[afalton]

Hello everyone

I'm looking at getting my dad a new SatNav for
His birthday but I'm unsure which brand/model
To go for. I have only used tomtoms and been
Awhile since I have bought 1

Thanks

[ELD70]

http://www.satnav-discounts.co.uk/satnavgps/

[crypticc]

Nexus 5 phone being released next week. If you believe the rumors will be less than 300 quid sim free

[corasdad]

I have a garmin which is very easy to use no problems at all with it

[R1k]

I also have a garmin. Iv'e had a few different makes over the years (Tom Tom, Navman etc) & find garmin the best of the bunch.

[alzieboy]

I have a Garmin and many a time have come close to throwing it out the window, it uses some very strange routings, I now use google maps on iphone

[225_AB]

I have tried garmin and Tom Tom and much prefer the garmin.

[hey joe]

I use a TomTom XL in our Rav4.

I like - the slightly larger screen is easy to read - it displays present speed which seems to be accurate 2-3 mph higher than speedo - it also displays the local speed limit (correctly most of the time) and goes red if you're exceeding it - lane guidance is v. useful at complicated junctions - (compared to a previous TomTom) easy to switch to/from Night Mode - and mute the voice - it does what it says on the tin ... I don't want or need BlueTooth connections etc and can manage without live traffic updates.

However - fixing to screen is fiddly if you're often taking it in/out the car (altho does seem to stay put quite well once fixed) - I have never managed to achieve any sort of on-line map updates (altho this may be my lack of know how, it is a common complaint on help forums) - adjusting the volume is easy to get wrong.

I did look at the XXL but that just seemed too big ! Our XL sometimes goes into our son's Fiat Punto where it also looks on the large size - I think maybe you have to think a little what car the device is going into and choose a suitable size.

Hope that's helpful. All imo of course ... each to their own !!

ELD70 - what a great website !!

[Nick the Greek]

+1 Garmin

[afalton]

Hello everyone thanks for all your great advise ordered
A Garmin one looks good and fro
The reviews easy to use etc

Thanks again

[ed330D]

Whatever you go for be aware there are many factors that effect performance:
Search and recalculation speed depend on the chip used - I find this matters.
The size of the map it can use depends on available memory - so if you tour Europe it's something to consider.
Some have glass touch screens - very nice to use as a touch screen but difficult see in certain light, eg direct sunlight.
They vary in features - someone mentioned displayed vehicle speed and current limit, which can be quite useful. BMW want £220 for this "extra".
Life time updates for free obviously save a lot of money; BMW want in excess of £200 for each update.

I'm on my third Garmin, a Nuvi 3590 LM. It's fast, has sufficient memory (all of Europe), a glass touch screen, and comes with most of the latest display features. It cost me just over £150 ( usually about £200 but there was a promotion at the time).

I have to agree that attaching it to the screen isn't the best solution - it often comes unstuck. the supply a kit that allows mounting on the dash, but that entails sticking something on the dash, which I wouldn't do. What I'm using at the moment is a bean-bag based mount. It doesn't move around, and is easy to put the lot in the glove box.

[225_AB]

The bean bag mount is good as I have used it as well. Doesn't move around and easier to set up than the windscreen mount and very easy to remove from car or put in glove box.

[hey joe]

Always been a little concerned by these Bean Bag mounts ... not really sure I want a weighty bean bag flying around inside the car in the event of an accident ... probably just me being over cautious ... and (thinking about it) most accidents involve deceleration so the bag would most likely be flying away from the occupants ... just a thought.

[crypticc]

Another idea is to Get a second hand Tom Tom 910 (the one with mini hard drive) and upgrade it to the later software via a hack. Job done