Cheap, Reliable TomTom Sat-Nav

[Anon_F]

Looking to buy my sister a new Sat-Nav as hers has gone to it's maker in the sky!
So what do i get her, oh and it has to be TomTom so that limits it a bit!

Have looked at the TomTom One V4 GB & RoI for £99.99 @ Play.
Anyother models to look at & not to much as i'm not made of money!

 

[V_R]

TT One is fine.

 

[Ian]

Got a Tom Tom One here and it works great . Would recommend it!

 

[floppybootstomp]

I can recommend this one

 

[Anon_F]

I can recommend this one

Always one & it's you Sir Flopps!

Cheers for the reples, V_R, Ian and of course FBS.

 

[EvanDavis]

I can recommend this one

 

[Quadophile]

I also use a TomTom and have recommended it to most of my friends and family members. I got Tom Tom One for my son a while back too. Just yesterday I got one for my office colleague as well it was the model XXL540TM



I reviewed the Model One on Amazon and I am posting it's content here for your immediate reference.

This unit is a no frills attached basic GPS which will take you from point A to point B. Tried a few tricks just to see how the unit performed.

Deliberate route change: The unit is extremely fast in recalculating a revised route for you if you miss a turn. The new route it calculated was the shortest and quickest. I did this test near home as I am most familiar with the area. I did the same thing while on the highway, missing the exit and letting the unit come up with a new plan to get me to the destination, Voila! It came up with a better route than I would have chosen, shortest and quickest.

Photo Enforement Camera's: The menu gives you the option to warn you about traffic camera's, I selected it and tested it. There is a new device installed near my home which it did not pick up. However, on the highway the camera is existing for some time and was picked up by the unit well before I approached it with a beeping sound and icon of traffic light. Nifty little feature. I guess the updates would pick up new camera's installed so not really a complain.

Speed limits: On the highway the changing speed limits were picked up accurately and the device started beeping, this feature is an option so can be turned off as well, but a very good feature for safe driving and if you want to avoid getting a ticket.

POI's: I did not test all but whatever I checked worked fine. The unit has the facility of editing and adding POI's also so it can be customised as per your needs.

Updating and storing addresses: Using google maps or mapquest on the computer, one can directly send the addresses to the unit with "Send to" feature. This can save a lot of time feeding the addresses in the unit initially.

Accuracy: GPS Quick fix feature is updated for accuracy so the user is advised to connect the unit atleast once a week for update (it will not update in less than 5 days). In any case it would be prudent on the part of user to regularly update the map corrections available at the website of TOMTOM. When we updated for Map corrections,15,556 was the figure.

Software update: From the moment you first connect the unit you have 30 days to update the new version of software and you can continue checking for the next 30 days if an update is available as this is the free time allotted. After 30 days are up you will not be able to update the software.

Speaker performance: I had no issues with the quality of the built-in speaker as it was clear and loud enough at 70 percent (default). I found the built-in voice choices to be way better than the additional choices available from the website. Stick to what is already installed on the unit if you are interested in extremely legible voice instructions.

Mounting: The new Easyport mounting feature is great and actually leaves no trace behind while you are away from the vehicle unlike other units which have the standard mount. It is very easy to use and does its job more than adequately.

Conclusion: Overall the unit performed better than my expectations, it has a nice screen with choice of color combinations, safety features which are user customisable, easy updates from the websites for map corrections, MapShare technology makes the unit somewhat future proof. For what you pay vis-a-vis the features you get, I would give this unit 5 stars!


A great unit to help you and your loved ones drive safely and without distractions!



The one that I use personally is the model GO730 which I reviewed at the Amazon.com also and here is the content of the review:

I bought this refurbished unit from Amazon which was delivered on Feb 20th, I had the weekend to update and test it and have been using it daily since.

The unit:

No scratches or blemishes on the unit, as good as a new unit. All features worked for me. The battery seems to hold the charge pretty well, not really tested it for the duration but my guess is 3-4 hours which for a refurbished unit is good enough for me. In the following weeks I amy know exactly how long the battery lasts.

Maps:

The maps were old but after connecting to Tom Tom Home and clicking on "Latest Map Guarantee" it searched for the latest map and offered it as a free update! Not sure why others are reporting that they cannot update it.

FM Transmitter:

Some complained about FM transmitter being weak, not here, it worked great and the volume was more than adequate, those who complain should try a different frequency as some do produce a weak signal. I found that the volume of about 70% is the best when one uses it from line out in order to avoid the distortion setting in on the output side.

IQ Routes and speed:

The IQ Routes seem to work great and so does the re-routing speed if you miss a turn, which in my opinion is really quick (5-6 seconds at the most).

Once I happen to be in a friends car in an unfamiliar territory and remember his Gamin Street Pilot took almost few minutes to recalculate the missed turn and come up with a revised route, by that time we were way off course and wasted not just time but gas too. Since then I was totally turned off by Garmin and decided will only get a Tom Tom. I cannot say what a latest Garmin does since I have not come across one. In any case, Map Share technology was important to me and Tom Tom offers it.

I had bought another Tom Tom back in January Model 125 for my son as his birthday present, it does not have all the bells and whistles which the Go 730 has but does the basic job as quickly as the Go 730.

Memory:

The built-in memory is 2 GB and when I checked it initially it was showing as 138 MB free. Basically that means you will not be able to use it for music. I had ordered a 4 GB SDHC card to go with it and used that to load the music I wanted to. You can use the free space on the card to store additional things like, voices, symbols, maps, etc I would advise anyone to get an additional card as it does come in handy and in future you know you have space in case you need it. A 4 GB SDHC card can be bought from Amazon at a great price.

Advance Lane guidance:

This is a great feature and works very well on some busy junctions so it can come in very handy when you are out of town in an unfamiliar territory and have no clue which exit to take and which to avoid. Even if you go wrong the unit is very fast in recalculating a new route for you so that you can make amends and be back on track.

The price of a brand new Go 730 is fully justified even today, the refurbished one on the other hand, is a steal! Go for the Go!


Update March 1, 2009:

The computer voice if chosen produces slight stuttering on occasions as reported by some. I switched to recorded voice and no issues on that one. Tom Tom is apparently working on this and an update may solve the issue.

I found the screen to be slightly less bright in direct sun than what I ideally would have wanted. Inside the car it is more than adequate.

Despite the two anomalies that I discovered while in use I still think it is a great GPS even if not 100% perfect. Come to think of it, there is no GPS out there which is 100% perfect! All are compromised, some like the Go 730 less so.