Garmin vs TomTom

Have tried using a Garmin SatNav box in Malaysia – we use a TomTom in the UK. It’s been a bit of a challenge getting used to it – unlike TomTom, which is generally pretty precise on postcode lookups, the Garmin box is fairly useless on address lookups – on three or four separate addresses, taken us within range but not actually close enough to be useful.

What’s bizarre is the usefulness of the Garmin Nuvi 1420 box in looking up specific destinations – restaurants, venues etc., – if you treat it more like Google Maps than like a postcode/address lookup, it worked pretty well. Lane control was good, maps were good… the voices are terrible, and the touchscreen isn’t quite as responsive as the TomTom, but otherwise it worked pretty well.

Don’t know how much of the bits that worked badly – address lookup, voices – were a feature of poor localisation to Malaysia. It seems to be the main brand present here, so you’d think they’d sort those issues out properly.