Victor Meldrew

I wondered the following:

Is it worth buying a GPS for living in Dubai as the road systems seem to change a lot (I would use it to get to various schools)

If so, where is the best place to buy one

Does anybody have any recommendations regards best product (I have about 900 aed to spend)

Can you get them so that they also work in the UK (I am going back next week for the summer (nice) so need to buy fairly quickly)

Thanks,

Roadking

I have a Garmin unit that has both ME and UK maps, so wherever I'm driving, or riding, I just change the card and all set.

I can get lost on a straight road so for me it's a question of need rather than want.

coffindodger

Here in riyadh i have a Garmin 715.
now i only use it some times, in the early days here in riyadh it was a must.
You do need to upgrade them every 2 years, so the chap in the Garmin shop told me because of new roads etc,
Mine was a free upgrade it only took a few minutes.

Victor Meldrew

Today I looked at Garmin 1490 T-EU for 1040 Dirhams and a Garmin 1310-GCC for 945 Dirhams.

Which would you recommend?

Can you buy the cards for the different countries easily enough in Dubai?

thanks.

Roadking

Not sure about the models as not up-to-date on these. For mine, I downloaded the UK from the Garmin site as the UAE was pre-loaded. Cost $99 from memory. Simples....

Check out Gramin.com to see if your models of choice offer the same.

arc en ciel

Coffindodger, is it better to buy a GPS here in the UK or when I arrive in Riyadh ?

coffindodger

i bought mine here in Riyadh and its al ready pre loaded with the GCC Locam Maps.

johnbuoy

what type of mobile phone do you have?
I have Tom Tom on a XDA and Co pilot on the Iphone both within your budget and easily downloadable. GCC maps are rare but obtainable but as they change weekly is it worth it for here yet?

thecentennial

I recently bought a Nokia E72 phone - comes with free OVI maps, turn by turn navigation, free in car GPS type holder, ALL global maps free, dont need a network connection to use, plus its a brilliant business phone. SAR1100.

csdf

You can get free Garmin maps of the GCC region (and indeed, anywhere in the world) from http://garmin.na1400.info/routable.php

These are based on OpenStreetMap data so if you find roads that aren't in the database, you can add them yourselves and improve the maps for everybody.

miuser2

Just bought a Garmin Nuvi 250 for AED650, it's a small unit, once updated is pretty accurate (for now). Works for me.

seven seas

yeah but the pronunciation of street names is soooooooooooooo wrong with Garmin!!!

arc en ciel

Does the Nokia E72 use speech with the navigation as well ?

thecentennial

E72, yes turn by turn navigation (speech) - it has to be as the screen is too small.

Waqs

Garmin is the best as maps can easily be obtained. Also for any riders who have a blackberry I can give you the voice guided sat nav which I use. I'd rather get the directions in my ear instead of taking my eyes off the road.