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Garmin nuvi 250
by hopey123
I've had one of these Garmin Nuvi sat navs for quite a few years now. It doesn't get used too much but has been used enough over the years for me to get really fed of of the ladies voice that gives the instructions.
These can be picked up for about £20 second hand these days as technology is getting more advanced so this is an ... older model which probably isn't like the all singing all dancing ones you can buy new now, plus cars have them built in now too.
I feel I am quite good with directions and having been to a place once can easily find my way back there again. This has been used when in a new area or a rabbit warren housing estate that we don't know.
I do find that this sat nav does tend to take you back roads rather then motorways a lot of the time. One time I was travelling up to Dartford in Kent a route I knew well up the M3 motorway then onto the dreaded M25 and round to Dartford. On this particular visit I thought I'd put the sat nav on to see what way it took me as a change of scenery would be good. Well it took me through think it was Guilford then over the M25 and into London, I was a bit worried I'd go into the congestion charge area not knowing where it began and ended up pulling into a garage to ask for direction as I had no idea where I was, anyway the lad at the garage comes to car and "says is that not a sat nav you have there? how can you be lost?" I felt so stupid. In the end I followed the sat nav as it took be right round the outskirts of London which was an hour longer to reach destination. Lesson learnt if you know the way don't trust a sat nav lol.
Since this trip I learnt the sat nav can be zoomed right out from street level view on screen to show you a larger area which would have been more helpful to me.
This plugs into a cigarette lighter in the car and this charges it up too. When you turn the car engine off the screen says switch off or stay on so if it is charged then you can still use it before needing to start car.There is a fiddly on switch which you slide on the top of it to bring it to life. Once it is on you choose yr destination by town, city or postcode. You can type in words then touch 123 button to swap to number pad part if inputting a postcode. It then displays options of the address with door numbers and you press the relevant address.
When I say press button I am referring to the button signs on the screen as it is all touchscreen.
The screen itself isn't huge about 3 1/2 inches wide but can clearly see whats on it without straining your eyes too much. It fits onto a holder on the windscreen and allows you to see it clearly from driving position.
Once you have submitted the required address you enter it and then can select the route size, so if you like to see a few roads in advance like I do you can or you can view it literally as you reach roads or from a further away view. The screen displays a road map and a little car imagine which moves when your car moves.
The display with the map also shows you the expected arrival time at your destination, if you go slower or make a stop the time will change.
As you reach parts of the journey when you need to turn into a different road the lady sat nav voice will say for example in 200 metres turn left and when on the turning will say turn left. If you choice to ignore the sat nav because you know a better way or miss the turn off then she says recalculating a couple times and finds another route that still gets you to your destination. It also shows on the screen that you need to turn in what ever distance.
This sat nav also gives you a warning alarm to any speed cameras that are on the roads and also gives you speed warning too.
You can control the volume by using the slide button on the side of the device, this is handy is you are on a long journey and only need to hear what is being said until nearer your destination, but the direction also show up on the screen what is being said anyway.
This comes with maps already installed into it for the Uk and parts of Europe but after having it a while some areas may have changed, i.e new housing estates, road closures so the sat nav won't pick up on these.
This is a small device and not heavy so can easily fit into a handbag if you don't want it left in your car.
On the whole I did once upon a time manage with just a map but a sat nav is much easier and always handy to have.
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TomTom One
by trayrope
My Husband and I came to driving relatively late in life, my Husband only passing his test when he hit thirty. For many years driving was an adventure for us. I would plot out where we were going using the latest AA map book, pencilling the route carefully and giving a rough estimate of when we would arrive. We would then set off and I ... would give instructions as to where to turn, what turning on the roundabout to take, when the next exit was so on and so forth. It all sounds quite serene and organized, occasionally it was. The vast majority of these journey would turn a bit sour with me yelling it was that exit as we drove past it, or the map only shows four roundabout exits not five or even worse me with the map book held over my face completely bewildered as to where we were and insisting it was a straight road between Matlock and Crich, granted we did see some beautiful scenery, especially when we got lost on the way home from Chester but most of the time they were quite worrying journeys for me, especially driving through Stockport, I really dislike Stockport (Sorry to anyone who lives there) and in the end I decided it was time the Husband got a new navigator so I brought him a TomTom One.
I honestly can not remember how long we have had the TomTom One, it must be 6 or 7 years. I paid around £140 at the time and to me that felt like a small price to pay for the calmness I now feel when undertaking any long journeys. The Satnav was now in charge of directing my Husband, not me.
The Satnav came in a bright orange box, which we still keep it in when not in use. Inside the box was the TomTom One, a USB cable for connecting it to the PC, a cable for plugging it into the cigarette lighter in the car, a windscreen holder for attaching it to the car window, and various instruction books and warranties. I also purchased a leather carry case separately to pop the TomTom in when we were out and about.
The TomTom One is easy to affix to the car windscreen using the supplied windscreen holder, my Husband attaches his in the lower right hand corner of the screen, this is convenient for him to look at but out of the way enough so as not to distract him from the road. The charger cable needs running securely down to the cigarette lighter so as not to get in the way when driving.
The TomTom One is very simple to use to switch it on you press the button located on the top on the TomTom, the first time it is switched on it can take a while to turn on but usually boots up faster with subsequent uses. Apart from the times it freezes on the start up logo and needs resetting using the little reset button located on the underneath of the TomTom, this has happened to us occasionally but not enough times to be a nuisance. When the TomTom is first switched on you need to select the language you wish to use, all menus will be shown in your chosen language after selecting.
All input into the TomTom is done by selecting the symbols shown on the touch screen, I find the screen to be quite responsive most of the time, it does seem to struggle a bit in extremely low temperatures. Each time the TomTom is switched on it will spend a short time locating the satellites it uses for navigation; while it is searching for satellites the display will be black and white, when satellites are found it will become colour.
Using the TomTom for a journey is really simple, following the instructions given on screen you need to input the postcode and building number of where you are going. Or you can start typing the address in and it will start offering up suggestions which you can pick from. After a few uses the TomTom builds up a list of your destinations and these can be picked from the recent destination list. You can also programme in your home address so that no matter where you are if you press home the TomTom will plot you a journey back home.
Deeper into the menu's on the TomTom you can choose your travelling preferences, such as avoid toll roads, quickest route, avoid motorways etc and the TomTom will do its best to plot your journey within these parameters. When we went to South Wales we chose not to avoid toll roads as we wanted to travel over the Severn Bridge, it was well worth the £6.20 toll and it brought a smile to my face that you need to pay to get into South Wales but its free to leave.
The TomTom also has a hand Help Me icon which if you tap on it you will be shown a list of local emergency and other specialist services. Thankfully this is not something we have ever had to use. There is also a points of interest icon when you select this you can choose to have it show up campsites, tourist attractions, pubs, ATM's, petrol stations etc. This is a handy extra feature to have if you are far from home and need to access local services.
The TomTom One can also be plugged into the PC to charge. When the TomTom One is plugged in you can install a user interface onto the computer, this can be used to update maps (expensive) download new voices (again expensive) back up and restore and various other options. This is not an area I can discuss with great confidence as updating the TomTom is my Husbands department, but going by the muttering and huffing that goes off when he plugs the TomTom in I think it can some time be quite a complicated affair. The TomTom also charges up when it is plugged into the PC, this is not something we do very often as we keep the TomTom plugged into the cigarette lighter at all times while travelling.
The display on the TomTom is very clear despite it only being 3.5 inches in size. The maps are displayed in 3D and are bright and colourful, the display can be changed for night time driving and this display is more muted in colour (mainly blues). The preset voices on the TomTom are well spoken and calm and give directions smoothly and with plenty of time to manoeuvre safely. The volume is easy to adjust to a comfortable level using the onscreen display. I do find that some of the directions can be a it repetitious as it tells you which exit to take on a roundabout about 100m before you reach the roundabout, it will then repeat the instruction every 20 seconds or so till the manoeuvre is complete, but at least it doesn't shout 'That one, that one, no you missed it'
The TomTom One is described as future proof as you have constant access to new maps and free software upgrades. We don't plug out TomTom One in very often so I would say it is only as future proof as the last time you updated it. When plugged in to the PC you are able to personalise your maps and download other TomTom users map changes, this is not something we have ever done as the pre loaded maps and paid for map upgrades every couple of years have been good.
One feature we have used is the speed camera warning system, not that we speed but it is handy to know where the static cameras are incase your speed has crept slightly above the speed limit. The Tom Tom will give an audible noise when you are approaching a static camera, I can not remember if it chimes or beeps, this gives the driver plenty of time to check the speed but can be a bit of an annoyance when driving through a speed camera infested area (Stockport).
As with all things electronic it is not idiot proof so some common sense is needed when following the navigation instructions. Many a fool has driven through fields and into ditches blindly following the Satnav. If a road is obviously not there or the signage tell you the road is not suitable for the type of vehicle you are travelling in, stop and press the alterative route icon and you will invariably be presented with a less precarious journey.
My Husband and I do not follow the TomTom blindly and carry a map book with us and we usually download a route from Google maps before setting off. In all the years we have used the TomTom One we have only had a few misdirection's. The TomTom has delivered us to the service entrance of Drayton manor, the driveway of the house next door to the golf club we were aiming for and a gate next to a field when we were aiming for Thorsby market.
All things considered I would not be with out the TomTom One, it has taken the stress out of travelling for me as I can sit back and relax while it does all the navigating and my Husband argues with it when he goes the wrong direction. If the TomTom One was to stop working I would happily purchase its newer counterpart.
Thank you for reading.
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TomTom Start United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
by Craig86
What Is The Product
The TomTom Start is a Satellite Navigation (SatNav) tool created in 2009, it is black with a grey trim with the TomTom logo at the bottom. It fits nicely into a single palm allowing you to easily enter your destination and route details.
It is secured to your windscreen via a suction pad and a ... locking mechanism which you twist to ensure it is fixed, to release you unscrew the twisting lock and pull a tab and the suction pad should come away quite easily.
It comes with a free one off update which will update all the maps for which the device was bought for. A USB cable, car charger and documentation come inside the box. Plugging in the device to your computer will allow you to install the "Home" software, from here you can download free themes, voices etc as well as update the firmware of the device.
My Opinion & Experience
I received this as a gift about two years ago, I don't need to use it often but when I have I have had no problems with it at all. I enter a postcode and it will quickly find satellites, and instruct me along the way to the postcode I entered. Obviously as it's a postcode unless you could enter a house/building number it will take you to the general location only, not usually too difficult from there though to find where you need to be. If you have a house/building number then I have always been taken to the right spot every time without fail. You hear some funny stories of people being taken to different places, no such drama with this device. If I have ever taken a wrong turn the device quickly readjusts my route.
I have used the "Home" software to upgrade the firmware and add different voices, themes and the correct car model that I drive so a miniature version of it appears on the screen. There are lots of free options.
I have never really fully charged the battery so can't say how long it lasts, I usually just use it with the car charger while it is operating.
Summary
A good quality satellite navigation tool, never had any problems and has some good free customisation options for those interested. It looks great, fits easily and finds alternate routes very quickly, I would highly recommend it.
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