 great unit, but there are things you need to know. |
| Review Date: September 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: T. E. Pickering, |
just received my new GPS today, plugged it into my mac, and installed tomtom's mac version of their home software. everything has worked well so far and the free map update installed fine. there are two main things that purchasers need to know:
1) space is very limited on the device. there is only 2 GB of internal flash memory and out of the box there was less than 50 MB free. the very first thing you should do is to delete voices in languages you don't use. this will free up a couple/three hundred MB. they can get backed up to your computer so you could always put them back in the future. once a bit of space is freed up you'll be able to update the device without issue. after removing spanish and french voices, running update which installed a new dave voice, and then installing the free map update i was left with 89 MB free. when i tried to run update before removing the voices, the unit warned me about lack of space and aborted without creating any further problems. maybe the mac version of home is more robust than the windows one in this respect.
2) the device only supports USB 1.1 transfers which max out at a bit over 1 MB/sec and can be slower. so doing a full backup or a map update will take quite a while (1-2 hours) and this is normal.
for me, those limitations are more than offset by the large, bright screen, text2speech capability, crowd-sourced map/route updates, and cheaper southern africa maps (we're moving there soon). especially given the cheap sale price i found. i will provide updates as i put unit through paces on cross-country trip and then intercontinental move..... |
The search for the best GPS
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| Review Date: November 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: SS2008, Georgia |
| I have used many GPS devices such as Garmin, TomTom, Navigon, etc.. And in the end the TomTom products always seem to be superior. Every time I buy a new GPS, I sit in my driveway and do a few simple tests. The first is how fast is it ready to navigate. I don't think anyone will ever be faster than TomTom. Second, how easy is it for me to find a local store I shop at every week... for example the local Kroger's grocery store that's close to my house. Again, TomTom can help me route to this very quickly and with minimal amounts of button pushing. To be fair, other devices may be able to find the same place, but not without having to scroll through 1000 POI's, or without having to push 50 buttons... Third, I need weather and traffic, and as much information as I can get about where I am, where I am going, and what's in between.. the more information the better as far as I am concerned. TomTom again is excellent in this area and now with a built in data connection provided by a cell signal, I can have all the information that I want, anywhere and anytime. I have tried the FM traffic version of this, and the MSN version of this, but MSN is going to stop offering this service next year (2010), so don't waste your time getting a device that you plan to use MSN on, and the FM signal range and quality of data has left me a bit underwhelmed. Once again the TomToms "Live" feature has found a great way to provide real-time information to me regardless of where I am. Yes, this feature is free for the first three months, and then runs about $10 a month. If you buy this GPS, try the Live feature out for a week or so and if you don't see the value, then go back to buying printed maps, because you are not ready for the future of GPS devices. One of the interesting features of the Live service is the ability to use Google search right from the device. At first I was not sure what use this would be, then I found myself in a situation where a location I thought should be a POI was not found on the device, or perhaps I was not looking in the right place, or had the category wrong... who knows.. But I went to the Google search feature, and told it what I was looking for, and Google pulled up some listings just like it does on your computer, and I selected what I wanted, and the device created the route from that. So for some reason if the GPS device can't understand or find what you are looking for, then Google is there to fill in the gap. Another great feature of the Live service is the location of cheap gas! Yes, that's right, the Live service can tell you all about the gas prices around you, and help you get to the cheapest. Who couldn't benefit from that? Additionally, the "TomTom At Home" software that you install on your computer does a great job of updating the device, make changes to it or even plan routes or travel from it. Lots of GPS's lets you update the device from the web, but none allow as much interaction with the device outside of basic map updates then the "At Home" software. If being able to interact with the GPS device using your computer is important to you, then I would suggest getting a TomTom for now. For me, this device has all you can ask for in a car GPS (PND for you tech geeks), and the price is right. The device is advanced, yet easy to interact with, so I feel even for a first time GPS user, or non-tech type of person, you would still be very happy. I have spent a long time on my quest for a great GPS device, and I hope this little bit of information will be helpful to you on yours. |
Don't Listen!!
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| Review Date: August 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: F. Lilley, Ottsville, PA USA |
| I've been in the market for a new gps and I decided on this one. Of course I saw all the reviews talking about the map update problem. I decided to email tom tom to get their take on it. I was told that yes the updated map is alot bigger but if you go into your tom tom home application on your cpu and delete a couple of those silly voices that we never use first. Then the map will fit just fine. Remember, you always have the option to re add those voices later from tom tom home. So does a need a little work from us to be perfect...yes, but it makes it worth it as tom tom is hands down the best Navigation out there!! |
Excellent routing!
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| Review Date: April 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: C. D. Hess, Rochester, NY |
This unit is worth buying just for the IQ routes! The most important feature of any GPS is its competence in routing. I have owned several brands of GPS, including Garmin and Mio. This one has the best routing yet! It always seems to choose a route that a local driver would choose. Some local drivers could even learn some better routes with this thing.
The text to speech voice works well. Like other TomToms, it is very easy to customize in terms of the information you wish to display on the screen.
The screen could be brighter. The windshield mount does not hold as securely as one would wish. I use an Arkon vent mount. |
Best I've had...
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| Review Date: July 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Floyd Goodrich, Alta Loma, CA USA |
UPDATE 10-29-09
I tried out the Magellan 1470 Roadmate with lane assist to find out how good that lane assist was. Magellan uses small highway signs on their GPS with a tiny arrow on the sign showing the lane to be in. These signs are tiny and hard to read and you need to find the actual corresponding highway sign and then adjust your lane to what is shown on the GPS. This works fairly well EXCEPT at night when the actual highway signs are lit up and sometimes poorly lit up or sometimes not lit up at all. It's very nerve wracking to try to read a tiny sign on the GPS then find the actual sign on the highway, lots can go wrong. The TomTom lane assist shows the highway signs and the total lanes on that highway and puts big green arrows on the lane(s) you need to be in. I used this Magellan 1470 on a 900 mile trip and was always a little uncomfortable with their lane assist. IMHO the TomTom lane assist is far superior to the Magellan even tho the Magellan was a super GPS in every other way, much better in POI locating than the TomTom. Bottom line, if lane assist is your cup of tea (like it is to me) get the TomTom, if looking up POI's are your bag, get the Magellan.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
I've owned a Mio, Garmin, Navigon and now the TomTom XL 340-S and thankfully I never hooked mine up to a computer after reading all the problems incurred by others and mine works just great, finds the satellites within a few seconds. The main reason for so many different units is my hunt for a good lane assist feature, this TomTom has a fantastic lane assist. Here in southern California on these freeways you need to know what lane to be in well ahead of time and boy does this TomTom deliver precise verbal and visual directions. On the freeways you start getting verbal directions two miles away from your next maneuver, lots of time to change lanes, on city streets the distances vary based on your cars speed, very nice feature. The Navigon had very good graphics but TomTom's are much better. I was a Garmin fan but they are way behind TomTom in features for a reasonable price. The only thing I find behind the Garmin and Navigon is the computer pronounced names of some streets, mainly Spanish names, the TomTom mangles them more than the others but with the street name showing at the right top side of the screen its no big deal, most street names are pronounced perfectly and "Dave" seems the best at pronouncing the street names . The TomTom has so many nice features the other brands are left in the dust IMHO. |
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