Just wondering what folk use. One can use the Garmin/Express updates on windows but I was thinking of a way in Linux. I gather one can use a VM but then also have a windows version after Vista in order to do so. The only way I have found is to use maps from Openstreetmap.nl and copy to a mini SD card. Seems ok but not as good as Garmin/Express - is there a better way using linux. james
On Fri, 31 Jul 2015 20:22:07 +0100 (BST) James Freer <jessejazza3.uk@gmail.com> wrote:
Just wondering what folk use. One can use the Garmin/Express updates on windows but I was thinking of a way in Linux.
I gather one can use a VM but then also have a windows version after Vista in order to do so. The only way I have found is to use maps from Openstreetmap.nl and copy to a mini SD card. Seems ok but not as good as Garmin/Express - is there a better way using linux.
I have a Tomtom VIA device which only seems to work under Windows for their updates. It's possible to use any OS for community content and to add things like personal POIs and car symbols but I have yet to find a way other than using a VM for things like map updates. My late brother had 3 Tomtoms including a VIA device. I've updated two of them to the very latest maps using downloads from <ahem> non-Tomtom sites but I've not found a solution to map updates for VIA devices. I have complained at every opportunity to Tomtom but no change has been forthcoming. -- __ __| |_ __ __ .----------------------------------------------. / _/ _` \ V V / | mailto:alug_cdw@the-walker-household.co.uk | \__\__,_|\_/\_/ |______________________________________________|
On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 08:22:07PM +0100, James Freer wrote:
Just wondering what folk use. One can use the Garmin/Express updates on windows but I was thinking of a way in Linux.
I gather one can use a VM but then also have a windows version after Vista in order to do so. The only way I have found is to use maps from Openstreetmap.nl and copy to a mini SD card. Seems ok but not as good as Garmin/Express - is there a better way using linux.
The update problem is one reason I no longer use Garmin, or any dedicated satNav. On a recent 2500 mile 'bike trip around France I used my Android phone with an app called Here! from Nokia, it's free, maps are free and it works off-line (i.e. without an internet connection which would cost money for data). It was excellent, among other things route [re]calculations were *much* quicker than I've ever seen on a dedicated satNav. On another approach I loaded the free Open Maps maps for the USA onto our Garmin for my wife to use a year or so ago on a trip there (hired car) and they worked very well. You just load them onto an SD card and stick them in the Garmin (does need a slot on the satNav of course). -- Chris Green
On 1 August 2015 at 12:35, Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 08:22:07PM +0100, James Freer wrote:
Just wondering what folk use. One can use the Garmin/Express updates on windows but I was thinking of a way in Linux.
I gather one can use a VM but then also have a windows version after Vista in order to do so. The only way I have found is to use maps from Openstreetmap.nl and copy to a mini SD card. Seems ok but not as good as Garmin/Express - is there a better way using linux.
The update problem is one reason I no longer use Garmin, or any dedicated satNav.
On a recent 2500 mile 'bike trip around France I used my Android phone with an app called Here! from Nokia, it's free, maps are free and it works off-line (i.e. without an internet connection which would cost money for data).
It was excellent, among other things route [re]calculations were *much* quicker than I've ever seen on a dedicated satNav.
I agree that the smart phone is a better choice. As I don't have a signal where i live so haven't bothered getting one. I didn't find routing as easy on google maps but allows you to inspect the route for bridges and possible problems which is necessary if one is a lorry driver. I certainly wouldn't pay £400osh for an HGV one. Mine is a basic Garmin which i use applying common sense, use a map for the general direction, staying on A roads and using detour to avoid tricky roads.
On another approach I loaded the free Open Maps maps for the USA onto our Garmin for my wife to use a year or so ago on a trip there (hired car) and they worked very well. You just load them onto an SD card and stick them in the Garmin (does need a slot on the satNav of course).
That's what I have done and works ok but I don't think the openstreetmap maps are as good as the garmin ones. james
On Sun, Aug 02, 2015 at 07:11:43AM +0100, James Freer wrote:
On 1 August 2015 at 12:35, Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 08:22:07PM +0100, James Freer wrote:
Just wondering what folk use. One can use the Garmin/Express updates on windows but I was thinking of a way in Linux.
I gather one can use a VM but then also have a windows version after Vista in order to do so. The only way I have found is to use maps from Openstreetmap.nl and copy to a mini SD card. Seems ok but not as good as Garmin/Express - is there a better way using linux.
The update problem is one reason I no longer use Garmin, or any dedicated satNav.
On a recent 2500 mile 'bike trip around France I used my Android phone with an app called Here! from Nokia, it's free, maps are free and it works off-line (i.e. without an internet connection which would cost money for data).
It was excellent, among other things route [re]calculations were *much* quicker than I've ever seen on a dedicated satNav.
I agree that the smart phone is a better choice. As I don't have a signal where i live so haven't bothered getting one. I didn't find routing as easy on google maps but allows you to inspect the route for bridges and possible problems which is necessary if one is a lorry driver. I certainly wouldn't pay £400osh for an HGV one. Mine is a basic Garmin which i use applying common sense, use a map for the general direction, staying on A roads and using detour to avoid tricky roads.
Cheap Android smartphones are often cheaper than satNavs. My Motorola Moto E which is sort of middle of the road is only around £100. There are others out there much cheaper. I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all. We don't have a signal at home (out in the sticks in Suffolk) but I still find having a 'phone is handy at times. -- Chris Green
On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 09:40:14 +0100 Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all.
Here (Navteq as was) provide the maps for the sat nav in my car. For the 2015 update, the maps were dated Q4 2013 so how up-to-date are the phone versions? I have Here maps on my Jolla phone but as I have the car unit and a Tomtom, I don't bother with the phone software. If I was to have any paid-for mapping software, I'd go for Sygic. I had that on my Nokia N900 and also at one time on the Jolla but moved it to a Motorola phone belonging to one of my sons. Sygic comes with lifetime updates as do some of the new Tomtom and I believe, Garmin units. -- __ __| |_ __ __ .----------------------------------------------. / _/ _` \ V V / | mailto:alug_cdw@the-walker-household.co.uk | \__\__,_|\_/\_/ |______________________________________________|
On 2 August 2015 at 10:47, Chris Walker <alug_cdw@the-walker-household.co.uk> wrote:
On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 09:40:14 +0100 Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all.
Here (Navteq as was) provide the maps for the sat nav in my car. For the 2015 update, the maps were dated Q4 2013 so how up-to-date are the phone versions? I have Here maps on my Jolla phone but as I have the car unit and a Tomtom, I don't bother with the phone software.
If I was to have any paid-for mapping software, I'd go for Sygic. I had that on my Nokia N900 and also at one time on the Jolla but moved it to a Motorola phone belonging to one of my sons. Sygic comes with lifetime updates as do some of the new Tomtom and I believe, Garmin units.
The other thing I was going to say was - how good do you find postcodes? Doing delivery each day i find them poor. More often than not I put in the road and village/town these days. I hadn't realised they were that bad. e.g. Rougham ind est has just one postcode.... loads of roads to find one's way around. james
On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 16:32:05 +0100 James Freer <jessejazza3.uk@gmail.com> wrote:
Doing delivery each day i find them poor. More often than not I put in the road and village/town these days. I hadn't realised they were that bad. e.g. Rougham ind est has just one postcode.... loads of roads to find one's way around.
There is a publically available list of post codes which you can add to most varieties of mapping software if the one that's available to you isn't very good but like you, I start off entering the post code (taken from the one supplied with the unit) and then add the street name and house number if appropriate. If I were a delivery driver, I would (time permitting) check the delivery address quoted on the customer's website and then use that. My car is a Citroen and in France, it's possible to enter an address in GoogleMaps and then transmit that to the car. Citroen UK don't impliment that however. I think that such a facility is available on some software though. So a possible scenario, if you have internet access in your vehicle, and again with time permitting, is to search for the delivery customer's address, and send that to the mapping software. It all takes time and money however. I'd be interested to know how companies such as DPD do it as they can quote an approximate delivery time and the customer can check online where that delivery vehicle is. That suggests that their delivery route is mapped before the driver leaves the depot whereas when I was a transport manager, the maxim was always to attempt delivery on the address furthest away from the depot first so that you were always working towards your home base. That was a very long time ago now though and sat navs were things that only appeared in James Bond films ;-) -- __ __| |_ __ __ .----------------------------------------------. / _/ _` \ V V / | mailto:alug_cdw@the-walker-household.co.uk | \__\__,_|\_/\_/ |______________________________________________|
On 03/08/15 12:56, Chris Walker wrote:
I'd be interested to know how companies such as DPD do it as they can quote an approximate delivery time and the customer can check online where that delivery vehicle is. That suggests that their delivery route is mapped before the driver leaves the depot whereas when I was a transport manager, the maxim was always to attempt delivery on the address furthest away from the depot first so that you were always working towards your home base. That was a very long time ago now though and sat navs were things that only appeared in James Bond films ;-)
IME their satnavs are no better than pot-boiling models: the drivers are often pretty gormless too. When walking, on numerous occasions I have been passed and repassed, and re-repassed by delivery drivers, often looking at all the names/numbers they drive by. *Never* do they consider asking a mere local to give them directions. How would a local know better than a delivery-driver? Sometimes, in a fit of desperation one will stop and ask (but only after Operation Yo-Yo has been exhausted). One such asked me where Oak Farm was. It was at the bottom of the loke next to my house, so I told him. He returned up the loke a few minutes later saying that the gates were locked. I said that they would be out, then, and he could leave the parcel with me and I would sign for it. The 'parcel' was two pallets of Red Bull, and I couldn't think what they'd want that for: still, they were unloaded and parked out of the way. Then I thought: "Oak Farm, or Oaks Farm?" Driver looked on his delivery note. "Oaks Farm." <lightbulb moment> Bunwell, or Carleton Rode? </lightbulb> <delivery note> "Carleton Rode." </note> The pallets were reloaded and off he went to Oaks Farm, some ⅞ mile away - in the next village... What price satnavs? -- Tony http://www.girolle.co.uk/
On Mon, 3 Aug 2015 12:56:39 +0100 Chris Walker <alug_cdw@the-walker-household.co.uk> wrote:
My car is a Citroen and ......
I've just seen on the news that Here is to be bought by a consortium of *German* car manufactures. Pity then that the maps in my car are supplied by Here. -- __ __| |_ __ __ .----------------------------------------------. / _/ _` \ V V / | mailto:alug_cdw@the-walker-household.co.uk | \__\__,_|\_/\_/ |______________________________________________|
On 3 August 2015 at 12:56, Chris Walker <alug_cdw@the-walker-household.co.uk> wrote:
On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 16:32:05 +0100 James Freer <jessejazza3.uk@gmail.com> wrote:
Doing delivery each day i find them poor. More often than not I put in the road and village/town these days. I hadn't realised they were that bad. e.g. Rougham ind est has just one postcode.... loads of roads to find one's way around.
There is a publically available list of post codes which you can add to most varieties of mapping software if the one that's available to you isn't very good but like you, I start off entering the post code (taken from the one supplied with the unit) and then add the street name and house number if appropriate.
If I were a delivery driver, I would (time permitting) check the delivery address quoted on the customer's website and then use that.
My car is a Citroen and in France, it's possible to enter an address in GoogleMaps and then transmit that to the car. Citroen UK don't impliment that however. I think that such a facility is available on some software though. So a possible scenario, if you have internet access in your vehicle, and again with time permitting, is to search for the delivery customer's address, and send that to the mapping software. It all takes time and money however.
I'd be interested to know how companies such as DPD do it as they can quote an approximate delivery time and the customer can check online where that delivery vehicle is. That suggests that their delivery route is mapped before the driver leaves the depot whereas when I was a transport manager, the maxim was always to attempt delivery on the address furthest away from the depot first so that you were always working towards your home base. That was a very long time ago now though and sat navs were things that only appeared in James Bond films ;-)
The company I work for do the same. The delivery route is worked out furthest first. The ePod data is then fed back to the depot where it goes online. It is that which provides the tracking data. But ePods often go wrong (or get dropped) - the software isn't so good. So anyone looking for a programming job approach some of these companies. Pen and paper are far more convenient and quicker! The better system is the phone ones where you just send a text message after each drop - the data being collected and implemented on the tracker system. ePods cost £2.5-3k. As I have said the satnav is accurate but some areas are a problem. james
On 02/08/15 16:32, James Freer wrote:
On 2 August 2015 at 10:47, Chris Walker <alug_cdw@the-walker-household.co.uk> wrote:
On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 09:40:14 +0100 Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all.
Here (Navteq as was) provide the maps for the sat nav in my car. For the 2015 update, the maps were dated Q4 2013 so how up-to-date are the phone versions? I have Here maps on my Jolla phone but as I have the car unit and a Tomtom, I don't bother with the phone software.
If I was to have any paid-for mapping software, I'd go for Sygic. I had that on my Nokia N900 and also at one time on the Jolla but moved it to a Motorola phone belonging to one of my sons. Sygic comes with lifetime updates as do some of the new Tomtom and I believe, Garmin units.
The other thing I was going to say was - how good do you find postcodes?
Doing delivery each day i find them poor. More often than not I put in the road and village/town these days. I hadn't realised they were that bad. e.g. Rougham ind est has just one postcode.... loads of roads to find one's way around.
My road (S. Norfolk) is around ⅝ mile long (I'd guess) and has one postcode for the lot, which includes a few dwellings down long lokes. For my part, I have no use for a satnav. -- Tony http://www.girolle.co.uk/
** Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> [2015-08-02 09:46]:
On Sun, Aug 02, 2015 at 07:11:43AM +0100, James Freer wrote:
On 1 August 2015 at 12:35, Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 08:22:07PM +0100, James Freer wrote:
Just wondering what folk use. One can use the Garmin/Express updates on windows but I was thinking of a way in Linux.
I gather one can use a VM but then also have a windows version after Vista in order to do so. The only way I have found is to use maps from Openstreetmap.nl and copy to a mini SD card. Seems ok but not as good as Garmin/Express - is there a better way using linux.
The update problem is one reason I no longer use Garmin, or any dedicated satNav.
On a recent 2500 mile 'bike trip around France I used my Android phone with an app called Here! from Nokia, it's free, maps are free and it works off-line (i.e. without an internet connection which would cost money for data).
It was excellent, among other things route [re]calculations were *much* quicker than I've ever seen on a dedicated satNav.
I agree that the smart phone is a better choice. As I don't have a signal where i live so haven't bothered getting one. I didn't find routing as easy on google maps but allows you to inspect the route for bridges and possible problems which is necessary if one is a lorry driver. I certainly wouldn't pay £400osh for an HGV one. Mine is a basic Garmin which i use applying common sense, use a map for the general direction, staying on A roads and using detour to avoid tricky roads.
Cheap Android smartphones are often cheaper than satNavs. My Motorola Moto E which is sort of middle of the road is only around £100. There are others out there much cheaper.
I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all.
We don't have a signal at home (out in the sticks in Suffolk) but I still find having a 'phone is handy at times. ** end quote [Chris Green]
If you're just using it for offline maps which update over wifi at home why not use a small screen tablet? There are car mounting brackets for them, although I'm not entirely sure whether they would fit on the dash. Storage wise I think they would stand up better than a phone since most I've seen only have about 4G (e.g. the Huawei Y550 that my son has which is around £40 plus £20 topup on EE, there used to be a similarly spec'd Sony for a bit more there too), whereas tablets generally have around 16G (e.g. the Lenovo A7-50 which was around £60 in Argos recently or £70 on Amazon, it looks like there's a new version with less memory now; I suspect the S8-50 I've just got for around £100 would be too large at 8" instead of 7", although the screen is a better resolution - go to John Lewis for that price as Currys, etc. want another £50 for it! You also get 2 years warranty for free). -- Paul Tansom | Aptanet Ltd. | http://www.aptanet.com/ | 023 9238 0001 ============================================================================= Registered in England | Company No: 4905028 | Registered Office: Ralls House, Parklands Business Park, Forrest Road, Denmead, Waterlooville, Hants, PO7 6XP
On Tue, Aug 04, 2015 at 05:20:28PM +0100, Paul Tansom wrote:
Cheap Android smartphones are often cheaper than satNavs. My Motorola Moto E which is sort of middle of the road is only around £100. There are others out there much cheaper.
I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all.
We don't have a signal at home (out in the sticks in Suffolk) but I still find having a 'phone is handy at times. ** end quote [Chris Green]
If you're just using it for offline maps which update over wifi at home why not use a small screen tablet? There are car mounting brackets for them, although I'm not entirely sure whether they would fit on the dash. Storage wise I think they would stand up better than a phone since most I've seen only have about 4G (e.g. the Huawei Y550 that my son has which is around £40 plus £20 topup on EE, there used to be a similarly spec'd Sony for a bit more there too), whereas tablets generally have around 16G (e.g. the Lenovo A7-50 which was around £60 in Argos recently or £70 on Amazon, it looks like there's a new version with less memory now; I suspect the S8-50 I've just got for around £100 would be too large at 8" instead of 7", although the screen is a better resolution - go to John Lewis for that price as Currys, etc. want another £50 for it! You also get 2 years warranty for free).
Yes, I quite agree, as a 'new satNav' a cheap tablet makes a lot of sense, I did consider it for my application but didn't have too much time to spare so went the 'use existing phone' route. -- Chris Green
On 5 August 2015 at 14:33, Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 04, 2015 at 05:20:28PM +0100, Paul Tansom wrote:
Cheap Android smartphones are often cheaper than satNavs. My Motorola Moto E which is sort of middle of the road is only around £100. There are others out there much cheaper.
I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all.
We don't have a signal at home (out in the sticks in Suffolk) but I still find having a 'phone is handy at times. ** end quote [Chris Green]
If you're just using it for offline maps which update over wifi at home why not use a small screen tablet? There are car mounting brackets for them, although I'm not entirely sure whether they would fit on the dash. Storage wise I think they would stand up better than a phone since most I've seen only have about 4G (e.g. the Huawei Y550 that my son has which is around £40 plus £20 topup on EE, there used to be a similarly spec'd Sony for a bit more there too), whereas tablets generally have around 16G (e.g. the Lenovo A7-50 which was around £60 in Argos recently or £70 on Amazon, it looks like there's a new version with less memory now; I suspect the S8-50 I've just got for around £100 would be too large at 8" instead of 7", although the screen is a better resolution - go to John Lewis for that price as Currys, etc. want another £50 for it! You also get 2 years warranty for free).
Yes, I quite agree, as a 'new satNav' a cheap tablet makes a lot of sense, I did consider it for my application but didn't have too much time to spare so went the 'use existing phone' route.
-- Chris Green
I'll have to look at those - I'd quite like the 8" for a truck. Which offline maps would you recommend for it? Just had a friend round whose an ADI and he was saying that satnav use is going to be part of the test in future. He also said that google maps were c*** - but happy with his satnav. Thing is a tablet with offline maps is a better tool... just occasionally the satnav loses signal. james
On Wed, Aug 05, 2015 at 08:52:58PM +0100, James Freer wrote:
On 5 August 2015 at 14:33, Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 04, 2015 at 05:20:28PM +0100, Paul Tansom wrote:
Cheap Android smartphones are often cheaper than satNavs. My Motorola Moto E which is sort of middle of the road is only around £100. There are others out there much cheaper.
I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all.
We don't have a signal at home (out in the sticks in Suffolk) but I still find having a 'phone is handy at times. ** end quote [Chris Green]
If you're just using it for offline maps which update over wifi at home why not use a small screen tablet? There are car mounting brackets for them, although I'm not entirely sure whether they would fit on the dash. Storage wise I think they would stand up better than a phone since most I've seen only have about 4G (e.g. the Huawei Y550 that my son has which is around £40 plus £20 topup on EE, there used to be a similarly spec'd Sony for a bit more there too), whereas tablets generally have around 16G (e.g. the Lenovo A7-50 which was around £60 in Argos recently or £70 on Amazon, it looks like there's a new version with less memory now; I suspect the S8-50 I've just got for around £100 would be too large at 8" instead of 7", although the screen is a better resolution - go to John Lewis for that price as Currys, etc. want another £50 for it! You also get 2 years warranty for free).
Yes, I quite agree, as a 'new satNav' a cheap tablet makes a lot of sense, I did consider it for my application but didn't have too much time to spare so went the 'use existing phone' route.
-- Chris Green
I'll have to look at those - I'd quite like the 8" for a truck. Which offline maps would you recommend for it? Just had a friend round whose an ADI and he was saying that satnav use is going to be part of the test in future. He also said that google maps were c*** - but happy with his satnav. Thing is a tablet with offline maps is a better tool... just occasionally the satnav loses signal.
Well the Nokia Here! I refer to above seems pretty good to me, especially as it's free, try it and move on if you don't like it. -- Chris Green
On 5 August 2015 at 20:52, James Freer <jessejazza3.uk@gmail.com> wrote:
On 5 August 2015 at 14:33, Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 04, 2015 at 05:20:28PM +0100, Paul Tansom wrote:
Cheap Android smartphones are often cheaper than satNavs. My Motorola Moto E which is sort of middle of the road is only around £100. There are others out there much cheaper.
I found Here! at least as good as the native Garmin offerings, better in some ways. I didn't use Google Maps at all.
We don't have a signal at home (out in the sticks in Suffolk) but I still find having a 'phone is handy at times. ** end quote [Chris Green]
If you're just using it for offline maps which update over wifi at home why not use a small screen tablet? There are car mounting brackets for them, although I'm not entirely sure whether they would fit on the dash. Storage wise I think they would stand up better than a phone since most I've seen only have about 4G (e.g. the Huawei Y550 that my son has which is around £40 plus £20 topup on EE, there used to be a similarly spec'd Sony for a bit more there too), whereas tablets generally have around 16G (e.g. the Lenovo A7-50 which was around £60 in Argos recently or £70 on Amazon, it looks like there's a new version with less memory now; I suspect the S8-50 I've just got for around £100 would be too large at 8" instead of 7", although the screen is a better resolution - go to John Lewis for that price as Currys, etc. want another £50 for it! You also get 2 years warranty for free).
Yes, I quite agree, as a 'new satNav' a cheap tablet makes a lot of sense, I did consider it for my application but didn't have too much time to spare so went the 'use existing phone' route.
-- Chris Green
I'll have to look at those - I'd quite like the 8" for a truck. Which offline maps would you recommend for it? Just had a friend round whose an ADI and he was saying that satnav use is going to be part of the test in future. He also said that google maps were c*** - but happy with his satnav. Thing is a tablet with offline maps is a better tool... just occasionally the satnav loses signal.
james
Just thought I'd 'tie-up' our rather long thread. I got a smartphone in October along with a 7" tablet. As a truck driver I am doing 2000 miles/3200 km per week - so a satnav is an indispensable tool. Not to be relied on too much as one loses direction I find but for detail I wouldn't want to be without one. Someone did suggest that a dedicated satnav was not worth having as a smartphone can surfice. I don't disagree but the dedicated tool has its place. Assuming one goes out in the car for a few hours trip - use a smartphone as its handy. But out on the road as a job is a different thing. Folk want to phone me and every stop I don't want to remove the satnav from the screen (as it's also the phone). I found that a pain. As for satnav apps - I gave each one a go. Only two I could find were worth using Navmii and Here (as Chris Green mentioned) - worth using in the sense that they work offline. Here maps I preferred as it usefully has 'From: To:' routing like google maps. Indispensable when one has to look at distances between locations which no satnav does to my knowledge (only current location to destination). As for the apps the maps are 'diagrammatic' like Tom Tom and lack some of the detail unless one uses the zoom. Garmin built in a useful feature which is that a screen touch produces a plan view which is helpful on a housing or industrial estates. Google maps can be useful which is why I got the phone originally but Here maps being offline and a 'close second' is what I turn to first. Navmii has more POI and I think is a better app but Here's From-To capability makes it a winner. Navmii at night is a bit irritating with their colour scheme. After 50k miles of use - I only had one glitch with Here and none with Navmii. As for updates I was surprised only two with each in five months. Were those map updates or app updates? Either; which doesn't give me confidence. At least with the Garmin I install a new map each month - perhaps it's only a 1% change but visiting new housing estates I want to be sure. I can turn to google maps IF there is a signal - doing a fair bit of travelling I have to say 3G cover is poor as far as I am concerned and not worth relying on... worse than postcodes! So as a professional driver I was not so keen on relying on a smartphone but as time goes on I am sure they will get better. I wish now I had bought a smartphone without a contract SIM - to get over the phone call problem (I know this seems crazy) but I swopped the SIM cards with my old mobile. I do find all the 'bells and whistles' on a smartphone irritating. Worse still one still can't bottom post on an email so I still use the PC for emails. My old mobile is a Nokia 5110 - yes old fashioned but they were excellent phones being 'hard wired' - not software and also voice clarity is better and she's had more knocks in ten years than anything else could stand. You could say my smartphone is now only used as a satnav. The mobile network for downloading is too slow and is only worth doing on WiFi. The other reason for getting a smartphone was I was moving and knew I had about a month to wait for broadband connection. As for the tablet - not legal for use in a vehicle as it cannot be secured. Putting it in pocket on the centre console is fine if a car has a suitable location - a Peugeot 107 had such when I hired one which was ideal. A satnav can only be put on the windscreen in the arc of the wiper blades and can only protrude as much as 40mm outside it. Not a problem in a car maybe but in a truck which can be stopped by the Police or Vosa - not worth risking. So all I use the tablet for is at home at times when I am too lazy to turn on the PC - ebay, gumtree, emails... sometimes surfing but limited. Whichever one has satnav or smartphone - it's up to taste and after considering all... little cash difference. I do appreciate having a spare... I have had a charging USB-mini cable go u/s - I had a spare and also the smartphone as backup! james
participants (5)
-
Anthony Anson -
Chris Green -
Chris Walker -
James Freer -
Paul Tansom