- Joined
- Nov 1, 2009
- Messages
- 7
I recently purchased an XL 325 on a whim the other day at Wal-Mart. I decided to go for a TomTom over a Garmin because I hate Micro$oft, and since TomTom runs on the Linux kernel, there was no doubt which company I would give my money to (even though TomTom had to be forced to comply with the GPL, but that's another issue). I love the fact that TomTom stood up the the bully at Redmond and even filed counter-suits when M$ sued them over FAT32. But, I digress..
I like my unit OK, as it's my first ever foray into GPS gadgets. I became interested after I went on a roadtrip with a friend who had a GPS unit on his dash. I was so impressed with the ability to simply enter an address and have it guide you turn by turn that I knew that I had to have one.
However, I wish I would have researched the models better before purchase because there are a few things I have learned since my purchase that I sort of regret:
1) The XL 325 does not have IQRoutes. To my understanding without IQRoutes, TomTom's route planning leaves a lot to be desired compared to Garmin and Magellan. I have seen several reviews which suggest that TomTom just can't hold a candle to Garmin in this area (even with IQRoutes).
2) I hear TeleAtlas maps are not as accurate (in the USA) as NavQuest. I saw a few reviews on GPS related webzines that say that Navquest is more accurate in the USA, while TeleAtlas is more accurate in Europe. Since I am a US resident, this sort of blows for me.
3) My XL 325 does not have an SD card slot, which really blows. I only have 1 GB of internal memory and only like 100 MB free -- and this was after deleting a bunch of voices, etc. This means I can never upgrade my map to include more than just the U.S. I simply don't have the room for Canada or Mexico.
4) Even though TomTom itself runs on the Linux kernel, the HOME software will not work with anything except Windoze and OSX. I don't use (or want) any M$ products on my machine, so this means that I had to create a small partition for Winblows just so I can use the HOME software. TomTom really needs to port it to a *nix other than OSX. If it runs on OSX now it will not be hard to compile it for Linux. I don't know what the hold up is.
5) I read that TomTom refuses to support WAAS for some odd reason. Every other company out there supports this technology even on the cheap units. Why does TomTom not do this? Yes, I know WAAS only works in the USA (and TomTom is a European company) but still, let's get with the times, here. Does TomTom support any GPS correction technology in any location?
6) I was also shocked to see that the university in my town was not anywhere to be found on the "College/University" POI list! In fact, it wasn't found on any POI list! How can this be? Sure, it's only a division II school, but it has 5,000 students and is undefeated in div II football and headed for a likely national title. So I added it to the list and uploaded it to mapshare..Maybe it will be corrected.
Now for the good things:
1) I will reiterate that I like that TomTom at least partially embraces open-source by running it's units on a stripped down Linux kernel. I also like that TomTom helped remind us all once again how nasty M$ can be with its bogus patent suits. I like that they didn't bend over to M$ like so many other companies have done (ahem, Novell).
2) I like the software pretty well. It's simple, it appears stable, and it's easy to navigate.
3) I like the wide screen of the XL.
4) The price was nice at only $130.
5) The accuracy, even without WAAS, appears good. I do admit, however, that I am not an expert on GPS nor do I know how to test the unit for accuracy. (Anyone know how one can do this without sophisticated equipment?)
6) Even though my unit wont speak street names, I find the "turn left" and "bare right" good enough and very helpful.
7) I used the adhesive plate to mount it to my dash and it still get full bar reception even though it is not directly under the window.
8) I like the collaboration with the community that TomTom has. I like Map Share and I like that one can easily load third party code onto the unit if one desires (I am running Tripmaster on mine).
Overall I like it, but I do wish it had more features that some of the slightly higher priced units have. I think it's a shame that not all TomTom's have IQRoutes. There are even cheaper units than mine that have IQRoutes. I got one of the very few units without it! Argh. And an SD card should be mandatory for all units!
I have become rather obsessed with the unit in my spare time. You know you are GPS obsessed when you find yourself going out for drives and intentionally trying to get lost!
You know you are obsessed when you try to find arcane roads so you can spot map errors. I actually found a map error my first night with the unit -- the map has a road marked as merging into another road, when in fact it merges into someone's yard!
At any rate, I have typed enough. Anyone else have any experience with the XL 325? If you were me would you return it to Wal-Mart and upgrade to a higher TomTom model?
Thanks.
I like my unit OK, as it's my first ever foray into GPS gadgets. I became interested after I went on a roadtrip with a friend who had a GPS unit on his dash. I was so impressed with the ability to simply enter an address and have it guide you turn by turn that I knew that I had to have one.
However, I wish I would have researched the models better before purchase because there are a few things I have learned since my purchase that I sort of regret:
1) The XL 325 does not have IQRoutes. To my understanding without IQRoutes, TomTom's route planning leaves a lot to be desired compared to Garmin and Magellan. I have seen several reviews which suggest that TomTom just can't hold a candle to Garmin in this area (even with IQRoutes).
2) I hear TeleAtlas maps are not as accurate (in the USA) as NavQuest. I saw a few reviews on GPS related webzines that say that Navquest is more accurate in the USA, while TeleAtlas is more accurate in Europe. Since I am a US resident, this sort of blows for me.
3) My XL 325 does not have an SD card slot, which really blows. I only have 1 GB of internal memory and only like 100 MB free -- and this was after deleting a bunch of voices, etc. This means I can never upgrade my map to include more than just the U.S. I simply don't have the room for Canada or Mexico.
4) Even though TomTom itself runs on the Linux kernel, the HOME software will not work with anything except Windoze and OSX. I don't use (or want) any M$ products on my machine, so this means that I had to create a small partition for Winblows just so I can use the HOME software. TomTom really needs to port it to a *nix other than OSX. If it runs on OSX now it will not be hard to compile it for Linux. I don't know what the hold up is.
5) I read that TomTom refuses to support WAAS for some odd reason. Every other company out there supports this technology even on the cheap units. Why does TomTom not do this? Yes, I know WAAS only works in the USA (and TomTom is a European company) but still, let's get with the times, here. Does TomTom support any GPS correction technology in any location?
6) I was also shocked to see that the university in my town was not anywhere to be found on the "College/University" POI list! In fact, it wasn't found on any POI list! How can this be? Sure, it's only a division II school, but it has 5,000 students and is undefeated in div II football and headed for a likely national title. So I added it to the list and uploaded it to mapshare..Maybe it will be corrected.
Now for the good things:
1) I will reiterate that I like that TomTom at least partially embraces open-source by running it's units on a stripped down Linux kernel. I also like that TomTom helped remind us all once again how nasty M$ can be with its bogus patent suits. I like that they didn't bend over to M$ like so many other companies have done (ahem, Novell).
2) I like the software pretty well. It's simple, it appears stable, and it's easy to navigate.
3) I like the wide screen of the XL.
4) The price was nice at only $130.
5) The accuracy, even without WAAS, appears good. I do admit, however, that I am not an expert on GPS nor do I know how to test the unit for accuracy. (Anyone know how one can do this without sophisticated equipment?)
6) Even though my unit wont speak street names, I find the "turn left" and "bare right" good enough and very helpful.
7) I used the adhesive plate to mount it to my dash and it still get full bar reception even though it is not directly under the window.
8) I like the collaboration with the community that TomTom has. I like Map Share and I like that one can easily load third party code onto the unit if one desires (I am running Tripmaster on mine).
Overall I like it, but I do wish it had more features that some of the slightly higher priced units have. I think it's a shame that not all TomTom's have IQRoutes. There are even cheaper units than mine that have IQRoutes. I got one of the very few units without it! Argh. And an SD card should be mandatory for all units!
I have become rather obsessed with the unit in my spare time. You know you are GPS obsessed when you find yourself going out for drives and intentionally trying to get lost!
You know you are obsessed when you try to find arcane roads so you can spot map errors. I actually found a map error my first night with the unit -- the map has a road marked as merging into another road, when in fact it merges into someone's yard! At any rate, I have typed enough. Anyone else have any experience with the XL 325? If you were me would you return it to Wal-Mart and upgrade to a higher TomTom model?
Thanks.
