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View Full Version : The::Unwired Reviews the TomTom Navigator 5 + OnCourse SiRF Star III BT GPS


Ekkie Tepsupornchai
08-01-2006, 11:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3206' target='_blank'>http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3206</a><br /><br /></div><i>"After I upgraded to a T-Mobile MDA couple months ago, I have been shopping around for a good Bluetooth GPS device with easy to use navigation software. Last month, my brother in law went to Denver for a business trip and my sister tagged along. She bought a TomTom Go Vehicle Navigation System, went all over town and was very satisfied with it. I thought if my sister, who is not a techie at all, can use it, the user interface must be pretty good."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/ekkie_unwired_tomtom_200608.jpg" /><br /><br />If anyone is interested in a add-on GPS solution (especially if you have a T-Mobile MDA), take a look at this combination software/receiver review. As always, if anyone has managed to try this (either the software or the receiver or both), be sure to give us your thoughts!

mmidgley
08-02-2006, 01:32 AM
is this the same hardware as my sirf star iii itrek m3 bt gps from semsons? btw, its been a very good product (used with an i-mate JAMin)

m.

griph
08-02-2006, 08:40 AM
I have the Qtek9100 which is the same as the MDA referred to in the review. I share some of the concerns and have other comments too:

I was stunned that the installation was so smooth - so assume that TotTom have now released the software to be fully WM5 compatible. For me - I purchased it pre- v5.21 of the main software the installation was a labourious affair - and not just a case of downloading the update. The app just wouldn't load from CD onto a WM5 device and I had to extract and load the CAB files after first copying them off the CD onto the PC - I undertand that this is a common problem with TomTom on WM5.

On the main display he comments"The lower right corner display of distance and time to destination, current and arrival time, are certainly too small for viewing while driving". I turn off all except distance to destination and ETA - in Portrait mode that is perfectly readable.

I have the occasional need to tap more than once on the screen to initiate an action - its not a big problem.

The accuracy of the maps is variable. In the areas of the UK where I have used it there have been some minor issues, but nothing that has affected my ability to navigate to my destination. Spain however was different - used in a recent trip in Mallorca, the maps were clearly out of date by several years as motorways were built that weren't on my map! On occasions it caused problems navigating. TomTom need to review Map Updates and allow free downloads or cheap update CD maps for existing users.

It would be very handy if when selecting a route, the was an option to select City Centre as the destination. When you are going to a strange town and you just want the centre (eg tourist mode) this would save having to refer to an atlas (how quaint).

I have minor issues with the POI's to the extent I use them. You can tap and hold each POI to see a pop out full description of it, aleviating the problem noted by unWired. This is not something I would want to do whilst driving though! I think however that TomTom need to review the whole UI and adjust element sizes where thumb input is difficult or even impossible at present due to size of selectable element. Big buttons are a must!

I have the POI add on for Speed Cameras and that is VERY useful as it gives visual and audible advance warnings of permanent and temporary speed camera locations. It is regularly updated and on the whole fairly accurate - even includes temporary cameras on motorway road work speed restricted areas.

I agree that TomTom takes a long time to start. But once going the GPS mapping initiates pretty quickly - provided its properly set up. I have had problems here and had to play about with settings, including setting special Com Ports in BT Manager and deactivating Serial Port in order for TomTom to see the GPS device. I understand this is a problem with many users who have WM5 devices.

The Traffic add-on is a mixed blessing and not cheap! I've taken it for a year to review - and so far it has got me out of 2 major traffic jams (by giving me notice and seeking alternative routes). However, I have seen clear conditions reported only to run into a major traffic jam not displayed despite realtime GPRS update of Traffic info. To be fair on motorways it only takes moments to go from clear to blocked. TomTom uses the UK Traffic Master system (I believe) and then transmits to registered users - this inevitably must cause some problems with speed of reporting. One odd this is that it adjusts ETA depending upon expected delay in Traffic - sometimes this can be so perssimistic that a 2 hour journey is shown as a 4 hour one. So far this usually adjusts as you drive and the ETA becomes more realistic again. However, if you have selected automatic route changes to suit traffic conditions there is a risk that a miss-reported traffic condition ends up routing you off the motorway on to a much slower alternative 'clear' route which does not actually have Traffice Master sensors and therefore may actually have delays upon it - just not reported. Users need to be aware and use their own intuition to some extent.

Having said all that - I find TomTom extremely useful and haven't actually used atlas since I bought it.

PDANEWBIE
08-02-2006, 01:14 PM
I have used TomTom products the last few releases and version upgrades and I love it in all it has some great points to it. In all a very good product but I do have some qualms with it.

1) Favorites - I have YET to find out how to backup my favorites. Each time I did a major upgrade it wiped out the favorites and I had to reinput them. I scoured the TomTom site and found nothing - so if anyone knows a trick they can help I'ld appreciate it.

2) Support - TomTom support is very lacking. I had a couple issues and it took a long time to get any responses. One of the issues I ended up solving myself after waiting for their reply.

3) Routing - If you pick to avoid a road on your route but then you turn off the path the first thing it tries to do is reroute you BACK onto the road you told it to forget about! There is one road that in my area shows as the fastest way but due to lights, construction, accidents its never fast so I have to avoid it but if I veer off its alternative route it tries neverendingly to route me back onto it.

4) Manual updating of incorrect maps - 1) I don't see any way to name an unnamed road that they have specified as unnamed this is sad I hate when it says I am on unnamed road but the road is blahblahblah. 2) No manual update of locations. E.G. on all maps my house is shown in the middle of a circle but it truely is on the end (by all maps I mean google, mapquest, yahoo, GPS and whatnot) I really wish you could sit at a destination then have like an update location button and then TYpe in the address field you want it to show as so NEXT time you get mapped door to door instead of street to street.

Again this is the only GPS solution I have used so I don't know if any other packages excel at any of these points but these are a few of the downfalls I don't care about.

In all though I have been very happy hearing "Ahead 80 feet turn left"

jutae
08-02-2006, 01:41 PM
I use tomtom and a seido cradle/gps receiver. It works great. I wish they would release an update to support my Treo 700W. The screen is off center.

yada88
08-02-2006, 06:07 PM
I recently got TomTom for my WM2003 Samsung i830 with iBlue GPS. First, let me say that I recommend everyone pickup an iBlue GPS receiver. It is the first GPS receiver that has a sleep mode. The device has 360 hours of standby time, and 30 hours of continous usage. The devices stays on about two weeks! Thats from my actual usage, not just marketing.

The TomTom, however, is quite lacking. The routing on it is quite honestly terrible. The program tells you your next two turns, even when they're not that close together. I would recommend you NOT get TomTom. If I had to do it again, i would get iNavigation or whatever its called.

griph
08-02-2006, 06:47 PM
If I had to do it again, i would get iNavigation or whatever its called.
And you know that 'what ever its called' software works? :wink:

ddk
08-02-2006, 08:56 PM
It would be very handy if when selecting a route, the was an option to select City Centre as the destination. When you are going to a strange town and you just want the centre (eg tourist mode) this would save having to refer to an atlas (how quaint).


That feature is available. Just select the cityname again in the street field.
So select City 'London', and select Street 'London'. This will bring up the city center (in the list of streets indicated with a skyline icon).

bohanlon
08-04-2006, 07:57 PM
I purchased TomTom Navigator 5 and the GlobalSat BT GPS receiver about 2 weeks ago. I have it on an HP iPAQ H555 pda and so far, it's very good. I've installed the West maps and purchased/downloaded two (2) maps of Northern Ireland for an upcoming trip. All in all, the install/activation was easy; easier than many internet messages/hits I read while reviewing PDA navigation software.