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Need to replace my Tom Tom 750 live

 
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millski
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Joined: Jul 19, 2006
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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 9:08 pm    Post subject: Need to replace my Tom Tom 750 live Reply with quote

Hello all,

I've owned Tomtom products since the very first Go model and use the Tomtom iphone app too. I love the way everything works in Tomtom. Unfortunately about a month ago my 720 was stolen (along with my laptop and everything else...) so I replaced it with a shiny new 750 with live services. I really like the traffic rerouting and computer voice stuff, as well as the fuel prices and new features. However the 750 is so amazingly slow at doing everything I can no longer stand to use it - if I have to sit through that 5 second delay between tapping a letter and it typing it I will throw it against a wall. The screen is slow, the positioning takes ages to find me, the route planning takes ages and to top it off it regularly crashes and restarts itself.

My plan is to flog it and buy a second hand 720 off ebay as it was faster at everything than the 750, though ideally I'd like to have the live services. However I think I ought to take the opportunity to ask everyone's advice on maybe switching to another manufacturer. anybody got any good advice for me?

Thanks, millski
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I stick with TomTom. BUT I have three devices running side by side -

Carminat, built in to my new van, nice big screen, PITA using the (only option) remote control.

GO550 Live, great Live services, PITA waiting all day for everything.

GO520, everything all the others should be, except it hasn't got Live services to slow it down.

I've tried two or three other brands, but TT spoilt me for them all. Despite everything they have thrown at me, I still prefer TomTom.

Keep the 750 and get a refurbished 720 for speed of display (I'd avoid e-bay if at all possible).
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If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!
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Guivre46
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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 10:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

..or a 730, or even a 930?
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Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
Go 530T - unsupported
Go550 Live [not renewed]
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millski
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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you both for your thoughts.

The 720/30 doesn't have live services, which was sort of my point - is it worth getting a garmin or whatever that has live services? Are they quicker than the 750 live? Are their services as good as tomtoms?

As for owning multiple devices I don't really see the point; I already know that I'd switch the fastest one on to get to my destination (I'm self employed doing lots of deliveries) and my 750 would sit in the bottom of the bag depreciating in value...

I was hoping to hear from some Tomtom 100X owners too - hoping they have the same quick internals as my old 720 had but with the bonus of live services?

I'll try and pop in to Halfords and play with some of the alternative brands, but really hoped for some user experience.
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M8TJT
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 5:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

millski wrote:
but really hoped for some user experience.
How much were you hoping for in less than two hours at 10 at night?? Very Happy
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

millski wrote:
(I'm self employed doing lots of deliveries)

If you're using a satnav for multidrop you're wasting time and money - the best answer to that is to learn your delivery area and do it with a far better system, your brain!

If, like me, you're sameday distance, then multiple satnavs give you the best of all worlds - you can check one against the other for alternative routes. I use my 520 to "Prepare Route" fast to show me distance and time when somebody wants a quote, then the other(s) to help get me there by the best route.
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If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!
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Guivre46
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 10:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DennisN, can I ask how you have yours set up? I have the 550 as the main [louder] device, and the 530 is there to cover the route if the 550 decides to reroute and takes 2/3 minutes to do it?
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Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
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Go550 Live [not renewed]
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millski
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

M8TJT wrote:
millski wrote:
but really hoped for some user experience.
How much were you hoping for in less than two hours at 10 at night?? Very Happy


No need to be rude, I was just trying to clarify what I was asking about. I was hoping someone would say "I have a Garmin whatever and it's far quicker than my old Tomtom at everything, and the traffic services seem just as accurate" or " I have a Garmin whatever and it seems really slow to me, don't bother". As for expecting that response in 2 hours I was actually thinking I'd keep checking this thread for the next 2 weeks or so, if that's ok with you?

DennisN wrote:
millski wrote:
(I'm self employed doing lots of deliveries)

If you're using a satnav for multidrop you're wasting time and money - the best answer to that is to learn your delivery area and do it with a far better system, your brain!

If, like me, you're sameday distance, then multiple satnavs give you the best of all worlds - you can check one against the other for alternative routes. I use my 520 to "Prepare Route" fast to show me distance and time when somebody wants a quote, then the other(s) to help get me there by the best route.


Yep, I use my satnav mainly for 1 delivery days but the occasional multidrop. My delivery area is all of Britain with the occasional trip into Europe though. It's quite hard to memorise it all ;)

I understand that your advice is multiple satnavs, and that I'm rejecting the advice I've asked you all for, but I find it hard to believe that Tomtom have taken such a massive step backwords in the quality of their product and nobody else has stepped up to the mark? I'm not asking for perfection. The 720 was fast and stable enough but I guess adding the live services cripples the speed. I would have assumed that each new generation of device uses a faster processor and more ram, like every other advance in technology, but it would appear the 750 actually uses worse internals as the touchscreen is so unresponsive (cost-cutting exercise?)
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Guivre46
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The x50s use the same 400mhz processor as the x40s, x30s, and x20s. Remember suggesting a long time ago that the x40s have just too much processing to do, and max out the processor. The x50s reduced the load to a certain extent, but still seem slow to perform some functions.

The 1xxx/Vias have a 500mhz processor and a separate graphic processor so are much faster. If you want fast HD traffic, good graphics, and clear voice instructions they score well. If you want to write itineraries or load lots of personal PoI data they are not up to that yet.

My basic One XL uses a 266mhz processor, but routes and reroutes very quickly.
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Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 5:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Guivre46 wrote:
DennisN, can I ask how you have yours set up? I have the 550 as the main [louder] device, and the 530 is there to cover the route if the 550 decides to reroute and takes 2/3 minutes to do it?

I have sound off on 520, Navigation voice off on 550 and get all the sound from the Carminat, built into the dashboard. Plus traffic beeps from 520 and traffic speech from 550. The 550 suffers the same reboot problem that many people have reported, generally at first boot when it goes to find the Live server, but not exclusively so, I've had it happen mid journey on an open straight flat motorway. After a reset it behaves for a while, but eventually goes back to its bad old ways - it can take several minutes to reboot and find satellites and sometimes loses record of the route so it won't start up navigating where it left off. In London traffic that can be a disaster.

The 520 and Carminat are probably same speed calculating and recalculating. However, the Carminat will only work using a remote control so using a scroll tap arrow to move around is quite slow compared with the fast touch screen 520. Calculating and recalculating on the 550 is like watching paint dry - I think that's because it finds a route, then checks for traffic - recalculating whilst moving is a frightening nightmare, it takes so long - it does this if it loses and regains signal (or gets a reflected signal telling it it's not here, it's there). I wouldn't dare rely on the 550 in London (e.g. it always gets lost on Euston Road - I don't want that with £10 of Congestion Charge just one wrong move away - I barely make £20 profit on London runs!).

I have the Carminat on 3D, which is my view preference and the other two on 2D. This because (mostly in London) I can't be without directions in heavy traffic and if I only had one device and it started swinging round and/or jumping off to a side road as it does when it loses signal, I'd be wetting myself - I mean, I came down Regent Street in London this week at about minus 5 mph and if the TT had started jumping to the next street I'd have been in trouble finding the correct turning off. With three devices I've (touch wood) always had at least one sticking with my correct current location/route.

millski that's good info from Guivre46. If you don't need itineraries and POIs on your satnav, the 1xxx seems to meet your needs - it has some fancy calculating business which makes it calc and recalc apparently like lightning. That gives you the TT GUI that you've come to know and like.
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!
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millski
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 7:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks very much guys.

I took Guivre's advice and had a look at the TT 1000 and a Via 120. They're both much faster than my 750 at text entry and seem to be quicker at route planning, though I was using them in a shop so they were already on. The 1000 in particular was a much quicker device, some slight lag on the 120 but nothing that should put anybody off. I did notice that Tomtom have altered their GUI on these new devices, and postcode entry is now a bit more fiddly (an extra menu jump and the keys seem quite small).

However I also took the time to try a Garmin 1690 (which has their new nulink service, the equivalent of Tomtom's live services). My immediate impression is that it feels much nicer to physically handle. The touch screen seemed more responsive than the Tomtom 1000, and needless to say it blows my 750 away. Seems to pick up satellites quickly enough though the route planning seemed a little quicker on the TT 1000, but only by seconds. The biggest problem is the menu system of course, though it's not as bad as my previous experiences with Garmin, it still feels like their GUI is very immature. Low res graphics here and there, a lack of menu options (can't turn off the menu button 'boop' noise! Schoolboy error Garmin...) and the user added POI's are under the 'Extras' option instead of the 'Points of Interest' option for some baffling reason Question Everything I need is there though, so I bought it ;)

To sum up:

My Tomtom 750 Live is cripplingly slow at text entry and route planning. £180.
The TT Via 120 was better but felt a bit cheap all round to me. £200 for EU version.
TT 1000 was absolutely superb, but £280 for the EU model I saw.
Garmin 1690 is as fast as the 1000 but has icky Garmin GUI. Only £170 though, so it was cheaper than all of the above Tomtom's...

I will take my Garmin out for a road test tomorrow and if it fails/wins in any ways I haven't yet discovered I'll update this post for anybody else who might be facing the same dilemna.

Oh, one last thing. Tomtom Home PC software is rubbish. Garmin PC software is worse though. A lot worse...
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Guivre46
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 7:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DennisN, many thanks for the description.

I have the 550 set loud and the full set of information [navigation, road numbers, street names, PoI warnings etc.] and set on 3D [ha].

The 530 is set to 2D, all the warnings are at shorter distances than the 550 [so get a second set of advice when closer] and it is set quieter, but no road numbers or street names.

Basically the 530 covers for the 550 when it is playing with itself.

I see another thread about a software update about to be offered, not much info for what devices it is for. I'm hoping it is 9.120 or some development of it, and will 'fix' the x50s.....
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