Link to any portable sat nav round-up reviews?

[GrahamC230K]

Hi,

Has anyone seen or got a link to any recent portable sat nav group reviews?

I'm in the market for one and off the top off my head have pretty much decided a TomTom Go 910 is the one to go for, but would like to read a a group review of all the latest offerings preferably.

Cheers

Graham

 

[Kam]

Graham could not forwrad you to a review, but after looking into quite throroughly myself i have to say the Tom Tom range is the best and easiest to use.........if that helps

 

[DITTRICH]

My only thoughts on the subject are that the ones based on NAVTEK maps are supposed to have "better" mapping from what I read a year or so ago. If you plan any extended jaunts to the continent, I believe Garmin had the best strategy and "partnerships" with eastern european firms to extend their mapping eastwards. The above reasons are why I went with the KNA-520 (IIRC) a Kenwood badged garmin unit that hooked up to a kenwood dvd player on a 7" retractable screen. However this unit isn't portable. I agree though the TomTom910 is the best of the portable bunch. The garmin 7200 / 7500 's are big screen but the mounting options would have been messy on my C230K.
Hope this helps
Les

 

[Dieter]

Hi Graham,

I've had a Navman (ICN510 updated to ICN520) for the last couple of years w/out any problems.

Brief review of Navman 530 here:

http://www.speedcamerasuk.com/navman-icn-530-review.htm

Which review of sat navs here (requires free sign up):

http://www.which.co.uk/reports_and_.../satellite_navigation_essential_574_64529.jsp

Cheers,

 

[R2D2]

Graham, does it have to be portable. If not Smartnav is fantastic!

 

[lotusmark2]

Second vote for the Navman, had the Garmin before which was a brick but bloody good, the Navman is about 95% as good but much easier to deal with (taking out and putting in your pocket etc)

 

[davidH]

Autoexpress mag did a review either last week or the week before. They also did a mega test in a December 1995 issue, which can be viewed on line at http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/producttests/archive/2/ The problem is there are so many new ones out that the review is probably out of date. I have the Navman ICN 530 and it is excellent. Slim so you can take it out of the car and put it in your pocket. Easily attache d to the screen and works well. Easy to see with voice directions etc. Got me all round Southern Spain with no drama apart from once when the sat nav thought I was in the middle of nowhere when I was on a new motorway stretch. Soon picked up the route again when back on an old stretch of road.
Very reasonably priced too. Recommended retail price is £299. I got mine for £240.

 

[BTB 500]

September Which? covered satnavs, so I would try and get a copy of that. I know they awarded "Best Buy" to the Tom Tom 910 though:

http://www.tomtom.com/news/category.php?ID=4&NID=297&Language=1

We've had a 910 since end of July and are very happy with it. The street-level mapping of the whole of Europe was fantastic on a trip to Southern Germany and back, and we used it heavily when house-hunting recently. We have 3 vehicles so a portable unit was the only sensible option really.

 

[noops]

My only thoughts on the subject are that the ones based on NAVTEK maps are supposed to have "better" mapping from what I read a year or so ago. If you plan any extended jaunts to the continent, I believe Garmin had the best strategy and "partnerships" with eastern european firms to extend their mapping eastwards. The above reasons are why I went with the KNA-520 (IIRC) a Kenwood badged garmin unit that hooked up to a kenwood dvd player on a 7" retractable screen. However this unit isn't portable. I agree though the TomTom910 is the best of the portable bunch. The garmin 7200 / 7500 's are big screen but the mounting options would have been messy on my C230K.
Hope this helps
Les

I have the same set up as you, but I'm having trouble loading up the speed alerts, I've downloaded the POI loader on to my laptop, I've updated the firmware yet I cannot find the speed alert program, please help.

 

[jimti]

Pocket GPS World

This site might be of use to you

 

[Glen]

www.mio-tech.be

I have the 710 and it's fine.

Didn't want to go the usual TT route (as had one of the original ones) and after much researching got the 710.

Nothing wrong with TT's just wanted an alternative.

Glen

 

[DITTRICH]

I have the same set up as you, but I'm having trouble loading up the speed alerts, I've downloaded the POI loader on to my laptop, I've updated the firmware yet I cannot find the speed alert program, please help.

Not what you want to hear, but the nice people who installed it for did all this. Road Radio - Tunbridge Wells. Google them, ring them up and ask. They know their stuff (and they do the local coppers' patrol cars too - one was being seen to when I rolled up at their workshop).
Rgds
Les

 

[jeremytaylor]

I use a Road Angel Navigator in my Smart. I don't know if TT/Garmin/etc. are the same but it seems the only way you can have the 'map' display on (i.e. not actually navigating you) is to have no entries stored in the memory. This is a pain, because especially when driving around town I like to keep an eye out for back-doubles to avoid congestion, without being navigated.

Can you have the non-navigating map function on TT/Garmin/etc., like on Comand?

 

[BTB 500]

Yup the TTs display the real-time map (3D or 2D) whether you have a route planned or not.

 

[nickg]

www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk

very slightly OT for this thread, but worth a read anyway. Loads of really interesting stuff about speed cameras etc.