Really crap GPS

[Calaber]

On other threads recently, there have been discussions about which GPS's are recommended.

Well, how about one on which GPS's NOT to buy? And I have the first nomination.

MIO brand, purchased through Harvey Norman. Tonight, I gave up and flung the bastard of a thing across the road. It's dead, now - definitely not built to be very shock-proof. It had, without doubt, the worst menu of any GPS I have ever experienced. Trying to delete old addresses was impossible - you just couldn't find that option. The web-site was just as useless - somewhere in China and everytime I tried to access the manual, which came on a CD, all I could get was gobbledegook - computer speak. You couldn't reset the time, dialling in an address was clumsy - need I continue. It was junk and a waste of nearly $200. That's not much for a GPS, so I guess I got what I paid for, but if anybody is considering buying a GPS, look at any other brand. If you see this brand on the shelves - go elsewhere to buy.

[Stressball]

Yeah, Sony didn't put much effort into their GPS'.

[Calaber]

Stressball

Are you suggesting that the Mio brand was a Sony product or did they have a go at making their own GPS's too? If it was a Sony product, it was a very poor one and I'd be surprised if it was one of theirs.

[Stressball]

MIO is Sony's sub-brand responsible for their GPS'. Some people have told me they can be quite good, but the map support is never quite up to Garmin or Tomtom. I think MIO used to be independant and Sony bought them out, but I can't say for sure.

[Calaber]

MIO is Sony's sub-brand responsible for their GPS'. Some people have told me they can be quite good, but the map support is never quite up to Garmin or Tomtom. I think MIO used to be independant and Sony bought them out, but I can't say for sure.

thanks mate, that's interesting. I thought Mio was just some low-rent Chinese brand. Not that being a Sony product made any difference - shit, it was a bastard of a thing to use.

[sleepa]

That's weird, the one thing SONY tend to do well is ease of use.

[Calaber]

That's weird, the one thing SONY tend to do well is ease of use.

It might have been easier if I'd ever been able to access the manual and sort the menu out. I know there was a delete function to get rid of old addresses but locating it was bloody impossible. It was also slow fixing your location when first turned on.

[Stressball]

On further investigation, it looks like they are inddividual companies. I know Sony acquired a GPS company and kept the name at some point, but it looks like it wasn't Mio. Could have sworn it was though...

But an answer to the question of the thread, I'd say avoid buying a Kogan GPS They aren't much chop either heh. The navigation software in it freezes and closes down if you fill it's memory buffer, which is tiny lol. If you try to map from brisbane to sydney it dies, etc.

[Calaber]

On further investigation, it looks like they are inddividual companies. I know Sony acquired a GPS company and kept the name at some point, but it looks like it wasn't Mio. Could have sworn it was though...

But an answer to the question of the thread, I'd say avoid buying a Kogan GPS They aren't much chop either heh. The navigation software in it freezes and closes down if you fill it's memory buffer, which is tiny lol. If you try to map from brisbane to sydney it dies, etc.

I was looking at E-bay tonight to see what's on offer. Lots of brands you've never seen or heard of, available from Hong Kong and from Aussie dealers. Wonder what the performance and back-up is like on them?

[Stressball]

I was looking at E-bay tonight to see what's on offer. Lots of brands you've never seen or heard of, available from Hong Kong and from Aussie dealers. Wonder what the performance and back-up is like on them?

Somehow I don't think it would be great

[JMP]

I just got back from Ireland and used a Garmin but wasn't overly impressed with it. Bought a Tomtom when I got to England and love it, the salesman also did mention the Garmin being quite average unless you buy a higher end model and then they are comparable with the Tomtom. I know it was overseas but it's just my 2 cents worth.

[pow3rslave]

my girlfriend's got a navman something. it seems ok, the directions it gives are a bit out of the way sometimes. never lost a signal, but it can take a while to find satelites when you first start it. that can be frustrating when you wanna go somewhere in a hurry

[sleepa]

I have a NAVMAN that I have had for years, cost around $800 but it came with all australian maps as well as europe, which is why I bought it as I was going over there. It works really well, good directions, doesn't lose signal very often, has built in memory and sd card slot. This was over 3 years ago so they probably have even better for a lot cheaper now.

Tried using a TOMTOM a few times, but I didn't like it, didn't have as nice an interface as the navman.

[Lumps of cheese]

In my hilux i have a in dash chinese vms copy gps unit and it's the best one i've used. It has a stack of features but is easy to use in the bargain. I have the IGO maps and also run Oziexplorer for the off road maps, awesome product.
I did have a tomtom before that and although it was ok, had a habit of running you around in circles a bit but it wasn't too bad for the money.

[Julie]

We bought a navman last year, can't fault it, been one of the best purchases we have ever made.

[Tree cutter]

Mio and Navman have made a few GPS models together. My Navman is an oldie and is known as a Mio 168