Sat Navigation

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shootingstar

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Can someone recommend a sat nav system to me. are the Irish ones standard or can you get ones for ireland and uk? only ever seen one once

in a previous thread i mentioned i get a bit anxious when i dont know my way or im in a unfamilar teritory etc. so i think one of these may help..
 
I bought one a month ago in advance of a trip to France. I found it invaluable as an aid to getting around on unfamiliar roads.

It didn't do anything that my reading a map couldn't but in an approach to a roundabout knowing in advance that you will take the 3rd exit means you can watch traffic and position yourself correctly without the need to be reading road signs and exit markers.

I have used it here also and found it excellent.

It is a Garmin Nuvi 250 and has maps for Ireland, the UK and also Western Europe.
 
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Was in same boat myself, did a lot of research on it on AAM and other sites , Garmin seemed best bet.Really just want it for driving holidays abroad. Went ahead bought a Garmin Nuvi 250. Has Ireland, Uk and europe installed-haven't used abroad yet but it is excellent in Ireland, particularly Dublin.
 
Would also weight in behind Garmin. Navteq maps are the only way to go (and Garmin has Navteq maps) in Ireland.

Just choose any Garmin that fits your budget and has the features you want. Halfords do a reasonable range, although I'm sure you could get it cheaper elsewhere if you tried hard enough. From memory pixmania had a special offer on some Garmin models recently (think it was the streetpilot)...
 
Bought a TomTom One Plus (Europe edition) in Halford a couple of months ago for €249. Tried Garmin as well, the software and UI on TomTom looked a bit nicer and more intuitive to use. It had the latest Navteq map on it but since then Tom Tom has gone back to Tele Atlas so the map updates are Tele Atlas. Mind you, Tele Atlas seems to be ok for Ireland now as well, in fact it has more accurate details of where I live (Charlesland, Greystones) than Navteq one!
 
I have a TomTom One and find it great. It seems to know all the highways and byways in Ireland - hasn't let me down yet.
Will be taking it to the UK and Europe soon, but I'm sure the coverage is even better there.
 
Bought the Garmin Nuvi 660 recently - great piece of kit.

As mentioned navteq maps a must for Ireland. Any of the Garmin products are good.
 
Can you enter in a specific address manually? I have one i bought in Aldi which is ok but the towns are preloaded and the streets.
 
Finding places can be one of the most frustrating things about a SatNav system! In the UK (with postcodes) it is a million times easier! I've had trouble finding some places that are mapped but are two words instead of one (or vice versa)...

It's a damn site better than not having a map though! And the get home function is always useful!

Pricewise, I'd agree with the 300 upwards quote... Shop online and you might save a few bob, but I found Halfords to be one of the cheapest when I bought mine...
 
Are you covered for free map updates on Garmin products? I was trying to decide between the 250 and 310 Delux. Is the 310 D worth the extra €100. It appears to have bluetooth, mp3 and traffic alerting.
 
What's the benefit of bluetooth and mp3 on a sat nav device?

Just wondered...


teddyk
 
Have the Nuvi 360, and the bluetooth is handy, nice big display of who's calling, etc. Good for SMS too, it'll read the text out to you, so less of a distraction.

MP3 capability means you don't need to carry a separate device.

Traffic alerting mentioned above is of no use in Ireland, no service available. The UK and France have subscription services available, and there are some free services available on mainland Europe.
Leo
 
I have the Garmin Nuvi 300. It is a basic model without all the extras but it does exactly what it says on the tin and quite well too!! If you are just looking for the satnav and are not too worried about getting bluetooth etc, you can't go wrong with the Nuvi 300
 
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