Navman vs TomTom

[Grizzly_Adams]

Hiya'll.

Over here in Europe I use a TomTom Go! I'm very pleased with it and it's never skipped a beat.. been great.

The other day I went over to the UK to see the Battle of Britain 65th anniversary airshow at Duxford Imperial War Museum.

Unfortunately I forgot to take my TomTom with me (I have maps of all of Europe).. however the mob we rented the car from (Europcar) had the option of hiring a street navigator.

As it turned out the street navigator was a Navtech Navman 510.. and after using it for the weekend I will quite happily say that I really hope I never have to use one again - not after having used the TomTom.

The little lever control thingy was waaayy too sensitive, the menu system wasn't intuitive, and I couldn't figure out how to give us an overview of the entire route...

All in all I'm really really hoping that TomTom pulls their fingers out and starts selling maps of Australia as I'd really love to bring mine back with me.. if they don't start selling them in 6 months (or give us a roadmap when they'll start selling them) I'll be forced to sell my TomTom over here and look at something else when I get home
:cry:

[landrovermick]

Not knowing how the TOM TOM works, i do know there are a number of software options for Handheld GPS in Australia.

CO Pilot
Navman Smart ST

which are both street directory type programs, and I also believe UBD is working on one.

Also

Ozi Explorer CE and
Destinator

are great for using maps in the bush and can be used with various types of COTS (consumer off the shelf) maps.

I guess you could contact the makers of the Tom Tom, or put up a post on a site like Pocket PC thoughs or Palm open source. Or email Brain at GPSOZ.com who is the source and should know what you can do.


Mick

[MMLRCAus]

Hi,

I have only had in car manufacture fit systems before when I lived in the UK so was a little unsure to what to buy.

However, I bought a Tom Tom 300 GO (Australian version) last Saturday in Sydney and must agreee that it's a great little unit. The touch screen is easy to use and I think an easier interface than the systems I've used before.

Don't get shut of yours then! They sell it over here and I therefore imagine you should be able to get the maps for it!

Regards

MMLRCAus

[Grizzly_Adams]

Originally posted by MMLRCAus

However, I bought a Tom Tom 300 GO (Australian version) last Saturday in Sydney and must agreee that it's a great little unit. The touch screen is easy to use and I think an easier interface than the systems I've used before.

Don't get shut of yours then! They sell it over here and I therefore imagine you should be able to get the maps for it!


Thanks MMLRCAus - I wasn't aware they had released maps of Australia yet. I've been asking them periodically every 6 months as well as checking on their website but never got a positive reply... will hang on to 'em now :-)

For around town they're brilliant - dunno how good they're gonna be once we go offroad & / or in the outback though

[Grizzly_Adams]

ok I posted a question on the TomTom site about Australian maps and their answer is very interesting. It seems that at the moment you can't buy the maps seperate (like you can for the US and Europe) but that may change.. see below:

At this time TomTom management hs decided that we would only sell the TTGO in Australia with Australian maps. However, markets are continually expanding and TomTom is SERIOUSLY investigating new map capabilities and acquisitions. It is ‘important’ that you keep an eye on our website over the next few weeks.

We do not know if we will have New Zealand maps in the future or sell our products in New Zealand. We must first see how our initial market fares in Australia, so keep an eye on our website for the next few weeks. There will be no navigator maps for Australia at this time, however that issue is presently being SERIOUSLY re-examined by management. Keep an eye on our website in the weeks to come to see if our management decides to make these maps available.

[Grizzly_Adams]

Originally posted by landrovermick
...

I also believe UBD is working on one.

...

Also

Ozi Explorer CE and
Destinator

are great for using maps in the bush and can be used with various types of COTS (consumer off the shelf) maps.


Thanks landrovermick - as you can see I contacted TomTom. Initial investigation showed that the UBD maps are the ones in TomTom (actually joint UBD / whereis.com.au)...

I may have to look for a different GPS for off-road use (like Garmin Quest or the ones you mentioned) as TomTom is brilliant around town but not really designed for off-roading

[adm333]

Originally posted by Grizzly_Adams
Hiya'll.

Over here in Europe I use a TomTom Go! I'm very pleased with it and it's never skipped a beat.. been great.

The other day I went over to the UK to see the Battle of Britain 65th anniversary airshow at Duxford Imperial War Museum.

Unfortunately I forgot to take my TomTom with me (I have maps of all of Europe).. however the mob we rented the car from (Europcar) had the option of hiring a street navigator.

As it turned out the street navigator was a Navtech Navman 510.. and after using it for the weekend I will quite happily say that I really hope I never have to use one again - not after having used the TomTom.

The little lever control thingy was waaayy too sensitive, the menu system wasn't intuitive, and I couldn't figure out how to give us an overview of the entire route...

All in all I'm really really hoping that TomTom pulls their fingers out and starts selling maps of Australia as I'd really love to bring mine back with me.. if they don't start selling them in 6 months (or give us a roadmap when they'll start selling them) I'll be forced to sell my TomTom over here and look at something else when I get home
:cry:

I have recently acquired a NAVMAN PiN 570 integrated PDA / GPS

It is running the SmartST 2005 Nav software and I find it very intuitive and easy to use. Maybe they have learned from previous versions.

There are several units from navman with the smartST software available now, so don't necessarily discount the navman.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/ https://www.aulro.com/afvb/ https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Cheers
Dave