by SatNav on August 28, 2009
The Garmin Nuvi 205(T) is a part of Garmin’s On the Road line of Global Positioning Systems (GPS). The Garmin Nuvi 205(T) is designed to be used in the car, or on foot. The Nuvi line from Garmin represents simple navigation facilities whilst maintaining an affordable price. The unit is 3.8 inches wide (9.7 cm) by 2.8 inches tall (7.1 cm) and 0.8 inches deep (2cm), allowing you to operate it in your car. Alternatively you could just as easily slip the sat nav into your coat or shirt pocket whilst out and about on foot. One downfall of this product that you need to be aware of though is the unit is not waterproof so rain fanatics beware!
Navigation in the Car or On Foot
The Garmin Nuvi 205(T) comes preloaded with a city navigator NT mapping for one European region or country. It has a colour screen that is touch sensitive and allows you to enter your destination with ease. The Nuvi guides you to the final location with turn by turn directions and a configurable voice prompt
The Nuvi sat nav operates off of a lithium-ion battery that can power it for up to four hours before it requires recharging. Maps and navigation routes can be displayed both in 2D or 3D, and the digital elevation maps can give you a clear view of the landscape around you.
Where am I?
If you’re feeling lost you simply need to tap the screen of the Garmin Nuvi 205(T) for an emergency answer to ‘Where am I?’ The Nuvi will display the exact latitude and longitude of your current location, along with the closest fuel station, police station, hospital, and intersection.
The sat nave also uses a Hot Fix satellite prediction to decrease the time required to calculate your position. A faster position calculation means you are well on your way to your final destination in a shorter period of time.
Points of Interest
In addition to the thousands of points of interest that are preloaded with the City Navigator tools, you can add your own customized points of Interest. In addition to setting points of interest themselves, you are also able to set proximity alerts, and have the Garmin Nuvi 205(T) automatically warn you when you get close to a particular point of interest.
More than Just Navigation
The Garmin sat nav offers more than just navigation, it comes with several additional functions useful to any modern day traveler. These include a JPEG picture viewer, a world clock with time zones, a currency converter, a calculator, and a measurement converter.
Expandable
The Garmin Nuvi 205(T) is designed for the budget-minded traveler, but is expandable to allow the consumer to choose which features they wish to add. Google panoramio pictures can be downloaded from the Garmin web site, as can MSN direct content (a subscription fee may apply for these services) It also has live animated vehicles from the Garmin Garage. Garmin Travel Guides can be purchased in microSD format and plugged directly into the Garmin Nuvi 205(T).
by SatNav on March 16, 2009
Is it any wonder that the Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS system has quickly taken hold of the United Kingdom? In terms of road a navigation system, this little device is about as sleek as it gets. The Garmin Nuvi 200 makes it easy to navigate roads simply by touching the screen.
The Garmin Nuvi’s ability to produce three dimensional colour maps makes it easy to see where you’re going before you get there. It comes with an antenna that is easily tucked away into the device so that it cannot be seen. This helps users to get the most out of the product without taking up a whole lot of space. If you’re trying to pick up the Garmin Nuvi 200 at your local electronics store, you may have a hard time. It can only be purchased at authorized Garmin dealers.
This sleek little device comes equipped with a number of features that make navigation a whole lot easier. In addition to its touch screen capabilities, the Garmin Nuvi 200 has the ability to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional mapping. All six/seven digits of the UK post code are displayed. A car charger and photo viewer also come built into the device. It usually sells anywhere between £70.00 and £270 UK pounds a reasonable price to pay for such a unique and handy gadget.
If you’re looking for a GPS unit that is dynamic enough to help you navigate through commercial areas, then look no further. This device comes preloaded with lists of restaurants and local attractions. The system operates a lot like a computer in the sense that you can search addresses and save to favorites. It will also map out intersections and allows for easy, simplified navigation. You have the ability to tune the radio in through the GPS system itself.
The Nuvi 200 series is a first for Garmin. It adds a new twist to an old idea by tailoring to the average user, who does not need high-end features. The price of this product is low enough that the average consumer can afford to buy it without breaking the bank. It is cheaper than similar navigation gadgets. The Nuvi 200 is easy to use, because you don’t have to read through lengthy instructions to figure out how to use it. All information is already built into the device.
In addition to being easy to read, the Garmin Nuvi 200 is small and easy to carry. Not to mention it works on two continents. The maps this device produces are detailed and provide for easy and simplified navigation. The screen is squared and quite bright, great for night time use.
Everything on the Garmin Nuvi is digital. For great sound, the unit has a built in speaker. Also included are an MP3 Player and a JPEG picture viewer.
Of course, if you’re looking for extra features, the Garmin Nuvi comes with a windshield mount. However, if you’re going to use the windshield mount, be sure to check UK driving regulations to make sure you are complying with local laws regarding GPS use.
by SatNav on March 16, 2009
Is it any wonder that road navigation has become so easy? With new and innovative GPS systems cropping up each day, inventors are getting closer to making travel and tourism as easy as 1-2-3, and this Garmin device is no exception.
Clearly, Garmin have outdone themselves on this one. Much like the original Garmin Nuvi, the Garmin 200W comes complete with a wide screen monitor that is easy to see. It also offers voice prompted directions, so you don’t have to bother using your hands for navigation. The device also comes with a wide screen for easy viewing. It is preloaded with maps of the United Kingdom and Ireland, the 200W gives you the ability to zoom in on maps to see exactly where you’re going.
The device comes with an anti-glare screen, which makes it easier to see. The display screen measures 4.3 inches in length and has a backlight. Using this device, you can easily see street maps. The Garmin Nuvi 200W also gives you the ability to view a database of local restaurants, ATMs and fuel facilities. To navigate, you only have to touch the screen.
This GPS system is small enough to fit in your pocket. You can view streets in the United Kingdom without having to go to your computer. The system brings this information up on the screen for easy access. You can also enter post code information and get directions that way.
In another sense, this little device is the perfect navigator. It comes with a point of interest database that makes it easy and gives you the ability to import information with little effort on your part.
The question is: What else can this GPS system do for you?
Because it comes with a memory card, this product’s abilities are endless. It gives you step-by-step directions to get you to your destination. It will give you voice directions that guide you through every turn of your trip. A currency converter is also built in to the system and makes it easier for you if you’re on foreign or domestic travel. It is lightweight, so you can easily carry the 200W around with you. In addition, the print is rather large and easy to read.
by SatNav on March 10, 2009
The TomTom GO 730 sat nav unit has been specifically and acutely designed to operate at an above average user interface by creating a community based project that could be compared to driver social networking. It is a rather creative solution to the inevitable missed road changes and delayed roadway updates that plague all personal GPS navigational devices.
The TomTom GO 730 is a small and portable GPS system that is designed to simply be slipped into a pocket or placed on a navigational stand inside your car. It uses portable and user friendly technology to encourage members to participate in data upkeep.
Thus, if a driver notices that a side road has been closed down for repair, it is simple for him or her to document and upload the information in order to keep the TomTom community operating on the latest knowledge. Users are also encouraged to upload local knowledge regarding shortcuts and alternative routes to keep the system as up-to-date as possible.
While this is far from the TomTom GO 730 GPS navigational system’s only feature, it is certainly one of the more intriguing. The good news is that the TomTom company does not just rely on user interface to update its systems and offer the latest road map information.
While the community based project seems to be going well, based on independent reports and user reviews, the additional features keep this particular GPS system on the top of the list. While there have been numerous user and review complaints about the screen’s inability to be read in sunlight, the average user finds that the compact size and the voice features combined with the 730’s ability to offer Bluetooth technology adds to its overall value.
The 730 is not the most advanced of the TomTom collection, but for its middle of the road price tag it offers a wide range of interactive and safety features. Some reports of difficulties in urban areas where too many tall buildings interfere with the system navigation requirements have recently been addressed by TomTom and the situation is improving. However, it may take more time for the development of “urban tunnel” capabilities to be 100% perfect.
The Mp3 player addition to the 730 has been well received. The company is striving to bring navigational tools to the general public that provide features that are not found anywhere else. Thus far, it can be said that the 730 is a good step in that direction and with a little tweaking the system should be one of the more productive and fun GPS systems on the market.
With easy reach emergency services, weather option, real time traffic updates, and community based traffic and direction logging the company has introduced an entirely new concept in GPS programming. The community based programming has helped to eliminate many of the general flaws associated with personal GPS navigational aids. Of course, a user must be willing to download updated maps on a regular basis, but the good news is that this can be done as efficiently as charging an Mp3 player.
by SatNav on March 10, 2009
Interfacing with the TomTom 740 Live has never been easier or more rewarding. As a mid priced GPS system, this TomTom offers a wide range of features that enhance driving safety as well as promote the use of caution and responsibility. The TomTom 740 Live is designed to promote efficient driving as well.
Safety features include weather updates, sudden changes in traffic conditions, and hands free technology that encourages the driver to use vocal commands to access their favorite features. Interestingly enough it also offer the driver the ability to social network using their TomTom service. With text and chat capabilities through a community based program drivers can develop friendships and relationships while on the road.
The TomTom 740 Live is one of the newest models set to hit the market during the second quarter of 2009. While this model started off as an explicit North American design, it has been formatted for use in the United Kingdom as one of the premier models.
According to the president of the TomTom company, the goal of this latest navigational tool is to give offer drivers the ability to retain control over their driving experience. This means that they are privy to traffic alerts that are renewed or refreshed every two or five minutes. The device allows drivers to continually check for more efficient or potentially time saving routes along the way. The company claims that any one of their new GPS systems has a faster signal fix than anyone else in the industry. This is supposed to reduce the time that a driver waits for the GPS unit to grab its signal and offer its services for use.
Just like other models, the 740 Live offers the enhanced instruction feature, which is a useful design when it comes to trying to navigate difficult or confusing intersections and roadways that throw in multiple left and right lane exits, exit lanes that extend beyond the original exit, and one way thoroughfares that branch off in multiple directions. This is considered a safety feature to help prevent the confusion and accident prime conditions when a driver realizes an error in navigation and pulls back into high speed traffic.
The TomTom company claims that is features the most accurate arrival time features of any GPS navigational system on the market. This is due to their smart technology that enables the driver to see alternate routes combined with their enhanced update and real time features. Of course, while they may have some of the most accurate features in the industry today, there is no telling who will release the next wave of most accurate features tomorrow.
For its price, the TomTom definitely delivers a powerful bang for the buck, although there are certainly less expensive GPS navigational systems on the market today. Price is determined by user needs, and TomTom added in a one year subscription into the middle ranged suggested retail market price to make it a better value to the user.
by SatNav on March 10, 2009
All GPS navigational aids claim that they can help you ditch the traffic jam and get to your destination faster and with less hassle. The TomTom Go 540 Live claims that it can do it better than anyone else, with more accuracy and with fewer misinformation incidents. To understand why the TomTom company is so certain it can measure up, one has to understand the technology that it utilizes and the technology that other companies use.
The TomTom GPS navigational aids are designed to help you skip the traffic jams and land at your final destination more informed, faster, safer, and more aware. “Old” technology has previously recorded a random selection of cell phone signals in order to determine traffic density. For some, this has proven to be a system of fallible and damnable inconsistencies.
Traffic patterns can change very quickly. Following an accident, it only takes two minutes on a major roadway for traffic to build up into a thirty minute or longer delay. With most GPS navigational systems, traffic updates are provided about every ten to twenty minutes, with most averaging about fifteen minutes. When you are faced with split second decisions regarding quick exits and the long way around, fifteen minutes is simply too long to determine accurate traffic density.
The TomTom Go 540 Live receives its traffic updates differently in order to prevent this rather common occurrence. The use of cell phone density technology, which tracks viable cell phone signals in order to determine how many cars are en route at any given moment, works much better when an accurate density can be recorded and distributed at a faster interval. The TomTom Go 540 Live offers these updates at two minute intervals and it will interject a redirect route often before you are even aware of the potential for incident. An RDS—TCM receiver has been added into the cell phone signal selection in order to provide more accurate and current information to the driver.
While the TomTom company has strived to create personal GPS navigation systems that offer everything from hands free safe communications to weather updates or buddy texting, they have effectively become a leader in the simplest and most basic of functions for a GPS system as well. A GPS system that can deliver real time, accurate traffic hazard information covers one out of the two major reasons that people buy these products to begin with.
With updates for mapping and free downloads that provide all roadway changes they have covered the second reason people buy GPS systems. The entire point of owning a personal navigational device is to be able to arrive at one’s destination as quickly as possible. Safety, responsibility, and direct control features have been added that enhance these two very basic functions. It is a bit revealing to notice that years after the release of the first personal GPS model there is now a company on the move that offers a great number of features without skimping on the basic design of the GPS in the first place.
by SatNav on March 9, 2009
The TomTom Go 940 Live has hit the GPS navigational highway with some unique features and safety enhancements that TomTom has built a name upon. For starters, the TomTom Go 940 Live is not likely to wear out its worth with simple enhancement technology. While other GPS systems are starting to follow suit, few have previously offered the ability to upgrade your system indefinitely. Included in the low subscription service is an easy to upgrade pathway to maps and software to make sure that you are driving on the latest information.
The system offers easy solutions to some of today’s most common driving problems. Users can avoid traffic delays as the TomTom Go 940 Live offers traffic observation in real time and helps you find the closest and cheapest petrol station on or near your route. If you need weather information for the current five day period you can easily access a quick weather report.
How does this improve your navigational equipment and get you to your location quickly and safely? This particular system has your every base covered in the event that the unexpected happens while still being able to deliver free access to the latest map changes. This means that your GPS is always operating on current information rather than last year’s information. About 3% of the roadways are altered annually, which means that a GPS without downloadable changes can take you down the wrong road based on yesterday’s information.
The IQ routes system feature helps you determine the easiest course to your destination. This means that you will automatically be directed to the route that will either help you cut out time or kilometers while you are driving all while taking into consideration traffic hazards and safety concerns. This is one of the more versatile GPS systems available to date, as it is interchangeable in 35 countries and offers subscription coverage from one country to another.
The single largest cause of automobile accidents is distracted driver. Speech technology that allows a driver to listen rather than read is paramount to keeping one’s eyes on the road. This system allows the driver to hear traffic changes, upcoming vital information like lane changes, and even text messages to prevent the thousands of worldwide accidents that occur when the driver is busy reading rather than watching the road.
As today’s technology become more and more focused on creating simplicity and ease everyday life, choosing electronic systems can become more difficult as they offer more services than ever before. The more all in one packages you can find, the less your overall electronics expenses become which is vital for choosing appropriately. With no—hands features like Bluetooth access and simple voice command features, safety has become as much of a priority as getting to your destination. The TomTom company has considered all of the current available features and added them into today’s latest technologically advanced GPS systems making systems like the 940 Live a solid choice in a competitive market.
by SatNav on August 22, 2008
On March 4th 2008, Tom-Tom announced that they would be releasing another product, the Tom-Tom Go 530 as well as their other, similar products, the Tom-Tom Go 730 and also the 930. The Go 530 will only be available in Europe, and have maps set to the region in which the purchase is made. Equipped with great, up to date navigational tools, it’s really a steal at prices ranging from only £235-279.
The greatest reason, if you are already a Tom-Tom user, to upgrade is that the 530 comes equipped with new IQ routes, smart routes that change according to up to date traffic conditions, time of day, day of the week, and history of the route. The device is also compatible with Tom-Tom HD traffic.
The screen is a gorgeous 4.3″ wide screen with (480 x 272 pixels) making your directions easy to see. The CPU includes 400 MHz as well as having an internal memory of 1 GB to allow you to store some of your more frequent routes. It also includes an SD card socket if you need to download a route to or from your PC. A great device to have if you are an avid laptop user as it is also Bluetooth compatible.
The battery made of lithium polymer will last you a total of up to five hours before requiring a recharge. It is incredibly compact at only 118mm X 83mm X 24mm and weighs only 220 grams so it is easily connected to your dashboard for simplified viewing.
It was the previous model, the Tom-Tom Go 520 that introduced voice recognition to the system, in certain European countries, that allowed for hands free directions. You could now simple say the address you wanted instead of having to reach up and type it in. The Go 530 is very similar in appearance and is the new entry level gadget in the Tom-Tom line of global positioning units.
The two units are very similar, since the Go 520 was such a huge success as a model. The same body curves and slightly rubberised outer casing has proven to be useful in attempting to keep the unit from becoming damaged. The casing is in a stylish black colour, easily blended into your cars décor.
It is recommended that you get a dashboard mount with a swivelling ball mount for easy adjusting. All though the unit is quite small, in fact it is perfect for stashing into the glove box. It’s also handy to have available to hand so that you don’t have to go looking for it. Its small size does not take up much room, and easily fits into your dash board panel.
The only reason that you would need to spend more money on the 730 or 930 models, which are the only ones available outside of Europe, are if you would need a larger memory for larger maps or more regions. For the average traveller, whether your purchase is for business or pleasure, the Go 530 has all your requirements for easy navigation for travel around your nearby region. It is jam packed with information, without further need of upgrade or downloads as long as you purchase the unit in the region that you plan to use it in most.
Installation
Installing the device is pretty straight forward. Basically the TomTom Home software is included on the actual Satnav, so when you plug it in via the supplied USB dock, it attempts to do the install. From there, simply follow the on-screen commands and away you go
