TomTOM or R56 inbuilt SATNAV

[neilobe]

The factory sat nav is far too expensive in my opinion, buy a portable sat nav and spend the money on other options.. or save it...

[Adit]

Thanks for the replies everyone....

I think i am probably going to go for the tomtom option and get the wires tucked away (is this easy to do myself or will I have to get it done professionally?).... I still cant deny that the inbuilt satnav does look alot better and does integrate the phone, ipod, pdc better.

I think i will use the saved money and get the JCW body kit and viper stripes for the mcs when i place the order soon...

[FergusM]

Quote: Originally Posted by Adit (original)

Thanks for the replies everyone....

I think i am probably going to go for the tomtom option and get the wires tucked away (is this easy to do myself or will I have to get it done professionally?).... I still cant deny that the inbuilt satnav does look alot better and does integrate the phone, ipod, pdc better.

I think i will use the saved money and get the JCW body kit and viper stripes for the mcs when i place the order soon...

Contact Mike at NewMINIStuff.com he had various TOMTOM cradles if you wanted to mount on the dash above where the key slots in.

The switched power you can pick up from back of the cigrattte lighter..should be a doddle to do.

[Yoastie]

Built in - and yes, it is mainly for looks (although it does do a good job of showing the PDC and iPod info)

[ratbag98]

Quote: Originally Posted by Martin F (original)

With Tom Tom I have regular updates of speed camera locations; and voices which remind me of the speed limit as I approach the camera site. I find this really helpful. Doubt you can do this on the factory satnav.

Martin, you can in part, but it's definitely more difficult than the drag and drop simplicity that the TomTom offers. The principle is to take a copy of the DVD, tweak a few files, then write them back to a DVD. Have a look at Adding Speed Camera POI to your BMW Professional NAV DVD. I have not tried this myself.

You don't get sound warnings, just an icon, so it's a million miles from a complete solution. Maybe MINI will add a proper POI system as a firmware update.

[rec]

go garmin, you can get a proper MINI mount for it.

[minicabrio]

Quote: Originally Posted by rec (original)

go garmin, you can get a proper MINI mount for it.

But then you would say that as you work for them

You'd still need to remove it from the car every time you parked and risk getting broken into. Even more so if you leave the mount on show as thieves automatically believe the unit is either in the glovebox or under the seat.

[rec]

no, the Garmin mount design is much nicer than the TomTom one... and supported by MINI.

and if you think thieves believe the GPS is under the seat/in the glovebox, you will find most thieves will only target a car if the device is on view. this whole "clean the rings off your window" is rubbish, because i've always had a mount on view, as has pretty much everyone in our company, and no one has ever had a GPS unit nicked in the 7 years i've been working for them.

we know, we tested it with varying police departments and display models. quite interesting.

[Adit]

Quote: Originally Posted by rec (original)

no, the Garmin mount design is much nicer than the TomTom one... and supported by MINI.

and if you think thieves believe the GPS is under the seat/in the glovebox, you will find most thieves will only target a car if the device is on view. this whole "clean the rings off your window" is rubbish, because i've always had a mount on view, as has pretty much everyone in our company, and no one has ever had a GPS unit nicked in the 7 years i've been working for them.

we know, we tested it with varying police departments and display models. quite interesting.

That is interesting rec..... that was my biggest worry about leaving a permanent mount on display....

[minicabrio]

We've had countless vans broken into for the GPS units. Yes they will break in if the unit is on display. Some will also break in if they see the mount there. We've even had vans broken into even with the mount removed. We've had gloveboxes smashed open and allsorts .... more often than not, the target is the GPS system.

I would recommend anyone who has a removeable system not only removes it from the vehicle, but also removes any mount from the vehicle, and any mark it may leave within the vehicle.

It's your choice, and your risk.

[rec]

ah well, if someone nicks mine i'll just go get another one from the warehouse.

[ALD0]

Quote: Originally Posted by rec (original)

ah well, if someone nicks mine i'll just go get another one from the warehouse.

Easier for you to say that though!

For Info, I have the Speed cam database on the Factory Nav, it does not audibly alert you of Speed cams and when you enter another point of interest they disapear!

[Adit]

Quote: Originally Posted by ALD0 (original)

Easier for you to say that though!

For Info, I have the Speed cam database on the Factory Nav, it does not audibly alert you of Speed cams and when you enter another point of interest they disapear!

Was it difficult to add this functionaity to the Factory NAV.... Is this on the R56 version....

[ALD0]

Quote: Originally Posted by Adit (original)

Was it difficult to add this functionaity to the Factory NAV.... Is this on the R56 version....

Pass, Someone does it for me
Yes it would work with the R56 version, you add it on to the MAP Disk

[ratbag98]

Quote: Originally Posted by Adit (original)

Was it difficult to add this functionaity to the Factory NAV.... Is this on the R56 version....

Adit, see my post in earlier in this thread:

Martin, you can in part, but it's definitely more difficult than the drag and drop simplicity that the TomTom offers. The principle is to take a copy of the DVD, tweak a few files, then write them back to a DVD. Have a look at Adding Speed Camera POI to your BMW Professional NAV DVD. I have not tried this myself.