Garmin (rubish ) But Are Tomtom The Same ??

I've heard bad reviews on the TomTom too. If you want my opinion, get yourself a waterproof phone holder and download the Waze app. it works perfectly and the maps are always up to date along with traffic information. Waze got me out of trouble when my Garmin refused to do any navigating suddenly when I was in Oslo. I had to re-install all the Scandinavian maps again before it started working again. To be fair since the re-install its been working OK.

 

If yours hasn't got bluetooth it must be pretty old so maybe the map updates don't work anymore. I get to use both and do prefer the speed at which the TomTom re-calculates and the way the software works, it seems a lot more user friendly, never had problems with the bluetooth connections. it could be what you get used to though, Ive not tried selling a TomTom second hand but did with a Garmin, easy enough if theres an old northern codger around that has more money than sense.
Problem here is you will get Garmin users that swear by them and TomTom users that do the same. For me, as a simpleton, I couldn't get on with the Garmin interface but could with the TomTom

 

AAh!

 

What model Garmin have you got ?

 

Unfortunately so, it is a bit tidier and 1 less hole for water ingress. I don’t know if ordinary Bluetooth earphones would work with a sat nav

 

People might think Garmin sat navs are rubbish but yesterday was a great day for me. Having dropped my pee sample off at the doctors I re attached my sat nav (Garmin 346) to it's base (not properly) and set off on my ride. Having gone a couple of miles I exited a roundabout and got on a busy dual carriage way. You know what's coming don't you ? Yes, the sat nav fell off !
I grabbed at it with my left hand and nearly caught it but it went. I parked the bike up and walked as fast as I could back to the roundabout. I spotted my sat nav lying in the approach to the dual carriageway, in the inside lane. Several cars went past and just missed it. Then the inevitable happened, a car ran over it. The driver knew it. he glanced in his rear view mirror. Then a big juggernaut truck went by and just missed it with it's 150 giant wheels. Several more cars went by before I was able to step out and retrieve it. Was I miffed !!
Anyway, by the end of my ride I felt much better, I can buy a new sat nav.
To my surprise, when I got home it switched on. Furthermore, it effin works.
The only thing is there is a black semi circle at the bottom of the screen. It's not totally unusable but it does need fixing, so I'm currently looking around.

 

I did the exact same thing when i first got my Garmin..Twice it happened to me both times it bounced along the road and i thought it would be knackered but it only has some little scratches on the rubber, i always make sure it clicks properly in the base now

 

Yeah they're tough little critters. Unfortunately some of the liquid in my LCD screen seems to have leaked.

 

I have the Zumo 550. It has Bluetooth and connected up to my Cardo Freecom 1 comms device without any issues. The Freecom also connected by Bluetooth to my cellphone so I could hear the Waze app navigating me. If I didn't already have a (now) working Garmin, I'd be using Waze all the time.

 

@BonnieCat Nikki does waze require data usage or does it work like a sat nav

 

it needs a phone network. But thats it. You don't need to install maps or anything. The phone holder I got wasn't waterproof so it wasn't any use but the app itself worked great and the information is always up to date. What I noticed with the Garmin is the Scandinavian maps must not be up to date as it kept losing itself.
Waze needs an internet connection as its using real time traffic information. Did I answer your question Dilli ??

 

Yeah thanks Nikki
I don’t have a lot of data on my phone so Waze will be no good for me
I very rarely use sat nav on my bike preferring to get lost
If I’m desperate I’ll pull over and use google maps

 

You find the best places when you take that wrong turn having memorised the route
Best part of a long ride out

 

I've had a couple of Garmin satnavs, current one is the zumo 660l. I've never had any problems with connecting my phone or scala headset. Must admit it is getting a little on the old side now, but I will keep using it as long as it keeps on working. I have a tom tom in my car and IMHO the garmin is more user friendly, but I guess it is down to personal choice, as they both do the same thing.

 

Garmin - never had any trouble from it. It just works. Pairs to my scala headset easily. Use myroute-app to plan rides and away we go.
Only problem is that I sometimes enjoy myself riding so much, I forget to look at it

 

I'm told the little device that links to your phone is fantastic but just a bit short of supply just now. Beeline Navigation they make one for annoying cyclists but now have one for hooligans!!!

 

Work ok in town at slow speeds, but you'd have to keep looking at it all the time.
Going quick on a bike, won't you be past the junction by the time you'll see you were supposed to turn ???
Looks a decent low tech sat-nav, but can't see it being any good for route planning and that is mainly why I use a sat-nav on my bike.