BlueMedia BM6300 SatNav

**SirGSi** · 18th August 2005, 08:51

Hi guys,

Took the plunge and treated myself to a SATNAV device as I wasn't able to find a used car with it. (Then told the missus!)

As you can tell from the Title it's a BlueMedia BM6300.

It has speed cameras (Gatso, Mobile Gatso, Truvelo, Specs and Redlight) databases pre-installed.

Another bonus, is that for the £289.99, you get the maps for Europe supplied on 2 CDs aswell!!!

The unit comes with a 256MB SD card.
Gooseneck windscreen mount.
Bike mount.
12V and mains charger.
Mini USB cable.
Europe Maps on 2 CDs.

It's my first SatNav I've really played with, and for the price, I'd say it's better than the TomTom 300 which I was looking at instead. I was sold on the fact that the BlueMedia is only £30 a year subscription for the SpeedCam updates, and the fact that the Speedcams are all ready included. There are sites which you can download for free the data - not sure how accurate they all are though???

All in all, I'm very pleased with it. I don't have any other Speedcam warning devices but this will help a bit at least. - It is also able to warn you if you're over the speed limit.

I have set my POI's to show just Shell garages (as I only use Optimax) - very handy if on holiday and don't know where they are, also showing Vauxhall dealers.

It has the integrated antenae and can run on batteries for upto 4 hours.
It also has a pedestrian mode too.

The unit has a touch screen and can also be used with buttons.

I can definately recommend one!

HTH & ATB
Grant.

**SignumPhil** · 18th August 2005, 09:02

I've been using Tom Tom on the Palm for a couple of years now, and I wouldn't be without it.
Free speed camera maps available from http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/uksafetycameras.php

Phil

**SirGSi** · 18th August 2005, 09:31

I'm hooked on SatNav at the moment.

It's like the Internet I guess, makes you wonder how we ever coped without it!?

**ion** · 18th August 2005, 10:29

my vec doesn't have sat nav, but we have a company beemer that does. The system is brilliant (all the new ones are), we have travelled to London, Liverpoool, Manchester, all over, and it took us straight in & out, no probs. wouldn't have had a clue without it. Even closed roads aren't a problem, it redirects you if you can't make a turn. The voice thing Clarkson was on about when he tested the M5 is funny though, she pipes up without warning seemingly every time you go to say something & makes you jump (until you work out how to turn her off in the I diot Drive).

I definitely want one but chipping is my priority - Power first Direction later!

**Lloydy** · 18th August 2005, 11:01

I opted for the Trafficmaster SmartNav system.

Having been used to the TrafficMaster Oracle reports in my old Veccy B I wanted something that would take into account traffic jams etc as part of the navigation, and SmartNav fits the bill. Its already saved me a few headaches by avoiding the M4 a few times. The other week it seemed like there was a big accident or holdup on the M4 almost every day - must be the silly season!

**Duncan** · 18th August 2005, 13:10

Sounds like you're happy there Grant!

I've been a TomTom man for some time (2, 3 and now 5)!! Originally I had Autoroute on my Psion 3c wired up to a handheld GPS receiver. Very basic maps, no voice commands but at the time it was fantastic!! This was long before SatNav took off in a big way!!

For anyone using TomTom on a Pocket PC I'd strongly recommend an application called checkpoint - http://checkpoint.oabsoftware.nl/index.php This is a Points of Interest (POI) warning app i.e. it warns you when you're approaching a POI, you choose which ones - speed cameras obviously being the most used ones.

What's great about it is that first of all it's free!! Secondly, the updating of the databases is not done by the people who do the app, it's done by the end users!! i.e. you come across a speed camera that isn't listed. You press a button on the Pocket PC, log the speed limit of the camera and it adds it a list of logged POI's on your PPC. When you then sync at home with their server, it adds your new one to the database and downloads any new ones that other people have logged!! It works superbly well.

Sometimes I've found multiple loggings of the same camera site due to different people maybe logging them on the same day and then uploading later that day, but you can also remove any POI's that aren't there, or are duplicated.

The £70 odd that TomTom ask for their camera database is laughable!! They update the database themselves but to report a new/moved camera you have to fill in a form on the web site with it's position, road, junction etc. Yeh, like people are going to bother doing that!! With Checkpoint you can log a new camera with one button press and two screen taps!! There are also a huge number of other databases - fuel stations, supermarkets etc. etc. etc - all updated in the same way.

In CheckPoint you can fully customise the warnings as you approach a POI. You can record warnings for each speed of camera as you approach it.

e.g. I have this warning 30 secs from a camera, this one will sound if I'm travelling over the limit when I'm 20 secs away and this final one 5 secs before the camera itself. BTW - the voice is NOT mine!!

It's a computer generated one from a website, you tap in the text you want and it's generates a wav file for you. You can choose from a few different voices.

I upgraded to TT5 which now has a POI warner built-in, but I think it's rubbish. I actually removed TT5 and went back to TT3 as I missed the CheckPoint app so much (plus there were some bits about TT5 that I wasn't mad on).

In going to the CheckPoint site to get address for the link above, I've just seen that it's now available for TT5 - so I think I'l be loading up TT5 and CheckPoint 5 this afternoon!!

**SirGSi** · 18th August 2005, 13:57

That looks cool m8!

I was thinking of getting the POI-Warner - is there a free trial version floating around do you know?

**C19_CJB** · 18th August 2005, 14:09

sat nav.... SAT NAV!!!

Whats wrong with the good ol' map and using your eyes to look for speed camera's etc??!! LOL!!

**SignumPhil** · 18th August 2005, 14:19

Originally Posted by Duncan

Sounds like you're happy there Grant!

I've been a TomTom man for some time (2, 3 and now 5)!! Originally I had Autoroute on my Psion 3c wired up to a handheld GPS receiver. Very basic maps, no voice commands but at the time it was fantastic!! This was long before SatNav took off in a big way!!

For anyone using TomTom on a Pocket PC I'd strongly recommend an application called checkpoint - http://checkpoint.oabsoftware.nl/index.php This is a Points of Interest (POI) warning app i.e. it warns you when you're approaching a POI, you choose which ones - speed cameras obviously being the most used ones.

What's great about it is that first of all it's free!! Secondly, the updating of the databases is not done by the people who do the app, it's done by the end users!! i.e. you come across a speed camera that isn't listed. You press a button on the Pocket PC, log the speed limit of the camera and it adds it a list of logged POI's on your PPC. When you then sync at home with their server, it adds your new one to the database and downloads any new ones that other people have logged!! It works superbly well.

Sometimes I've found multiple loggings of the same camera site due to different people maybe logging them on the same day and then uploading later that day, but you can also remove any POI's that aren't there, or are duplicated.

The £70 odd that TomTom ask for their camera database is laughable!! They update the database themselves but to report a new/moved camera you have to fill in a form on the web site with it's position, road, junction etc. Yeh, like people are going to bother doing that!! With Checkpoint you can log a new camera with one button press and two screen taps!! There are also a huge number of other databases - fuel stations, supermarkets etc. etc. etc - all updated in the same way.

In CheckPoint you can fully customise the warnings as you approach a POI. You can record warnings for each speed of camera as you approach it.

e.g. I have this warning 30 secs from a camera, this one will sound if I'm travelling over the limit when I'm 20 secs away and this final one 5 secs before the camera itself. BTW - the voice is NOT mine!!

It's a computer generated one from a website, you tap in the text you want and it's generates a wav file for you. You can choose from a few different voices.

I upgraded to TT5 which now has a POI warner built-in, but I think it's rubbish. I actually removed TT5 and went back to TT3 as I missed the CheckPoint app so much (plus there were some bits about TT5 that I wasn't mad on).

In going to the CheckPoint site to get address for the link above, I've just seen that it's now available for TT5 - so I think I'l be loading up TT5 and CheckPoint 5 this afternoon!!

If you run it on a Palm, you don't need Checkpoint. The POI functionality has been standard since Version 4.02!

Phil

**Duncan** · 18th August 2005, 14:27

Originally Posted by SignumPhil

If you run it on a Palm, you don't need Checkpoint. The POI functionality has been standard since Version 4.02!

Yes, as it has on the v4 that shipped as an HP Pocket PC Navigation Pack.

My point was that the POI feature built into TomTom is rubbish. You would've thought that after CheckPoint being so popular for so long, that TomTom would at least have piched some of the best features. They didn't even come close - Checkpoint beats the TomTom feature hands and feet down!!

D