TomTom START launched

perussell · Frequent Visitor Joined: May 12, 2006 Posts: 292

.........so can you imagine the response from the guy in Halfords when the customer complains that he can't get postcodes on his/her SatNav.

"Ahh, yes Sir/Madam, but if you want that feature we have the TT One and that will be £40 (or whatever) extra please."

How many times have you seen a smart salesperson use a 'cheap' offer to entice a person into the store only to then upgrade them to something they didn't really need in the first place.

I suspect the "Start" will be the kind of device you will find on the shelves of your local Morrisons or Tesco in time for Xmas.

Every product has its' own niche and I suspect the Start will prove to be quite popular with the 'less informed' members of the motoring community.

zark · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2006 Posts: 11

rubbish, rubbish, rubbish... for all the reasons listed above and a crazy price point.

i'll replace mine when it dies with an old One v4 instead of this!

Essential features missing and far too expensive. An own goal for tomtom IMO

Darren · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 3:12 pm Post subject:

And whilst you are right that it will find a niche, it doesn't excuse TomTom for banking on consumer ignorance to sell it.

Even TomTom's staff at the launch were gloriously ignorant of the lack of UK 7 Digit PostCodes so I hear.

For those who do no research then it will doubtless sell as do the devices churned out via Lidl and Aldi time after time.

But for those that do bother to research their purchases I hope they see our comments and those of other sites, "don't waste your money".
_________________
Darren Griffin

dlpruk · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 3:21 pm Post subject:

falkirk81 · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 3:29 pm Post subject:

As a full time delivery driver for Tesco home shopping based in Newcastle, I have to cover a large proportion of rural Northumberland. A lot of addresses are farms or houses in the most remote places, up tracks, over fords, through gated fields etc.

I always find that the Tomtom postcodes feature will get me within a mile or so at its absolute worst. But most of the time, when the 'you have arrived at your destination' alert is heard, I am a lot closer than a mile to the destination house!

There are always going to be exceptions, especially the more rural you go. But from my experience, even with no street name and number, I use the postcode function and it never lets me down!

A major omission to remove its function for the Start device IMHO!

MrT · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:18 pm Post subject:

I don't think I have ever navigated by full postcode from the original TT Navigator to the 940 apart from playing with it to discover features. The only time I recall using postcodes is to differentiate between streets in the London with the same name and then it is usually only the first part of the postcode.

When I was young postcodes did not exist outside of City Centres and I learned to navigate on Ordnance Survey & Bartholomews using a magetic compass and grid references. I've still got my Philips' Universal map Measurer (a little wheel on a thread) to measure distance on maps.
_________________
Drivelux

mikealder · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:09 pm Post subject:

The very first tme I used Navigate to Postcode I entered the wrong value, I was aiming for RAF Coningsby but got the "You have arrived at your destination" as I pulled off the A1M in to a farm yard! - lesson learn't the hard way - I have to say though I use the postcode more than any other method on any of my units - Mike

DennisN · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:05 pm Post subject:

I was on paper road atlases and street A-Zs until 2005 when I got my first TomTom (GO300). After the first time I used it with postcode, I never looked back and to think of going out without postcode navigate facility would now fill me with dread. It has only once seriously let me down, dumping me nearly 2 miles away from true. Once in four and a half years and I hate to think how many miles (well over a quarter of a million).

Major mistake, TomTom.
_________________
Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

Pocketgps · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:46 pm Post subject:

rescueme · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2005 Posts: 12

I'm stuck on whether to get one of these or not.. let me explain..

I got a phone call last night from my mum who is district nurse (and more importantly a complete techn-phobe) telling me that due to the ever incresing privatisation in the NHS she is now covering an area of urban manchester stretching from the Lancashire border down to Salford. And although she has been a district nurse for 20 years, she is now struggling going to places utside of her 'old patch'.

So she has decided that she needs a satnav, and rings me for advice,(which means pick one/buy it/take it to her/fit it/show her how it works) so I fire up the laptop and open up this site to find the news that the SMART has been released.. RESULT I think. Just what mother needs, a simplified tomtom.

I have a look at oline retailers and find Comet are selling them, drive 20miles to my nearest Comet to find they haven't got any...

So, I'm thinking does the inability to Nav via postcode outweigh the simplicity of SMART? She will be navigating to peoples houses, and a lot of the time won't have the postcode just the street address. But for the difference between that and a one will it make the difference?

I can't decide... any thoughts ladies and gents?? Thanks

Darren · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:00 pm Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:01 pm Post subject:

DennisN · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:05 pm Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:09 pm Post subject:

TomTom ONE v4 £99.99 (with voucher code) at Halfords, see here or the widescreen XL version for £107.97.

Both cheaper than the START at £118 when Euro converted.
_________________
Darren Griffin

Pocketgps · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:18 pm Post subject:

	PocketGPS
	Web