Anyone using the Tom Tom 500 Sat Nav?

[drainaudio]

HI all,
Considering a Tom Tom 500, mostly for navigating through Europe and also for the speed camera information. Seems like there are plenty on Ebay at a reasonable price - anyone using one of these? I've been in a car with the 300 and it seemed pretty good. 500 has the bluetooth phone feature which I think is worth the extra £'s in itself. In reading the product details I couldn't really work out how much you get in terms of included maps - once in Europe if I want to navigate around the city areas do I need to purchase additional map information?
Thanks, Geoff.

 

[television]

Navman

I prefer the Navman, larger screen, not as fat,get the 650 and you have all of the Europe maps,The 635 fits in top box on SL free camara data base in Europe
Malcolm

 

[merc engineer]

I prefer the Navman, larger screen, not as fat,get the 650 and you have all of the Europe maps,The 635 fits in top box on SL free camara data base in Europe
Malcolm

Which navman has the larger screen??

 

[190D]

You will need extra maps because the 500 only comes with UK maps
The 700 is the same unit as the 500 but with maps of europe included.
have a look at the specs on
www.tomtom.com

 

[television]

Which navman has the larger screen??

All of the Navman's have a larger screen than the Tom Tom. Have a look just type in Navman UK. Malcolm

 

[merc engineer]

All of the Navman's have a larger screen than the Tom Tom. Have a look just type in Navman UK. Malcolm

No,320,520,550,570 are all 3.5 screens

 

[television]

No,320,520,550,570 are all 3.5 screens

What do you mean No ?
All Tom Tom = 3.5"
All Navman = 3.8"

Malcolm

 

[drainaudio]

Hi all,
Thanks for the advice.
After looking at the specs the Tom Tom 700 is the one to go for and Dixons are doing them for £474 with free delivery. Anyone using the speed camera subscription service? I don't intend or want to be speeding, but the Merc is a difficult car to keep tabs on as it seems to be doing half the speed it really is. After almost 10 years with a clean UK licence the 190E cost me 3 points within 2 months of ownership - very unhappy to not have a clean licence and don't want to lose any more points.....
Cheers, Geoff.

 

[jberks]

subscription service?
I use http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/item-menu.php?idSubCat=42

 

[996jimbo]

Hi all,
Thanks for the advice.
After looking at the specs the Tom Tom 700 is the one to go for and Dixons are doing them for £474 with free delivery. Anyone using the speed camera subscription service? I don't intend or want to be speeding, but the Merc is a difficult car to keep tabs on as it seems to be doing half the speed it really is. After almost 10 years with a clean UK licence the 190E cost me 3 points within 2 months of ownership - very unhappy to not have a clean licence and don't want to lose any more points.....
Cheers, Geoff.

I use the free traffic camera updates per jberks post. I had TomTom Traffic on a free trial which has now finished and am toying with the idea of paying for that for a year. Though it was pretty rubbish on the whole.

I found the advantage of TomTom over Navman was the touch screen operation which means that the thing is smaller and neater and a bit less fiddly. Each to his own though.

 

[ba9rn]

I use the free traffic camera updates per jberks post.

The pocketgps database is no longer free, but the annual subscription is very reasonable. The database is frequently updated, and it's found all the cameras that I have encountered to date. I have had a TomTom GO 300 for over a year and it's fantastic. OK, it ain't pretty, but the regular (free) software updates from TomTom make it very usable. Full post code search is a boon too.

I use a Brodit mount to avoid the 'windscreen circle' theft invitation - I recommend you look at them. Seach this forum for Brodit.

 

[Bobthebuilder58]

I bought one of the very first TOM TOM 700's out! complete with all european maps and blue tooth....thingy and I have to say it is fantastic!Free updates from the Tom Tom website help to keep the unit sharp! Don't bother with the so called speed camera site updates and POA'S from e-bay seller's I have tried them and they are crap I have used mine in northern France and it worked very well indeed!
watch out if you have a heated front screen as this can play havoc with the GPS signals,If you have one you will need an external ariel.
Bob.