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[jonny2112]

Thinking about a sat nav unit. To be honest I suppose I dont really need it, but I kinda want one.
The two main requirements are price (obviously) and that it covers Europe, or France anyway.
I dont know enough about them to know whether they can be upgraded with maps etc but guess someone on here will know as much as there is to know!
Very informative place this....

[2001CatOwner]

I have TomTom for all of North America and for the upgrades/different maps its on a memory stick that i download from my PC to the unit it self.  The stick is like the one they use on cameras.  Otherwise the construction and regular maps auto update from the link of the sat.  Hope that helps you out.

[Ronald_McBurger]

I have a Garmin i3 which is very cheap, but a bit slow working out routes compared to my Tom Tom ONE, which now is about £135 and is simply unbeatable value. Very fast, very accurate and very easy to use. There are much better ones out there, but for the money you cannot beat that.

[cbx550bertie]

yep tom tom one great value and ease of use.. iuse it every day in my job at comet delivering to customers even finds folk who dont give us their full delivery address or gets as close as poss....  

[Baron Von Spongebob]

I have a Cable & Wireless stand alone Satnav. Sometimes gets cofused, but so do i. .

Also have Tom Tom on my phone/pda which works well. If that goes wrong i just laugh at Ozzy Osbournes voice. He has a way with words, mainly swear words..

[Admin]

Mio C510E http://www.gps-systems.co.uk/mitac_mio_c510e.asp

I have one, had it for 6 months or so now and can say it really is excellent!

Comes with UK maps fully installed, and complete street level mapping of all of Europe on a DVD is also included.

All you need is a 1gb memory card (dirt cheap) and away you can go round Europe.

It is quick, very accurate, easy to work, has tons of features (it can even guide you on foot!) and is very well priced.

Tomtom is good, but I chose this because it has consistently excellent reviews and I like to be a little different!

[Paul M]

I much prefer a built-in system for two reasons - first, it's integrated with the stereo system so you get very clear speech and it fades the music to the back speakers while talking; and second you don't have to remove it from the car every time you get out to prevent it being stolen.

Saying that the key disadvantage is that it's fitted to one car so if you have more than one it's maybe not the best solution. For that reason I bought Tom Tom Navigator 6 for my phone, and it works surprisingly well (running on a Nokia E65 which is one of the latest Symbian S60 v3 phones). I installed it onto a 2Gb micro SD card, and got maps for all of Europe as well as North America -- it was an absolute godsend when I was in the US, such a breeze compared to when I was there a few years ago and had to navigate by map in the dark. It uses a bluetooth GPS module so just switch it on and throw it onto the dash, it picks up the signal very quickly and has never dropped out in my experience. Because I already have a bluetooth car kit, it automatically connects to this when the ignition is turned on so any navigation announcements mute the radio and come out of the main speakers.

Whenever I'm in the Omega I still use the built-in navi, even though the maps are now out of date compared to the Tom Tom. This has only been evident once though, when it told me to take the 2nd exit on the roundabout which had actually been converted to a flyover bypassing the roundabout completely! However the Tom Tom comes highly recommended, especially if you already have one of the latest Symbian phones with enough processing power to run it at full speed.

[TheBoy]

I personally use TomTom 6 with the seamless map of western europe on my iPaq Pocket PC, and also on my Windows mobile phone.  Personally, never got on with TomTom on Nokias (or other Symbian) due to no touchscreen, it becomes clunky to use.

The earlier TomTom standalone units were a bit too big, but later ones fit nicely in pocket when leaving car, and some can act as bluetooth handfree for your phone

[Kevin Wood]

I use CoPilot on a PocketPC with a bluetooth GPS and am thinking about replacing it with a TomTom.

It's a pain not having a one box solution so if you forget a charging cable, etc. you're totally stuffed. Also, the software crashes the PocketPC frequently requiring a reboot. If you don't use it for a few weeks the PocketPC loses its' memory and you need to re-install or restore a backup. It's just a total pain. Unless you use a PocketPC reqularly for other things and hence always have it with you and charged it's hopeless IMO.

Kevin

[Paul M]

I personally use TomTom 6 with the seamless map of western europe on my iPaq Pocket PC, and also on my Windows mobile phone.  Personally, never got on with TomTom on Nokias (or other Symbian) due to no touchscreen, it becomes clunky to use.

I don't find the interface a problem at all. My dad has a Dell Axim PDA which has navi on it and a touchscreen, and there's very little benefit other than being able to type a bit quicker. Considering how little you have to actually enter when using postcode or Zip code lookup, I don't find it makes much difference. The larger screen is useful, but of course the trade-off is that it's a much larger device overall.

The earlier TomTom standalone units were a bit too big, but later ones fit nicely in pocket when leaving car, and some can act as bluetooth handfree for your phone

This is the beauty of the Symbian solution in that I always take the phone out anyway, and there's nothing extra to carry. I hate having bulky items to carry around, it's one of the key reasons I bought this particular phone as it's one of the smallest Symbian models available.

Oh and both my cars have proper built-in bluetooth handsfree car kits (which the navigation software hooks into) so I wouldn't use that feature either.

I still prefer the built-in navigation though. It just integrates better, plus it works better in areas where the GPS signal isn't so good because it takes input from the car's speed sensor so it knows exactly how far you've travelled and how fast. Those cases are few and far between, but you do notice the difference.

[TheBoy]

I personally use TomTom 6 with the seamless map of western europe on my iPaq Pocket PC, and also on my Windows mobile phone.  Personally, never got on with TomTom on Nokias (or other Symbian) due to no touchscreen, it becomes clunky to use.

I don't find the interface a problem at all. My dad has a Dell Axim PDA which has navi on it and a touchscreen, and there's very little benefit other than being able to type a bit quicker. Considering how little you have to actually enter when using postcode or Zip code lookup, I don't find it makes much difference. The larger screen is useful, but of course the trade-off is that it's a much larger device overall.

The earlier TomTom standalone units were a bit too big, but later ones fit nicely in pocket when leaving car, and some can act as bluetooth handfree for your phone

This is the beauty of the Symbian solution in that I always take the phone out anyway, and there's nothing extra to carry. I hate having bulky items to carry around, it's one of the key reasons I bought this particular phone as it's one of the smallest Symbian models available.

Oh and both my cars have proper built-in bluetooth handsfree car kits (which the navigation software hooks into) so I wouldn't use that feature either.

I still prefer the built-in navigation though. It just integrates better, plus it works better in areas where the GPS signal isn't so good because it takes input from the car's speed sensor so it knows exactly how far you've travelled and how fast. Those cases are few and far between, but you do notice the difference.

Two devices is a minor pain, which is why I tend to now use a Windows powered phone, but the iPaq does work better, as its faster, and can use a wired gps that I have hardwired in the car. Bluetooth GPS' are always a pain due to constant charging they need (I use my TomTom a lot, esp for speed cameras). WM5 and later devices can go flat with no loss of data.

Built in satnavs are convenient, but usually very old technology.  Best I have used was in a Disco 3, worse (of 'modern' built in) is in my brothers X5.

[TheBoy]

This is the beauty of the Symbian solution in that I always take the phone out anyway, and there's nothing extra to carry. I hate having bulky items to carry around, it's one of the key reasons I bought this particular phone as it's one of the smallest Symbian models available.

I was nearly tempted by an N95 (I like Nokia stuff, as it just seems to work, unlike most others), so borrowed one for a day, but couldn't get on with lack of touchscreen. Depends what you want or used to I guess  :-/

I currently use an Orange SPV m510, really good bit of kit, despite its age, but not quite seamless with my Nokia Bluetooth kit.  The later version is, and I am trying to get my grubby mits on one as we speak...

[Paul M]

I personally use TomTom 6 with the seamless map of western europe on my iPaq Pocket PC, and also on my Windows mobile phone.  Personally, never got on with TomTom on Nokias (or other Symbian) due to no touchscreen, it becomes clunky to use.

I don't find the interface a problem at all. My dad has a Dell Axim PDA which has navi on it and a touchscreen, and there's very little benefit other than being able to type a bit quicker. Considering how little you have to actually enter when using postcode or Zip code lookup, I don't find it makes much difference. The larger screen is useful, but of course the trade-off is that it's a much larger device overall.

The earlier TomTom standalone units were a bit too big, but later ones fit nicely in pocket when leaving car, and some can act as bluetooth handfree for your phone

This is the beauty of the Symbian solution in that I always take the phone out anyway, and there's nothing extra to carry. I hate having bulky items to carry around, it's one of the key reasons I bought this particular phone as it's one of the smallest Symbian models available.

Oh and both my cars have proper built-in bluetooth handsfree car kits (which the navigation software hooks into) so I wouldn't use that feature either.

I still prefer the built-in navigation though. It just integrates better, plus it works better in areas where the GPS signal isn't so good because it takes input from the car's speed sensor so it knows exactly how far you've travelled and how fast. Those cases are few and far between, but you do notice the difference.

Two devices is a minor pain, which is why I tend to now use a Windows powered phone, but the iPaq does work better, as its faster, and can use a wired gps that I have hardwired in the car. Bluetooth GPS' are always a pain due to constant charging they need (I use my TomTom a lot, esp for speed cameras). WM5 and later devices can go flat with no loss of data.

Built in satnavs are convenient, but usually very old technology.  Best I have used was in a Disco 3, worse (of 'modern' built in) is in my brothers X5.

You can get an external antenna for the GPS unit I have, so just throw it into the glovebox and connect it to a power supply and forget about it. Personally I move it around as I may be using it in a different car or even occasionally on the bike in case I get lost on a tour (only after stopping of course) - haven't needed it yet but you never know.

I don't get on with Windows Mobile at all, and that's not an anti-Microsoft thing I just think its only saving grace is leveraging the Windows desktop. My dad's PDA is WM and I'm surprised the hard reset button still works it's been used so many times after lock-ups. Likewise a colleage had a WM phone (an SPV funnily enough, don't know what model though) and it locked regularly and took ages to reboot.

[VX1]

I have a tom tom one, get on with really well, had no problems with it. Must admit though this is the fourth one I have had as when I connected to the  pc and the tom tom home loaded up it would do a quick scan of the sd card and WIPE it clean so I couldn't do any form of update. This was the only problem I had, apart from that tomtom are very good, value for money, ease of use and touchscreen plus bluetooth enabled for live traffic info. Best bit of kit I bought in a long time.

[Paul M]

I was nearly tempted by an N95 (I like Nokia stuff, as it just seems to work, unlike most others), so borrowed one for a day, but couldn't get on with lack of touchscreen. Depends what you want or used to I guess  :-/

This point highlights the difference in what we're after. The N95 doesn't even make it onto my shortlist as it's simply too big. I want something that's barely noticable when in the pocket, as I carry my phone with me pretty much all the time, even on the odd ocassions it's warm enough to wear shorts up here. The E65, while not as advanced as the N95, does all the important stuff and is much smaller and lighter. It's more a business oriented model, so for example it only has a basic 2MP camera without a flash, and only one built-in loudspeaker rather than a stereo pair, which suits me fine as it keeps the focus on the important stuff while minimising size. It's been flawless since I got it, even the VOIP using the built-in SIP client over the WiFi worked a treat when I was in the US, saving me a fortune on roaming charges as there are loads of free WiFi hotspots in some cities over there (SF being the pick of the bunch). Battery life is surprisingly good too, something that many 3G Nokias have struggled with -- both the 6280 and N80 were pretty poor in this regard.

[TheBoy]

You can get an external antenna for the GPS unit I have, so just throw it into the glovebox and connect it to a power supply and forget about it. Personally I move it around as I may be using it in a different car or even occasionally on the bike in case I get lost on a tour (only after stopping of course) - haven't needed it yet but you never know.

I don't get on with Windows Mobile at all, and that's not an anti-Microsoft thing I just think its only saving grace is leveraging the Windows desktop. My dad's PDA is WM and I'm surprised the hard reset button still works it's been used so many times after lock-ups. Likewise a colleage had a WM phone (an SPV funnily enough, don't know what model though) and it locked regularly and took ages to reboot.

I use the iPaq on my bike (via Autocom), and it is also the MP3 player, with a Nokia being the phone. Bike to Bike comms via Icom PMR...

Anyone looking for Bike communications, Autocom is the way to go, and its possible to have conversations at silly speeds (obviously not recommended!), and the other party isn't aware you are on a bike...

As to WM, you mean soft reset . Hard reset is back to factory defaults.  WM is a bit like Windows 9x - any app can crash another. The key is to only install the apps you need, not chuck everything you can download to it.  Mine (both the iPaq and the SPV) are stable - though occasionally resets when TomTom quits.  Only apps I run on them are TomTom 6, Checkpoint (for cameras), Memory Map (for OS maps for when I go for a stroll), a couple of games, and the built in apps.  I have had the SPV crash once on me in a call - but if you saw the state of the phone (it really has been knocked about), that is not bad.

[TheBoy]

I was nearly tempted by an N95 (I like Nokia stuff, as it just seems to work, unlike most others), so borrowed one for a day, but couldn't get on with lack of touchscreen. Depends what you want or used to I guess  :-/

This point highlights the difference in what we're after. The N95 doesn't even make it onto my shortlist as it's simply too big. I want something that's barely noticable when in the pocket, as I carry my phone with me pretty much all the time, even on the odd ocassions it's warm enough to wear shorts up here. The E65, while not as advanced as the N95, does all the important stuff and is much smaller and lighter. It's more a business oriented model, so for example it only has a basic 2MP camera without a flash, and only one built-in loudspeaker rather than a stereo pair, which suits me fine as it keeps the focus on the important stuff while minimising size. It's been flawless since I got it, even the VOIP using the built-in SIP client over the WiFi worked a treat when I was in the US, saving me a fortune on roaming charges as there are loads of free WiFi hotspots in some cities over there (SF being the pick of the bunch). Battery life is surprisingly good too, something that many 3G Nokias have struggled with -- both the 6280 and N80 were pretty poor in this regard.

Absolutely.

I am after something that replaces my iPaq hx2750 and Nokia 6230i. So its got to be a fast organiser, a usable phone, preferably run WM (so I can run Checkpoint), have Wifi and Bluetooth, and preferably have a car cradle available for it, and work well with Nokia carkits.

The Symbians, for me, fail on the organiser bit, as the input system is too clunky. I guess if you're used to texting, its not so bad, but the lack of a touchscreen is the real killer for me (and the small screen in case of E65)

Cameras do not interest me on phones. Lets face it, they are all pretty dire.

[Danny]

I was watching this thread regarding sat nav, as i wanted one aswell, but i'm intending to buy nokia's next communicator, the E90, upon its release, and like the E65 and N95, it's got GPS, so i'll probably sort that out with sat nav

[sir moanalot]

ive had a tomtom on a hp palm (kept crashing) and currently a tomtom go300 and tomtom go 910 (which has everything including us and europe maps mp3 and bluetooth handsfree facility with a remote control). but then im tomtom biased!

[TheBoy]

ive had a tomtom on a hp palm (kept crashing) and currently a tomtom go300 and tomtom go 910 (which has everything including us and europe maps mp3 and bluetooth handsfree facility with a remote control). but then im tomtom biased!

I have to agree, I think TomTom are market leaders for a reason....

[Taxi_Driver]

ive had a tomtom on a hp palm (kept crashing) and currently a tomtom go300 and tomtom go 910 (which has everything including us and europe maps mp3 and bluetooth handsfree facility with a remote control). but then im tomtom biased!

I have to agree, I think TomTom are market leaders for a reason....

I like my tomtom 510   Tho i dont use the bluetooth on it.....i have a seperate bleutooth headset for my phone .
I have the RDS-TMS aerial for it.....but find this a bit pants sometimes.
ie it can never find a signal on the m4.....swindon to heathrow.
Also it told me iirc 19mins delay on the trip to the lakes.....actually an hour  
But to be fair as it gets the traffic info from the radio stations broadcasting traffic info......its more than likely because either local radio stations arent broadcasting traffic info or its not upto date.

Only other bad point i have found is the windscreen mount drops down with the weight of the tomtom, so i have to prop it up......tho the mount may have been affected with the sun/heat as i dont bother to remove the mount.

Other point on them is I wouldnt buy a 910 purely coz it has a hard disk in it, i dont know the reliability of the 910, but imo vibration and hard disks dont mix well.

[Admin]

ive had a tomtom on a hp palm (kept crashing) and currently a tomtom go300 and tomtom go 910 (which has everything including us and europe maps mp3 and bluetooth handsfree facility with a remote control). but then im tomtom biased!

I have to agree, I think TomTom are market leaders for a reason....

Marketing?  

Personal opinion, but I just think the mapping, the directions, the display and the sheer range of features for the price are better on my Mio 510 than the equivilent tomtom.

[TheBoy]

ive had a tomtom on a hp palm (kept crashing) and currently a tomtom go300 and tomtom go 910 (which has everything including us and europe maps mp3 and bluetooth handsfree facility with a remote control). but then im tomtom biased!

I have to agree, I think TomTom are market leaders for a reason....

Marketing?  

Personal opinion, but I just think the mapping, the directions, the display and the sheer range of features for the price are better on my Mio 510 than the equivilent tomtom.

No, I don't think Marketing....  ....in fact, they do very little advertising in this country.  The software is the best imho, always has been ahead of the rivals.  The mapping is irrelevent, as there are only 2 digital map providers, TeleAtlas and Navteq, and they are both very similar.

I think they are the (current) market leader by merit...

[TheBoy]

Oh, and if you do continental driving, the 'Seamless' European map, introduced with TomTom 6 is awesome - saves all the fartarsing about with all the individual maps from previous versions....

[megaomega123]

I have a Garmin i3 which is very cheap, but a bit slow working out routes compared to my Tom Tom ONE, which now is about £135 and is simply unbeatable value. Very fast, very accurate and very easy to use. There are much better ones out there, but for the money you cannot beat that.

I also have a Garmin i3. Mine is prone to falling off the windscreen. The other day it was once again on the dash and due to the constant falling off, the speaker stopped working. I had to take it apart, then cut the speaker wires, feed them out the back of the unit and wire them to an external speaker.  I have to say that it sounds so much better now lol. I have a small, spare home cinema speaker under the drivers seat, so now she can talk out of my arse as well as her own.  

[Kevin Wood]

Anyone looking for Bike communications, Autocom is the way to go, and its possible to have conversations at silly speeds (obviously not recommended!), and the other party isn't aware you are on a bike...

I use one in the Westfield on long journeys too. It's great.  

Kevin

[TheBoy]

Anyone looking for Bike communications, Autocom is the way to go, and its possible to have conversations at silly speeds (obviously not recommended!), and the other party isn't aware you are on a bike...

I use one in the Westfield on long journeys too. It's great.  

Kevin

LOL, yes, I can see any form of communication at speed in a Westfield could prove tedious after a while

[sir moanalot]

i used my go 300 in portugal and found it invaluable, when we got to our villa i just programmed it in as my home location and wherever we went we was able to get back no problem! oh and yes i agree -the holder is crap, drops down like an old geezer without viagra!!  

[TheBoy]

i used my go 300 in portugal and found it invaluable, when we got to our villa i just programmed it in as my home location and wherever we went we was able to get back no problem! oh and yes i agree -the holder is crap, drops down like an old geezer without viagra!!  

All windscreen mounts are naff.  Mount it so the unit rests on the dash somewhere...

[theolodian]

I much prefer a built-in system for two reasons - first, it's integrated with the stereo system so you get very clear speech and it fades the music to the back speakers while talking; and second you don't have to remove it from the car every time you get out to prevent it being stolen.

I have the factory sat-nav and I plan to get one of these other units.  I tried to use it for the first time in months today.  It kept telling me to turn AFTER I had passed the turn until I had gone a couple of miles.  The instructions often don't make any sense.  It tells you what street to turn at but there are rarely any street signs.  I really want the graphical display.

LB, does the Mio 510 handsfree work OK?  It has Windows CE, right?  Can you watch movies on it (obviously not while driving)?  I would like a handheld sat-nav that I can take on the train to London, etc..  Watch movies and listen to music on the train and then use it to wander around the city on foot.  I am currently carrying an iPod and a lot of printed google maps every time that I go.  I borrowed a sat-nav once and even though it gave instructions for driving it was still a great help.

[TheBoy]

I much prefer a built-in system for two reasons - first, it's integrated with the stereo system so you get very clear speech and it fades the music to the back speakers while talking; and second you don't have to remove it from the car every time you get out to prevent it being stolen.

I have the factory sat-nav and I plan to get one of these other units.  I tried to use it for the first time in months today.  It kept telling me to turn AFTER I had passed the turn until I had gone a couple of miles.  The instructions often don't make any sense.  It tells you what street to turn at but there are rarely any street signs.  I really want the graphical display.

LB, does the Mio 510 handsfree work OK?  It has Windows CE, right?  Can you watch movies on it (obviously not while driving)?  I would like a handheld sat-nav that I can take on the train to London, etc..  Watch movies and listen to music on the train and then use it to wander around the city on foot.  I am currently carrying an iPod and a lot of printed google maps every time that I go.  I borrowed a sat-nav once and even though it gave instructions for driving it was still a great help.

Sounds like you need a PDA...

In london (or other cities), sometimes it takes a while for the gps to get a good signal

[Admin]

Theo, on the handsfree question.... I don't know, I will try it tomorrow and let you know.

It does run windows CE, so I am sure you could watch movies on it (this would not be good for battery life though).

Navigation on foot is excellent.

[Taxi_Driver]

I much prefer a built-in system for two reasons - first, it's integrated with the stereo system so you get very clear speech and it fades the music to the back speakers while talking; and second you don't have to remove it from the car every time you get out to prevent it being stolen.

I have the factory sat-nav and I plan to get one of these other units.  I tried to use it for the first time in months today.  It kept telling me to turn AFTER I had passed the turn until I had gone a couple of miles.  The instructions often don't make any sense.  It tells you what street to turn at but there are rarely any street signs.  I really want the graphical display.

LB, does the Mio 510 handsfree work OK?  It has Windows CE, right?  Can you watch movies on it (obviously not while driving)?  I would like a handheld sat-nav that I can take on the train to London, etc..  Watch movies and listen to music on the train and then use it to wander around the city on foot.  I am currently carrying an iPod and a lot of printed google maps every time that I go.  I borrowed a sat-nav once and even though it gave instructions for driving it was still a great help.

Sounds like you need a PDA...

In london (or other cities), sometimes it takes a while for the gps to get a good signal

I think its the tall buildings on both sides of the street.....if im in central london my tomtom quite often loses gps.....might be better with an external aerial  :-/

[theolodian]

TB/TD - I don't want an external antenna, willing to wait for signal if on foot.  Ideal would be 4.X-5" widescreen PDA with flip-out GPS antenna, SD, Bluetooth, Wifi, speaker, mic, and earphone socket.  Bluetooth handsfree in car, car and foot nav, movies, music, and lastly Internet at Nero/Starbucks.  OTOH don't want it built into phone, like that to be small and simple.

LB, cheers!  Hopefully can get power on the train.  Otherwise yeah, wouldn't expect it to last.

[TheBoy]

I much prefer a built-in system for two reasons - first, it's integrated with the stereo system so you get very clear speech and it fades the music to the back speakers while talking; and second you don't have to remove it from the car every time you get out to prevent it being stolen.

I have the factory sat-nav and I plan to get one of these other units.  I tried to use it for the first time in months today.  It kept telling me to turn AFTER I had passed the turn until I had gone a couple of miles.  The instructions often don't make any sense.  It tells you what street to turn at but there are rarely any street signs.  I really want the graphical display.

LB, does the Mio 510 handsfree work OK?  It has Windows CE, right?  Can you watch movies on it (obviously not while driving)?  I would like a handheld sat-nav that I can take on the train to London, etc..  Watch movies and listen to music on the train and then use it to wander around the city on foot.  I am currently carrying an iPod and a lot of printed google maps every time that I go.  I borrowed a sat-nav once and even though it gave instructions for driving it was still a great help.

Sounds like you need a PDA...

In london (or other cities), sometimes it takes a while for the gps to get a good signal

I think its the tall buildings on both sides of the street.....if im in central london my tomtom quite often loses gps.....might be better with an external aerial  :-/

The newer ones with SatrSirf III chipset would be better...

[Paul M]

Other point on them is I wouldnt buy a 910 purely coz it has a hard disk in it, i dont know the reliability of the 910, but imo vibration and hard disks dont mix well.

Disks that are designed for it can handle vibration no problem. My head unit has a hard drive for storing the navi maps and music, and it works seamlessly. And every iPod ever made, with the exception of shuffle and nano models, contains a hard drive. I haven't heard of many HD failures on them.

[TheBoy]

And every iPod ever made, with the exception of shuffle and nano models, contains a hard drive. I haven't heard of many HD failures on them.

Actually, seen a few fail now, though whether its due to the constant movement or the fact they are getting old (or a combination), I don't know...

[theolodian]

And every iPod ever made, with the exception of shuffle and nano models, contains a hard drive. I haven't heard of many HD failures on them.

Actually, seen a few fail now, though whether its due to the constant movement or the fact they are getting old (or a combination), I don't know...

I can't complain about mine.  Over 4 years old now, computers generally don't last nearly that long but do get used more.  Don't use it tons, but do use it semi-regularly.  Would kinda like a new one if only to charge over USB instead of Firewire.

[Jay w]

I am a big fan of the windows smartphone, i have had one ever since they first came out in 2001 and have watched them develop into something that is very usable today and does everything that i want from a device.

As for sat nav i use i-go, it's format looks to be identical to mio and i my opinion it is far faster and more acccurate than Tom Tom. the maps are seamless through europe and the POI stuff is far more useable.

Tom Tom cornered the market due to them being the first one to supply at a price that joe public could justify. I had one of the original Tom Tom Go units, this was before they started numbering them. The other thing that helped Tom Tom was the fact that they managed to get their units into the likes of Halfords.