REVIEW COMMENTS: TomTom Navigator 3

wHIZz · Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 10:04 pm Post subject:

Good review Dave Thumbs Up

- greatly influenced my decision to purchase!.

I thought I would just add my experience of the last couple of weeks as I consider myself to be very lucky after reading this entire thread.

Recently ordered a Dell Axim X3i and then started to think about about GPS on a PDA. Didn;t really know much about the subject so as I normally would do, I began to do some research. Luckilly before purchasing any GPS equipment I discovered pocketgps world and the excellent forums on it. The reason this site is so good is that it is run by enthusiasts FOR enthusiasts. Thumbs Up

Anyway, my Axim arrived on Tuesday (couple of days ago) and at the same time, my TomTom3 Wired Kit arrived from PDAMods. Smile

What I thought I would do was explain the process I went through to get GPS(ed) up!:

Step 1) Setup the Axim and cradle on my PC and configured the owner settings etc - also discovered that I hadn't ordered an SD Memory card with the Axim DOH! - though my TT3 fun was going to be delayed! Confused

2) Used the TT3 CD in the PC and installed TT3 onto the PDA. At this point I was asked where I wanted to install the maps, and was also told I only had 35MB of free space on the PDA internal memory. Fortunately TT3 allowed me to install a 32MB map of 'The North' which fortunately for me covered Edinburgh and the surrounding areas - so on it went. Install completed. Smile

3) When TT3 was installed - grabbed Axim, GPS receiver (Rikaline 6010 I think) ,supplied Car\GPS power adaptor and windscreen mount and went downstairs to the car.

4) (Performed this step while stationary in my driveway) - Plugged power adaptor into the cigarette lighter socket and connected the GPS receiver - a green LED then starting to flash on the GPS receiver. I then attached my mount to the windscreen and connected the power\gps cable to the Axim.

5) By the time I had connected the cable and subsequently placed the axim in the mount I already had a display telling me I was basically sitting outside my house. Job Done! :D

I suppose this is how it should go - but personally I think I've been lucky. I just wanted to explain that I didn't have to change any settings on TT3 prior to using it. Now on day 3 of use and no problems so far.

Just ordered a 256MB card so that I can install all UK maps - also have added some POIs using POIedit. I'm sure I read that the Axims don't get such good press for GPS but I think people should be aware that in my case everything went very smoothly.

I'm now looking forward to becoming a GPS enthusiast!!. Mr. Green

wHIZz

PS: BTW, what are these 'waypoints' people are talking about?

LizCarnell · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 18, 2004 Posts: 12

Excellent review which has persuaded me to get Tom Tom 3 shortly.

I spend quite a lot of time on the road going to conferences in large cities and my recent experience looking for a hotel in Nottingham was dreadful. Hopefully this system will be exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm unsure I would have gone for one of these systems if I hadn't found this forum because I'm not technically minded. If I run into problems I can see there are plenty of people here with experience who can help.

One thing that does worry me is that PC World told me yesterday that they sell a lot of these systems but that they get a lot back which they think is because people find them so hard to set up. Is it really that difficult?
Thanks

NMatthew · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 9:27 am Post subject:

I can certainly imagine that PC World would get a fair number of returns from people having difficulties finding the exact method to keep their setup reliable.

As you will have no doubt found from the postings in these forums, TomTom (in its version 2 incarnation - I do not have 3 yet) can be a bit fussy about the order things happen.

You must have the application in RAM not flash card,
the application can get in a knot when started if the Bluetooth receiver is not turned on (and nearby).
And again if you trun off the PDA before exiting the application.
I think there is a memory leak somewhere that requires a soft reset every now and again (at least on my 2210).

I have found a specific method of running TomTom 2 that works for me (power on GPS, power on PDA, start TTN, travel, exit TTN, power off PDA, power off GPS).

I can well imagine folk with less patience or haven't discovered this site would get disheartened and give up. When it works it's great. Very useful. When you hit a road it doesn't have, it's a drag - you can end up being routed incorrectly in city centres (as with the new Bull Ring layout in Birmingham), or miss out on new bypasses (like the M6 Toll Road, which if you haven't already studied a paper map you might not have the confidence to take against TomTom's advised route as many feeder roads have changed). Having said that I have used quite a bit, and to extent you can trust it to get you where you need to go. I used it to navigate into the centre of Winchester without a safety net, and with just one slip due to a closed off street (which it rerouted-around once it twigged I had turned around) it found my hotel. It doen't know where the (very few) parking spaces are though! ;-)

Neil

LizCarnell · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 18, 2004 Posts: 12

Thanks Neil, I appreciate that. I've asked my son to order me one and all the bits needed to make it work.

Any idea what the cost of fitting the car kit will be?

Robin2 · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 10:05 am Post subject:

If you buy a complete kit, there is no mounting cost. The PDA cradle fixes by a rubber sucker to the windscreen (or by a mount to the air vent) and power is derived from your cigar lighter. The only problem is to find a neat way of stowing all the cables!
Robin

NMatthew · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 4:52 pm Post subject:

I got the guy who does the in-car mobile phone kits at our office to wire my kit (official TomTom kit for iPAQ 2210 - £40). Bunged him £20 for his trouble. Neat job, ignition-sensed, all wires out of sight, PDA cradle attached to air vent, BT GPS at front left corner of the windscreen.

Neil

Andyfretwell · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 6:33 pm Post subject: TT3 upgrade

Shall I shan't upgrade to TT3 I as I am preparing for a long trip to Scotland in May pulling a caravan so would like to get at the itinary feature to stop TT2 taking me down the narrowest trickiest lanes it can find!!!

Also does anyone know a workaround with TT2 to try and have some control over the type of roads TT2 uses. Have tried adjusting the various road speeds for different road types with variable and unpredictable results.

Thanks.

Andy Fretwell

Andyfretwell · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 6:47 pm Post subject: TT3 itinary

Reading the review again I'm not sure this new feature will help me stop TT taking me and my caravan down small narrow country lanes instead of down big wide main roads.

Can you clarify for me/

Thanks.

Andy Fretwell

mark1968 · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:28 pm Post subject: Update

Has anyone received their update yet?
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DavidW · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:52 pm Post subject:

Trying to keep things together - the latest information on upgrades is in this thread.

Mine hasn't shipped yet, and nobody has posted in that thread to say theirs has shipped either.

David

Gaston · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 15, 2003 Posts: 2

Dave,
Thank you for the review of TTN3.
I am considering getting this, in BT version, with a 2210, in spite of the rather alarming stories in your forum.
However, I live in Provence and the machine would be useless to me if it can't find out-of-the-way addresses there. Is there some way in which I can have a preview of the map? Or, alternatively, if anyone has the France map, would they be able to see whether the two following addresses are on it:
24 rue des Saintes-Maries, 84200 Carpentras
910, chemin du Moulin - 84380 Mazan.
With many thanks, Gaston.

Dave · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:33 pm Post subject:

I don't have the french map so can't help you there.

a4ace · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:48 pm Post subject:

a4ace · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:53 pm Post subject:

ooops... sorry, heheh, got version 2 only. Embarassed

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PhJoris · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 22, 2004 Posts: 1

Hi Dave, thanks for the review, very nice and helpful (just discoverd this site).

In your review you mention the "fudge" BT driver and why to best "uninstall the TomTom ~ GPS driver ". This is not clear to me: how can TT function if you have a BT GPS like e.g. Fortuna Clip-On?

Rgds.

Philippe

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