# Tom tom sat nav - worth paying for new maps?



## wednesday (15 Jun 2013)

Not sure if this is the correct forum - mods pls feel free to move.

I have a Tom tom one, as the title states is it worth paying for the new maps or should I just suck up that I will occasionally be 'driving in a field'?


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## meathman (16 Jun 2013)

I guess it depends on how much you use it and where you plan using it. We drove to france with an outdated tom tom and to be honest i cursed it  a few times. Fantastic in the towns and cities but there were differences in the motorways. Once it has steered you wrong you start to lose a bit of confidence in it.  So if you are planning a trip abroad i'd say update the maps.


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## SparkRite (16 Jun 2013)

wednesday said:


> Not sure if this is the correct forum - mods pls feel free to move.
> 
> I have a Tom tom one, as the title states is it worth paying for the new maps or should I just suck up that I will occasionally be 'driving in a field'?



Hi
If you give a bit more information like how old the unit is and the cost of updated maps then maybe we can give some advice.


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## BazzaDP (16 Jun 2013)

Roads don't change that often despite what the pesterings from Tom Tom claim. When they do, new roads often have good sign posts.

Yes, you could get into trouble like meathman did, but to be honest I occasionally got in that trouble when my Sat Nav was new and had up to date maps. 

Oh and by the way I got into that trouble a LOT more before having a Sat Nav so not dissing Sat Navs here. I just think that in this "gotta get the latest thing" world we live in, you do need to remember that it's not always necessary.

 In a few years you're probably want to upgrade your Sat Nav anyway and, in my opinion, it is not worth paying for the am updates in between.

Ultimately you're right SparkRite we do need more info before we can accurately answer.


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## wednesday (17 Jun 2013)

I have a Tomtom One purchased in 2007, think I paid for maps at the time but can't remember. Got an email a couple of days ago from tomtom offering me 30% off of Western Europe was €74.95 now €52.47. Just wondered whether it was worth doing. We'd travel quite a bit all over the UK and usually fly/drive when in France or Spain.


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## BazzaDP (17 Jun 2013)

Has someone been editing my posts? I've never owned a Garmin GPS and didn't write that part of my comment and a bit was dropped off the start of my comment in reference to something that was in a previous comment! Don't like that... Edit if you have to mods but at least say you're doing it!

Anyway, Wednesday, with 6 year old maps it might be worth it afterall. Then again only you can answer whether you've noticed lots of errors in your current maps.


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## Squonk (17 Jun 2013)

Take a look at buying a new satnav...maps will be up-to-date, you'll have the latest gizmo, and the difference in price between a new SatNav may not be huge.


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## Latrade (18 Jun 2013)

There's a lot of competition from smart phones, so sat navs are pretty reasonable these days. So much so a new one can be cheaper or around the same price as buying new maps. 

However, so is the price of smart phones and Google Maps provides turn by turn direction, is up-to-date and is free.


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## roker (18 Jun 2013)

I never updated my Garmin maps because they were half the price of a new Sat Nav. Roads seem to change a lot in ireland due the the recent construction done, plus constant changes in speed limits. Mine does not recognise the new motorways.


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## AlbacoreA (18 Jun 2013)

One issue I've had with Garmin is they are very slow to update their maps. So you might pay for a new map only to find out major road changes 2yrs old are not in the new map yet. 

I found the maps on nokia to be as good or better than the garmin. Google maps on android I'm not that impressed with. Its needs a data connection to search, you have to pre-cache the maps, and google maps is surprising wrong a lot, especially with road names, which make searching useless.

Lots of changes in Ireland. For example the roundabouts to lights in Galway. My Garmin maps updated last summer didn't have these changes.


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## Leo (18 Jun 2013)

Do Tom Tom have a lifetime map subscription service like Garmin do? Garmin's gives you 4 updates per year and costs something like €75 for the lifetime of the unit.


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## Time (18 Jun 2013)

No they do not.


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## Slim (18 Jun 2013)

Squonk said:


> Take a look at buying a new satnav...maps will be up-to-date, you'll have the latest gizmo, and the difference in price between a new SatNav may not be huge.


+1. recently Halfords were selling a Garmin widescreen with EU maps for approx €80. Updating my TT1 was €75 approx at the time. I should have bought the Garmin! Will look again.


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## AlbacoreA (20 Jun 2013)

The thing is the cheaper satnav generally don't have updates. Buying one with lifetime updates is usually twice the price. So you have a choice spend 80 on lifetime updates for your current device, or on another device which will need updating in the future. Though with new hardware you might get new features and perhaps a better screen etc. 

Considering you can buy a new nokia smart phone with gps and maps for around €100 you have to wonder which is worth it.


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## Latrade (21 Jun 2013)

AlbacoreA said:


> The thing is the cheaper satnav generally don't have updates. Buying one with lifetime updates is usually twice the price. So you have a choice spend 80 on lifetime updates for your current device, or on another device which will need updating in the future. Though with new hardware you might get new features and perhaps a better screen etc.
> 
> Considering you can buy a new nokia smart phone with gps and maps for around €100 you have to wonder which is worth it.


 
If your phone can support google maps with turn by turn directions, you really don't need a satnav. I haven't tried nokia maps for a year or so and I just thought google maps won it on ease of use, but I'm hoping to get my hands on a lumia again for a few weeks, so will try then.

But the phone mapping services are much better on user interface too, I've always found traditional satnavs horrible to use, particuarly on the go. Though it is easier now on phones too with voice activation and search and when you compare the costs of getting a reasonable phone that can utilise voice, to a satnav (and you get a phone, music player, etc included), I'd always say if you're thinking of a new satnav, think about upgrading your phone. 

The down side would be the data costs depending on contract or service if you went with a phone. But given that the phone maps will be update for the whole world rather than whichever region you bought with the satnav, 3G is much faster than the gps that comes with many satnavs, phone maps are up-to-date with traffic info etc, if you're really bad at maps or disorientated you can switch to a street view to get your bearings and if you're parking up you still have the phone to direct you to the address.


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## AlbacoreA (21 Jun 2013)

The new Nokia Lumia's don't need a data connection to use the sat nav. Depending on the phone some have Ireland only, others have UK and worldmaps too. I've not used one myself though. Tempted to get the cheapest one (Lumia 520) to try it. 

Apple and Android phones do require a data connection. They can cache the maps but search require a data connection. 

The interface on my Garmin I think is woeful. Also it really expects uk post codes and lot of places are poorly described and/or named on the Garmin. You put in a name of something and it will give you 5 results with nothing to tell you what's different about them. Very annoying. 

Battery life and screen size are generally poor on a phone vs a satnav. So theres a compromise there. Also not all mobiles have the same quality of GPS. Some are faster than others and some have GLONASS in addition. 

[broken link removed]


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