REVIEW COMMENTS: TomTom Navigator 3

vee · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jul 02, 2004 Posts: 1

I wish I'd read your review prior to purchase as my main use is in and around Birmingham/West Midland/Staffordshire.As you can imagine, no M6 toll,together with all the extra roundabouts involved is a nightmare for me! I've e mailed TOMTOM and asked for a refund (dissatisfied customer!) but they don't want to answer me.

bobw · Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 1:44 pm Post subject:

Hi all,
Been a spectator for a while now and decided to pitch in my four penneth.

Thanks for you advice, Dave.
Been a great help getting the right Satnav set up.

Had a Navman 3400 with Ipaq 3970 for a while and was dissapointed with the lack of useful add ons.
As a courier it did the job. Great time saver.

Got an HP/Ipaq 5555 over a year ago and found it kept locking up (on roundabouts ??) so continued using the 3970.

Looked at the Kane stuff but decided it was over priced and I had some of the kit.

Through this site I went for the Fortuna BT Clip on and Tomtom 3.
Got them from an ebay dealer for just over £200.

Not only is it working well I can now ebay my 3970 and Nafman.

Using the Traffic for 3 months to see if it worth continuing with. This is another brill idea (similar to BTinternet chucking in free WiFi for three months)
By then I will know whether the GPRS cost is justified.

Mountwise, I have a modified Brodit.
I chopped off 2 side slots off the Navman gooseneck plate and fixed it it to the Brodit. It can then be used in my car or van.
Put a extra power point so the power lead lays flat down to under the dashboard.
It was obviously big enough to accept the Navman jacket.

I actually bought a similer bracket, which only accepts the 5555.
As the speaker is crap on the 555 I have to use a spare Sony active speaker.
Only problem is the speaker socket is bottom left.
Someone at Brodit must have known this because there is a groove so a mini plug can be inserted.
The new bracket is going tobe ebayed too.

Minor problem is that I have to use an expansion jacket.
I already have a CF/battery jacket which I may use later for additional maps.I am currently using a 128 SD card, with all of the UK on it.
I have a Krusell leather holder that fits okay too.

Getting back to Traffic.
I can update at home or anywhere there Wifi.
Having recently gone back to Orange and got a Nokia 7250i.
Its going to cost me £100 plus £49 for a Nokia 6230 to get Bluetooth.
Looks like the 6230i is just around the corner so i am hanging on till next year.
As a short term fix I have purchased a 1.5 inch diameter convex mirror (c/w double sided tape) and stuck it on the windscreen, just above both the 7250i and the 5555, they are adjacent.
Then I switch on Infra red on the Nokia, hit the update Traffic and up comes the link.
As they say "it is all done by mirrors".

As regards the Fortuna BT clipon.
Brill again, especially if I decide to take a different route. Almost instant reponse.
Currently finding the XT setting in the City is a bit flakey. Feel sure that Fortuna have it to hand to resolve.

Again, someone has been doing some thinking with the 'phone battery.

ALSO the power unit is fantastic.

I wrote to Sony about 6 or 7 years ago asking for a simple power unit to avoid humping loads of power units about.

With this I can charge my mobile 'phone, Ipaq, Sony active speakers, Sony handheld TV and the Clip on from my laptop, mains or car battery.

What more could one ask for..

Rambled on a bit.

Cheers,

bobw

gokhart · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 4:25 pm Post subject:

gokhart · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 4:26 pm Post subject:

6230i is a hoax

http://www.expansys.com/forumthread.asp?code=108417&thread=1688&man=NOKIA

bobw · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 11:35 pm Post subject:

Thanks for that.
Gonna hang on anyway now till next year and see what else is about.
bobw

Smithers · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 02, 2004 Posts: 15

Hi,
I've had a quick read through this thread and thought i would give you an idea of my experiences with TomTom software.
I'm fairly new to Sat Nav, i bought TT2 about 6 months ago, and managed to get a free upgrade to TT3 (Unfortunately).
I have to say that TT3 is not a patch on TT2. I have an iPAQ 5550 and travel the same route for the majority of the week. TT2 used to work fine, but TT3 instructions are all over the place, for instance:

One of the first roundabouts i come to on my travels, i need to take the fifth turn off, the map shows it as the fifth turn off, but the voice says it is the forth turn off, the next roundabout i come to i need to take the third exit, the map points in the right direction, but also shows an oncoming dual carraigeway as a potential exit, and the voice instructs me it is the forth turn off.

What with these errors and also the lack of direction when coming to complex junctions to say i am less than pleased with TT3 is a slight under statement.

Has anybody else experienced the same problems as myself, I'm intrigued to find out? Sad

spile · Regular Visitor Joined: May 08, 2004 Posts: 163

You ARE using the latest upgrade from the TomTom website?

drummer · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:42 pm Post subject:

I have noticed the same and do have the latest versions. I suspect that this has more to do with incorrect mapping from Teleatlas rather than the TT software itself.

I have come across many roundabouts that are mapped incorrectly including some, that when approaching, TT tells you (and shows on the map) to keep right to try and put you on the wrong side of the traffic island on the side of oncoming traffic. Police

This would no doubt cause TT to incorrectly count the exits when negotiating around the roundabout. Rolling Eyes

bjsmif · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 12, 2004 Posts: 1

Having borrowed a system using TT3 I was initially impressed, but having used it for a week on short journeys around my local city, SHEFFIELD I have now more than thirty penalty points on my pseudo driving lcence.
As far as SHEFFIELD is concerned most of the map software is out of date by more than 10years, yes I did say 10years. We have a system called Supertram, the maps don't even hint that it exsists (about thirty miles of track), it has had a major impact on many junctions throughout the city. TT3 has advised me to go the wrong way down a one way street, pass through a bus only gate, turn left when only a right turn is allowed, take a right turn when only a left turn is allowed (this one in Rotherham). There is one junction which is a roundabout, but it is not, my route home is straight ahead but as I approach the "voice" says turn right (which is possible) but the map shows ahead which is correct.
If other cities are as upto date then beware using SatNav.
I do like the idea of the software & the recalculating features work well especially when I have to correct my route for the illegeal points mentioned above. However I am loath to layout money for a system which performs poorly as above.
For those of you who have lockouts, be sure to exit TT3 via the soft exit button & close down the GPS properly. DO NOT JUST SWITCH OFF THE POCKET PC, it will lock up next time you want to use it. The system was iPAQ3630 + Emtac GPS Jacket + TT3 software.

Millmaag · Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2004 10:48 pm Post subject:

I have been using TT3 for about six weeks now and feel able to contribute a meaningful opinion to this debate!

Firstly, I think that TT3 is a pretty amazing product. In (subjectively) 99.9% of circumstances, the map data is correct and routing works very well. Both TeleAtlas and Tom Tom deserve credit for that.

Secondly, I have found that there are errors in the map and in the routing. Some of these map errors are due to recent road works and are perfectly understandable. Some are less understandable, such as roundabouts that have been there for years not being on the map or roads that have been permanently closed for a decade still reported as being open. Much less understandable are daft routing errors, such as being directed (visually and by voice) the wrong way around a roundabout that is correctly mapped Rolling Eyes

!!

I have gone to a lot of trouble to report all the errors I have found using the map error facility on the "My TomTom" website. I would urge others who have detected errors to do the same. If users work with TomTom, the product should get better and better with time. I just hope Tom Tom is working with us and that our efforts will not be wasted - I will be very frustrated if I find that the errors I have reported are still present in TT4 when it is released.

In an ideal world, I would like to see Tom Tom correct known map and routing errors through the release of interim updates or patches PRIOR to the release of version 4, although I don't know if this is technically possible.

Overall, I think TT3 is a good product and the features that work well far outnumber those that are still flaky. That said, Tom Tom must now make a huge effort to correct reported errors and especially to put right the documented regressions from TT2.

Andrew
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Cessquill · Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 3:13 pm Post subject:

Many apologies if a lot of these are all ready mentioned, but I'm on a really slooooow internet connection at the moment.

After having TTN1, 2 and now 3, I am a little scared of V3. Finally I got a chance to really use version 3, and it's not pretty...

- On motorways, it can frequently tell you to keep right, but the icon on the screen displays the opposite - completely unnacceptable.
- Driving from the end of the A14 on to the M6, it now gives you ABSOLUTELY NO INSTRUCTIONS as it pleasantly lets you go over two mini roundabouts.
- The new areas south of Peterborough were accurate in V2, but are now all over the place (very bizarre).
- The itinery planner is a lazy bolt on module rather than integrating it into the software, which makes the software more complicated and could have been done by a 3rd party
- You can not do anything whilst the traffic system is updating
- You can not turn off traffic once it's turned on (status bar down the bottom), and there is no shortcut to toggle the (rather large) journey progress bar on/off (and I think it should only come on if there is anything to report)
- The traffic status bar defaults to displaying a multitude of messages on cycle. Considering this is Navigator mode, where you're likely to be driving, isn't this a bit silly?
- Because of the new "mimimise traffic delays" button in Alternate Routes you can now only avoid the road you're on and the next one on the list. You'd be better off with an "avoid roads" button that takes you to the next six roads to choose from (imho, of course)
- There are times when pressing on the screen does not bring up any navigator menu. Not good at all. Have completely rebuilt my machine to cut down on memory issues too
- It does seem to lag a bit (it could be me though), so I've gone an exit too far twice now on a complicated roundabout.
- Would be nice for it to be able to suppress/reduce the volume of the network connected/disconnected sound when using traffic.
- It got in a route recalculating loop the other day that I had to reboot out of.
- It's started to jump my position on to side roads, recalculate and tell me to take bizarre turnings when I'm driving along a road. I never noticed this on TTN2.
- Minor gripe, but it would be nice if the POIs were a little more accurate. I had to take a colleague to A&E the other week in Hemel. OK, the road signs backed me up too, but Hemel in rush hour has a bizarre roundabout system, and so I was trusting TTN. It managed to add 15 minutes on to the journey by taking me nowhere near the main entrance of the hospital.

I'm using the latest version from the site (I think), with an Emtac BT GPS and a Nokia 6230. At least it doesn't want me to confirm every time I want to exit the software... Confused

_________________
What's going on? Where am I?

Smithers · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 02, 2004 Posts: 15

In a word, TT3 is 'CACK' compared to TT2.
I know exactly what you mean abut the A14/M6 junction, i have exactly the same gripe! Evil or Very Mad

sadfilingbloke · Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 5:47 pm Post subject: TomTom 3 and Sheffield

I have been using TomTom navigation with TT1 on my Ipaq 3970 since October 2002. Overall the impression I have of TT3 is this that is an improvement on 1 and 2. I travel over 25000 miles a year all over the country and it is very reliable. It does occassionally have a mapping error which I have sent to TomTom. BUT last night I tried to get out of Sheffield. It took me an hour to get from the centre of the city to the M1 which was due to the heavy traffic but TT3 did not have a clue. I went past the offcie I had been to three times trying to find my way out!

I used TT2 in the USA on both business and pleasure and found that very useful apart from round Boston airport which was one great big set of roadworks

Apart from the Sheffield incident I have found the system very useful and reliable - the best feature I think is the 'time of arrival' which allows me arrive at my destination near to the alloted time rather than half an hour early as used to be the way - having sped down the motorway at 90 rather than a leisurely 70 which is what I do now

WilberDaForce · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 01, 2004 Posts: 14

Hi,

I have been to Sheffield a few times and basically the ring road is linked to the M1 by that 6 mile or so dual carriageway. It is weird TomTom had a problem with it as it is one the the more simple cities to get in and out of.

Will

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