Actually, spoken street and exit names would be pretty good, and on par with lane indication I reckon.
OK - I'll start to focus in on units with that feature.
Which of the above three TomToms (if any) can find the nearest POI (garage/shop/whatever) nearest to a chosen postcode *and* also nearest to your current location?
I've not used one yet with EasyMenu, but I suspect all of them share that feature in the following form.
"Navigate to > Point of interest" on all the units I've worked with brings up several options
- POI near you
- POI in city (you pick city)
- POI near Home
- POI along route (if you are already navigating to somewhere)
- POI near destination
I chose these three not really based on price, but instead because they received a high proportion of good to bad reviews from various places such as Amazon, Ebay, and Revoo.com. I tend to research these things quite a lot (bearing in mind I live in the UK, so try to go after reviews which come from UK people). However if you can recommend something else entirely, I'm open to the possibility within reason.
OK - I'll get an earful from someone for this ... many of these units share exactly the same key components. For example, anything remotely "recent" in the lineup will have used either a GL2 or SiRFiii GPS chip, both of which do a fine job at acquiring and locking on a satellite data signal. MUCH of the difference between TomTom models (excepting the absolutely latest models - which have their own issues) is the mix of features and firmware. We'll get to that in a moment.
Finally, what do you think of this Amazon post in regards to the otherwise poor Start2 interface:
Amazon.co.uk: erhan's review of TomTom Start2 UK and RoI Satellite Navigat...
(read both the negative review and the positive potential solution).
We have a similar thread here right at the top of the TomTom ONE/START/EASE/XL/XXL section that explains how to cobble together a list that creates a new menu structure, and it works pretty well. However, even then we find that there are features that cannot be reintroduced. I can't see any special reason to purchase one of the models that will require such attention just to bring it back to basic GPS functionality.
Here are the things I'd want to know before making a recommendation, and some reasons behind the questions, some of which are unique to the situation in Europe regarding maps. Any of these will have just about any feature you could expect from a TomTom unit.
Do you plan to travel about Europe much?
Recently, TomTom found themselves in a position where they were no longer able to load their entire Western European map set onto a typical 2GB unit. The only units that continue to support the full map without having to swap pieces on and off the unit with your PC are those that include an SD (or microSD) card slot that allows you to install a 4GB or larger memory card. The rare current model exceptions available to you are the 4GB 940 and 950 models, and even then, you'd have to shuffle off the North American map to make space for the full Europe map. However, both of those models also support the additional SD card, so with a card, that's not necessary.
The reasonably current models (current in that they run on a current firmware version) that support the SD card, and hence allow for a full Western European map to remain resident, include the GO 540/740/940 and GO 550/750/950 models. However, the 540/550 have only 1GB of internal memory, so they're already hobbled a bit, and the maps offered to these have somewhat less detail.
Will you need maps for the U.S.?
If you don't need U.S. maps, the 9XX series is a bit of overkill for you. They include both Western Europe and U.S. maps, and there's a bit of a premium for that. If you don't, consider a 740 or 750 model.
Not traveling much in Europe or in the U.S.?
That opens up a wider selection since the UK/ROI map will fit comfortably on everything. Focusing back in on such features as lane guidance, text to speech and the like, you'll find that for some reason, units sold in North America that support text-to-speech don't support that same feature in the UK (why?) That brings us to the following additional models available in the UK: XL550 (
NOT XXL550 - which I don't believe they sell in Europe anyway), GO540, GO550.
Net:
Minimum features assumed = Decent menu with itinerary planning, etc., Spoken steet names, IQRoutes / Lane Guidance ... here are the minimums:
Traveling Europe and U.S.: GO 940 or GO 950
Traveling Europe: GO 740, GO 750, GO 540, GO 550 (all with 4GB extra SD card)
Mostly Homebody: XL550, GO 540, GO 550 (but likely fewer POI available?)
