Map udates - are they worth it ..?

[sdm197]

Hi All,

I have already subscribed to the map update service which expires in May, but they have offered me the same deal to buy in March and get 18 months for the price of 12. What I want to know is will this start from when my other subscription ends in May or do I lose April, so I have emailed them to find out.

SDM197

[Milesey]

I liked the suggestion from AliOnHols which is to save the money on map updates for a couple of years and then at the end of the two-or-so years, buy a new unit instead.

[jimbo_hippo]

I'm not bothering with any new maps or subscriptions or any other daft stuff Tom Tom offer. I have a couple of references which I vowed if they weren't fixed in the last one I wouldn't bother. Ripon had a rearrangement of roads some time ago, none of which have appeared anywhere. My 720 has 835.2419 and still thinks the roundabout heading to the Tyne Tunnel isn't a roundabout and doesn't treat the tunnel as a tunnel hence no signal and no idea what you do at the other end. Must be great for someone from foreign getting off the ferry at North Shields, driving on new side of the road, fumbling for UK money 1 mile from the boat and having no idea where you're going. Even worse in a Motorhome, towing caravan or truck.

Tom Tom has been all take and no give with maps, shoddy features and tech support rubbish. A decent smartphone app with live map updates and decent interface will kill Tom Tom stone dead unless they stop making us all feel bitter about spending with them. I can stick purchases on a company credit card and write it off but I'm still not prepared to line their pockets when they half deliver everything.

Also map updates wreak havok on your device favourites and other stuff which they still haven't addressed. On Saturday night I had a puncture on the M1 at 9pm (Zafira has stupid 'no spare' system). So I'm trying to find a tyre place where I can ditch it overnight but guess what? My postcodes are missing. Not so much a map update issue, it was left from a recent wipe but after 6 years of Brits complaining about this it's still not fixed. So I'm driving into Leeds on the A63 navigating at 20mph on a flat to half a postcode and driving across fields despite the fact the road's been there for years. At times like these you're supposed to thank your SatNav not curse it.

Tom Tom need to make me smile before I'm prepared to give them any more money. I wouldn't mind if they just said it like it is but they sell it on all this latest this, latest that, with words like 'safety' thrown in for dramatic effect but they're useless.

They were unbeatable 4 years ago and still have a great core app but who cares any more?

Just thought I'd let you know :D
_________________
Tom Tom GO 720
Orange M3100, Orange SPV M5000
TomTom Navigator 6, Destinator 6
Holux GPSslim

[mikealder]

[DennisN]

[jimbo_hippo]

[batties]

I feel the same way Jimbo_hippo,

I have said this before and I'll say it again, I really don't feel comfortable about paying for something I don't know what's been included or corrected? That is why I have now stopped paying for quarterly updates until the whole process has been made transparent.

Isn't it about time we all stopped paying for map updates until we know exactly what is contained in the new releases?

I always find my local routes (especially speed limits along the A127) are always incorrect when a new release comes out.

I am fed up wasting time correcting the wrong speed limits, road names, roundabouts each and every time a new map release comes out!

I have not subscribed to the last 3 quarter map updates and my SatNav is fine getting me to all destinations with no major problems.

Save your money and don't subscribe to the updates for say a few years. Put your savings towards a new unit (with updated maps)

Regards,

Mark
_________________
TT Go 720 v8.204
Western Europe Map v8.45
8 GB SDHC card
TT Home version 2.7.5.2014
iPhone 4S with CameraAlert

[Darren]

[jimbo_hippo]

Darren I like your idea. Makes sense. That said it would probaly turn into a self-verication system for users who pay in the hope that the map providers might keep their side of the bargain.

I am trying to be rational about this. There are some elements which just take time to filter through and I don't think any TT user expects 100% of corrections and errors to be present but it would be good to be surprised from time to time! Instead we kind of roll our eyes and see stuff that we have reported for free to the people we pay not being actioned. The map share idea has a great foundation in the concept of community and the digital age of sharing information for the benefit of others. But it all seems rather one sided.

At the risk of broadening this into other areas of frustration, any form of TT Traffic suffers from the same flaw. I live in North Yorks where there are significant upgrades to the A1M in progress. We pay for traffic and we don't expect every incident to make it into the data but we all pay (one way or another) for a service which should give us a reliable degree of accuracy. If I get diverted off this road at 10pm because of a road closure (planned well in advance of it happening) which doesn't appear in traffic, someone is going to be seriously injured the aftermath of me exploding! Somewhere inbetween the Highways Agency, Government departments and TT traffic someone has this info and they'll all blame eachother but if it's not TT's fault then I'd like to see them fighting to get this info in the same way I'd like to see TT fighting to get more than we expected into the map data instead of the same old weary errors credit-card payment after credit card payment. TT don't surprise us any more. They just dissapoint. I consider myself fairly pragmatic and typically British in my laid back approach to most things but year on year my pressure valve is more strained by TT and their attitude that we won't notice the ratio of our input and financing for their delivery of quantifiable results. I wish there was a gentler and less aggressive way to put that point forward but I'm not alone in my feelings on this. Nobody expects perfection but unrelenting dissapointment will lead to a divorce between us and our TTs when someone else gets close or even just says what they CAN deliver and takes a reasonable revenue for achieving a pre-agreed level of progress instead of promising the earth and delivering a satsuma.

If Tom Tom didn't lock down all communication with their users on forums, websites and even their trade show stands then we might be a little more tollerant. If we understood the massive undertaking that is Mapshare or Live Traffic the COMMUNITY would rally round and we'd all help out feeling great for being part of it. When was the last time anyone came on this forum unless it's to copy and paste tech support from someones solution shared here?
_________________
Tom Tom GO 720
Orange M3100, Orange SPV M5000
TomTom Navigator 6, Destinator 6
Holux GPSslim

[spook51]

[DennisN]

[Darren]

I can't see any map version info on the Routes web-site so I'd be wary of assuming it uses the latest data?
_________________
Darren Griffin

[DennisN]

Aaah - I'm not bright enough to think of that! I just assumed that it would be using the latest, otherwise it wouldn't match up with route planning on TT devices with HD Traffic - not much point in telling you how to get from A to B with TT's assistance if you can't do the same on your nice new TT satnav?
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[Darren]

Dennis you give TomTom far too much credit for common sense
_________________
Darren Griffin

[DennisN]

No fool like an old fool!
_________________
Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

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