Lane Guidance in Canada plus other questions

[Dave3]

Hi,

Currently in the market for a new GPS and am considering the XL550, I have a couple questions however, from what I have seen online people are saying that the Advanced Lane Guidance is not supported in Canada, is this true or has this changed? I find this very odd as my old Sony GPS fulyl supports it in Canada and has for years now.

My next question is about the spoken instructions, we bought a garmin the other day (which we are returning tomorrow) and one big problem with it is that it does not warn you before a turn, it will tell you a kilomiter before hand and then right before the turn so you have to slam on your brakes if you are on a fast moving road. Does the Tomtom unit actually warn you in advance of turns? For example it will tell you that the turn is a kilometer away, and then 100 or 200 meters before the turn so you can slow down for it? or does it just tell you to turn when you are ontop of it like the garmin?

Lastly, how good are your Canadian maps? I have read that Tomtom's maps arent great in canada but most of the posts were a few years old so I wanted to see if this has changed at all.

Oh actually one more thing, the sales guy at the source advised against Tomtom because he said they get alot of satelite drop-outs and are not very accurate in displaying your actual location, is this true?

Thank you very much for your time and help

 

[dhn]

Welcome to TTF.

Currently in the market for a new GPS and am considering the XL550, I have a couple questions however, from what I have seen online people are saying that the Advanced Lane Guidance is not supported in Canada, is this true or has this changed? I find this very odd as my old Sony GPS fulyl supports it in Canada and has for years now.

I'd suggest a 540 instead of a 550. While the 540 only is usb 1.1 compliant instead of 2.0 like the 550 (so slower data transfers), the 540 comes with a full menu, not the reduced one like the 550.

ALG has been implemented on Canadian maps (along with Reality View) since 840 and really been improved since 845. (current is 865). You'll see ALG on all 400 series highways in Ontario.

My next question is about the spoken instructions, we bought a garmin the other day (which we are returning tomorrow) and one big problem with it is that it does not warn you before a turn, it will tell you a kilomiter before hand and then right before the turn so you have to slam on your brakes if you are on a fast moving road. Does the Tomtom unit actually warn you in advance of turns? For example it will tell you that the turn is a kilometer away, and then 100 or 200 meters before the turn so you can slow down for it? or does it just tell you to turn when you are ontop of it like the garmin?

Tomtoms announce initially about 1.5 km and then 300 metres and then before the turn. Usually. But you also see the direction of the turn and can show the upcoming street on the screen.

Lastly, how good are your Canadian maps? I have read that Tomtom's maps arent great in canada but most of the posts were a few years old so I wanted to see if this has changed at all.

They were crappy a few years ago but are greatly improved since then. Not perfect but no map is. You can make certain corrections to the map using Mapshare. Garmins don't have that.

There aren't gps signal dropping issues that I'm aware. Unless you are driving in downtown Toronto where the gps signal can't get through the high buildings at times.

 

[Dave3]

Thanks dhh,

Do you know if there is any hardware difference between the 540 and 550? eg difference in the screen, processor etc.

Also is the easymenu really that limited? theres a sale on em for only $130 which is mighty tempting, nowhere seems to have the 540 on sale right now.

I may hold off a couple weeks though, also considering the magellan 3045 which looks like a good unit with great features, so it may come down to whichever goes on sale first, you havent had any experience with the 3045 have you?

Thanks again dhh

 

[dhn]

The 540 has 6 pages of preferences, the 550 just 3. The 550 is usb 2.0 compliant so faster read/writes than the 540's usb 1.1.

Don't have any experience with Magellan models.

 

[Dave3]

Hmm, may just wait for the 540 to go on sale, do you know if there is any difference between the processors in either unit? is one snappier then the other, any difference in screens and picture quality?

Another problem I had with the garmin was that the viewing angle was terrible, you had to be looking at it at aexactly the right angle or it would look dark or washed out (like really old laptops), do these have good viewing angles?

 

[dhn]

The screen on either the 550 or the 540 is not the best in direct sun at times. Your best best is to go into a big box store and play with both, if you can.

Check here for a guide to comparison of various models:
https://www.tomtomforums.com/general-tomtom-discussion/21826-tomtom-model-feature-reference.html

 

[sab]

I can confirm that ALG is fully operational in the Montreal area with the latest map 865.