I have just started to look in to buying some kind of sat nav gps system for my Mini, but dont want to spend a fortune, and I don't really understand all the options and there pro's and cons. Would someone please explain the options in simple terms
Thank you all
Personally I've gone the PDA/Tomtom route, mainly because I already had the PDA, so just needed the software, GPS reciever & mounting kit (you can either get the expensive tomtom kit which includes all the above, or save some money & get the bits seperatly). Cost me about £200.
Advantages:
Cheap, if you've already got the PDA, PDA can add £2-400 to the cost above.
Can be moved between cars
Can plan routes when away from the car
Will intergrate with a speed camera database & alerting system for free
PDA still works as a PDA, and if you have the addresses in the right format can use your adress book to select destination
You can have several different maps, and buy more when you need them
easily upgradable
Disadvantages:
Lots of unsightly wires, unless your good at routing behind the trim
Uses up cigeret lighter socket
Depending on car mount, may not be in best position for visability
Volume for spoken directions is not the best/
Directions will not overide radio/cd - so not for those who like their music loud
Obviously the faster & more memory the better, but the price goes up. Tomtom dosen't actually need much - I'm running it on a HP jornada thats a few years old - and it still works OK.
The only thing to look out for is additional storage, since this is the best place to put all the maps. make sure you get at least a 128mb card, more if you intend travelling in more than one country
If you take a look at http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk they have some good deals on TomTom with PDAs and non-TomTom GPS receivers (ofter referred to as GPS mice)... I'd recommend going for a 400Mhz PDA, speeds up the route plotting a bit, and try to use SD memory to hold your maps as it's a little faster than CF.
If you have the heated windscreen, it may have a coating that prevents the GPS from getting a good signal.
One thing you might like to look at for TomToms is CheckPOInt - free software that has a database of speed cameras in the UK... works very well.
I haven't found mounting too much of a problem, I got a flexible suction mount from the site above and that works well - I have it sited to the right of the steering wheel above the vent. Other solutions include the Brodit Pro-clip (popular right now for iPod mounting) but I find the positioning then too low.
I have the socket Bluetooth GPS and it works just fine with Route 66 2004 on my mac Powerbook under OS X 10.3.3 and with Rand McNally Tripmaker under Virtual PC 6.1.1 XP Home... both at the same time in their own side by side windows http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...Fencoding=UTF8
S BRG/W Randolph 3 PAC NAV Mid Coast Maine, U.S.A.
Hello All. This is my first posting but I have been looking at the forum since I took delivery of my fantastic Mini Cooper at the beginning of April. Everyone seems really friendly.
Personally I have fitted Trafficmaster Smartnav to my Mini which I would recommend to anyone. It is about £625 fitted but you can have the optional screen which I have also fitted. The installation is very professional and actually looks factory fitted.
I've also heard good things about trafficmaster, but doesn't it involve an on-going subscription? One good thing about a tomtom-like solution is once it's bought, it's bought.
Apart from the near-annual upgrades
Guess freedee you gotta make up your own mind. Moonshine's right, pocketgps is a good site for info.
One systems I wouldn't recommend from past experience is Navman... although the all-in-one hardware solution is nice, the software does not support custom POIs (so no speed cameras, specific petrol stations etc.) and I found it to be very flaky, even with all the updates - turning itself off, rebooting randomly etc.
Yes you are right that it does involve an ongoing subscription. However, you can pay as you go or take out an annual or 'lifetime' subscription.
The annual sub is £10 per month which is ovbiously £120 per year. However, it is good value as it is regularly updated so no new software to buy. I read somewhere that 15-20 per cent of the UK road network changes in some way every year so to keep up to date would need a new mapping disc. I am not sure how much this is but have been advised it is about £150 for a DVD so smartnav is quite good value.
Upgrades for tomtom 2 to 3 are £40 - you don't have to pay full retail every year
That gives you new maps plus new software featues, so good value IMO.
A new feature this year is linking via GPRS to traffic reports - to direct you round the jams - dont know how well this works, since I dont intend to subscibe, no GPRS om my phone
I've read in some of the reviews of v3 of TomToms that already some roads are out of date but overall I've found it pretty good, it's only once taken me down a road for about three miles that at the end was closed
But I'm still of the mind that TomTom's is better value. Being able to move it from car to car, plus the speed camera warning (otherwise I'll never be able to insure a Cooper S in the future - still working off a TT99) are the big selling points to me.
But as always (and here's a lot of the fun of MINI2) it comes down to personal choice, and you'll always get advice on all options before you make up your own mind
Last edited by addman; May 2nd, 2004 at 07:28 AM.
Reason: speling
Basically it is a pocket PC with built in GPS and sat nav from Copilot Live. £450 for the lot and includes chargers for car and mounts. It is a full ready to go system and works a treat. Portable too.
You could also go for something like the Garmin StreePilot III. I got mine in the UK for just over £600. These are meant to be top pieces of equipment. Im taking delivery of it on Wednesday. Ill let you all know what its like!
Dale
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Sat Nav / GPS 
S BRG/W 
