rns-e or tomtom? help!

1130 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by rvarg, Dec 10, 2005

ekarapanos

Discussion Starter · Dec 8, 2005

Hello guys!

I just bought my new audi (2005 or 2006? not sure) and it is on its way to me.

However, I need a navigation system as well as a way to play mp3s.

I can see 3 solutions.

a) audi original navi system (RNS-E DVD) (1800 euros) (+150euros for a 2gb mmc card)
http://www.jncs.nl/winkel-filter.asp?shop=...avigatie&id=467

tomtom go 700 (with europe maps), and for the sound, ipod + icelink plus (approx. 700 + 300 +150 = 1150 euros)
http://www.dension.com/icelink.htm

c)mitac mio 269+ (with europe maps) and it has 500 mb for mp3 (+150euros for a 2gb mmc card) (550 euros)

So i will place what I know and what I don't know and please if you know something, it would help me a loooot!

a) it looks very nice, it is a bit expensive but you everything in one, it's not easily replaceable-updateable, but what I don't know is:

--what is the quality of the navigation? in terms of rendering? is it fast or is it staying behind the road? in terms of map coverage? (i am interested for the whole europe in city road detail) in terms of visualisation? is it good as tomtom? easily recognisable? tell me please if you are satisfied and if you have experienced both this and tomtom it would be great to compare them!

--music stuff. i think that since i have the dvd for the europe maps in it i have to use a mmc card to store my mp3s. does it accept a 2gb mmc card? is it easy to swift from map to music? is it feasible to navigate through your songs via the buttons while you have your navigation in the screen?

-- does it have better sound quality than my classic cd 1-din? do i have to change any speakers?

It's not so nice looking, a lot of cables, but i ve heard that tomtom is great, great map coverage, very good rendering (i've seen it and i was surprised that it was 3d rendering in extremely good frame rate), and you surely don't have problems identifying where to go (i assume). Briefly, i am sure about the quality of tomtom but not sure about the quality of the audi navi cause i ve never seen it.

In terms of the icelink i think it looks great.

c) it is very cheap and you everything in one but i 've heard that the rendering is very slow and it stays a couple of secs behind the road and actually you cannot use music and nav on the road. and i assume that it might more difficult to navigate through your music while driving.

I am sorry for the loads of info and questions, but i think that despite helping me it might become a useful knowledge base for others as well. I searched throught the forum but i still have some questions.

Thanks,
Evan

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rvarg

· #2 · Dec 10, 2005

I tested the TomTom 700 before I decided on the RNS-E. My major complaints about the TomTom are:

1) Display brightness and glare... I found no convenient way to angle the unit to prevent the sun from washing out the display. It was particularly bad when I had sunglasses on. The RNS-E is more optimally placed, and its LCD display is not as reflective.

2) The look... The TomTom looks good by itself, but I thought it cheapened the look of my S4. It's obvious to potential thieves, so you'd have to unmount it every time you left the car. The RNS-E fits seamlessly in the Audi console and does not attract any more attention.

3) The mount... The TomTom fell off its mount at least once while I had it.

I also tested the Garmin C330, and I prefer the Garmin over the TomTom. It has the same downsides as the TomTom 700, but between the two, I thought its user interface was a little bit better.

I also like how the RNS-E combines a NAV with audio support. You can listen to tunes and advance through them while the NAV screen it up. Moreover, once you VAG the car, you can get NAV information on the instrument cluster while having your audio playlist displaying on the RNS-E screen. It's more versatile than I expected it to be.

-Roy

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