Anyone prefering Tom Tom to the manufacturers system.

We have 2 cars with factory fit out of the 3 yet I find myself using the tom tom in all of them, only one system to learn, a doddle to update, easy to load "safety cameras" etc, if you swap into a hire car for any reason you can take it with you. Im really becoming a fan of portable sat nav

Vote for TomTom from me. My work van is a 55 plate and the map is seriously out of date, it only does spoken directions and can't do POIs or speed scameras.

The new van arrives this week (VW Caddy). I'll probably continue with the TT unless the factory fit is much better.

TomTom is better imho to, but I prefer the fit of "factory" SatNav and will forgo a little functionality in it's place (I really have a "thing" about a clean wire / clutter free dash).

I have fitted a Witson 720, designed for the Mk2 Octy, in my Roomster and am running Igo8 europe on it and so far that has been brilliant for the price. Factory "fit" and all the functionailty of TomTom

TT is the way for me too.

I used to have a Navara that had built in satnav but had no post code search, no own POI's, No speed cams, no navigate to Long/Lat and expensive to update.

The way forward is a TT (or other) with a passive mount that is wired into the fusebox so is more discrete and less cables etc.

Steve

After seeing the sat nav in a mates Avensis i can see why people still stick with TT. It just seams easier and a whole lot quicker for one.

Makes you wonder though why no one has tried to partner with TT for their in built sat nav

I think it will be to do with licensing fees to TT.

Another vote for TT here too. Easy to use, update and take with you into other cars (took mine to France with me this year to use in a hire car). Also much, much cheaper than any factory fit I have seen (how they justify £1500 is beyond me).

Why am I going to pay more for much less!!!!!! although I do concede that the factory fits do look much neater.

None of the inbuilt satnavs that I've seen so far can match up with the functionality that TT offers. The only plus points in favor of factory fit ones are - larger screen, no wires and better MFD for the car itself. Compare this to the new TT x40 series - HD Traffic live with integrated GPRS, Map share, IQ routes, lane guidance, PoI, saftey camera updates and much better support for phones with bluetooth etc.

Best of all, couple of years down the line when there an x90 series with all the topnotch features of the future, I can simply swap to the new model, with those with inbuilt units will still be stuck with the (then) ancient factory fit.

I'm not comparing the TCO for the two, as some might argue that there is a monthly subscription fee required for the live services.

I love Tom Tom units.

My first was an old Dell Axim running Tom Tom and then I moved onto a stand-alone unit.

I think their functionality is great, they are easy to use and understand and worth every penny.

I did however recently sell my 730 and I'm hopefully about to start using my RNS-510.

From what I can see I've lost some functionality, lost some detail and even lost the lovely friendly interface.

What I've gained is SatNav "On Tap" - it is always there, doesn't need charging, a simple button press and there it is.

No wires, no clutter, no having to take anything with me when I leave the car.

Of course the RNS-510 is a lot more than a Tom Tom (£700 for the unit) but the clutter and wire free dash makes it worthwhile to me, even though I don't feel the SatNav is as good as a Tom Tom offering.

I too think Tom Tom should get some licensing deals done with car manufacturers.

I look at "New Car Options" and see SatNav at silly money and seeing as it isn't as good as a Tom Tom I know I personally wouldn't take the option at factory.

However if it were a Tom Tom unit integrated into my new car I would be extremely tempted.

OK, gave the VW RNS300 in the van a try over a couple of days and nearly 500 miles. Really dont like it, it talks all the time over what I'm listening to on the radio. Constantly has a message popping up to tell me there's no traffic info on the station I'm listening to. (This is only available on Classic in my area.)

The directions are vague at complex junctions. The voice is too loud at its lowest setting. The maps are outdated. It doesnt do POI downloads. It doesnt do Scamera van Warnings.

Back to TomTom for me. Might even upgrade to a live in the new year.

it talks all the time over what I'm listening to on the radio.

I'm afraid you can't really get away from that.

Constantly has a message popping up to tell me there's no traffic info on the station I'm listening to. (This is only available on Classic in my area.)

TP isn't the same as TMC. Use the ordinary FM if you don't want TP and you can switch off TP altogether in the setings menu on the RNS510, so I assume it's similar in the RNS300.

The directions are vague at complex junctions.

I thought this at first too, and the turn 2nd left on roundabouts nearly drove me nuts initially, but actually, if you look at the junction picture it's usually 100% accurate and shows where you need to go. And telling you take the next exit after the one you're passing now feels completely normal. I don't know if the RNS300 has birds eye view, but that's pretty good on the RNS510.

The voice is too loud at its lowest setting.

You actually have to adjust the volume while (s)he's talking. Once you've done that you'll find it much more comfortable.

The maps are outdated.

Depends which map you have. I have the 2009 V4 Blaupunkt disc and it's pretty much bob-on in East Anglia and the midlands. I haven't tried it all over the UK yet, but from what I can see it's pretty good.

It doesnt do POI downloads.

Not directly, but on the RNS510 you can burn a new DVD and add your own POI in the process. It may be possible to do the same on the RNS300.

It doesnt do Scamera van Warnings.

I haven't seen a TomTom that does mobile van warnings other than through a POI update. Maybe letting it download traffic info through the mobile will, but I never used that feature on mine. Failing that you could try driving at the speed limit wherever you see a speed camera warning sign. It's like setting your TomTom to warn you 1 mile ahead of a speed trap. And it's free.

Back to TomTom for me. Might even upgrade to a live in the new year.

Give it a little while to get used to it. You might like it more after a bit. And definitely have a look at the manual. It's a very complex piece of kit.

I'm a TomTom fan. I do wish the manufacturers would team up with TT. They are so intuitive to use and mine is faultless.

New works mondy has built in and it's overly complicated. Once a route planned though, the commands and directions are much better than tomtom IMO.

I also miss my speed cam alerts, so wont be retiring my pda with tomtom.

Tom Tom with speed camera database and the spoken alert sound files. Can't fault it. Very fast SERF3 chipset so it finds sats in seconds first thing. Only thing I hate is Tom Tom home software, but seldom need to use it anyway.

I'm a TomTom fan. I do wish the manufacturers would team up with TT. They are so intuitive to use and mine is faultless.

I think that the latest Seat Ibiza has an option of a factory fit socket at the top of the dashboard that you can plug a Tom Tom into. Sounds like the way of the future to me.

The new Yaris has the option of a tomtom head unit, with removable tomtom device.

another vote for tom tom here,but yo can't beat the look of a nice doubledin factory fit unit.

I own a TomTom940 LIVE and have a factory fit BMW sat nav. The two are hard to separate on many levels. The TomTom has great functionality but the BMW reroutes slightly faster if you miss a junction. They both can search Google for addresses, but the TomTom has live camera updates. But there again, the BMW can be zoomed in and out not only much more quickly, but it is a lot easier to do with the iDrive controller.

Overall I would say it’s a draw, with each unit having its own subtle strengths.

A word of warning though. I tried to subscribe on line to pay for the ‘Live’ feature updates (camera and Google search etc) and as I have a Maestro Debit card from the RBS, TomTom have told me …..Tough!!.....you can’t pay using it, therefore you can’t subscribe to the service:mad:. Truly terrible customer service and they even said they were ‘glad to have been able to help me’. I won’t buy another TomTom product ever again if I can’t resolve this matter. TomTom Sucks as a company, total customer service failure!:thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn:

Edited 21 December, 200817 yr by Bigw2069

it would also seem that renault maybe have done a deal with TT

Pocket GPS World - SatNavs | GPS | Speed Cameras Forums-viewtopic-GPS / SatNav / Mobile / Mapping Industry Press Releases

I own a TomTom940 LIVE and have a factory fit BMW sat nav. The two are hard to separate on many levels. The TomTom has great functionality but the BMW reroutes slightly faster if you miss a junction. They both can search Google for addresses, but the TomTom has live camera updates. But there again, the BMW can be zoomed in and out not only much more quickly, but it is a lot easier to do with the iDrive controller.

Overall I would say it’s a draw, with each unit having its own subtle strengths.

A word of warning though. I tried to subscribe on line to pay for the ‘Live’ feature updates (camera and Google search etc) and as I have a Maestro Debit card from the RBS, TomTom have told me …..Tough!!.....you can’t pay using it, therefore you can’t subscribe to the service:mad:. Truly terrible customer service and they even said they were ‘glad to have been able to help me’. I won’t buy another TomTom product ever again if I can’t resolve this matter. TomTom Sucks as a company, total customer service failure!:thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn:

I am at a loss Big2069. What was edited in my post? And why? You left no clue:confused:

I am at a loss Big2069. What was edited in my post? And why? You left no clue:confused:

Guess you must have a had a slow day:rofl:

Depends which map you have. I have the 2009 V4 Blaupunkt disc and it's pretty much bob-on in East Anglia and the midlands. I haven't tried it all over the UK yet, but from what I can see it's pretty good.

Where did you source that? My nearest Skoda delear says V3 2008 maps are the latest they can get hold of.

Been a fan of TT's for ages apart from the first to offer qwery keyboard.. Easy to set up and update. Garmins are only doing that recently.

On my third series now, every new one gets just that bit better.

Might be of interest to someone that I am selling the last one the GoGo 720.

As one of my long lost well meaning members of my family will be giving me a new one for xmas and dont want to upset anyone so the 720 has to go go go go..

Where did you source that? My nearest Skoda delear says V3 2008 maps are the latest they can get hold of.

Blaupunkt for VW. I believe they are the same, Blaupunkt just labelled theirs V4 to get mugs like me to upgrade:(

Blaupunkt for VW. I believe they are the same, Blaupunkt just labelled theirs V4 to get mugs like me to upgrade:(

Ok :rofl: