GPS Newbie

[send2thea]

Hello all,
I've been researching TomTom's based on a friend saying it was their favorite out of the 3 GPS brands they've owned. We've never owned one and I'm trying to decide on a model for fathers day for my husband. I'm fairly nervous to make this decision though because it seems there has been some change in the Tomtom company and quality of product and service has been diminished according to the several review sites & etc I've been reading.
He currently has a Blackberry Curve 8520 that I think would be nice for him to be able to use the hand free calling however the tomtom compatible phone page just shows up blank for me.
Is there a dependable TomTom model that you would recommend? I would prefer to spend between $100-200 but if the only dependable model is within the $200-300 range I will consider it.
Thanks in advance for any help you may give
Thea

 

[dhn]

Welcome to TTF.

There is no question but that TomTom's new series of models in the States, including the Go 2X series and the Via models have caused significant issues for many purchasers regarding getting map updates or being able to have other features that earlier models had.

You don't say how the gps unit would be used and what features are important. For example, would he want:
-Live functionality including traffic or a lesser quality traffic
-Lifetime maps and or traffic
-Text to speech (where street names are announced)
-Itinerary Planning
-Ability to use maps other than just the USA & Canada
-A unit with a 5" screen or is a 4.3" screen ok.
-etc.

All the new 2X and Via models are over $300.

I don't know about the pairing of the Blackberry 8520. I know some have gotten some Curve models to pair with some TomTom models but it's hit and miss, I think. Others with far more expertise than I in that area will hopefully jump into this thread.

Personally, if you can live without the Bluetooth and phone pairing, my choice would be an older model, the 540 which has a 5" screen, and can be obtained with lifetime maps and or traffic. The WTE (World Traveller Edition with North American and Europe maps) model WITH Lifetime maps (for North America) and traffic is less than $230 now. It also has text to speech, itinerary planning and other features the new models don't currently have.

I personally cannot recommend any of the newer models at this time.

 

[mikealder]

I would expect the BB Curve to work for Handsfree but the other services such as transfering the phone book or using the phone for a data connection will probably fail to work.

The list of compatible phones on the TomTom web site is so out of date these days, most modern phones are simply not listed your BB Curve being one such example, handsfree has never been a good strong point on any of the TomTom products, in the end I fitted a dedicated Bluetooth kit to me car which is both reliable and considerably better in use - Mike

 

[send2thea]

Welcome to TTF.

There is no question but that TomTom's new series of models in the States, including the Go 2X series and the Via models have caused significant issues for many purchasers regarding getting map updates or being able to have other features that earlier models had.

You don't say how the gps unit would be used and what features are important. For example, would he want:
-Live functionality including traffic or a lesser quality traffic
-Lifetime maps and or traffic
-Text to speech (where street names are announced)
-Itinerary Planning
-Ability to use maps other than just the USA & Canada
-A unit with a 5" screen or is a 4.3" screen ok.
-etc.

All the new 2X and Via models are over $300.

I don't know about the pairing of the Blackberry 8520. I know some have gotten some Curve models to pair with some TomTom models but it's hit and miss, I think. Others with far more expertise than I in that area will hopefully jump into this thread.

Personally, if you can live without the Bluetooth and phone pairing, my choice would be an older model, the 540 which has a 5" screen, and can be obtained with lifetime maps and or traffic. The WTE (World Traveller Edition with North American and Europe maps) model WITH Lifetime maps (for North America) and traffic is less than $230 now. It also has text to speech, itinerary planning and other features the new models don't currently have.

I personally cannot recommend any of the newer models at this time.

Thank you for your reply. As far as features, having no experience using these I'm not sure I understand everything so I guess I'll expand my questions to cover those.
-Lifetime maps sounds like a good thing.
I think his car radio already has an RDF traffic feature built in so I'm not sure if that would really be needed.
-Text to speech I think sounds like a must so he can just listen rather than be watching the screen.
-Itinerary Planning --Sounds useful
-I don't see us ever having to use it other than for US & Canada (sad but true-lol)
-I want to say 5" screen but is there really a noticeable difference between 4.3 and 5 inches?
I like the hands-free phone feature as he's supposed to be using something like that anyway but perhaps there's another alternative to that which poster two mentioned. (Hubby has a cell phone thru work but I myself have no personal experience with a cell phone either)
I heard someone talk about that their GPS would read aloud emails forwarded to their phone---would that be something that works with the Text to Speech?
Once again, thank you for your help. I'll go look at the 540 model on amazon right now.
Thea

 

[send2thea]

I would expect the BB Curve to work for Handsfree but the other services such as transfering the phone book or using the phone for a data connection will probably fail to work.

The list of compatible phones on the TomTom web site is so out of date these days, most modern phones are simply not listed your BB Curve being one such example, handsfree has never been a good strong point on any of the TomTom products, in the end I fitted a dedicated Bluetooth kit to me car which is both reliable and considerably better in use - Mike

Thank you for your reply Mike. You'll have to forgive my lack of knowledge here as I'm totally unfamiliar with GPS's or Cell phones. When you say-using the phone for a data connection could you explain what that means?
Is there a particular Bluetooth kit you would recommend?
Thank you for your help!
Thea

 

[Hardgrafte]

In case it helps, my 730, does bond with my Curve 8520. Just the hands free. The data connection does not work (i.e. for showing and reading text messages and for TT Traffic.). Its more likely Blackberry's fault, as most Nokias and Sony Ericssons work fine.

I think many of the problems were with the >2GB map sizes in the European 2GB models. Again, not a problem if your TT has either a 4 GB memory or a SD slot.

If you live in or near a city, then the TomTom Live services are very useful. The ordinary TMC services are generally less than useful, often being an hour out of date. I would go for XL2 LIVE IQ. If LIVE services are not required, then a plain XL2 IQ. The IQ bit is very important in my opinion to give realistic routings with very accurate journey times for various times of day.