Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) open cars and navigation computers?

If this is not the right thread, move me on

In spring I will drive my morgan threewheeler and I need some informations / opinions about navigation computers a la Garmin/TomTom/Navigon etc. or smartphone-applications, which experiences you made concerning:

direct sunlight?
moisture / rain?
installation / installation kits (m3w and windscreen )
Live system (to be online during driving)?
possibility to install/see/navigate private POIs (point of informations)?

Thanks a lot

Achim

For the M3W I would suggest getting a system designed for use on a motorbike. They can be used with a bluetooth headset so that you will be able to hear the instructions. Also they are designed to be used exposed to the elements and come with a mounting bracket. I have no idea where you would actually fit it though. I will leave that for an M3W owner to answer.

On the rare occasion I need Satnav, my android phone works a treat - Google maps + Navigation plug-in, all free from Google Play

Just hada quick look and something like this looks interesting (available for other makes/models).... Click Here (Others Available!)....

tomtom nav on a Iphone
does all it has to do for 89€

As Peter says, the motorbike ones should meet all your needs...after all the M3W really is a 3 wheeled motorbike The only problem is that they are not cheap and it may be more cost effective to buy a cheap car one which can be replaced if damaged by wet. My brother-in-law laughs at my Garmin Zumo motorbike satnav and uses a cheap car TomTom one clamped inside the screen of his GS and over the past 4 years its shrugged off rain etc. RAM mounts should have something that you can mount the actual unit to the car.

I would definity look to having a bike satnavs.

Another advantage of the bike satnavs is they have larger buttons.

I have used my GPS (Google maps) on my HTC smartphone - and it is pants. Whilst driving the Morgan (e.g. nothing above to stop the signal) it will drop out. Dreadfull functioniality. too small to read with ease, buttons very small, touch screen impossible on the move - I can go on and on.

Don't forget that Google Maps/Navigator requires an internet connection. The latest version will store the route and keep functioning if the signal drops out, and you can now pre-load a 10 mile square for use offline but that is very limited by comparison to dedicated sat navs.

The other issue is that if travelling outside your own country roaming data connections on cell phones may be limited to just a few MB a day and/or very expensive.

I would agree with the Smartphone based solution. Without pushing TomTom software on the phone specifically I would probably go for that due to the following;-

Best range of add-ins and POI farms available. Large user community and good update mechanism.
Smartphone also brings ability to use it for finding venues and food/drink etc when arrived with tripadvisor etc.
You can load a translator application to get you out of speeding tickets (I was told this by Boshley )
You always need to carry your phone anyway so why carry something in addition.
You can keep all your favourite videos on it for the traffic jams and delays.

For occasional UK travel and emergency international use the real time map applications built into iOS and Android are great and have amazing overlays and content options from Google/Apple etc. They are also upgraded with each new version of the OS so continue to improve.

If you travel abroad I would certainly add TomTom or another application which carries its own maps as international roaming with data use is shockingly expensive. The built in map applications tend to download everything in real time and so can consume a lot of data. Two days out of country with roaming charges for sat nav can cover the purchase of the TomTom EU maps package if you are on the wrong tariff. Also if you are touring distant regional areas and you lose 3G signal the map downloads are so slow they are useless, very very bad in rough areas and late at night when you are trying to find the hotel !

A fried of mine bought a world sat nav app for $3 on Apple AppStore a few months ago to cover a US jaunt. It was not TomTom but it was completely acceptable for basic navigation. I think it was this one - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/gps-navigation-2-satnav-by/id329340711?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

I would use a larger screen model like Samsung S3, Asus Nexus7 (needs to tether through a phone) tablet or iPad if you can fit it in so you don't end up in an accident trying to read it. The more common handsets give you more options over mountings and covers, you can get pretty much anything for an iPhone, for a Galaxy or HTC your choices are more restricted so consider these as part of the decision on handset. I would look into a bike comms system for the output from it. At a pinch the Bluetooth headsets (Motorola S9 is quite discrete and can allow you to answer calls as well as listen to music and turn information - http://reviews.cnet.com/headsets/motorola-motorokr-behind-the/4505-13831_7-33418013.html )

The screen technology used in an iPad is called IPS and it has far better viewing angles than the cheaper technologies in other devices, This allows you to position the device in a broader range of locations around the cabin. It also has a higher brightness as Apple expected it to be used outside a lot. I would add the Galaxy S3 and HTC One range to this list of brighter screens. You will probably have to be careful of using reactive sunglasses as these can filter the picture on some screens so do check, or go for fixed tint pair.

HTH.

On our trip to Lemans I used used the tomtom app for the Iphone and I must admit it worked far better than I though.

I linked the phone to a set of bluetooth wireless ear phones which seemed to work a treat.

I'd give some thought about what to do with the phone and wanted it somewhere where if necessary I could look at the screen so I went for this Quadlock and simply fitted the locator to the dash. I'll post a picture later.

Quadlock should in the next month or so be bringing to the market a fully water proof case, but with the rain we have in Lemans the iphone didn't suffer.

I should add that I've modified the phone mounts for my other vehicles to take the quadlock as well, and I'm currently trying to work on something for the aero.