Hi All,
I am looking to buy a GPS on this ebay sale. Free maps update is a must. Free Traffic update would be a bonus. Read through some reviews on net but still confused. Found these two models on TGG ebay store Garmin Nuvi series 65LMT & 2589LMT . Would like to hear from you guys on which would be a more practical and reliable one. :) Thanks.
Hi Lovebargain,
Thanks. yep. I agree.But don't want to rely on network signal. Lost track twice with signal loss & rerouting. Hence planning to get a dedicated satellite one :)
You can download areas to use offline with Google Maps that way you don't be relying on mobile reception or data download, just GPS.
Couple it with an in car phone charger and you're all set. Plus you get nice traffic alerts with Google Maps (online only of course).
Hi the-mal,
Thanks, I'll give it a try and see.:)
You should always know roughly where you are going and not rely on the GPS too much.
I'm not saying you will but people have litterly driven into the sea by following their GPS.
Or the recent story about the US tourist going 5 hours in the wrong direction
My point is you always want to know I am taking <whatever> exit. Or if I get to <whatever> road I've gone too far.
Who is your phone provider?
Yep. agreed Knick007 .I always do a research at home before any long trip.
But when you miss an exit or need to take one off from your actual route, then you know rerouting depends on the network signal!!. But now I think HereMAps sounds like a better option than Google offline maps.
I'll try and see how it worksout.And by the way I am with Vodafone. Thanks again.
Ive been using HERE maps on my phone for ages, i use it offline with GPS only
since I've changed from android to windows mobile (lumia 640), I've been using here maps and don't have any problems with them, they are accurate (I used it only within Victoria though), also it shows speed limits and the level of traffic.
Thanks Ametric for your thumbs up for HERE MAps:)
Thanks shapers.. I'll give HEREMAPS a try and see :)
I have been using here.. And now with the new free Vodafone from woolies. Am using that as my GPS.
But I was also confused as to should I get GPS fro newZealand trip.. Or here would be sufficient?
Answer = Lumia 640 on Windows Mobile 8.1 and Here Maps and Here Drive+.
Just download the country to the phone and you have offline visual and spoken navigation in a whole heap of countries. Have used mine all over Europe, Middle East, Asia and NZ on recent trips and found it worked great.
Connect to 3G/4G and you get real time traffic alerts and other information added to it.
The 640 also doubles as a 4G LTE phone as well with great integration to Outlook.com and better interface for email for Google and Yahoo than an iPhone (which I previously used - ex work phone).
Havent used my Navman MY50T since HERE came out.
Here Drive is not as accurate as it used to be but still much better than GMaps
Here maps is the word.
I have downloaded the Australian maps and works great offline.
Forgot to mention last month we spent a weekend driving around Sydney and Canberra.
I had my Lumia 640 with Here on my side, my wife had her iPhone with Google Maps on her side.
(We run a dual 12V socket adapter with cables running to each phone).
Both systems worked flawlessly from just north of Gosford, however we did notice the Here maps faster to relay instructions to us than the iPhone which saved us on a few occasions. (We covered in and around Sydney in the Rocks, CBD, Eastern Suburbs, and then later in Canberra and Queanbeyan).
My wife was super impressed when I told her I only spent $99 on the prepaid Optus locked Lumia (used with a post paid plan). She then added it left her $900 (diff between iPhone and Lumia) to spend on dresses and shoes!! :(
I've used the older brother to the 2589, the 2689LMT. It's a very good unit, and routing algorithms are quite robust. These garmin units also come with a traffic radio receiver in the power cable, that uses the SUNA silent FM channel for traffic updates. It used to be crap, but now it's pretty good. Moreover, if you set up the Smartphone Link app, your phone can also feed traffic updates to the GPS unit (my phone feeds traffic data to my GPS, but still uses the car stereo for telephony the way I've set them).
In between the 65LMT and 2589, defo go the 2589. It's got a capacitive screen, and is overall a much more responsive unit. Garmin provides map updates about every quarter.
I dont mind using phones as GPS units, but overall I just find it more convenient to have a dedicated GPS unit and have the phone display a large speedometer (I use the DigiHUD app) when it's in the cradle…but my phone does the job of the music player in the car too.
My GPS is the Garmin nuvicam LMT, which also has a built in dash cam. It's quite expensive (got mine for $410 on discount) but for the same price as a GPS+good dashcam, and the convenience of using only 1 power socket, I take it as better value than buying 2 devices separately.
Is the Garmin the first dashcam you have or have you tried others. Can you recommend a standalone one (without a GPS)?
I have a Navman Mivue 560 on the rear, which is pretty good for the price.
They're both the first dashcams I've tried as such…can't really fault them. The biggest advantage I see with the Garmin Nuvicam LMT is the consumption of one power socket, and its quick-release magnetic mount taking it on/off much easier when parking the car in very hot situations…
As for dash cams, the GW1 series seems popular for the price…but with navman at least there's recourse.
For example, the Garmin had a tendency to fall off my windscreen every now and then. JB Hifi replaced it, no questions asked.
Thanks. The quick release sounds great.
Was looking at the lower Mivue 530 due to its compact size a while back. I guess for the price it should be good (never had an issue with Navman products).
How long does the battery last on these - a few hours? Or are they really meant just for keeping on board settings intact between driving?
Meant as a mechanism of safely saving video on engine shut-down if anything…battery maybe an hour tops.
If you have some data on your phone, google map are the best except they do not have speed camera alert.
Google map give you real time traffic as well.