I'm going to visit Italy, and I know that this issue was discussed in the past, but I'm curious if Europe NAVTEQ maps have improved recently.

If you still recommend the TomTom maps, what options of mixing exist, without losing important information?
Should I use TT's map and TT's poi file, or perhaps NQ's poi file is better? If I use them both, would I get double entries?
Will fda & fpa files of NQ function with maps of TT?
Will hnr (easy, Economical, fast & short for Western Europe) files of NQ function with maps of TT?
I have lots of questions, but I would like to take the opportunity to travel in Italy when I equipped with the best tools.

Thanks for any input.

This subject was "talked" about some time ago about which map set is better where. It was decided somewhat that TT for iGO [formerly TA] was better in Europe and Navteq was better in NA. Now, this is NOT completely 100% accurate because sometimes the reverse is also true for certain areas. But this is a general thought. If you use both POI sets in the nav at one time, you will get double returns. I don't use Primo so I can't answer your other question[s].

I'm going to use IGO8 with TT maps, so (allmost) other files are not relevant. I guess I will not get lost :)
I do get driver alerts using TT map with fda of NQ. I checked it with and without the fda file, and I found that it works (showing signs) together :)

For France, I have recently tried both Navteq maps (version Q4 2012) and TA maps (version Q4 2012) on iGo Primo and TA maps seem to give better driving directions (at least in France).
I have experienced that directions based on Navteq maps would lead me through sometimes very small narrow country roads instead of continuing on the main national road. For the same trip, with TA maps, the GPS kept me on the main road.

I have installed Navteq POIs though, they seem better although I don't have any hard proof about it. What I like is that they come with custom POI images for well known POI brands which TomTom don't seem to have.

Edouard

I returned from a trip to Italy and would love to share with you my experience, both on the software, map, poi and speedcam alerts.
Before that, a few words about the trip itself. We landed in Milan, started in the area of Western Garda lake (Lago Di Garda), then up to the Dolomites, for the weekend we went back to the area and Venice, the the eastern side of Garda lake, Verona and back to Milan (Malpensa Airport).

I used only Igo8. This is because I had less good experience with Primo used in my country. I wanted to try it abroad, but using Igo8 felt better.
I used the Navteq map, since I've checked some routes before going, and I found it more better for my needs.

The software did the job almost perfectly. I received notification several times about re-calculation of the route, but it happened mainly because of very twisty mountain roads or where new traffic circles built.

There was a case I had time, and I decided not to go on the highway. The software navigated me between two main roads through the paved trail winding and hilly, would never experience it without the help of GPS.

In cases where I had to use the POI's, not always found what I wanted, but that's because the names in Italy are in Italian, and not always know the right name.

I used the SCDB speed cameras alerts file, and there were some instances where I got alert of 50 kph, but in practice was a sign of 70, and there were also cases reversed. Anyway, the alarm itself has been sufficient. In areas where there is average speed enforcement, the device beeps from the first camera to the second camera.

I live in a country that is on the edge of the desert, so I'm not used to seeing so much water and greenery all aroundץ
Here is some nice pictures illustrate how beautiful is northern Italy.
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