First trip...the good and the bad

gww

Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
7
Location
Kansas City
TomTom Model(s)
TomTom ONE
Having just used TT for a short and experimental trip, gps is a great way to travel!!
We went to a city with a population of about 20,000. Set up some POI destinations, restaurants, etc, and hit the road. I did not have a chance to load up the new maps before we left.
Rest stops for the 100 mile drive on the interstate did not show up on TT in either direction. They have been there forever. On the 2-lane road leading to the interstate, several gas stations popped up in cornfields. Something odd happening here. Maybe future ethanol stations? ;-)
TT lead us directly to our destination within the city, to a restaurant, perfectly. We totally relied on it, with no idea how to get there. It was amazingly accurate. We loaded some subdestinations within town, on the fly, and it found every one of them. We actually spent more time BEING places and less time FINDING them.
On the downside, the POIs were lacking, missing many "chain motels" and restaurants. Perhaps the updated maps would fix this.
On the return trip, we altered course and several road reroutes put us off the map for awhile.
On the plus side, we visited several very small towns, again adding them as destinations on the fly, and TT was able to find them. A couple of the towns were no more than several blocks in size.
Finally, I need to address the device mounting situation. Bright sunlight + sunglasses=hard to see/read. Mounted on the windshield, TT is difficult to reach and input.
I suppose any gps is only as good as its maps. These maps need serious attention to detail. Although the POI upgrade is a good thing, it's the roads that get you to them.
For my $300, TT is going to make traveling a lot more fun and it really does save time. It may or may not do it as well as other devices, but I think for the minimal investment made, it was surprising how well it did work.
My wife, an absolute gadget-hater, had no faith when we took off on the trip. As we traveled and TT found place after place without issues, she began calling it "impressive", realizing she could spend her time reading books in the car instead of playing navigator. There are probably some places we'd still want physical maps, but TT did a great job on this trip.
Bottom Line: well worth the $$$, but pleeeeease do something about making the maps a bit more timely!!
 
Nice review. The new maps may help, but at the expense of POI. Some here have said the POI included in the new maps is sorely lacking. But nice report, thanks for sharing!
 
As you realize by now, no GPS is perfect, and I am sure TomTom or other manufactures are working their butt off to make theirs better, because if they don't, the Asians will eat them alive (remember GM ?).
Yes, now it's a fiasco for Sony, JVC ... but history says that they will be back !:)
Unfortunately a GPS is a computer, and a rather complexed one.
There are 3 components in a GPS all difficult to make: 1) The receiver chip 2) The mapping 3) The navigation software itself.

GPS manuf solved the first problem by outsourcing it to some specialist in the field like Sirf, MTK, STI ...

The second, they have to rely on the map company like NavTeq , TeleAtlas for which they have no control. TomTom works with TeleAtlas in Europe for years before getting into America recently. I am sure TeleAtlas will have to move their butt if they want to gain a foothold here. The stake is too huge to give up, GPS sale will explose in the next few years !

The 3rd, TomTom is on top of the world for now, no matter what people say.

If you want right of the box navigation, I suggest you buy ... Garmins. But if your Garmin doesn't do what you want , then good luck !

I bring my laptop with me to help my TomTom in difficult cases.

During last summer I travelled with my Go510 without problem whatsoever, the keyword is PLANNING. I entered all POI in advanced, used GoogleMaps or Mapquest if need be. Believe me, at the time the map was much worse than the current one.

I must say that I should not have to do it though.

I am also member of other forums , they have Garmin written all over the faces, and they have problems too. We have to choose which ones we can live with, which ones we can't. Unfortunately (for now).
 

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