GPS/Sat Nav

DB is hopeless at directions and it's driving us both nuts! We want to get a sat nav (which I think would be nice to have anyway so you don't have to print out maps or deal with a map book), but we're still thinking of having the move to the UK be next summer and don't want to buy one if it only works in the US.

Does anyone know if there is a sat nav that will work well in both the US and UK? DB thinks there must be since it's a Global Positioning System, but it doesn't seem like the preloaded maps will work in both places. If we got one here, can we load up extra maps?

LOL, I was FOREVER getting lost until I got my satnav. It's still not perfect and sometimes takes me on some very dubious routes, but I am so much more confident now 'cause at least I know it make take me in a round-about way, but I'll at least get there in the end!! I've got a Garmin and I'm pretty sure you can buy US maps on memory cards to put in it.

Yes, I think you can get that, Belita.  You'd have to reprogram it according to where you are though.  That's the way our handheld GPS works, which we've used both here & in the US - but DH had to do something to it, something to do with the coordinates or some such used in this country vs that one.  (Someone much more tech savvy I'm sure will be along to explain it all in detail!)

Plus my in-laws and their friends had a GPS for the car that they took with them from the UK to Romania this summer, and I know they had to reprogram it a bit. 

Thank you, ladies! That's good to know it shouldn't be a problem. I don't mind buying extra maps for it if that will work. I have no doubt someone much more tech savvy will come along and explain it in detail. 

I'm also looking for recommendations if anyone has those.

Are you talking about in-car or hand-held? I have a hand-held one I use for hiking, but I'm also hopeless at directions. So when my old one died, I made sure to get one that could a) do topographics, b) do turn-by-turn directions but c) could easily be upgraded for the UK.

Most of them will do all three, but the Garmins (the ones I'm most familiar with) made you fork over $300 for maps of all of Europe, when I only need the SE corner of England.  Then they came out with ones that allow you to plug in new maps on cards, and they sell a $95 card that covers exactly the area I need. I got the Garmin Colorado, plus City Navigator (I already owned the US topo). I'll buy the topo card shortly.

If you're talking about in-car, however, I don't know jack 

Incidentally, if you wondered why the UK lagged in GPS and online mapping services, it's because the Crown owns the copyright to the Ordnance Survey maps, and buying licenses ain't cheap. Mapquest and Google and others hesitated before they bought in.

My brother recently bought a Sat Nav for the UK (in-car) - as I understand it, it currently only works within the UK, but if he wanted to use it abroad, he would just need to purchase the necessary maps/programs to load into the unit. He could have paid a little more for a Sat Nav that was already programmed for Europe and/or the US, but since he will probably only be driving in the UK at the moment, he didn't bother.

We're looking for in-car, but I think I heard of some that let you use it for walking as well? That would be a bonus if there are ones that also work for walking.

Whatever it was that the in-laws' friends took to Romania with them - they used it both in the car & for walking around as well.  In fact, that was one of the funny stories of their holiday...apparently it was a bit of a faff to set it up for Romania instead of the UK, so they never wanted to switch it off - something about it would reset back to the UK.  Hence, the woman's voice on the thing was chattering at them even while they were walking around - and if they didn't walk where she said to go, she would say, 'Recalculating...recalculating...'  At some point, they took so many twists & turns as they went along, the voice was getting fairly hysterical with the 'Recalculating!  Recalculating!  Recalulating!  Recalculating!'  (Not to mention the men making jokes about getting nagged not only by their wives but also by the Sat Nav lady.)  She - the Sat Nav lady - was also telling them sometimes to drive down roads that hadn't been built yet there.

The best in-car ones have nice big screens, but aren't very good for walking around. The best walking-around ones have screens that aren't totally great for driving, but I do okay. Mine is intended for hiking, but I have a suction cup/cigarette lighter dealie that makes it pretty good for navigation, too.

I think some of the car ones come with regular updates as part of the deal (the navigating ones will tell you where the closest Chinese restaurant is, or the cheapest petrol, or whatever...but that obviously outdates fast).

We have a TOM TOM sat nave for in the UK. It came with UK maps. When we went on holiday to the US we just had to buy US maps they come on a little SD card and just slot right into the unit. We got the map card on ebay and re sold it on ebay at a profit when we returned.

You might want to take a look at ebay to see what units they are selling maps for and that might give you a starting point.

We love our SatNav-- it has prevented soooo many arguments when we are travelling.

When you say "in car" I took that to mean it was part of the car and built into the dashboard.

I have GPS transportable that I use in my car. I have a love-hate relationship with it.

My wife makes me switch off the voice when she is in the car and the voice does sound demanding.

TomTom have their Go range.  Usually whichever one is at the top of the current range it does maps of Europe, USA & Canada.  Currently there's the 920 & the 930 at the top of the range.  TomTom don't charge for updates (you just download them via your computer).  You will however need to use memory cards to expand memory.     FYI - they're also quite small, so you can use them hand held or carry them with you without them getting in the way too much. 

Sorry if it confuses, but if you want additional separate maps you do have to buy the pre-loaded SD cards with the maps on them. 

Thanks! I think we're going to keep up research and try to get one on either Black Friday or after Christmas sales. 

Hiya

TomTom 940 is the latest top end unit from those guys and it is a pricey unit but does it all. Good reviews of it, so it does work well, around £450 but might be a little cheaper online and by chrimbo time it'll probably be on a Sale at like £379 ish.

For me, I'm not so keen on carrying any more boxes than I have to, so I use TomTom Navigator 6 on my PDA/Mobile handset. Currently on the UK map, and it also has major roads of Western Europe on it so no need to 'switch maps' if/when I drive abroad.

I'll just buy the USA maps prior to my next USA visit and then just use the 'switch maps' function and within a few seconds it'll load and be working.

TomTom are the market leader here in the UK and europe, in the USA I think it's Garmin who are as they use the maps from a different provider (Navteq I beleive - UK and Europe use Teleatlas) who have more frequent and detailed mapping for that region. But overall, this wouldn't  present too much of an issue.

Great thing also with the PDA version (i'm sure you can do it on the standalone units too) is you can download diferent voices. I currently flick between a Swearing version of Ozzy Osbourne, Yoda and Homer Simpson voices!

Hope this helps! Dennis! West London & Slough UK!

I use a Tom Tom because it was available on QVC. It had a 5" screen and was a good price of $200 I think. This included plug-ins for the  car and home, windshield mount and  also a nice carrying case. They are from Norway I think.