Quick questions on Tom Tom

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garystu1965

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Joined
Dec 8, 2004
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Location
Lytham St Annes
Car
Mercedes E350 CDI Coupe
Hi folks, to save me loads of effort trawling around websites, forums etc I know I'll be able to get a quick answer on here. My missus has picked up her new Vauxhall Corsa (what a fab car it is - I'm gobsmacked at the quality and refinement for a small car - it's brilliant). I am going to treat her to a Tom Tom or similar device because we are going to start using her car more often to go on touring trips. Questions...

1. I want one that can be mounted (temporarily) at the level of the gearstick in front of it where the cupholders are. Is that a poor place for a signal ? If so can you get a signal lead to go up to the dash ?

2. I want one where you can put a memory card in it so I can download things like speed cameras, restaurants, wehterspoons pubs etc. So it obv needs a card slot and also the ability to download POIs from a computer (via text files or EXE file program, utility etc).

3. Are there units that look a bit posher than the standard Tom Tom that look better if mounted standalone in the car. We don't want to stick it to the screen with a plunger.

4. I want one ideally with loads of POIs already loaded (esp restuarants, bars, hotels etc) so we can judge before we get to a place whether it looks buzzing or a bit dead !

5. How much do I need to pay to get one that satisfies all the above and is reliable, good signal etc.

I really appreciate your help on this. Ta !

Gary
 
Hello


Brodit mounts do them for almost every part of the car and they are good quality. I have mine below the radio in my car and works fine, don't like them stuck on the window plus it leave the 'ive got a tomtom in the glovebox marks).

Some have built in Hard drives so downloading POI's just goes straight on it. Others have both, my wifes is a TT one and that has built in but also an SD Card slot (her's is the cheapest so guess others have this at least)

You can buy a mount that sits on the dash and the TT sits in that, they look better than the mounts but never tried one so cannot comment.

The TT one my wife has dose everything we need and its helped in Europe also, I don't need it to play MP3, watch a film or pictures or dial phone numbers so see no need in paying for the extras.

If buying for myself I would have gone wide screen and also the lane detection which has come out after we bought hers, She wanted a small unit to but in her bag and the TT1 is certainly that.
 
You can get an external GPS antenna if reception is an issue. I bought one for my VW Sharan, which had an electrically heated windscreen. But in fact the reception was pretty good without it, so I rarely used it.

The 'TomTom Home' application on your PC keeps the TomTom up to date and has a wide range of optional POIs you can download for free (I've recently added Shell stations). Other companies will supply free POI files for their own outlets ... got one for Calor Gas sellers. Installing is simple - the TomTom just shows up as another disk on your computer, and you simply copy the files across.

As mentioned, the cheaper TomToms just have a card slot, the more expensive ones have a hard drive.
 
I have my TT mounted under the radio to the left and works fine, made the bracket myselt, though Brodit ones are great, but a little expensive.
 
Seconded for Brodit, well engineered and a good non-destructive fit.

I run TomTom on my iPhone in a holder in front of the central air vent, and reception is fine (for an iPhone). A SatNav antenna really needs to see as much of the sky as possible in all directions (as opposed to a GSM antenna which likes line-of-sight to ground based aerials), so as long as you bear this in mind when locating it you should be good.
 
Unfortunately there isn't a Brodit mount for my old 910 (according to their website).
 
Can these devices be taken out of the car and say used in a hotel to check out POIs at places we are thinking of visiting next ? Or do they only work when plugged into the cigar lighter ?

I basically want the device to have as many POIs as possible and able to bulk download loads of extra POIs from websites. Are the Tom Tom ones best for this or Garmin, Navman etc ?
 
Tom Tom can be used out of the car in hotels etc to plan your routes. They are easily customisable and there are literally hundreds of thousands of POI's to download check out Pocket GPS World website probably the best source you can also download the speed camera database from there well worth it also worth checking out is POI Plaza website, hope that helps.
 
They have an internal battery ... lasts about 4 hours on my TomTom. I only use the cigarette lighter power lead for long trips.

You won't get a GPS signal in a hotel room though!
 
They have an internal battery ... lasts about 4 hours on my TomTom. I only use the cigarette lighter power lead for long trips.

You won't get a GPS signal in a hotel room though!

Cheers. It's only for looking at the different towns and what pubs, restaurants are there. I'm going to install that Tom Tom PC software to see if it shows me what I can see on the screen.
 
The battery life is dependent on the model, my old TomTom 300 used to last much longer than my 730, but the 730 screen is properly 50% larger.
 
You won't get a GPS signal in a hotel room though![/QUOTE said:
Actually you will I do it all the time to plan my next days visits on the TomTom itinerary. Granted you might have to stand near the window though:D
 
I've been searching around the various sites and seen you can download millions of POIs. Taking the Wetherspoons download as an example does it show the Wetherspoons pubs with the proper symbol ? I looked at an online map viewer by importing the OSV and BMP files but it just showed them as pushpins on a map with no details. I assume when improrted into a suitable device it will show a proper symbol. Also is there software where you can edit an type of POI and use what icon you like ? Some fat controller POI management software etc ? Sorry to ask so many questions ! Also will any device be ok, or is TomTom the one with most support, forums, POIs, utilities etc. I assume Garmin and Navman has the same.
 
Hello

All the POI's I have downloaded show as the correct symbol on the TT not just a arrow or x etc. I've only used TT and a Navman and just find the TT far easier to use. (I would think they all have forurms, poi's etc etc its just what you like)

Like I said my wifes is a TT one europe and has built in Hard drive, the SD car is empty and this is a starter model. Very small / thin with great battery life.

I also use our inside, house / caravan, yes you may have to be near the window but it will work. Never used an external aerial with it.


Also found this mount?


Flex Mount For Tomtom One XL Dashboard & Windshield on eBay (end time 20-Nov-09 00:44:15 GMT)
 
Cheers. It's only for looking at the different towns and what pubs, restaurants are there. I'm going to install that Tom Tom PC software to see if it shows me what I can see on the screen.
The software actually 'runs' your TomTom ... you just see the display on your computer screen rather than on the TomTom itself. And you get to use the computer keyboard for entering text. This is dead handy for planning a route etc. ... 99% of the time I do this using the PC the night before we go somewhere. When you turn the TomTom on next day it comes up straight away with directions to your destination.
 
I've been searching around the various sites and seen you can download millions of POIs. Taking the Wetherspoons download as an example does it show the Wetherspoons pubs with the proper symbol ? I looked at an online map viewer by importing the OSV and BMP files but it just showed them as pushpins on a map with no details. I assume when improrted into a suitable device it will show a proper symbol. Also is there software where you can edit an type of POI and use what icon you like ?
Yes the TomTom shows the .bmp as the POI icon. You can change the icon if you want to ... they are just files held on the TomTom, which as I mentioned you can access like a USB stick etc. from your computer. It's also very quick to 'turn on' (or 'off') different POIs on the TomTom.

You can have your own 'startup' and 'shutdown' screens too by replacing the standard TomTom .bmps with your own (must be the same filename and image dimensions). I have pictures of the R129 :)
 
Still can't add POI to the iPhone version (that I can tell) - I miss my GATSO alerts..
 
I bought a 300 when it came out...still going strong.....my prefered sat nav.....I think they go for about £50 on fleabay :D
 

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