Around five years ago, when colour-screen, voice instruction road-going Sat-nav landed in the UK, you’d need £1,200 to buy into ‘the latest thing’. Times have changed and for a quarter of that, you can now buy a super quick, well-featured unit that makes those first offerings look positively steam driven. In this section, we look at what you should consider when you’ve upwards of £250 to spend.
This latest version of the 660 which combines Garmin’s admirably easy to use layout and POI line-up with a host of extra features. TMC traffic info is standard, Bluetooth hands-free with address book upload and the usual nüvi traveller items such as currency converter and world clock. The ‘FM’ means that instructions and MP3 files can be played wirelessly through the car stereo. A great device but expensive, even in this company.
The stylish X-980T is currently the top of Michelin’s Sat-nav line-up, coming with mapping for 20 European countries and a SiRF Star III receiver. The 4.3 inch widescreen can usefully be used in split-screen mode with half showing a pictogram of the next turn. Onboard Bluetooth enables it to be used as a hands-free kit, though without the option to upload an address book. Text-to-speech is a good feature as is TMC traffic info. Many of the POI are taken from Michelin guides, which tends to mean expensive.
Recently launched by TomTom, this pushes the technical boundaries ever further. The Euro mapping is on an internal 2GB memory, leaving the SD slot free for images or MP3 files. Navigation instructions and music can be sent wirelessly to the stereo and the text-to-speech function not only pronounces street names but can also read out text messages when linked to a Bluetooth phone. Better still, you can now speak, rather than type, your destination. Only TMC is missing, an option at around £59.95.
Widely known for its expertise in computers, the Acer uses the impressive Co-Pilot software for its Sat-nav application. The features list is impressive and it comes with an MP3 player, picture viewer and charging via mains, 12v or PC. Built-in TMC means you get advance warning of traffic problems and it links to your phone via Bluetooth, albeit not with the address book. Both in quality and quantity, the POI are among the best.
