sat nav

[TerryG]

BUT google maps is completley useless if you are in a bad reception area. Plus having both avaliable i always opt for the tomtom as it is much nicer to use.

[JPB]

Terry, Google maps is simply a UI for Android navigation, it doesn't rely on a phone or wi-fi signal, it uses GPS just the same as the standalone satnav devices, so signal strength isn't relevant and GPS sees to it that you receive the maps as well as your direction, wherever you are, signal or no signal.

[Maaarrghk]

The sat nav in my 55 plate mondeo should have the voice of John Cooper Clarke saying "I'm not from round here mate,you should have got the bus".

Map disc is out of date - £300 from Mr Ford and it needs a software upgrade disc as well - over £100 from Mr Ford.

I go on googoo and write the route down before I set off. Once within half a mile I can ask a Postman or a Newsagent.

[JPB]

the voice of John Cooper Clarke saying "I'm not from round here mate,you should have got the bus".

Hmm, now there's a business model that would have the dragons reaching into their wallets.

[TerryG]

Terry, Google maps is simply a UI for Android navigation, it doesn't rely on a phone or wi-fi signal, it uses GPS just the same as the standalone satnav devices, so signal strength isn't relevant and GPS sees to it that you receive the maps as well as your direction, wherever you are, signal or no signal.

Very true but where do the maps come from? you will find the navigation packaged on your phone (or other device) get them as needed from the interweb. Offline navigation (garmin, navigon, tomtom, etc) is fairly costly. I have Navigon on my work mobile, a tomtom in the car and a HTC something or another running android with "maps" on it which if you are in the middle of nowhere and want a route home is useless unless you have a mobile signal however if you plan the route in advance it will download the maps on route.

[mr rusty]

Buy a road atlas- cheap as chips!I've never had a pratnav and never will As anyone who regularly ventures on foot or bike into our more remote areas will tell you, anything digital WILL let you down when you most need it, but ye olde map and compass and brain will always function

[TerryG]

Buy a road atlas

What's one of those then?

[JPB]

....but where do the maps come from? you will find the navigation packaged on your phone (or other device) get them as needed from the interweb. Offline navigation (garmin, navigon, tomtom, etc) is fairly costly. I have Navigon on my work mobile, a tomtom in the car and a HTC something or another running android with "maps" on it which if you are in the middle of nowhere and want a route home is useless unless you have a mobile signal however if you plan the route in advance it will download the maps on route.

But wherever you are, within the countries for which maps are present on your phone, you'd have that information available. I just type in the destination and off we go, occasionally, all apps are updated from the Android Market, maps occupy around 122MB on average and the GPS connection does the rest. Would a standalone satnav update itself on the move? Presumably, you'd have to take its memory card out, shove it in a PC card reader and install a map update to it that way. At least with Google's maps, you can, if you need to, install updates to the maps whilst mobile but you don't have to, they're all in there somewhere just as they're all on the card in a Garmin, Navman or Binatone standalone device and you can't connect one of those to the USB in your glove hole and have it playing tunes at you while Anna tells you where to go.

[mr rusty]

What's one of those then?

...........the navigation aid that will still function even after you've run over it or left it out in the rain ....but seriously, there are folks who will set out at this time of year onto Britains hills relying on nothing more than a smartphone to guide them and get them out of trouble: not wise...!!!!

[mach1rob]

But wherever you are, within the countries for which maps are present on your phone, you'd have that information available. I just type in the destination and off we go, occasionally, all apps are updated from the Android Market, maps occupy around 122MB on average and the GPS connection does the rest. Would a standalone satnav update itself on the move? Presumably, you'd have to take its memory card out, shove it in a PC card reader and install a map update to it that way. At least with Google's maps, you can, if you need to, install updates to the maps whilst mobile but you don't have to, they're all in there somewhere just as they're all on the card in a Garmin, Navman or Binatone standalone device and you can't connect one of those to the USB in your glove hole and have it playing tunes at you while Anna tells you where to go.

Erm actually you can! My TomTom has bluetooth and will stream music from iPod to the radio, and allows handsfree phone calling The TomTom that is fitted in dash to the Renault van I have outside updates as you go along, and will do mapshare which will use the 3G on your phone if needs be, as well as using TrafficMaster and RDS to recalculate routes too, and it allows music streaming via BT too.

However my Galaxy needs both GPS and 3G network for navigation, if I loose signal it still moves but the map either goes off, or goes all fuzzy as it's not loaded.

Thankfully, I know my way round the UK reasonably well, and only use them to find addresses once off the main road network, far easier than a cab full of A-Zs, however I do check the route it takes with a HGV map if I'm in the truck in case of low bridges and weight limits, anyone who relies solely on a satnav needs to step back and think, we've all seen the people who have driven down train lines, into rivers and footpaths cos sat nav said so...