Sorry to post request here but ng uk.people.consumers has only had 4 threads this year ... RIP upc.
Just had an email "Your Tom Tom ONEIQR i at the end of the road" (charming!!). It's a 3.5" screen (on the diagonal)
They're offering a one year Map Update for £34.95p which includes a £12 discount.
Can anyone recommend a manufacturer, who offers a one-off purchase, which includes lifetime map updates and a larger screen or will these gadgets cost a bomb? BTW we have no intention of buying a mobile phone with built-in satnav. TIA.
I am not a fan of TomTom, but my wife is, so I just bought one for her. They are not great in my opinion, but they do the job, and the new software they now have on all their devices (and Smartphones) is acceptable. The process of updating the maps takes forever, but you just have to press a button and leave it until it is done.
They offer several with LifeTime map updates - I believe by LifeTime they refer to the life of the device, not yours...
I also started with a 3.5" device years ago, but wouldn't entertain anything smaller than 5" now.
They are generally well over £100 new, however I just spotted this one on Amazon (if EU maps are enough for you):
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I bought mine from Argos who regularly sell customer returns/refurbished/end of lines on their eBay shop, substantially discounted, and with a full 12 months warranty.
The first one I received was a little tired looking, so I emailed them, they immediately sent me a pre-paid envelope to return it, and send me another one that was brand new (and 50% less than new).
These are, in most cases, all but new devices, and come in the original packaging with all the accessories (check the listing carefully for details). Note in the listing that some come with LifeTime updates, and some do not.
I bought a 7 inch Chinese unit from Amazon for £40. The screen is not very bright and the POIs are rubbish, but it gives lifetime updates free and coped with Cwmbran last week. The seller answers questions rapidly and helpfully IME. I ind it OK to use, with excellent clear voice instructions. My experience of Tomtom is very poor reliability and I would not buy another. I find Garmin has quite poor post code recognition, but they are not alone in that.
Forgot to mention that I first went to Halfords to look at them, and as it was a quite day I ended up chatting to the store manager and his 2nd in command.
According to them Garmin outsells TomTom by between 3 and 5 to 1 in their shop (a very large one), with people considering them much easier to use. My wife refused to budge...
They are also cheaper (see from 4th row and down):
I've had two TomToms. There first I bought as a freestanding unit - with traffic information and it worked brilliantly. I passed it to my wife when my new car came with a built-in TomTom. When that was 3 years old, I was persuaded by the garage to exchange it for a newer and more upto date model. This had Mazda's own system. It has its good points, but these are outweighted by the appalling traffic information. I spent an hour in a traffic jam at Stonhenge - no indication of a problem at all, depite the signs on the M3 were saying there was one. I, foolishly, assumed that then problem had gone away.
Map update times will depend on your internet connection
Thanks and yes, I think 5" screen is preferred and we like the Lifetime Updates also. Looking at 3 models :-
Tom Tom Start 25 and Tom Tom VIA 135 free maps but subscription for speed cameras required. Not sure of cost? Garmin Drive Smart 50LM free map updates but no speed cam subs required, which is a big Plus.
The other problem is that, although map updates might be available, they eventually tend to grow too big to fit on whatever memory card is in the device. And old devices may not support bigger memory cards. This is what killed off my old TomTom device. I guess the company would say that it was at the end of its life, though I would not have agreed.
I just visited a friend in the USA and she referred to a SatNav as a "Garmin" much like "Hoover" for vacuum cleaner. She had not even heard of the TomTom brand, so maybe they don't even bother to sell them over there.
But my experience of them in hired cars did not make me an enthusiast - or maybe their user interface was so alien to a TomTom user that the odd week's attempted use was not enough to get the hang of the thing. YMMV.
Alternative scenario: You've set your smartphone to download, and automatically update every month, the area(s) you're going to visit. You don't need any data service. You're fine.
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