Try using your brain once in a while, yours is starting to rot already.

Yeah, most who have them only have them for w.nk factor anyway.

They rarely get used for their intended purpose.

I am a converted user of Tomtom.

I have grown up using the UBD and have no problems navigating my way
around (1 yr of backpacking around the world and navigating myself can
testify to that).

But the speed of the navigation with the machine is absolutely
fantastic.  Finding an address by typing it in, letting it work out
the route, and then just drive is far faster than doing manually,
especially if the route is complex, needing map users to stop to check
on the way.  Of course this does not apply if you have a passenger who
can navigate for you (but my wife - probably as with most women - is
hopeless at reading a map :-)))

The best feature is working out an itenery before you go.  Last
Christmas, I programmed a route with numerous waypoints (addresses of
Chistmas light houses that I need to visit) before setting of.  All
you need to do then is jump into the car after each way point and set
off without needing to look at a single map.  Believe me all who
followed me was impressed.

I am using a PDA with GPS built in (ASUS MyPal model).  I run TomTom
on it.  I have a friend who drives taxi who also swears by the speed
and time saved by using these machines.

The biggest problem is the cost of upgrading the maps - at around $300
it's not cheap.  My current map is dated 2005!

Cheers

Probably fine if you live in Melboring or Shiteney or Brisvegas and are only
navigating around your home city, because you quickly get to know the main
roads etc, and pretty much would only need your UBD for the back streets.
For someone who doesn't live in, or frequently go to the big smoke though,
the GPS is one of the best inventions ever. I can read maps fine, and in the
days of UBD could read the map before departing and have a fair idea of
where I had to go and could _normally_ get to the destination fine. But all
it would take would be a couple of missing street signs, roadworks, or
getting forced into an incorrect lane etc, and I'd be up the creek - then it
would be a matter of driving until I could find somewhere safe to stop, work
out where I am by this stage and try to replot a course to the destination -
sometimes this could take a few attempts before finally getting to the
destination. Having a passenger helps, but my most common passenger is my
wife, who can't read a map to save herself.
Having the GPS though was a godsend. The first time I used it to go to
brisvegas, I was going to a function at the exhibition grounds (first time
in about 15 years, so I didn't really know where they were). I looked on the
UBD first, and compared that with the way the GPS said - the GPS decided the
same way I would have looking at the UBD. Get down there though, and I found
that one of the major roads that I needed to take was closed for roadworks -
this would have been almost a disaster for me previously, but I just put my
trust in the GPS and followed what it said. Drove around a few streets, and
before I knew it, I was where I needed to be. It had me at the destination,
probably quicker than I could have found somewhere to park to read the map.
Bloody Marvellous!!! I now find driving around unknown areas far less
stressful than it used to be, and I can concentrate more on actually
driving, than on trying to read dicky little streetsigns that may not exist,
etc.
As for using it in my home town - no point really. I will occassionally use
the map in it to find where a back street is (just like I would have used
the UBD in the past), but never use it to actually tell me where to go. It
will occasionally go on for novelty factor, just to see how it's course
compares to mine etc. It's when going to Brissy and Shiteney for someone who
isn't there frequently enough to know there way around at all, where the
thing comes into it's own.

nospam said...

Maybe not. But for me we found the Tom Tom invaluable whenever visiting
unfamiliar suburbs. Just punch in the destination address, let it do its
stuff and off we go.

Had to go to the other side of MEL to pick up a car from Pickles
Auctions. Then from there we went to Vicroads in Broadmeadows (now, THAT
was an experience in itself). Programmed in the destinations for each of
the above. Took us there no probs.

On the way home it was a bit of a worry. Punched in my "home" as the
destination. It calc'ed he route and off we went. Followed the
destructions and started to wonder, where the farque is it taking us?
Saw what appeared to be the freeway off to my right. Anyway, gave the TT
the benefit of the doubt. Sure enough, 3 mins. later we were on the
freeway and on our way.

It's handy too in that it gives you ETA to destination, remaining time
on the road, etc.

I've done some forward planning for a trip using TomTom.

Seemed to work alright. Ran the simulation but it didn't appear to
tell me to wait for the ferry to cross a lake. :-)

Little wonder that the "amphibious" car could only manage 12 km/h on
the water.

There is no ability to search this particular list on the Mio. Oh well.

Yes, I do like it, despite the drawbacks.

FWIW, customer support has been answering my queries very rapidly.

Greg.