Satnav recommendations please!

[fasterthanthewind]

we've had a couple of hideous trips lately, and are wondering if we should get a sat nav. Mostly we don't have problems navigating (tho it can be stressful when it's me alone in the car with 3 small kids) - what we're interested in is excellent live traffic updates, and a sat nav that would direct us away from congestion.

Any suggestions? I just googled, and was pretty horrified to see that the top reviewed one (on auto express) costs £289!

I'm also considering getting a smartphone, and I wondered if any of the iphone/android apps are comparable? I'd rather get one thing to do everything, if you see what I mean - but maybe it's more complicated than I think??!

Thank you!

I've used my Galaxy S2 (and now S5) for the past year or two - apart from no speed readout, I prefer it over my old TomTom. It also displays traffic densities and adjusts estimated journey time accordingly, and is generally much easier to use.

The fact that navigation is already included on the phone at no extra cost is just a bonus.

thank you wmittens.

We don't drive enough to justify hundreds of pounds on a special gadget that might in any case get nicked out of the car.

But I would like something that would accurately tell me about traffic jams...