Re: [LUG] Satnavs

On 3 April 2014 12:26, Gordon Henderson <gordon+lug@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Thu, 3 Apr 2014, Martin Gautier wrote:

I'm tracking this thread to see what Linux up-datable satnavs people suggest. Personally, I use my Galaxy Note and Google's "Navigation" product quite successfully though I find a map->brain->common sense interface works best of all.

I'd suggest spending £300 on a Nexus 5 and using Google maps... The downside is that it does need a data connection - fortunately the N5 has that built-in (either 3/4G or Wi-Fi). You can make it cache map areas though, so that's handy. (Especially with free Wi-Fi if roaming)

I did actually try that in Cornwall on Tuesday when my Nuvi went splat. I keep a few navigation apps on my phone just in case;

A (ahem) dubious (Seriously, you seen the price of this thing?) copy of the android tomtom software, which didn't do full postcode lookup so was almost useless.

Navfree - No cached maps when I needed it. :/ I have previously used it successfully though, but suffered from OSM bugs then.

Wayz - Not used for ages, so long startup and T&C agreement (ISTR it was bought out) and login before I could use it. Gave up. This one shares your location with other road users, which always made me a little twitchy.

Google Navigation - no data signal for several miles, and then when I did get it, the horrendous voice really annoyed me, but it did do the job long enough for me to figure out that the Nuvi's power adapter had gone bad. Fortunately it uses a standard connector so it was easy to switch over to another.

Overall a fairly frustrating experience and reinforced my personal preference for a standalone satnav that does one job well.