Geocaching Australia

Gidday Guys,
I am investigating the purchase of an in car SatNav unit for an older relative. The person is in her 80's and can get flustered easily when driving. Now personally I use TomTom on an iPaq and I think its pretty good. The problem that I see with this solution is that it is small and fiddly and is inappropriate for this case.

So I find myself investigating accessibility issues with these units with not a lot of personal experience -- and it needs to be purchased this week

* I need a unit that is easy to hear (this is where the units that can also broadcast to the FM radio are probably useful)

* I need a unit that has larger text/buttons as the user has minor arthritic complaints and won't be able to hit small buttons (like on my iPaq *chuckle*)

* I need a unit that is not overly complicated to use.

* I need to pick your brains for advice ....

Units that I like the look of so far are the;
TomTom GO 720
Garmin StreetPilot C510
Garmin Nuvi 250W

Let me know your thoughts,
cheers Darren
The ELTHAM Mob

I think for ease of use the tomtom is the one to go for.

my inlaws borrowed my tomtom onexl and had zero issues using it.

Im talking about a guy who struggles to change channels on the TV and wouldnt be able to turn a pc on with out help.

in fact hes buying one for himself for christmas

I have a tom tom Go 720, couldn't recommend it highly enough. Very easy to use.

I have a TomTom OneXL which I like, but even with the bigger screen it is easy to hit the wrong keys.

The idea is good, but one problem I can see if she is "easily flustered" is when the device gets it wrong. Despite it being a pretty new unit I have found heaps of spots in Adelaide and Sydney where it wants me to make an illegal right hand turn, or go through a blocked off street. And other country spots where it was convinced I couldn't go, but that is likely to be less of a problem.

If she can handle realising it may be telling her to do something occasionally she can't, and accept that if she has to turn left instead of right it will recalculate the route then it could work.

Is this a surprise Christmas present? If not you might be able to get local people to lend you one for a while to see if she can use them.

Are you really sure an octagenarian can cope with the additional distractions to her driving that this would involve?
<P>
A couple of times I've followed my TomTom's spoken instructions and nearly driven/turned through a red light - and there are numerous stories of this sort of thing happening (along with following it slavishly and ending up totally stranded on some goat track!).
<P>Obviously, this depends on how astute and technically oriented she is - I know my mother couldn't cope

How active is this person's mind? I think Geodes makes a valid point.

The day analogue TV is turned off there will be a good few who never control their TV viewing again. I'v seen it first hand.
A TV - what ever. A car - look out .

Geodes makes a good point. When the unit speaks to her, is she likely to turn and look at the screen rather than at the road? Will she even trust it? My mother wouldn't.

If she's getting flustered easily while driving, she's probably better staying in familiar territory. I hope you don't take offense, but maybe it's time her driving ability was assessed. I don't expect to be driving in my 80's (if I'm still here!).

Gidday Guys,

her driving ability is quite good and she is a regular computer user (She even programs her VCR and that's something I never do *chuckle*)

The 'flustered' while driving is that she can get geographically embarrassed and may take a while to get found again - the "go home" button on the Tom Tom seems to be a good fix for this problem.

From the software that she runs on her PC a good clean interface with larger buttons seems to be the best option. She doesn't like power user software with hundreds of options in a single interface/crowded screen.

cheers Darren

Ah. Well, I'll be watching this thread to see what you decide because both my daughter and I could use a simple, touch-screen device to ensure we keep our eyes on the road and don't get lost!

listmaker wrote:Ah. Well, I'll be watching this thread to see what you decide because both my daughter and I could use a simple, touch-screen device to ensure we keep our eyes on the road and don't get lost!

Tom Tom Go 720, couldn't be simpler and it even acts as a hands free for the mobile as long as the phone has bluetooth.
Even text messages are displayed on the screen, eliminating any need to fiddle with the phone at all.

Beeps at you when approaching red light cameras or if you exceed the speed limit.

As long as she doesn't go driving on dirt roads in the country. I have had it take my up one rock step I needed to get out and look at first to work out the best line before I tackled it. And another road with a 2 foot deep river crossing.

Neither of which worried me in the Grand Vitara, but in a normal car could have been a slight problem

tronador wrote:

listmaker wrote:Ah. Well, I'll be watching this thread to see what you decide because both my daughter and I could use a simple, touch-screen device to ensure we keep our eyes on the road and don't get lost!

Tom Tom Go 720, couldn't be simpler and it even acts as a hands free for the mobile as long as the phone has bluetooth.
Even text messages are displayed on the screen, eliminating any need to fiddle with the phone at all.

Beeps at you when approaching red light cameras or if you exceed the speed limit.

Cheers - sounds perfect for us, and the OP.

After some testing, trials, and interstate arguments we are looking at purchasing the TomTom OneXL (Although this still might change as I'm not the one making the purchase )

Thanks for the input everyone, it was very useful.

I reviewed a few for work. Tested a Tomtom, Garmin and Mio. Tomtom was the easiest to set up and use. I recommend the entry level Tomtom V1 (3rd edition) - costs $399 (less in most stores) and does the basics - no bluetooth, no MP3 player, no distractions. Just take me to the location.