TomTom 700 v. Garmin Quest?

[r.cordrey]

I need a navigator system for both the UK and Europe (particularly Netherlands), but don't need Bluetooth connection to mobile etc. It seems only the TomTom can do postcode point to point in UK & Netherlands but is much more expensive than Quest. Is TomTom likely to reduce it's prices now that there is more competition from companies like Garmin who have a considerable pedigree in GPS systems? Or is the high price of the 700 justifiable for my needs?

[scubabob]

Tesco are still currently selling the Tom Tom's for a discounted price
The 500 was £295 think the 700 was approx £330 there are pretty hard to find as most stores are sold out but the store in Alloa still has some

[triplea4uk]

Stay well clear of tom tom they are waste of money got one myself tom tom 300 what a waste of cash best bet would be to get a pda then get the gps kit or even get one with it intergrated.

I have a Tom Tom 700 and the main problem with the Tom Tom 300,500,700 is reception. If you read a lot of the forums on the web you will see alot people complaining about reception etc. For me the reception isn't a big issue once I get going, but you really have to switch your unit on a few minutes before you depart. But in general I've found it to be really useful planning journeys etc.

[Andrew_arkless]

Have you looked at the Garmin nuvi350 ? Its got full european mapping & 7 digit postcodes.

Just a further point, I dropped my car of to be fixed today and the reception in the pool car a Nissan is amazing compared to my Citeroen. Get reception instantly when powered up.

[Johnnie]

I've had the garmin nuvi 300 for a couple of months now, it's basically the same as the 350 but with less mapping.

It's a great piece of kit!, it still amazes me how something so small can do so much.

Mine cost just over £300 and I also got a 2gb SD card to store my music on, if you want to read my 'review' here:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showp...7&postcount=22

and another one posted by morkins:

http://gpsinformation.info/nuvi/nuvireview.html

[r.cordrey]

Originally Posted by Andrew_arkless

Have you looked at the Garmin nuvi350 ? Its got full european mapping & 7 digit postcodes.

Thanks fellas - but my needs still seem to fall between two stools. I have read good reviews of the nuvi350, but cannot find any claim that it will perform postcode searches. Do you have one, and will it definitely work with postcodes? And if so, in which countries? The nuvi350 is a hell of a price, which I would pay if it met my needs, but I don't need music or talking books (I have a good in-car audio system for that), whereas I do want postcode referencing and coverage for small villages in the Netherlands, with detailed 'talk-through' during the route. Any suggestions?

[Badlands]

I just bought a tom tom 500 and the only thing for me is the loss of reception evry now and then, plus you need a good 5mins before take off, for it to boot up.

[cmcolclough]

It's got to be a GarminvNuvi 350 all the way, all of Europe built in, really simple to use, no buttons. Full postcode search. Constant software updates always coming out. .

I've used TomTom 700, really can't get my head around the User interface, don't bother with a Garmin Quest unless you maybe want to use it walking as well as it does off road routing and you can put waypoints in (quest doesn't do 3d mapping or postcode or speed cameras)