Navigation Units - Navman, Tom Tom etc

Do a search as you can get 4.3" screens, Windows CE OS based ones on ebay au from local sellers for around $230.
They will run Oziexplorer as well, very similar to the Hema thingie at a fraction of the price.
The ebay seller I got mine from was "vertelli"

Hi, I have Tom Tom one V3 , it is a basic unit but really easy to use, comes with all Aust maps, they are now selling for about $200.00, the new model is " Tom Tom one In Car" , that has spoken street names , mine only has spoken instructions , ( Turn right at next corner etc) , the In Car is about $300.00.
mates have bought basic navman and garman but seem a lot fiddlier to use .
Wife loves it when we go to city , no book, she thinks it is great,
You can't add off road maps to them , but ideal for the car and easy to use . we live in the country and it shows all the dirt roads but not tracks .
Check them out on www.tomtom.com .
Cheers Des.

The Tom Tom is huge in Europe and I agree is easier to use. The only thing to consider is are you going to need to add additional maps? (I did when I went to the UK this year)
If so, then you need to think about getting a unit with a memory card. the base unit Tom Tom, whilst it works fine, doe not have a slot for a card and therefore what you buy is what you end up with.
As for voice and street name announcements etc, when I am driving around Melb I have it all turned off anyway. After a while it drives you nuts.
Bottom line - I would go with a Tom Tom.

as above get a TomTom

I love mine and it gets you out of plenty of holes you dig yourself in. Very easy to use and understand

I just bought one for my 17 year old daughter from the DS Warehouse for $199. I would suggest you check out warranty options though as like all electronic goods, things normally go wrong a week or so out of warranty - or is that just me. usually only $20 - 30 for extra 2 years warranty or take original one year warranty.

Has anyone managed to laod off-road maps into the TomTom 720?

Another Tomtom owner (recent). My first GPS was the Aldi P360 which does a very good job and it's ability to reroute was very impressive. However, the maps were somewhat out of date and the process of uploading them would have been an nightmare.

My early Xmas present to myself was a Tomtom One V4 (called third edition for some strange reason). It's ability to pick up enough satellites, (even inside my house) to give a reading was impressive. What I like even more is the way it mounts onto the windscreen - so easy - and it forces you to take the whole thing off when you stop. I also like the way I can plan a whole trip using waypoints. I'm off to Tassie via Moree, Forbes and somewhere in Vic on sunday morning and have already programmed in the waypoints. I'll just put it on the screen and let it run.

Hi Moose
For value for money, 2 year warranty and spoken street names, you could not go past the S35 Navman at $249. The only down side would be the 3.5" screen. They are very user friendly and would be just what you are after for your daughter. I have the larger S45 with the 4.3" screen, but has all the same features.
Very user friendly.

Cheers

Stephen

I'm thinking of waiting for the post-Xmas sales to buy a TomTom One Vers 4 - the cheapest seems to be abt $250 from Officeworks or JB HiFi now.

Speaks street names
You can update street details
You can download map updates that others have entered
It tells you how fast you are going over the local speed limit
You can enter your own speed limit updates

It has a 3.5" screen - the TomTom XL 4.3" does exactly the same, but the screen is just wider but no higher , which doesn;t interest me - I want to see what's ahead.

Don't pay more than $199 for the Version 3 - it doesn;t have these features.

I have a Road Angel that's no longer sold - no wonder - the navigation errors are woeful.

I have a Tom Tom 910 I bought off Ebay which has been great for around town etc. But if you Google "Good Gear Guide" they compare different GPS's in different price ranges. Its well worth a look.

Iceman

Moose
Don't let her waste money on rubish like Navman , TomTom, Asus, etc and on Ebay,
I would recomend a base model Garmin Nuvi 250 from a real GPS dealer where she'll get warranty and they will install over 6600 hazard locations (eg fixed speed-redlight cameras and school zones) preloaded.
I have made online purchases with the Co' in my link .

Nuvi 250

.

We were advised to go the Nav as it lets you enter the street name, whereas the Tom requires the suburb first.

I get a remarkable number of calls from customers telling me they can't find our factory address in their GPS. I ask them do you have a Tom Tom. They reply yes. I then tell them they have to enter Dandenong South, rather than just Dandenong.

Jim.

For what she needs you can't go wrong either buying a Tom Tom or Garmin, I know nothing about the other brands

Moose

We have 2 x Tom Tom

SWMBO has Version One in her car. While it is good for city driving it gets lost in country areas, is way off the road line some times and the base maps seem to have been loaded from something in the 1950's. It took a long time to get the Speed Warning to work properly and it still doesn't but we live with it. It would seem that Tom Tom wants one to spend more money to get the upgrades. This is a sales ploy. Still, for what it does, she loves it.

I have a Tom Tom 6 built in to my HP PDA. I rarely use it but have on occasions and it seems to be a base map from the 1940's as street numbers are not loaded into the software. Another ploy to update? I haven't bothered to use or update as I run Oziexplorer and Natmap 2008 when travelling. We take the the other Tom Tom with us if we are going via a city in our travels so have a dash full of gadgets....lol


Cheers

Hi Moose

Pretty confusing this modern technology isn't it. I have bought a Garmin after doing hours of research. I had a number of reasons for this.

1. Garmin pretty well invented GPS technology so if they can't get it wright by now somethings wrong.

2. Tom Tom was out of my price range and i personally found it harder to navigate.

3. Feedback from Navmann was not positive. A mate at Hardly Normal advised me they got the most returns out of this brand.

4. I bought my unit at Autobarn because they offer extended warranty for free and when they have 20% off give awesome value compared to anything of the net + local service and explanation on how to use it.

5. The map upgrades were cheaper than some other competitors.

I recommend steering away from extra sales gimmicks such as camera alerts and picture capabilities etc to get something of better quality in that price range. I bought the Nuvi 250W which is now sold in your price range and can't fault it.