Tom has Changed My Mind

[brokencross]

When satnavs first came out I must admit I thought they were just boys toys and a "must have" for posers.
However my daughter bought a Tom Tom to help her get around with her job. She acts as a PACE representative in the area and has to visit numerous police stations all over the county at wierd and wonderful times of night and day so it would take forever to plan routes using the "old fashioned" map method.
The other night she had a call out and set off following the satnav instructions only to find the main road was closed for repairs and no real diversion had been set up. She turned off the main road and immediately her friendly Tom Tom recognised this variance from the proposed route and gave her new directions for a completely different route so she was able to proceed with no delay, no stopping and looking at maps in the dark. So I am a convert regarding the usefullness of Satnavs.

[j4bberw0ck]

They're brilliant devices, used with a little intelligence (like if it tries to direct you up a gravel path, you got your settings wrong. Think first!)

Biggest boon for me is on the bike. There's enough things to look out for when you're riding a motorbike in a strange city without trying to figure out a route as well; the satnav is connected to earspeakers in my helmet and Miss Garmin (a slightly schoolmarmish English lady who lives in the little box) reads out where I'm to turn. Or if I get it wrong she politely tells me i'm "off route" and navigates me back.

It must be a bit cramped in there though because she has her American cousin staying with her. American Miss Garmin is much more assertive, if not aggressive. If I'm so colossally stupid as to take the wrong turn she yells "ARFF ROWT" at me and then bullies me into getting back on the right road :lol: .

Wonderful invention, though. I agree, brokencross.

[canuck]

My Hogmanay visitors took the device out of their car and used it to navigate around Edinburgh on the bus. They set my house as their destination and knew when to ring the bell to get the bus driver to let them off.

[bluelady]

mines great, especially when your in the city's and navigating the one way systems etc. I dont get my normal "road rage" when Im in the wrong lane etc and am trying to get back on route, it tells you what lanes to get in ahead. :D

[Riffman]

I have to admit that if I drove anywhere more adventurous than thurso then I might look at getting on! [lol]

[johno]

i would,nt go out of caithness without mine, its great . never got lost or had to ask direction,s since. and less arguement,s with back seat driver,s lol [lol]

[Margaret M.]

I LOVE it. Last time we were in England we just drove down side roads that we would never have taken otherwise. I use it all the time here and I no longer get lost when I go downtown.

[EDDIE]

i have a tom tom to and its great device but sometimes the wifey that speaks to u can get a we bit confused now and again but the map on the screen is accurate and thats what i go buy when ever the wife talks u can get an ariel for it which costs £50 which gives u free traffic updates via the radio stations

[The Angel Of Death]

Some of the voices avalable are pure class my fav's are john cleese and joe pesci

[Sapphire2803]

I bought Tomtom and a mount with built in gpsr for my pda and it's been a lifesaver. Unforunately the gpsr in the mount is not that great, so many times it's accused me of driving through fields beside the motorway etc, my maps are outdated too and I'm just too tight to update them, so in places it has a fit because it thinks I've gone the wrong way where the road has changed. I used to switch it on when I lived in Portsmouth and then take little shortcuts that it didn't know about. It would tell me to turn around and I'd be shouting at it that it didn't know as much as it thought did. Hah!!

Yes I know I'm unhinged, but I'm not the only one. I've heard lots of people having arguments with their satnav. I supposed it beats shouting at a loved one when they're trying to mapread for you :D

[Whitewater]

Got lost with it on my last trip to Gasgow. For some reason or other the woman stopped speaking at a critical time. Maybe as Eddie says I need an arial for it, has anybody else had this experience?

[j4bberw0ck]

For some reason or other the woman stopped speaking at a critical time

Errrrrrr............


Ahem..................


Erm....

You couldn't teach Mrs J that trick, could you? :lol::lol:

Runs very, very quickly......

[Whitewater]

Nice one j4bberw0ck. I didn't notice the meanings which could be taken from my post. Need to think of my prose a bit more carefully in future. I had a good laugh to myself when I reread it just now.

[Rheghead]

I must admit that since getting my GPS, Pax Roamana has broken out between me and mrs rheg whilst in unfamiliar parts as her less than adequate navigation skills are no longer needed.:lol:

[j4bberw0ck]

I had a good laugh to myself when I reread it just now.

Hehehe; thanks, Whitewater; Mrs J was less amused when she read it. A scowling face appeared round the door from the study and snarled "Watch it, buster......." :lol::lol:

[helenwyler]

Hehehe; thanks, Whitewater; Mrs J was less amused when she read it. A scowling face appeared round the door from the study and snarled "Watch it, buster......."

Good for Mrs J! Though I'd have given you a good slap. ;)

OH won't countenance sat nav, so I've become quite good at map reading, as long as I've got it up the right way.

[j4bberw0ck]

I'd have given you a good slap

Awwww nooooo...... surely not! :lol::lol:

[Thumper]

Awwww nooooo...... surely not! :lol:

borrowed time w0cky......borrowed time ;) x

[j4bberw0ck]

Heeeeelp! :lol::lol:

[Whitewater]

This thread is beginning to become interesting Hmmm! My wife hasn't looked round the door yet, just yelled "are you still on that flaming org. when you should be painting". Obviously it wasn't a critical time.

[Julia]

My sat nav (Navman) has a mind of it's own, it can't be trusted. It also give the choice of a male or female voice, the female one has a lisp! :eek:

Take the thecond exit at the thecond roundabout [lol]

[mccaugm]

My Hogmanay visitors took the device out of their car and used it to navigate around Edinburgh on the bus. They set my house as their destination and knew when to ring the bell to get the bus driver to let them off.

Thats brilliant....:lol:

[bluelady]

I put mine on from here to Ness when I first got it to try it out, it recognised the new being built and tell you to veer Right :lol:

[EDDIE]

sat navs in general are brilliant gadget to have but the only downside to them is if you were ev
er involved in a road accident and you were at fault the sat nav could land u right in it because the sat nave records everything u have done it speed so the police can use this information of it?
the other thing as well what a lot people do is they put in there home address in it so they just have to touch one button and the sat nav will take them home which is a bad thing to do because if anyone stole your car they also have the opportunity to go to your house and do house break in because they no your not in and the sat nav takes them to ure house?