DriveSmarter

Does the advent of GPS mean we’ll no longer need them?

In the summer of 2008, a satellite navigation specialist named Colin Beatty fired up a 27-slide Power Point presentation titled “Could personal navigation systems herald the demise of much fixed signage?” Perhaps out of deference to his audience—Beatty was presenting to the Sign Design Society, Britain’s leading association for environmental graphic design—the tone was somewhat measured. (Note Beatty’s use of could and much.)

But Beatty, who founded his satnav consultancy CBil 23 years ago, had bad news for the sign world: He believes the advent of geolocational technology will eventually kill the sign.

[more...]

Hire any of DriveSmart GPS Hire Australia’s sat nav units up to a week and pay no more than $6 per day…

…and if you’re going overseas, we’ll throw in an overseas map for free as well!

At DriveSmart, we truly value your feedback. It is so valuable in fact, that we are giving our service away for it (almost)!

For ANY booking using the 7for39 coupon code, you can rent any of our fantastic TomTom GPS units for up to 7 days – and you’ll pay no more than $39. You can choose from our entire range of units; from our basic TomTom ONE to the TomTom 950. (Save over 60% on our Gold class GPS units!)

All we ask in return is to ask you to write a review of our service. The review needs to be published on any online review website and be at least 300 words.

Bear in mind that we are not after glowing reviews (necessarily), but just want some honest feedback from our customers. Share your exciting DriveSmart experience with other savvy consumers will help others make an informed choice.

Click here to see why you should hire a GPS!

________________________________________________________________

How the offer works:

1. Book a unit through our website (http://www.gps-hire.com.au)
2. Use the voucher code 7for39 in the comments field when making your booking
3. Pay the hiring fee + refundable deposit as usual
4. Enjoy your travels with a DriveSmart GPS unit!
5. Return the unit to us and we’ll refund you the  refundable deposit
6. Post your experience on any review website
7. We’ll refund your entire hiring fee (minus $39) to your credit card

________________________________________________________________

Our friendly laymans’ terms of the offer:

1. This exclusive offer is only valid until April 30 2010
2. The booking can only be made through our website
3. Period of hire must end before September 30 2010
4. We have no problem if you want to hire the unit over a long weekend – Anzac Day/Queen’s Birthday is coming up!
5. Remember to use the voucher code 7for39 in the comments field when making your booking
6. The offer applies to any hirer, whether you’re in Australia or overseas
7. You don’t have to hire the unit for the entire 7 day period (less is fine)
8. If you hire for longer than 7 days, we’ll refund you the cost of the first 7 days
9. The hire of any GPS unit is subject to unit availability (as usual)
10. Our normal Terms and Conditions apply (as usual)

We’ve all heard the argument against buying a navigation system – that for the same money you could buy regular updates of a street directory for the next couple of decades. But let’s consider the counter arguments.

[snip]

Is GPS navigation for you? If your street directory is a couple of years old and still looking brand new, probably not. But if you renew it yearly and it’s a dog-eared mess, face up to it and spend the money. And if you’re moving cities, going caravanning or doing the big trip overseas, do it now.

[more...]

They’re a great alternative to the traditional street directory, but which is the best satellite-navigation system is best? Rod Easdown from the Sydney Morning Herald puts the leading brands to the test.

On the face of it, satellite-navigation systems look similar and do the same job. So surely it doesn’t matter much which one you buy, right? Wrong.

The thing is, a navigation system has to be easy and intuitive to use. If it isn’t, you’ll avoid using it and all that money is wasted. It’s amazing so many manufacturers can’t grasp such a simple fact. They load their systems up with so many features you’ll hardly ever use, that you have to either have a doctorate in logistics or be a 10-year-old to operate it. Others are just ornery from the start. A few are brilliant in their simplicity. But it’s a personal thing – we get used to what we buy and recommend them to our friends without ever having tried anything else.

[snip]

Our verdict:

We liked the Navman’s wider screen and the Garmin’s performance in sunlight but the TomTom ONE XL is easiest to use and best for first-time buyers.

[more...]

She is both blonde and beautiful – and the world’s most notorious back street driver.

While you may not have heard of the name Karen Jacobsen, you certainly would have heard her voice.

The Australian is the owner of the calm and reassuring tones that help you arrive at your desired destination.

[read more...]

We logged onto the TomTom Australia website today and were pleasantly surprised at the revised lineup of sat nav GPS units now available to Australian consumers.

The current range now includes:

• - GO 950
• - GO 750
• - XXL 540
• - XL 340
• - ONE 140
• - Start Australia 

The most significant change from the lineup was the removal of the quite old TomTom 720 Traffic unit (which was the only traffic-enabled unit that was available last week) along with a few of the lower-end units which seemed very similar in functionality.  This is quite disappointing as the TomTom Traffic Receiver must now be bought as an additional accessory (at $249!) which is not even supported on the new TomTom x50 series.  We hope TomTom release a new receiver for their flagship units soon!

(… and remember, DriveSmart customers can still rent the RDS-TMC traffic receiver for a flat $15 with any GPS hire!)

Update: the TT720 has re-appeared, still as the most expensive unit at $749 RRP.

With the news TomTom has released its new Autumn maps, we’re updating all of our units with this new map version. 

Changes include:

• - the removal of Sydney’s M4 toll
• - increased road speed limit coverage by 33 per cent (now covering 232,000 kilometres of road across Australia)
• - lane guidance coverage on all major roads
• - over 50,000 additional points of Interest across Australia (total now over 688,000).
• - inclusion of the latest TomTom IQ Routes data for the fastest routeany time of day

The map costs RRP $139.95 through TomTom.com

Interestingly, PC Authority have listed a few readers concerns about the lack of map updates for older GPS units.  Although TomTom supports all of their older units, not all GPS manufacturers do. 

DriveSmart continues to provide the latest map versions and map share updates for all of its GPS units free of charge.

The TomTom 950 LIVE and 750 LIVE units were launched last year in Europe, but where are theye in Australia? Looking on the tomtom.com Australian website, they are listed there but without the LIVE functionality – why?

Well, it seems the differences between the x50 LIVE series and the Australian units mainly seem to be:

• - The lack of a RDS-TMC receiver active dock providing live traffic updates
• - The 1 month trial to LIVE Services in supported European countries, including a real-time connection to HD Traffic, Safety Alerts, Fuel prices, Local search with Google etc.
• - Eco driving routes (generates fuel-efficient driving routes)

We are particularly surprised at the lack of a RDS-TMC receiver as it is already supported in Australia on older units.  Even some users who have bought a TomTom 950 LIVE overseas and/or have bought a TomTom 950/750 locally cannot seem to get the traffic update functionality to work properly.  This indicates there is perhaps a problem with integrating the x50 LIVE units with the local SUNA traffic network.

Petrol prices are up 29% from a year ago, so finding ways to stretch your personal petrol dollars could be a welcome holiday treat. Putting fewer tigers in your tank will also reduce foreign oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions, so that’s, well, gravy. With the help of two experts — John Henry, a driver-training veteran who works with gas-saving groups EcoDriveSmart and FuelClinic, and Michael Scott, who created the fuel-saver site Moblu — MoneyWatch have put together nine lesser-known mpg-boosting (or “hypermiling”) tips.

Link

Ever found yourself lost in one of Canberra’s weird intersections?  We went out there, turned off the GPS and shot this short video – enjoy!