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pvr

pvr

Dutch
 Ruler of the South East UK
Been off line for a few weeks due to a lot of business travel, being on client sites, no internet and a holiday in Italy in between :)

Now, in Italy I had a flimper spec car so I brought my TomTom, which almost did not survive the holiday. How do people use these things when in the mountains on hairpin bends, it tells you to turn around as it thinks you are a level lower? Or which in-tunnel exit do you take when there is no reception?

Not going through the OEM versus portable satnav debate here as I know what would have worked and what did not work :P , but need to buy a portable unit that actually works.

What would be a good one to get for the occasional use in rental cars that does not fall of the windscreen and that sort of recognizes that you drive on a road and not suddenly jump onto a parallel road, and where the route is obvious and not just a darker red amongst lighter red roads?
 
pvr said:
Been off line for a few weeks due to a lot of business travel, being on client sites, no internet and a holiday in Italy in between :)

Now, in Italy I had a flimper spec car so I brought my TomTom, which almost did not survive the holiday. How do people use these things when in the mountains on hairpin bends, it tells you to turn around as it thinks you are a level lower? Or which in-tunnel exit do you take when there is no reception?

Not going through the OEM versus portable satnav debate here as I know what would have worked and what did not work :P , but need to buy a portable unit that actually works.

What would be a good one to get for the occasional use in rental cars that does not fall of the windscreen and that sort of recognizes that you drive on a road and not suddenly jump onto a parallel road, and where the route is obvious and not just a darker red amongst lighter red roads?
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I've had a TomTom since the first one came out, I have no complaints and I have used them all over Europe.
My 2nd and current one is the XXL it has a nice large 5" screen.
Meanwhile I have a Garmin here in Dubai and find the GUI not as good.
A clean windscreen helps with adhesion and a tiny bit of spit on your sucker.
 
I use copilot on my iPhone, I think you get used to the device you use and they all have their idiosyncrasies. I love my live traffic, it is so useful when you do lots of motorway miles.
 
was wondering where you were...

I've never had any problems with my TomTom :? currently use it only for meets / driving days as the co-pilot on my phone doesn't do trips very well...

why not try a phone based one?
 
A phone based one does not work abroad though, which is where I rent cars ...

The TomTom Europe One XL I have now is just so hopeless and unreliable that I miss junction of roundabouts as I just get a massive arrow covering 3 exits or so and want to get rid of that issue.

The BMW system shows me the actual lanes and the overhead signs so it is easy to follow, is there a portable system that can do that?
 
pvr said:
The BMW system shows me the actual lanes and the overhead signs so it is easy to follow, is there a portable system that can do that?
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I think the new Garmin Nuvi's have this feature, Mrs wants one :oops:

I don't use them in Britain coz I learnt to drive before we had such gizmo's and had to use road signs and plan your route with a road atlas, I belive they call it "old school driving" :rofl:
However wouldn't be without one when abroad. :?

Hope you had a good holiday in Italy matey :thumbsup:
 
pvr said:
A phone based one does not work abroad though, which is where I rent cars ...

Really? My windows phone gps worked great in Australia. Why didn't yours work in Italy??
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My iPhone does not work without a data connection as it uses that for gps :(
 
pvr said:
A phone based one does not work abroad though, which is where I rent cars ...
Click to expand...

Iphone with Tom Tom western Europe works fine for me in Europe and Ireland.
 
Two simple requests to whichever BMW programmers are working on the next generation of sat nav. Firstly, at a roundabout, can you change the voice message "take the 5th turning on the left" to "take the 5th exit". It's far simpler. Also, if a roundabout isn't round (which a surprising number aren't) can you NOT call it a square, because it isnt one...
 
I find that my very old Tomtom 1 does fine, but then i've not taken it to Europe...

Perhaps its from the days before things got complicated and break regularly :headbang:
 
aquazi said:
pvr said:
A phone based one does not work abroad though, which is where I rent cars ...
Click to expand...

Iphone with Tom Tom western Europe works fine for me in Europe and Ireland.
Click to expand...

Yep, just retuned from a trip to Italy avoiding motorways using Tom Tom app on the iPhone. The app is around 2.5gb on the phone for all the maps but means you can keep data roaming off.

Worked wonderfully and relatively inexpensive. Around £50 I think.
 
pvr said:
My iPhone does not work without a data connection as it uses that for gps :(
Click to expand...
uses a data connection for gps :? thought it would be separate receiver...

I would have the TomTom app on Android - if they got off their behinds and wrote it :mad:
 
I have a Garmin 1490lmt like this one http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_824821_langId_-1_categoryId_247401

It is great, has a 5" screen and when relevant it splits the screen with one side showing you what lane to be in and the other side showing overhead signs as a reference. Also comes with lifetime map updates, speed/red light camara warnings, voice control, bluetooth and full European maps :thumbsup:
 
I've had TomToms for years, the 940 for a couple. I've used it in many places in Europe including Italy for two weeks and not a problem, it was a God send.

The higher spec ones have functionality where if you briefly lose signal it attempts to calculate where you are so can still give instructions, ie in long tunnels.

As for the winding mountain road issue, I've never had it. However if the roads are pretty much under each other any sat nav will struggle to work out which one you are on?

I think if you use SatNavs a lot they become second nature, so any change ie going to a different manufacturer, is always going to be tricky until you get used to it. (Its like changing Smartphone brand except worse! :) )
 
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