I'm looking at getting a Sat Nav for the bike and using my iPhone seems like a chepaer option Anyone got any experience of this ? Garmin or Tom Tom ? Do you get any reception issues ? Being able to load a pre-planned route from google maps is something I really want to do, I think this only works with the Garmin. Cheers
I had tom tom on my iPhone which is good no real reception issues, but have a look at navfree it's pretty good and free, you just down load the area you want so Uk, france, Germany etc
whats wrong with google maps, i use this and the standard maps app loaded with iOS7 and they work a treat. especially if youre loading pre-planned routes from google anyway.
Co pilot is quite good, my mate uses it for planning routes everywhere including abroad and it's quite cheap
I've got TomTom on mine and it's brilliant. I use the Western Europe app and have used in Portugal whilst hiring a car and it was excellent.
You can't use Google maps without using data so no good abroad without running up a massive data bill
Nav Free is very good and is, errrr, free! Tom Tom on iPhone/Pad is £60 odd quid. Dedicated Tom Tom is best if money no object but Nav Free is always handy to have on the Phone. One thing I would say is reading an iPhone whilst riding is very difficult and also drains the Batt in double quick time. A 5" Tom Tom with Lifetime free European Map updates plus a waterproof holder and Stem mount is less than £200, which is what I went for in the end and it's been great.
This ^^^^^^^ I've used co pilot on the blade twice in France now. It worked better than the garmin used by others!! It's in a waterproof case from buy bits. I use Tom Tom daily with work, but the co pilot is as good IMO. You will need power connecting to the iphone with any NAV app, as it eats the battery.
I have a 5" satnav from ebay, £40 whole of europe, plus loads of extras like music and video player. ideally use a waterproof bag but I have never bothered - got pretty wet at times too. Works fine now it has a 2.1A ipad USB outlet driving it
took the plunge and got myself a new garmin...i will let you know hows i get on..iPhone cost to much if it gets dropped, wet or damaged, IMO
If running a gps app like tomtom on the iPhone you will need to use an ipad 2amp charger to keep the phones battery topped up. The mix of screen being always on, the gps sensor unit as well as normal phone stuff all constantly drawing power the standard iPhone chargers measly 1amp won't do diddly squat! Guess how I found this out?
I use the navfree app in the evenings on trips to plot routes etc, but have a garmin 660 mounted on a telferiser on the hesd unit on mine. like others have said, the battery drain and the worry of getting the iphone wet or even mildly damp was an off putter for me. The garmin cradle is discreet when the unit is off the bike for UK use. The 660 unit isn't cheap but a couple of my mates use budget units from lidl and ebay on theirs and haven't had any issues with rainfall.
Another vote for co pilot from me, brilliant on the iPhone, cheaper than tom-tom and good updates. coupled with ram mount and ultimate add ons case and charger...sorted!!
For IPhone I'm using "Skobbler" , never let me down and it's for free. Great app, really can't complain on it.
I use CoPilot on my android phone, only £24.99 for UK maps which includes speed cameras and traffic hold ups so you can avoid them. Also says street name your looking for not just "Turn Right in 200 meters"
I have a TomTom Go 730 but I have not found something to make it waterproof so any advice with regard to this would be great. I looked at BuyBits but the Arkon waterproof case looks to only be used with handlebars. I used Maps on the IPhone 4S yesterday as it was pouring down so I needed to leave it in my pocket and NavFree didn't seem to work with the phone locked. When I need to charge it I run a charge lead from a cigarette lighter attachment under the pillion seat which is connected to the Optimate lead. Please help me.
