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Community Newsletter: Q&A: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences?
- 12/14/07 1:05 AM
TomTom Toy
by johnwallan55 - 11/30/07 10:29 PM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It may sound like a toy but it dose a great job right out of the box! Any thing you need to know to find your way around it has it.
Very user freindly and clear screen.
Saw it at a big name store chain for $439 and bought it at another chain ( one off about 4 chains ) that where selling it on sale at $149, and most where selling out of stock in 1 to 2 days. And just as good as the factory built in's that sell for about $2,000 and they will not fit in your pocket to walk around with or move to a second car or a new car?
John in Grimsby Ont. Canada
Tom Tom as a Sat Nav System.
by 1066tk - 11/30/07 11:14 PM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi, Mary Jane.
I am from the UK and can only advise on my experience of driving 200,000+ miles within the UK & the main 25 Western European Countries using various Sat-Nav systems including 'Garmin, Magellan & Tom Tom' products over the past 4 years. Plus one 2000+ mile trip in the USA riding a motor bike from Niagara Falls to Key West via a few forays into & along the Eastern Seaboard.
To date the most user friendly complete navigation Sat-Nav system for me has been the 'Tom Tom' system. I don't just have it on Tom Tom OEM In-Car display units but I also use the GR8 value $66.00 '5.2 Tom Tom' Bluetooth GPS OS System on compatible Nokia & Sony Ericsson Smart phones using Symbian OS such as the SE P800/P900/P910/P990 Or Nokias 6600/6630/6680/70/95 etc (Forget Route-66 as it is problematic)
So give 'Tom Tom' a try its not at all 'Toy Like' just a brill system that can use US Zip or Post Codes to their maximum effectiveness..
Cheers
TK
No! All GPS's are not created equal.
by deltoncbaker - 11/30/07 11:22 PM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Each and every GPS device is different in some way or another. I test and evaluate them for the government and I have seen hand held portables, units for boating, units for flying small aircraft, and full blown military receivers. They all have one weakness in common and that is software. Even the most powerful military receivers can be near useless when the software is poorly written. I have friends that bought in Dash Radios with GPS and they found that the Memory was too small to store all the maps so the CD had to stay in the CD slot to make the GPS functional. Some systems are not very user friendly, for instance if want to put your mother's house into the data base so it plot the way for you. The first thing I want to put in is my mother's name. Well after about ten minutes I gave up on that idea got out the book. I discovered it wanted her phone number first. Then when the phone number didn't match their data base it allowed the address, and then it allowed me to attach her name to the address. Things like business's and Hospitals easy just put in the phone number and your done, but everything else was pain. My favorite map software is Microsoft® Streets & Trips. The entire program fits on my laptop hard drive and it lets me start with my mother's name when creating a way point. Also it lets me change me route on the fly just by high lighting the route then drag and drop the route on were I really want to go. If you can navigate around in windows you can easily use Microsoft® Streets & Trips. It too has software problems, if you go off your route and drag and drop in your new route right a way or you skip to a short cut only you know of the software keep insisting you go back do it the way it told you to do it. If it is ignored too long the software will eventually lock up and have to be restarted. A friend of mine wanted to get the latest maps for his in dash system and they were over $300 dollars. Microsoft® Streets & Trips new maps are about $50 dollars. If didn't have a laptop I would buy a receiver that didn't require loading new maps all the time. There is still a great deal to learn, but I suggest you simply ask the sales person to tell you which one he likes and why. Good Luck and Happy Travels.
TomTom
by darrenforster99 - 11/30/07 11:29 PM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Dear Mary Jane,
I am quite suprised about the fact you've never heard of TomTom. In the UK the TomTom GPS system is well marketed and is the main GPS system, especially as you can also get TomTom Mobile so you can even use your mobile as a GPS. Maybe it's different in the US? Garmin were probably one of the first GPS manufacturers though, they started out making hand-held GPS systems and then moved into the in-car type.
As TomTom have got quite a bit of technology in them and are really easy to use and their price has come down quite a bit I'd probably go for a TomTom.
I don't have a SatNav but have lent my friends on two occassions to drive into London. What I found the best thing to do with SatNav is to have it on at a low volume in the background to give you general hints as your going along, and then to make your own decision from there on, as even if you take the wrong direction it will automatically re-direct you anyway. I found this out in London as SatNav took me straight through the center of London to get to the O2 arena which is on the east side (it took me 3 hours to get from the M4 to the arena, and wasted nearly half a tank of petrol stuck in traffic, coming out I checked a map, ignored SatNav and drove through Battersea up to Kew Gardens and out that way, it took me about 30 minutes to reach the M4 and the petrol needle barely moved). So sometimes you have to use general knowledge of the area instead of going with SatNavs directions.
Now lets go onto costs. There are a lot of different SatNavs out there, all with different functions on and this is where the prices change. For a basic one your probably looking at about £100 in the UK, but for a more expensive one with extra features on it you can spend about £400, and then you've also got the maps installed which all cost extra. Normally you get one country map already installed (like UK), but then if you want to take the SatNav abroad you have to pay extra. In addition to this here are some of the extra features you can get on SatNavs, some help you, and some are just extra junk that your paying for to complicate things!
Bluetooth - This will allow you to connect your SatNav to a mobile so SatNav can automatically find out where the traffic jams are and divert you round a shorter route. Beware of this though because if you pay for your data connection on the mobile this can work out very expensive, especially if you leave it switched on. One downside I found to the bluetooth was that my friends has bluetooth on and my car stereo has bluetooth hands-free built in and I wondered whether I could link the two and have SatNav mute my stereo by bluetooth and give me directions like that, unfortunatly it only connects to mobile phones which was a really big let down.
Point of Interest Database - This is in most SatNavs, different makes have different listings. This can be really useful if your going around somewhere you don't know and you want to find something quick, like the nearest supermarket, or petrol station. It saves driving round and round to try and find the nearest (which could really be vital in the case of petrol station). Different SatNavs also have different listings in, TomTom seems to have the most on and includes attractions like Theme Parks, Zoos, Shopping Centres, Parking, etc.
Safety Camera/Red Light Camera alerts - In the UK, I don't know about the US, this is a superb add on, the majority of SatNavs come with this built in (the Safety Cameras and Red Light cameras are set as points of interest and SatNav warns you when you are approaching one). In the UK the government introduced speed camera on most roads to ensure you aren't even doing 1mph over the speed limit, this is a bit of a nuisance as if you don't know where you are you can spend quite a lot of the time concentrating on the speedometer to ensure you don't get a speeding ticket just for letting the speed go slightly over, when really it would be far safer to be doing that bit over and keeping an eye out for some kid that's just walked into the road instead of looking at the speedo (some people say they give you 10% due to inaccuracies of the speedometer, but if they give you 10% due to that and your speedo is out by that much you just need to go that little bit faster and you've got a speeding ticket!). This add on warns you when you are approaching a speed camera and tells you what the speed limit of the road is ahead. It also tells you what type of speed camera it is (the majority in the UK are GATSO with some mobile cameras too - it says "Gatso Ahead, Speed Limit 30 miles per hour")
SD card slot - Some SatNavs have this to allow you to add additional maps at any time, they also allow you to update the software inside the SatNav to the latest model.
GPS Signal lost recovery - This can be quite useful if you take your car into built-up areas (especially somewhere like New York), as SatNav relies on line of sight (i.e. it needs to be able to "see" the at least 3 of the satellites up there to know where it is) when you take it in to a severly built up area, like some city centres, it loses the line of site so it no longer knows where it is. My friends SatNav has this built in and I found it quite useful when driving in London, as sometimes in the built-up areas it didn't know where it was, but it could keep directing me enough until it re-found the signal.
MP3 Player - Some SatNavs are becoming more of a car stereo than a SatNav, this will allow you to play music from a built in hard drive and then mute the music to tell you which direction you need to go. Having this feature really drives the price up and you have to ask yourself is it really worth it?
FM Transmitter - This mainly comes with the SatNavs that have built in MP3 player, it allows you to set a radio frequency and it will transmit the sound on that frequency to the car radio, so instead of listening to the instructions and the MP3s coming out of the small speaker in the SatNav you can send them to the car stereo.
Hands-Free kit - SatNavs with this you have a built in microphone and connect via bluetooth to your mobile, so you can answer calls on the move with hands-free. This is quite handy if you don't have a hands-free kit for your phone already, or if you want to integrate everything in one to save the amount of wires/confusion whilst driving.
Voice recognition - This is mainly found on the SatNavs that incorporate hands-free kits, this allows you to give SatNav new directions without having to take your hands off the wheel, or look away from the road. This adds extra safety to the sat nav
Processor power - This is one other thing that drives the price of SatNavs up, the processor power inside the SatNav. Different SatNavs have different processors in them, similar to computer processors. The faster the processor the faster SatNav can plan your route.
Screen Size - Different SatNavs also have different screen sizes, when I'm driving with a SatNav I tend to use it in audio mode so I can concentrate on driving but sometimes have a quick glance down if it starts giving confusing instructions (i.e. sometimes it will come up with "bear left, keep right" or "at the roundabout take the second exit" a quick glance at the SatNav and you notice it doesn't count the car park as an exit off the roundabout or the extra road they added so in actual fact it means the third exit.). When you have to glance down this is when the screen size really does matter.
So that's about all the different technology in the SatNav, if you only want a SatNav to take you from point a to point b I would strongly recommend a TomTom One as these are the most basic and easiest to use or if you want all the bells and whistles the TomTom GO 720 or 920.
Here is a website with all the different TomTom models on to help you decide
http://www.tomtom.com/products/category.php?ID=0&Language=1&TT=7a1281a6%3Ababa37bd%3A00000000%3A00000000%3A00000000%3A00000000%3A3v5mde392f9eklmsqrin431i33
One other very important thing...
by darrenforster99 - 11/30/07 11:40 PM In reply to: TomTom by darrenforster99One final important thing to remember
If you do get a SatNav - DON'T leave it on display in the car, or the charger, or the cradle, and make sure you wipe any tell tale signs off the windscreen (like sucker marks where the cradles been). Even if you've removed the SatNav people will still break into the car if they see the tell tale signs just in the hope you've left it in the glove box or under the seat. Also be careful if buying it from eBay as if its been stolen you wont be able to register for updates from TomTom.
And an other proposal...
by balouke - 12/8/07 11:13 AM In reply to: One other very important thing... by darrenforster99I do not know if in your country Mio SatNav's are available but I use for almost three years now a Mio A 701 with satisfaction: a cellphone, PDA, GPS, MP3/video player.. all-in-one. So since it is also my phone I will never forget it in my car and (important to me) I have to carry but one device with me...
I think that there are now similar devices from other firms.
I use the Mio GPS software (Mio Map, my prefence) but it can also be loaded with, for example,the Tom Tom soft if needed (OS is Windows Mobile).
You can also load GPS Dash or the Ozi-Explorer software to walk/navigate in open country, woods or mountains...
GPS - Mary Jane H.
by pupil26 - 12/1/07 12:57 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My experience of GPSs, based on my own Garmin nüvi200 - about 250$ in Sweden - is that it is the quality of the installed maps that counts. If you live in a city I don´t think there would be a problem, but if you live out in the vast woods as I do - better be prepared to find your ways by yourself.
Good Luck
Erik Bremer, Sweden
Buying A GPS
by WilliamHarper - 12/1/07 1:04 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Mary Jane:
you have to make a decision:
1. If you want a hand-held GPS, look at the Garmins - they have a new "high sensitivity " model (Vista HCx)that is state of the art and only about $250. This will serve you well for years and be a real treat. Why hand-held? Do you travel? Locate shops, train stations, hotels, etc. on the move in distant cities and countries. If exploring some exotic country or the mountains near your home, how do you get to where you are going and then get home?
2. A vehicle mounted GPS does similar but is primarily restricted to highways and byways. That is, how do you get to where you are going and then get home? Great if your touring is done city to city and around town, and not straying far from the car.
My suggestion? Having used both, I recommend both. The vehicle-mounted GPS is as near a necessity now was headlights and windshield wipers. But if you are off-road or of foot, definitely get a hand-held. NOTE: Some units can do both, but I don't recommend that - dedicated units work best at their own functions.
FYI - I have a hand-held that I've used on trips to several foreign countries (and US tourist sites). I know where the trains stations are, the best stores (seen as t my taxi whizzes by), and I know when the taxi is taking me for the "scenic" ride. I feel FAR safer knowing where I am, and how to get to my hotel, with a device not much larger than a cell phone.
GPS experance
by Hank Wells - 12/1/07 2:09 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
OK I expect you are in the US from you question. Tom-Tom is a Europian made device that is very popular over here. There is little to choose between the different makes as they all work the same way.
So why did I choose Tom-Tom? First it was on offer, second they regularly outdate the software by internet connection so new roads speeding cammeras changes etc are almost in real time, you can get maps for most counties on plug in cards the same size as phone sim cards, and finally its user friendly. Nobody sensible person wants to have to start pressing buttons etc when driving and it has 'touch' screen. Also the screen is a good size, you can adjust brightness and sound level.
You have a choice of voices (male & female, not synthesized) even John Cleese's voice. It comes with all the attachments you may need including a soft case so as not to damage the screen.
I give it 10 out of 10.
Jannerhank
Ask someone who owns one!
by stuflash - 12/1/07 2:16 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Having bought a GPS attachments for my PDA/cell phone, I can tell you from bitter experience not to depend on the info and specs that the manufacturer provides. In my case, I bought a Pharos GPS receiver and adapter for a Samsung I700. On paper, it looked good. In practice, it was a major disappointment. Things to look at are: How good, how fast, and how reliable is the GPS signal reception? How accurate is it? How easy is it to download maps into the device, or does it come pre-loaded with maps that can't be changed (BAD!)? Can you add in info about points of interest? Can you link to address info on your computer/PDA/cell phone? How good and how reliable is the software? (For mine, the software crashed far too often.) Are the directions it provides understandable, given in a timely way (i.e., not five seconds after you should have turned) and do they make sense? Will it accept voice commands? How bright and easily viewed is the screen? Will you need to view the screen if you're using it while driving, or will the voice directions suffice? How fast will it adapt to a missed turn? Ideally, you'd want to get answers to these questions for each of the devices you're thinking of buying, and for the area you're planning to use it in.
IMHO, it would make sense to give a GPS receiver a "test drive" just as you would a car you were thinking of buying. Unfortunately, this is rarely a possibility.
GPS UNITS Price and difference
by roters36333633 - 12/1/07 3:19 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Dear Mary,
You can purchase some cheaper units, the two most competative are Garmin & Tom Tom.
Garmin have been around for along time but their main buyers are from the aircraft industry and it took them quite some time to come into the road maps and did have difficulty with (ease of use) for the transport industry.
Tom Tom However have a large easy to use touch screen with very much more easy to use features.
The main differce is with all brands are BLUETOOTH this lets you talk hans free with your unit without the fuss of head phones or cords.
Also be sure the unit is compatible with most mobile phones as with TOM TOM the sound comes from the unit is cyrstal clear and the unit has a large capacity for phone numbers and addreses that you have been to.You can also change always the voice of who is directing you to your destination, the female on TOM TOM is easy on the ears and using the large arrows on the touch screen has my vote. Garmin do have these features but costs more for the same features. Also dont forget you can easily download updates for TOM TOM including new red light & Fixed spees Cameras. I shopped around for quite some time and my father has a Garmin for his small fixed wing ultra light plane.
Paying a bit more will save you cost such as hans free for mobiles.
I would think the price to be between $550-850 or lower if you buy second hand.
Best wishes and I hope this helped you.
Differences between portable GPS devices
by Food doc - 12/1/07 3:33 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've been using a hardwired GPS for years (it came with my car) and on many occasions it has been a lifesaver. The portable ones are a good alternative if your sister doesn't want to have a larger one installed in her car and have the advantage of being movable to a new car if and when she changes vehicles.
Some of the points to consider between units are:
1) The size of the screen and the display options (some will only show a map layout, others offer split screen views including turn by turn directions).
2) The audio quality and options for sending the sound through the car's speaker system. This may sound strange but these devices are most useful, IMHO, for the turn by turn directions they give by voice. I spend less time looking at the screen then listening to the directions.
3) Mounting options, i.e., attach to the visor, windshield, airconditioner vent, etc. and where the antenna (if any) needs to be placed. (don't worry too much about this most external antennas are about the size of a quarter and mount with magnets so they are very, very easy to install)
4) How you enter the location you want to go to (by touch screen, remote, voice controlled etc.)
5) The option for traffic updates, several units have this option but they are normally a subscription item with a monthly charge. I've never seen a unit though where you HAD to activate that option if you chose not to.
6) And, again IMHO, the options to update the map software. Few units have this option (the Alpine Blackbird comes to mind but that is a very expensive model) but when available this will help keep the unit from becoming dated as the maps become obsolete (This may sound strange but highway changes occur more often that you'd think and a yearly to every other year update can be useful).
Go to a reputable dealer with a wide varity of working models (not the ones with a static demo screen and try them all out listening carefully to the voice prompts and seeing how easy the screen is to see from a distance of about 2.5 feet (about how far you'll be from the unit when installed. Try entering directions to see how well the different systems work for you.
Good luck with your search.
Lil
Which GPS?
by trevorcourt - 12/1/07 3:56 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Mary Jane, firstly TomTom is definitely not a toy, infact it has the largest market share, at least in Europe, and is definitely the most comprehensive in terms of additional services such as weather, roadworks and traffic updates. I know they are putting a lot of resources into expanding their North American market. As well as route directions TomTom provides current speed and advises you when you excede the speed limit where known which I find useful. Total journey time and remaining joourney time are continually updated and if you take a wrong turn it will update the directions to bring you back on track
As with most things, you get what you pay for. A regional map of your local area on a memory stick will be cheapest. You can buy additional maps and at least with TomTom the higher end products have a hard disc and you can buy and download maps directly from their web page.
The TomTom GO series have bluetooth so you can hook into your telephone as a hands free and it also is the medium for downloading instant message updates relative to your journey such as detours. The latest editions also have built in MP3 player capability and one can make map updates and share them with other users and download music from your PC.
As you can imagine I am a committed user of TomTom, If you haven't done so already check their web page on www.tomtom.com.
One last point is that TomTom have recently aquired one of the companies who make the mapping software so they are also now fully integrated. Any info device is only as good as the database it uses. With the latest TomTom you can modify maps where you know there has been a change and also share this with the mapshare community
I usually keep my eye on the competition as well in bcase I decide to switch to another provider when I upgrade my hardware but so far I see no-one else who is as active in the level of support and development as TomTom.
I hope this helps and good luck
Gps all the same ?
by jsalazar21 - 12/1/07 4:18 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
No, not all gps systems are the same. I owned a couple of different gps systems. My first was a Magellan, with an Mps3 player and picture viewer. The equipment would constantly lock up. By the way I believe Magellan uses teleatlas for their mapping system. I currently own a Garmin 2720 for my gps. I could not be happier with this system. Not a lot of bells and whistles, It does the job well that it was design for, which is navigating. I believe they use Navteq for their mapping system. Each company updates their maps every 1 to two years. Which you can purchase their cdroms for the updates. Each company will update your software.
John S.
GPS Systems
by devondave - 12/1/07 4:55 AM In reply to: Aren't all GPS devices essentially the same? Why the price differences? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello everyone,
We bought a Garmin unit for the car at what we thought was a high price.
We set it up and it told us where we lived. OK.
As a trial we used it on a trip from Devon to Kent, about 250 miles. The fist part was OK, then we turned onto the coast road which is more direct and got nothing but complaints for the next hundred miles, trying to turn us left up every farm track to get back onto the motorway which was running at dead slow , Eventually it gave up and switched off.
This was just the start of a series of failures so if you are determined to buy these units, I suggest you try one out first on a cross country run.
We have thrown ours in the bin. A decent map is better as far as I am concerned.
Devondave
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