Using Satnav

[RooFlyer]

On a similar 'philosophical' bent from the TheRealTMA.

I was a satnav early adopter and prized my Tom Tom(s). However after several trips driving around Europe and in Canada, I realised that with a satnav you knew where you were going, but didn't necessarily know where you were. There could be some fantastic feature over in the next valley and you'd just be zooming down the autobahn.

I went back to buying and using regional maps and keeping them handy in the car, but still using the satnav for getting into and out of cities.

Then my Tom Tom was nicked from checked luggage. With the insurance, I got a new one, top-of-the-range, but 1) I got fed up with taking it, with cords and mount in hand luggage (too many gizmos) and 2) I totally fell out of love with it when the new set of world-wide maps contained so many errors it wasn't funny. Mainly trying to send me down roads that didn't exist. And of course its web interface always sucked.

So I tried to simplify things by relying on my phone. This worked OK, but I didn't use it where it might be really tested (old cities with many one ways and pedestrianized areas). I used to cache Google maps and use them offline, but somewhere along the line this feature changed. Thanks to serfty, I'm back with them again .

But, now, praise be to Sygic (it seems) on the iPhone 6.

 

[Buzzard]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

Some great tips. Lucky I didn't buy before looking here. Navmii and Sygic look the goods ... will probably go for Sygic - I detest ads. Buzzard, do you get bombarded with ads? Extra $6.49 for Stephen Fry Voice, lol

Only a small unobtrusive (IMHO) Scrolling add at the top of the screen sometimes. Given that it is free you can always try it and delete it if it does not suit you.

 

[TheRealTMA]

On a similar 'philosophical' bent from the TheRealTMA.

I was a satnav early adopter and prized my Tom Tom(s). However after several trips driving around Europe and in Canada, I realised that with a satnav you knew where you were going, but didn't necessarily know where you were. There could be some fantastic feature over in the next valley and you'd just be zooming down the autobahn.

I went back to buying and using regional maps and keeping them handy in the car, but still using the satnav for getting into and out of cities.

Ah That's a completely different concept. With any satnav you may never get lost but you never actually 'know' where you are! The screens are too small to see the surrounding countryside. 2 Km away from the best tourist attraction or feature in the area and you never see it.

However, with a little research on you iPad with Google/Apple maps the night before ( over drinks in the club lounge ) you can get a good idea of the possible routes etc.

And, a good paper map at local scale is still well worth it.

One thing I do find very very useful with satnavs is that you can take detours to anything that seems interesting and the satnav app will quickly tell you how to continue.

Sometimes for amusement we've used the scenic/direct/Eco route selection on satnav app, rather than the fastest, to find interesting routes. But this can be quite hazardous at times with D roads and ox cart tracks!

 

[Foreigner]

Last weekend i used Navigon to go to Lake Placid for dinner...nice Italian restaurant. Went one route, returned another.

 

[Buzzard]

$2.17 to remove Navmii ads. All the maps I looked at are free.

 

[GalaxyNexus]

I use Google Maps for metro area (where I have data plan) and Sygic for overseas (or long haul). Google Maps might be a bit better in figuring out routes taking traffic into account, but otherwise Sygic works great.

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>

One thing I do find very very useful with satnavs is that you can take detours to anything that seems interesting and the satnav app will quickly tell you how to continue.

<snip>

... or maybe not.

I remember driving in the centre of Grenada, Spain, needing to go across town to my hotel. Tom Tom directed me up the main drag, which seemed sensible; everything else was a maze of narrow backstreets. However what Tom nor I knew was that the main drag had recently been turned into a bus/taxi only street, wih bunches of enforcement cameras.

So I turned off, looking for an alternative route, but the damn thing just kept leading me back to the bus route, every other way being longer in time and length. I could hear it saying "Can't you follow directions, dumb cough?"

There was no way I could navigate myself off the direct route due to the narrow, one way streets, so after 4 diversion attempts, I just bit the bullet and drove up the bus route, cameras be damned.

A couple of months later, several traffic tickets arrived home via Avis. I figured the Spanish system probably couldn't cope with chasing things overseas, and I was right.

Mind you, I probably gave the Tom Tom a breakdown earlier in the trip. It hadn't caught up with the frenzy of new Spanish freeways in western Spain, so saw me hurtling through fields and other rustic locals and was desperately trying to get me to exit to many small local roads that I 'crossed'. I 've never heard a satnav beg before

 

[gruntfuttock]

Also a fan of Sygic - mine on Android. My 8" Android tablet is adequate as sole computing device for some holidays and small enough not to matter on work trips where the (feels like) 50kg corporate laptop has to go.

Bought years ago when I had a Motorola Atrix phone with quite sleek car kit, now have a third-party windscreen mount for which I always find space in the luggage.

Have used it in Oz and USA and never been lost - in Bathurst was even helpful enough to direct me "in 100m, turn right onto Mountain Straight."

 

[Groundfeeder]

The days of standalone satnavs are long gone. So convenient to have only one phone device.

Note that with iPhone (5 and above) attached to window mount in sun, the phone can overheat and shut down in the middle of a route, requiring phone to be turned off for 5 mins to cool down.

With due respect I disagree. My current Nuvi and my previous Garmins do most of what an iPhone can do but (most importantly) doesn't suffer from meltdown. Its prime purpose is to navigate whereas iPhones etc are principally communication devices with add-ons.

 

[amaroo]

Decent review of three systems..

European GPS App Showdown: CoPilot vs Sygic vs TomTom - iPhone, iPad, iPod Forums at iMore.com

 

[amaroo]

Update. Purchased Sygic World + HUD + DashCam for $49.99.

Will use it locally before leaving for Europe. Cheers!

 

[TheRealTMA]

Update. Purchased Sygic World + HUD + DashCam for $49.99.

Will use it locally before leaving for Europe. Cheers!

Let us know when you set off for your first Sygic test trip and we'll alert relevant authorities if we don't see a new post in 12 hrs!

 

[amaroo]

Let us know when you set off for your first Sygic test trip and we'll alert relevant authorities if we don't see a new post in 12 hrs!

.

hahaha might end up on the news

 

[VirginiaF]

even if the hire car comes with sat nav, I use the Sygic app instead, as I don't have to learn a new system every time. Definitely can recommend.

I rented a BMW 118i from Hertz a couple of times. Call me blonde (light brown actually) but for the life of me, I reckoned it would have taken me a good amount of time to go through the manual to try and decipher how to use it. So I had to try and wing it. I thought I was so clever when I connected my phone by Bluetooth and added the contact from my phone for the friend that I was going to visit. The phone contact information had his address. After two very lengthy round about trips back to the airport later, I decided to can the on board GPS and rely on my phone (Navigon on a Samsung 5), which took me to the destination without a problem!

Travel hint:

Be prepared to spend a bit of time to work out how the GPS in your rental works.

I also bought a Garmin in Canada with lifetime maps for North America including Mexico (not very sure as to when I will be driving there next, but I digress). Also bought maps for NZ and Australia on getting back. Not cheap, but way more economical than paying for the GPS add on that most rentals charge. I have this in a little nylon pack and it doesn't take up much room. It has an easy to use windscreen mount. Still, it's a separate device, but I find it useful, although some of the suggested routes are not all that "direct", but they offer live traffic update options, which I have not subscribed for, so can't comment.

 

[VPS]

I can see the android version on Sygic with the discount (want to buy the world one for 30 euro) but can't work out how to buy the ios one - I've downloaded the app but can't seem to find the premium - any suggestions

DUH - once you download one map then it gives you the option to buy

Cheers

 

[RooFlyer]

I've also going with Sygic. Have the Premium version free for a week, then I'll buy unless something unexpected occurs (I'm doing a route tomorrow where my Tom Tom always gives me non existant roads to go on).

Adrian, I hope you are on a commission .

 

[TheRealTMA]

I can see the android version on Sygic with the discount (want to buy the world one for 30 euro) but can't work out how to buy the ios one - I've downloaded the app but can't seem to find the premium - any suggestions

DUH - once you download one map then it gives you the option to buy

Cheers

Yes go to Store in the settings menu.

 

[amaroo]

Tested the pedestrian mode with an off-grid 1hr+ walk with the dogs, worked well .... however, it did drain the battery by 30%.

 

[adrian]

I used this for about 6 months before I bought Sygic. I liked it, but it isn't as good as a turn-by-turn GPS. I still use it, but mostly for info on a place I'm visiting.

 

[adrian]

I've also going with Sygic. Have the Premium version free for a week, then I'll buy unless something unexpected occurs (I'm doing a route tomorrow where my Tom Tom always gives me non existant roads to go on).

Adrian, I hope you are on a commission .

I wish I was