Tom Tom Navigator Mini-Review Part #1

[Moose Man]

Ok for all of you waiting with baited breath. This will not be an indepth review due to time constraints by my work schedule. But here is Part 1.

The attached picture shows the contents of the box basically the way they are shipped. You'll notice a black piece of card board off to the left of the picture. This is the holder that covers the contents below. The only thing it holds is the small BT Sat Antenna which is the sliver object off to the left in the middle. The next post will show a clearer picture of the contents sans manuals.

[Moose Man]

Here is the contents of the box which should be a little clearer albeit I've left the sealed bags closed and I did remove the European Power Adapters (2) out of the pic.

[Moose Man]

The two sealed bags contain one in car power cord to supply 12 (14.7) volts to the holder. The second sealed cord is a serial cable to supply voltage from the holder to the sat receiver (which isn't shown except in the previous pic, sorry). This cable is 60 inches in length. The power cord can be used in place of the coiled Cigarette adapter cord if you want to mount it permanently.

You have the T3 holder in the left quadrant of the photo, center is the windshield (or as I like to call it, Sunroof, holder) an additional suction holder apparently to go onto your dash in lieu of the windshield, two small accessory pieces to mount the PDA holder to the Windshield mount. And the the small black plate in the midde right is a magnetic mount/sticky bottom to be used to hold the BT Module.

The battery on the BT module is rated at 5V DC 2A. Therefore, in order to power it - you must go through the T3 holder or come up with a method of your own.

There are no operating instructions contained in the documentation whatsoever with regards to the BT module other than it's passcode is 0000. There is a button on it but you have no clue if this single button serves multiple purposes or not by holding it down for X number of seconds etc. I have relayed this to Tom Tom Tech support.

The length of the SunRoof mount is a grand total of 5.5 inches. The diameter of the suction cup is 3.25 inches. If you were to mount the sticky suction mount to your flat dash and then stand this mount up vertically - it's going to poke up 3.25 inches into the field of vision. There is very limited rotation ability at the mounts end. The attached picture will show that and I've captured the BT module with it as well.

[Moose Man]

I am once again in contact with TomTom Tech support due to activation issue with the software. I have loaded WA, OR, ID, NV, CA, AZ as one map. I have also loaded Texas. These activated fine based upon the on line process - yes that's right on line.

I have also loaded Major Roads of America and Hawaii - these will not activate. Now you'd think that they would be the same activation code - and this is the answer I am awaiting. The activation process is actually 3 codes: One is the T3's assigned code based upon some tom tom algorthym, I suspect, Two is the softare box code, and third is the online registration/activation. I suspect that the software is somehow mixed.

This brings me to the next point: 7 CD's for the various maps. Each CD has it's own setup/startup screen, disclaimer that you must check before proceeding. You are given the option to copy the maps to the hard drive and I'll have to advise on this later. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to the map's location on the various CDs. The option to pick any map is on all of the CD's and there is no printed material that tells you which map is on which CD - so if you want to add a map, first you put in a cd and then go through the setup, the disclaimer, the various menu's to get to pick a map and then it tells you that map is located on CD 6 for example, your then directed to quit but not before it asks you to register the TomTom device you've purchased each time. Obviously, you only need to register once but this is ridiculous. Ok, back to map install, now you change to the CD that contains the map you want and you have to go through most of the above process again.

I will say this that you are given 3 options to install, either via HotSync (default), Card Reader/Writer, or to the PC. I purchased a SanDisk Multi Card Reader today and I highly recommend going that way rather than hotsync due to speed issues.

I really won't be able to report too much more tonight as I noted above. I'll provide more details about software and there issues later.

I will say this about the software: so far it's pretty good and you can input items via taps of your finger which should facilitate several accidents on the highways during said distraction. Also, when TomTom Navigator is on - the T3 does not shut down regardless of any settings and/or whether or not it's connect via BT to the sat module.

One other point: If you never plan on GPS without the car - then don't buy the BT version. The serial connection to power the BT module will be just as much in the way as the serial cable Sat antenna. And since the BT module can't be powered remotely (other than by it's built in battery) I don't see myself using this device in the car withou the power cord running from the PDA holder up the module. The battery life probably won't let me - but I don't yet know what that is exactly but based upon it's size - it can't be more than 2 hours and during rush hour that may not get me home from most of my travels.

[cme4oil]

hmm

I don't have any time to play with this tonight but I got the TOMTOM delivered today. I installed the Major Roads of America, Maryland and another map consisting of about 7-8 states.

I will say this; the setup leaves a lot to be desired! There is NO documentation that I can find yet (haven't read all the online doc's yet due to time) on the BT GPS receiver itself. Turning it on and off is just a guessing game...

I went through the registration process and didn't have any issues with the Major Roads map as you seem to indicate Moose. I just selected it, istalled it and it just works. The first map I installed was Maryland and it asked me to activate it. After that, I installed the multi state map and major raods map and they just worked. I am not sure what issue your really having there.

I would like to know the battery life of the BT GPS though. It will certainly be easy enough to find out though. :P

That's it for now.

Oh, the maps do look nice and it seems to calculate the routes really fast!

[Moose Man]

cme4oil,

Was your software pack sealed with that little sticker? The first box I got (see earlier thread) and this one - the box seal was broken but the way that the plastic notch fits into the slot ....well it looks as if the seal would break if you sneezed at it. :D

[cme4oil]

Yes it was sealed with the little round sticker. It was hanging on by a thread though. It almost looked like someone had almost opened it. I can easlily see how the seal could break on it's own with just a little rattle here and a rattle there...

All CD's were there though.

I tried selecting the Major roads of America to test a route and when It tries to route it keeps saying "waiting for valid GPS signal" even though the GPS has a lock on 7-8 sats sitting in my bedroom window.

If I use the multi state map or Maryland map, it has no problems at all.. Seems strange to me.

[Moose Man]

Tap and the map view and then hit the > go to Plan from A to B and then select a new location.

I had the same issue when planning a route and it appears that the TTN (TomTom Navigator) is still working off the last planned route even if you didn't actually route or gps? That's my quick work around.

[cme4oil]

Well. I will give this a try and see if it works for me. It sounds like it should work using the Navigate icon since that is what I would want to do is "Navigate".

AND

If I use A to B as you suggest did it still allow you to navigate it? Did it just show you the route and you can't navigate it? Interesting questions.. I am sure I could answer them by trying it out.. Will do when I have time today.

Edit...

I looked in the manual for the A to B selection. Seems there may be an issue here since I should have a valid GPS position. Sell the section below:

*********************
Calculate a route between two selected locations, in the menu tap Plan from A to B .

Without a valid GPS signal you can still calculate a route using "planning from A to B". This is typically the case when you are not in your car. "Planning from A to B" is a valuable function when you want to prepare for your trip in advance, you want to find out how long a certain journey would take, or when you want to find out how someone should travel to you.

The difference with "Navigate to..." is the departure location of your trip. Where "Navigate to..." uses you current GPS location as the departure, "Planning from A to B" requires you to enter the departure manually.

**********************

[cme4oil]

Well, I was really busy yesterday and didn't have much time at all to try my unit out. I did go to the local WAWA store, about 2 miles up the street from me.

The first thing I noticed was that, when you try to navigate to a location and it finds say 12 BestBuys, you only see the distance from your current location.. You can't see the actual address / City /road until after you commit and it routes you to it on the map. I like the way the iQue does this much better. With the iQue, you can see the details of the location you found before you commit to it.

The GPS did seem to wander from the raods every so often but found it's way back quickly.

Well more later.