iPhone Satnav & Dock

[johnre14]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased my first iPhone, and absolutely love it! However, i'm having a dilemma over which satnav application to purchase! I initially thought I would just get the tomtom app, having owned and liked a TomTom already, however it is rather pricey, and some reviews suggest others such as N-Drive may be just as good or better, at a lower cost. I am now slightly confused!

Furthermore, my iPhone is in the InCase Slider case, and I don't want to have to remove it every time I use it in my car, therefore I can't get the TomTom Car Kit! I was looking at the Magellan car kit, which seems to accept the iPhone in such a case, but where is the best place to purchase this in the UK? And are there any other options? Is the GPS enhancement necessary or does it work ok without?

My last thought is that I have a 1st generation iPod touch, which is slightly redundant now obviously! So I could get a satnav app and car kit for this and just use the touch as a satnav and music player in my car, and nothing else. Is it worth doing this, or is it better on the iPhone?!

Im sorry for all the questions (esp if they are repeats!), any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you
John

 

[androiphone]

you dont need the tomtom car dock to use the tom tom app, and if you do the touch way you can still have the app on both devices if they are under the same itunes account

 

[jtara]

You don't need a car kit. The car kit adds an external GPS receiver that is supposed to be better than the one that is built-in, and it puts the iPhone on your windshield.

I use Navigon with the internal GPS mounted on my dash (with a Proclip mount) and it works just fine. But Your Mileage May Vary...

Proclip has several mounting options for the iPhone, including one that will accommodate a case (it's adjustable). The adjustable one is a bit fiddly, so go with a fixed mount if you don't use a case. I think they also have a windshield mount, if you feel you need that. (In addition to better signal, this may be a better position for viewing while driving. On the other hand, if you wear bifocals (does anybody anymore?) or progressive lenses, the dash may work out better.

Proclip has interchangeable "front" and "back" parts. There's one part that's specific to your car (on my Mini it clips into the left side of the glove box) and one part specific to your device. You can also get an adapter so you can mount two devices, etc. On some cars (not mine) there are multiple mounting options - say steering wheel stalk or dash. They're expensive, but very customized and flexible.