/here-offline-navigation-maps/id955837609?mt=8

Download whatever maps you need offline before you leave, no data connection required, and therefore no roaming charges.

qwas75

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

If you are pleased with a TomTom you will be delighted with a Garmin. I really regret my recent purchase of a TomTom Start25. Almost ten years ago I bought a Garmin Nuvi 610 Regional (UK & Irl) and it has been so good I just took it for granted. (OK, bits of the M7 are not on it because I did not buy an upgrade.)

A few years ago I had to spend £40 / €50 for a map of France but this year felt that spending €120 for a new TomTom covering all Western Europe with free map upgrades was a better deal than paying another €50 for a map of Italy (which for some stupid reason Garmin sells with a map of Greece!)

It was a mistake – TomTom is not intuitive so it is not easy to use and was totally useless at times – rather than a direct route it selected two long sides of a triangle because they were motorways. No facility to ignore that, other than resetting & reprogramming device to ignore motorways and then reprogramming again. Other annoying things - for example, touch the screen on a Garmin and you can immediately and easily give a name to that location and save (e.g. to “Favourites”) Do that on a TomTom? Nope. Want to delete a “Favourite” destination? Hit “edit” & “Delete” on a Garmin, on a TomTom you need to scroll through several screens. Want to save an address to “Favourites”? Easy on Garmin, but again scroll through screens on a TomTom. Want to use Co-ordinates? Easy on Garmin, but on TomTom you must input the degree, minute, second and decimal symbols, (no auto-populate); then, on initial entry if you hit the “back” button it wipes the entire number.

Enter the address of your hotel – tap “save to Favourites” on Garmin, but on TomTom (cut/paste from their instructions) you enter the address and then
Creating a Favourite
To create a Favourite, do the following:
1. Tap the screen to bring up the Main menu.
2. Tap Settings to open the Settings menu.
3. Tap Favourites.
4. Tap Add
[and then go back to find the address and add it]

Garmin is so intuitive I never looked at the instructions, TomTom instructions are rubbish.

On holiday OH in frustration reverted to a paper map. TomTom is back in the box, Garmin is back in the car.

I bought TomTom too, directly from TomTom. Stupid me! Don't like it to be honest, but kind of stuck with it as their policy allows only 14 days for returns/refund

AndyBoBandy

I've been using Navigon (now owned by Garmin) on my iPhones for the last 5 years, and I find it excellent. A 1 time purchase, and I've used it on iPhone 3GS, 4, 5, and now 6 and never with an issue,
You pre download the maps, so you use zero data while using it, I use a decent car charger (blackberry with lightening to usb adaptor (my own car), or a Tom Tom usb charger (rental cars)). I always have 100% battery at the end of every journey (longest journeys could be 4 hours long) some of the phones might have warmed up, but they've never overheated.
I've used it all over Europe and wouldn't ever use a stand alone device anymore.

I know there are now free options out since I bought my app, but I don't care about them, for me it's Navigon all the way.

The Black Oil

I'll be using a borrowed TomTom (Start 25) to drive from the UK to Ireland soon, it's one I've borrowed it before. Will see how it goes on this longer journey. I will be buying my own, (don't have enough phone data to use that as an option), but don't yet know if I'll go for a TomTom or Garmin.

imnorobot

The Black Oil wrote: »

I'll be using a borrowed TomTom (Start 25) to drive from the UK to Ireland soon, it's one I've borrowed it before. Will see how it goes on this longer journey. I will be buying my own, (don't have enough phone data to use that as an option), but don't yet know if I'll go for a TomTom or Garmin.

Before you buy a Tomtom
Bear in mind that on the newer range the go 500 etc
You can't get the points of interest to show on the map as your driving

I have a tomtom 500 and a garmin nuvi 780

On the Garmin as your driving along your points of interest are visable on the screen as your driving say a campsite you visited can have a custom logo an you would see that its nearby on the screen

This is not possible on the newer tomtom
neither is it possible to have a different icon for favorites
all the bmp ( icons ) are now just a white star in a blue bubble

this means that you now need to press on the icon to see if its a shop / restraunt /police station

Tomtom have been giving very mixed messages for three years on this subject

I really miss the tons of poi I had input into my garmin over the years and the customised
Icons and the ability to see them as im driving along