TomTom GO 920T vs Garmin Nuvi 770
Sep 16, 2007 garmin, gps navigation, reviews, tomtom
Today we’re comparing the newest high end GPS navigation systems from the most popular manufacturers. TomTom vs Garmin. Their newest models are the TomTom GO 920T and Garmin Nuvi 770.
| Feature | TomTom GO 920T | Garmin Nuvi 770 | winner |
| display size | 4.3" | 4.3" | tie |
| weight | 221g | 190g | nuvi 770 |
| dimensions | 4.6"x3.3"x0.9" | 4.8"x3.0"x0.8" | nuvi 770 |
| battery life | upto 5 hours | upto 5 hours | tie |
| maps | North America and Europe | North America and Europe | tie |
| FM Transmitter | yes | yes | tie |
| bluetooh | yes | yes | tie |
| voice address entry | yes | no | GO 920T |
| dead reckoning | yes | no | GO 920T |
| remote control | yes | no | GO 920T |
| FM traffic receiver | yes (1 year free) | yes (3 months free) | GO 920T |
| internal memory | 4GB | 2GB (not sure) | GO 920T |
| price | $700 | $1070 | GO 920T |
Well there you have it. Nuvi 770 only came ahead by a small margin in terms of weight and dimension – but the rest of the features TomTom GO 920T was the clear winner. And with the $370 you save you can buy some new gadgets…
UPDATE (September 18th 2007): A few readers have pointed out this comparison is ‘no good’ since we’re not considering map quality, routing engine, etc. We agree this is no way near a complete review but since neither of these devices are for sale just yet (pre-order only) the best we can do is compare easily identifiable features such as the ones listed above. Speaking of which we have a few to add:
| Feature | TomTom GO 920T | Garmin Nuvi 770 | winner |
| MSN Direct support | no | yes | nuvi 770 |
| locate car in parking lot | no | yes | nuvi 770 |
| correct/share maps | yes | no | GO 920T |
UPDATE (December 9th 2007): Prices have changed quite a bit. TomTom GO 920T is now $100 cheaper which brings the price to $600, and Garmin Nuvi 770 is about $300 cheaper than the suggested MSRP, now selling for $738.
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September 16th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
That’s the crappiest comparison of GPS that I’ve ever seen. What about routing? map display? address entry? map quality? screen quality? gps fix? durability? windscreen mount? voice quality? ease of use? geez I could go on and on …
September 16th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
What about the fact that TomTom’s routing engine stinks compared to Garmin’s? Or that TomTom’s interface is harder to use than Garmin’s? Also, you didn’t mention Garmin’s neat new features on the nuvi 700’s, like remembering where you parked your car. I’ve tested the TomTom GO 720, and it was lousy at basic routing and navigation. Even the $200 Magellan Maestro 3100 is better.
September 16th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Fletch – thanks for your comments. I’m sure our readers will consider your thoughts.
Hugo – See how Fletch is contributing and you’re not?
September 17th, 2007 at 8:11 am
[...] interesante la comparativa que han publicado en Engadget enfrentando al TomTom GO 920T con el Garmin Nuvi [...]
September 17th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Admin you should be doing your job so I would not have to not contribute.
September 17th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I do not have both systems, you did. And I am genuinely interested in the points I raised and you did not even care.
Sorry to hurt your little fweelings.
September 17th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I find this to be a very poor comparison. Most of the features listed are not as important as quality of the maps, quality of routing, user interface design, how well the device keeps track of the vehicle, support for simulation mode, or support for multiple waypoints. I even had to go look up the definition of “dead reckoning”.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
We now have a link to ‘dead reckoning’ from the comparison chart above. Thanks for pointing that out.
September 18th, 2007 at 9:18 am
I Garmin will also support MSN traffic, does the TomTom?
September 19th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
I love Garmin. I think tom tom sucks as a gps device!!!I have tried it and I couldn’t wait to sell it on e-bay and take my loss!!!!
September 26th, 2007 at 6:35 am
No review is perfect. This review was most helpful :)
September 30th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Comparison was incomplete and overly simplistic. What do you think we are? robots waiting for instructions?
October 4th, 2007 at 5:20 am
Very poor comparison.
770 can calculate altitude (in real time), 920 no
770 support text-to-speech for speaking street names, 920 no.
770 has more POI than 920.
In europe TMC has to be paid only in france, in Italy it’s free so the difference is null.
770 can store Waypoints, 920 no.
The 920’s dead reckoning is a very helpful function but with a vehicles speed sensor it should be better…
770 has a new function to locate autovelox (cyclops).
I don’t know which unit is better, depends from the use.
For me, 770 is a little more “professional” than 920, but tomtom now in italy is sold much more of the others, is much more “fashionable”.
(Sorry for my bad english)
October 4th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Hey Marco, 920T does text-to-speech as well. But maybe not in Italian.
Also all GPS systems are aware of your altitude. It is a matter of choosing to display that info on your screen or not.
If you have any sources for ‘your’ comparison please let us know – such as the number of POIs for example.
Thanks for your input.
October 5th, 2007 at 3:09 am
I’m sorry. 920T effectively does text-to-speech and maybe also in italian.
For the altitude I’ve asked directly to tomtom and their answer had been that in order to become simpler it does not display it.
Same question to Garmin and 7xx can display altitude (in a “subscreen”).
For other information (POI) I will investigate better.
I hope someone else could increase the terms of this helpful comparison.
Thanks You!
bad bad english :-(
October 19th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
why peopel say that garmin is better i pay 480 for nuvi360 and i cant sleep antil i sell how much i lost $80 one more thing kijiji thay have all garmin expensiv model people sell i did not see even on tomtom720. its not good prodect if i dont know how to spell city oh cryzy mrs.
October 28th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
The biggest difference hasn’t even been mentioned – the Garmin can upload topographical maps. This is essential if you are off road, on the trail etc.
October 28th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
This is the worst review I have ever seen. It is like compairing to speakers both the same size both and similar build and saying the one for 12 dollars is a much better deal than the one for 400.00 without ever listening to them.
If you are not going to try them out don’t pull one out of your hat and say it is the winner.
There is no compairison. Garmin is a clear winner and always will be. Until other companies can make a GPS that does not require you to know the Zip Code or City that the address is in Garmin is untouchable. I have yet to figure why the first thing all GPS devices ask for except Garmin is the City or Zip Code. I drive everyday with a GPS and I have people tell me the address is in Seattle when it is actually in Renton or other city along the edge of Seattle. Without this feature your GPS is a big paper weight and you might as well buy a Thomas Guide or other type of paper map.
For those of you that actually need to figure out where you need to go, Look at Garmin. I have owned both and like I said there is no compairison. The money you save between the two if you buy the TomTom will be spent on gas, stress and appologies for being late or in the wrong city 40 minutes from where you really need to be.
October 30th, 2007 at 1:53 am
I was having a look on the TomTom website and I can’t see the 920T but yet, there it is. TomTom is very popular, just as iPods are popular, but they are not necessarily the best.
Believe it or not, this is a great post. You started off doing your best putting a comparison together, then others have contributed adding more detailed information. Then when someone like me comes along ,looking for information, not only do I get your comparison, Admin, but the information contributed by others.
Great stuff. Keep it up.
October 31st, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I’ve had a couple of Tom Toms and have just ordered a 920T. I love the things. I visit 10 to 12 locations daily to do audits and it has reduced my preparation time by hours. Touch in address and 99% of the time just follow directions. I just hope I never have to choose between my Tom Tom and my wife because I don’t know where she’d go.
November 4th, 2007 at 1:25 am
Terrible Review,
Why even compare the two if you have not tested them in person?
Who packed your bowl?
November 8th, 2007 at 4:12 am
hi,
sorry, i see you comparing a device that exists vs an other one which still coming soon!!! the tomtom go 920T still not yet on sale. all you can do is just a preorder. so nobody tried it yet
November 8th, 2007 at 4:18 am
other thing, i have a tomtom and i like it when it shows on the map the way which every single one-way street goes…thats very helpful if you drive in a city like new york city…and i can set which POIs should be shown on screen…it shows also name of street you driving on…garmin does that but for a short time on top of screen
November 11th, 2007 at 9:13 am
I am about to purchase my first gps and I am torn between the tomtom 920 and the garmin nuvi 600 or 700 series. Many of the remarks are heavily biased one way or the other making my choice all the more difficult. I have three questions:-
1. Are the routeing engines between tomtom and garmin so vastly different?
2. Which company has the most uptodate maps?
3. Which of tomtom or garmin has shown to have the best proven reliability?
Rgds
“Confilicted” Richard
November 16th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I am about to purchase a gps for my 06 BMW 5 series. I am deciding between the 2 models listed. Can anyone give me advise on which one to buy? Thanks.
Rgds,
Ken
November 17th, 2007 at 5:20 am
hi,
i tried garmin nuvi 660 for more than a week, i did not like it so i returned it back and get my money back. few days… i bought tomtom go 920T…guess what? i liked it.
here are some differences:
- tomtom does show you which way goes a one-way street, garmin does not.
- tomtom gives you the option to set the choice to avoid toll routes for every trip, with garmin once you set that option it will be applied for all your trips.
- on tomtom the way the map is scrolled and the vehicle icon is moving while you drive are better than on garmin.
- tomtom shows on the status bar the street name you driving on, garmin does not.
- garmin shows on top of screen the name of the next street you will cross, tomtom does not.
- on tomtom you can select the POIs you like to be shown on screen, on garmin you can’t and they appear only on zoom-in mode.
i hope you will do the best choice…the importance of an option or an other depends of the user needs.
good luck
November 19th, 2007 at 8:03 am
Aside from the nastiness of remarks, I found the info to be helpful. I am in the process of buying one of these as a gift. Still a toss up. I guess whichever one I find first. I am leaning toward the 920T though. Thanks.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Hey, Just got my TomTom 920T and its FANTASTIC.
I think that the Garmin is a nice unit as well but is not as feature rich and far more expensive. I have owned Garmin’s in the past and thought I would just make a change (Gave my 660 to my GF). I notice that many people say that the Garmin is easier to navigate, I think they are about the same. The display of the Garmin is nice but “cartoonish” looking. One of the most important features that I think makes the Tomtom a winner is that uses the TeleAtlas maps which in my experience seems better then Navteq (they will be different for everyone, depends on what map build and how updated it is). Everyone has their personal opinion but after playing with the 920T, I don’t think I could go back to the 660 and I wouldnt bother with the increased cost to a 770. I think the above review is good for a comparison before the units are released.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Has anyone tried comparing the TomTom 720/920 and Garmin 760/770 to the Magellan 4250. Has good Voice POI and street reconition without screen touching 6 million POIs, (Just say Magellan and ie. get coffee, and it asks you to pick from the 4.3″ screen) AAA Travel information,(Doubles Gps warranty if you have AAA.) spell check, 3.25″x4.88″x0.7″, 6.87 oz. Doesn’t have Mp3. I tink it has world map coverage, but I’m not sure. $400-$500. Screen is good to view. I’m wavering on the Magellan and TomTom 920. (wish I could have Australia and New Zealand instead of Europe.) I thought I saw that TomTo had 5 million POIs
November 20th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
One thing about TomTom, is that the map is missing a lot of the Trilogy, Redmond WA streets which both Garmin and Magellan had. I had the Garmin 660 to and sold it as I am wavering between the TomTom 920 and Magellan 4250 Maestro. As I go to Australia often TomTom 920 might be my choice, even though I do like Magellan 4250s Voice Command and Control. They say the SiRFstarlll is the fastest GPS position acquisition in the industry. Magellan only has USA 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Good enough for those who will never go to Europe
November 21st, 2007 at 8:17 am
I’ve been using Navman for years (it’s a slip for an HP IPAQ) and updated iGuidance software (Navman’s software and support stink!) and am I’m finally looking to switch to a dedicated guidance system. I’ve compared the routing of iGuidance to my friend’s TomTom and they seem to be nearly equal and they’ve never missed the mark. The advertisement for the TomTom 920 traffic avoidance is what’s pushing me towards TomTom–if it really works. Garmin’s add on traffic receiver seems awfully expensive. Has anyone tried this TomTom feature in the NY/NJ/CT area? How does it work? I wish someday everyone’s GPS will transmit location and speed information to make such a feature completely accurate and comprehensive. Privacy I’m sure is an issue…but i digress.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:44 am
I am mostly interested in the following options for my next GPS.
1) Voice recognition-speak the address and it calculates the route
2) Speech to text – tells me the name of streets as needed
3) would like it to view street level on the screen
November 22nd, 2007 at 6:37 am
I’ve tried most every type of GPS available, and though the features on the the new Tom Tom sound impressive, when it comes to serious users, military, goverment, oil and exploration industries, they choose Garmin for a reason. Yes even for highway travel, the maps are up to date, supported by the most expeirenced and reliable mapper (NavTeq), that luxury car makers use in their on-board vehicles. Is the price difference worth it? thats up to you, however my choice is Garmin and I’ve ordered a 770 (travel often in europe and the ability to download other than road maps). As far as one way streets, on Garmin you can mark as one way, but it won’t guide you down the wrong way anyway so!? PS, as far as the Magellan, I wouldn’t bother, have had all kinds of issues. Thanks hope that helps
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:36 am
I really want to use a Garmin but I’m so tired of them dumbing down their GPSs and removing features. TomTom on the other hand is adding features and not taking them away. Garmin bad, TomTom good.
In my case one feature I’ve been looking for is a GPS that would route you using HOV lanes. Garmin and many others have “HOV avoid” settings but they still won’t take HOV lanes into account. TomTom is the first GPS manufacture that has adding what many have ask for, Routing using HOV lanes. Garmin bad, TomTom good.
TomTom updates will add new features to older GPSs but Garmin tells you to toss your perfectly good GPS to get a new feature. Garmin bad, TomTom good.
The reports I hearing it that with the latest firmware TomTom routing is right there with Garmin. I can live with minor differences.
Good for TomTom, they have it together and they listen, Garmin does not listen but just does what they THINK we want and not WHAT we want.
If having a few streets not listed, do you really thing that Navteq had nothing missing on their maps you deluding your self, I can live with that. TomTom’s map share will help take care of that in short order.
So for me, unless something really bad shows up my new GPS is going to be a TomTom 920(T).
Now if I can just find a cell phone that works with Verizon that will bluetooth connect to a GPS without locking out Phone book transfers and the like I’ll be happy. But that a totally different story.
November 22nd, 2007 at 9:12 pm
What’s up with the compression of TomTom’s map files? Why are the road lines not drawn fluidly? The road lines look like there are radio frequency distortions in the device (jagged). Does this annoy anyone else, or has TomTom fixed this in the new 920? I saw one at Best Buy and I still saw the jagged road lines.
November 23rd, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Hey Folks,
I was getting worried about initial negative comments from some here but glad to see that as the comments come in Tom Tom is coming out as the winner:-)!
Have been seaching for days now trying to decide between these two and was just so glad to see that at least navigadget bit the bullet and did a comparison…thanks “administrator” for sticking your neck out and rolling with the punches!
I must admit, I’m a neophyte who’s still using a Nokia 6600 cell from 4-5 years ago…am a single, baby boomer just trying to find my way around this planet with reasonable accuracy and some level of security in this high-tech industry that MDs products the day after you spend hundreds.
In my minds eye, Tom Tom has answered my Chrismas wishes: 1) “voice recognition” so I can “say” my destination…instead of having to find my reading glasses to see the screen and press through several screens to enter my destination. 2) “Mapshare” so if I do find a problem I can let TT and everyone else know…not to mention very cool software updating. 3) About twice the memory of any others on the market (4GB)! 4) Bluetooth to make calls 5) Traffic FM for one year! and 6) Great price!
Yes, it appears to me that Tom Tom is looking at users they way “Apple” (Mac, IPhone) has and does…ie., make it “state of the art, feature rich and NIFTY” yet, keep it simple and user friendly!…how novel!
Way to go TomTom…am going out to get the 920T! AND, with the extra $500…yes, found it cheaper than $700 online I’m going to find the perfect bluetooth cell phone to go with it!…anyone got any recommendations for one on 3G network?
November 24th, 2007 at 2:32 am
wow, I think there is some Garmin interests posting here. I’ve owned Garmin for sometime and they are a good company, but they are not perfect. I found plenty of missing and outdated map information. Their pricing does suggest that they are very proud of their devices and seem to be unaware that they have competition now. I’m giving the 920T a shot. The angry postings here are not changing my mind. I think the traffic update service is interesting and want to see how it works and I don’t think that Garmins extra pricing will get me anything.
November 24th, 2007 at 5:20 am
I’ve owned at least one product from every Garmin product line since the 2610 (2610, 2720, C340, C320, Nuvi 660, Nuvi 750). I just bought my first TomTom One. Here are some things I have noticed:
- TomTom’s menus are editable by editing an MNU file and placing it in the SdkRegistry folder. There is no way to do this on a Garmin.
- It is very simple to convert my Garmin POI files (GPX, CSV) to TomTom’s OV2 format.
- The TomTom has a compass and has a marker SHOWING YOU THE DIRECTION OF THE NEXT TURN. The last Garmin to do this was the StreetPilot 2610 from 2004 which had an editable interface. None of the C-series or Nuvis do this (to get the direction of the next turn you have to hit the bottom right of the screen)
- TomTom gives earlier notice of turns and 2 miles ahead of time and does not surprise you on the turns. The interface is much quicker and there is less lag than on the Nuvis
- The Globallocate Hammerhead chip in my TomTom One 3rd Edition picks up satellite far quicker than SiRFStar III in my Nuvi.
- The latest versions of the TeleAtlas maps seem to have finally caught up and perhaps surpassed NavTEQ in terms of details and quality. Several of the new roads and neighborhoods are missing in Garmin MapSource 2008 but are found in the TT1.
- Garmin’s GUI is very colorful, but the use of space is extremely poor. The widescreen 660 did not buy me much over the much smaller 350.
- The material on the TomTom feel like much higher grade plastic than the Nuvi.
- Garmin seems to have better mounting systems but the TomTom mount is much smaller and elegant. Only time will tell which one will fail first.
As a long time Garmin fan, I’m shocked at what I’ve been missing all these years by not trying out TomTom products. People have always said that TeleAtlas is less detailed than NavTEQ and that Garmin routing is better. I have found TomTom’s routing to be identical to the Garmin in every scenario I’ve driven in.
November 24th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Am happy to see Scott and Bill are converts!
Just an update to let everyone know that I was surfing to buy the 920T and found a purported “SCAM” site selling the unit for $476…BE CAREFUL! The site went up on 10/31/07 and after calling some of the “hacker safe” companies listed on their site, my son found out they were not signed up…he then reported them to BBB. Site name is: yourdigitalelectronics.com Go here for scam info:
http://forums.cnet.com/televisions/5208-7596_102-0.html?forumID=60&threadID=271835&messageID=2629689
Best place to buy right now is Amazon on pre-order for $529. Good luck to all.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I am looking for my first GPS and cannot decide between the TomTom GO 920T, Garmin Nuvi 760, and Magellan Maestro 4250. I have created a comparison here (hope the url works):
http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/gps/p/522/compare/page_id=522/masterids%5B%5D=48018524
That comparison is very gross. I am tilted towards the 920T due to its map share capability, bigger memory, lower price and a few other usability advantages mentioned above by others. I would like to know whether the 920T has any of the following features:
1. 3D map view
2. Avoid area routing (avoid highways, tolls etc.)
3. Odometer
4. Picture viewer
5. Route planning with re-routing (fast off-route and detour re-calculation)
6. Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
7. Auto sort multiple destinations (provides most direct route)
November 26th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I read somewhere that Garmin is the only GPS manufacturer that allows specification of address with an approximate city and no zip code. For example, 654 High St. is in Worthington, a small suburb of Columbus, OH. If I enter 654 High St., Columbus, OH as the address, according to the source (which I unfortunately couldn’t find again), only the Nuvi 600/700 can figure out the address without asking any more questions. The other GPS systems would ask for the zip code or the correct city name.
The other thing that I read again somewhere which I don’t remember is that the streets are drawn on the 920T screen in some regged fashion and not so smooth as the Nuvi 600/700. The reason for this was sited as the higher compression of the stored maps in 920T.
Since I have not used any of the GPS systems, I am not sure how true the above reports are. I would like to know from someone who has used both the Nuvi 600/700 and GO 920/920T systems.
November 26th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Well all, I just bought the 920T today and lo and behold….Traffic Alerts ARE NOT available for the US! Why would you buy this then? To further my bait and switch frustration, I learned that the ‘free’ offer of maps for a year is no longer available!! But wait, there is more…when trying to download the .pdf manual from the CD it freezes the system and gives a download error. I am told this is a known ‘bug’ but now I am manual-less. As a Apple & Macintosh user for may years I have to say that this, my first experience with TomTom leaves something to be desired. I am returning the device tomorrow and waiting for good old Garmin’s new device. Don’t be fooled by the advertising if you are in the US!
November 26th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Did any of you take a look at the Mio DigiWalker C520 GPS? That looks like a good one with pretty good reviews. Some consider it better than the Nuvi 600 series.
November 26th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Thanks for the heads up Mike. I was about to buy the 920t, I live in DC so the traffic feature is huge for me. I’ll call TomTom tomorrow to find out what their deal is.
Has anyone used the MSN Direct traffic feature on the Garmin, is it any gooD?
November 27th, 2007 at 10:04 am
I bought a NUVI and brought it back I have used the MSN direct for Gas prices, Movie Times, Traffic. The reception for the MSN Direct was very poor I only received a signal for a very short time when I was in a well built up Burb near Chicago (Schaumburg). The antenna is in the DC adaptor as well :( stupid idea I think. I drove from Elgin IL to Macon IL over the Weekend to visit family for the Holidays and did not get any reception for MSN Direct the whole time. So I purchased a TomTom 720 now and the Traffic, Weather is some what to be desired as well. I am attempting the dial in off my cell phone so you get it only while dialed in, WTF. Soulsea I would love to know if the Traffic not in the US is correct because I will not go with TomTom at all id that is the case. I also got an update for the Map of North America and guess what it was to large to install on the 720 with only 2 gig of internal memory again WOW. As far as getting from point A to B so far both are fine but the extras are to be desired on both. I did like the 4 gig of internal memory on the 920T but what about gas prices, traffic, weather, etc?
November 29th, 2007 at 11:27 am
TOMTOM Battery life is horrible lasts only about an hour, The device has shut down 5 times now indicating a low battery right after I charged it, the device keep popping off the Windows or dash because the Vehicle suction cup mount falls off, after using the phone to dial in for Weather the tomtom will not connect up to your phone via the Bluetooth connection you manually have to reattach it, I downloaded a new North America map and it will not fit onto the device without purchasing at least 2 gig of removable memory, When attempting to go to an address that has characters in the address other than 123 you were unable to enter them IE “1N141” Will not let you enter the “N”, To setup the dial in for the Cellular for weather and traffic neither the carrier nor tomtom support the config. WTF. It was like pulling teeth to get the proxy, username, password etc. The accuracy is a little off as well; you might be right on the corner before you get the warning to make that turn. I do like the display though and it is cool the way the fast food, gas stations show up on the screen when you are near them with their Corporate Logo. So in a nut shell I have ordered the Garmin and will be sticking with Garmin going forward unless they get cocky and stop building a quality product.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
TReedy, I’m a little confused. On your Nov. 27th post you said you bought a NUVI but you brought it back and purchased a TomTom. But in you Nov. 29th post you say you are not happy with the TomTom and so have now ordered another Garmin. If I understand correctly what you say you were not happy with either traffic service. Can you clarify for me what unit is you favorite and why. Thanks.
December 1st, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Have had the 920T for a few weeks, love it. Used to use a TomTom 910 mostly, as well as Garmin, Earthmate, & built-in GPS in wifes Jeep Commandor. I drive an F250 Super Duty that has the inside noise level of a sherman tank, and the voice recognition works well, far better than I had hoped. I also use a Motorola I580 blue tooth phone and the 920T pairs with and works flawlessly. It wont tranfer my contact list from the phone to the GPS, but sound quality & ease of use is great. Battery life is far better than the TomTom 910, I have been getting over 4 hours per charge. http://www.arkon.com/ makes nice hard mounts for the TomTom 920T. I have never liked suction cup mounts. The maps are detailed, very accurate, & intuitive. If the TomTom 920 cant get you where your going, you probably shouldn’t be behind the wheel.
December 1st, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Gunny, have you tried the traffic feature?
December 3rd, 2007 at 10:58 am
After using the Tomtom and the Garmin I do like the combo traffic, gas prices, and weather and movie time with MSN direct. Just make sure you are in a good coverage area.
December 4th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
soulsea…Yes.. I have used the traffic feature (3) times now. I used the included antenna, I didn’t use the Plus feature. I drive between Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, and Northern Kentucky. The coverage seems great. It locks onto an FM station in in less than 20 seconds. There is zero setup to use it, as soon as you plug in the antenna, it scans for an FM station that broadcasts the TMC signal. It showed road maintenance and expected belays, and they were very close to the time the TomTom reported. I have never used traffic features on a GPS and was skeptical, but it worked. I found a website that showed all the TMC coverage maps, if I can find it I will post a link.
December 5th, 2007 at 6:27 am
tomtom has a list of uk and europe speed camera and free updates to this. does garmin support this too? if not, i’m not interested.
December 5th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I can’t believe the luck I just had. Costco is selling the TomTom GO 920 for $399.00, and the nuvi 650 for $299.00. They sold out of the nuvi 680 but are suppose to get more. They have others as well but these were the two I was looking at and the price for the 920 is $200.00 less than I have found anywhere else. You can order on line also.
December 6th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
I also saw the ad today for the TomTom Go 920 for $399 ($150 off base price) on Costco’s website. But the GO 920 is different than the GO 920T. Does anyone know the primary differences between the two?
Also, I have heard that the Garmin Nuvi 760/770 is the first GPS to offer TRUE route optimization. Other GPS units supposedly offer a “Route Sorting” that does not truly give you an efficient route with multiple waypoints. Does anyone have any experience with both of these units? If so, does the TomTom routing feature live up to the supposed superior routing feature of the Garmin Nuvi 760?
I have also heard that the TomTom will alert you if you are speeding… is this true? If so, can it be turned off?? I dont want my GPS unit yelling at me when I am cruising down the highway at 85mph in a 65mph zone…
I have heard that the Garmin unit shows a “choppy” animation of your vehicle going down the road and that other units, including the TomTom, show much smoother movements in your virtual vehicle along the street. Is this true?
Those with experience on both, how is the glare on each? I am assuming that glare really isnt an issue with most GPS units, but I figured I would ask anyway.
And I am still a little worried about the traffic features after some of the recent posts I read. According to Gunny’s post, the traffic feature on the TomTom apparantly works just fine. Anyone else with experience with this feature on either unit?
And on both units, do you have to pay to update the maps? I always thought map updates would be free on any GPS unit, but now I am hearing that both of these units potentially charge to update your maps?? I hope that isnt true…
I think I was pretty set on getting the Garmin Nuvi 760 (primarily because of its supposed superior route optimization feature) and because I have friends that sear by Garmin products. I have not really experienced either of these units myself, but it sounds like TomTom has really come out with a great product with this Go 920T. I am really torn between the two now and I guess I will wait for additional information and comments to surface.
Thanks all who posted!
December 6th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
I of course have a few additional comments to add to my last post. According to BB’s pricegrabber comparison link, the Go 920 has a 533mhz processor while the GO 920T has a 400mhz processor?? Can anyone confirm if this is true?
And the Costco ad for the GO 920 shows a picture of the GO 920T (black). I wonder if this is a typo on their website and it is actually the GO 920T that they are selling…
Overall, I think if TomTom’s routing feature (including rerouting for a missed destination or traffic) is equal to Garmin’s and TomTom’s traffic feature is equal to Garmin’s (assuming they both work well), I would go with the TomTom and buy a new mount from the website posted by Gunny.
Can anyone confirm the differences between the Go 920 and Go 920T, the differences between the routing features, and the comparison of traffic features??
Thanks!
December 6th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
I figured I would answer my own question since I didnt post too long ago and no one has responded yet.
I found that the GO 920 and GO 920T are the same except for one thing: the GO 920T has the traffic receiver built in whereas you have to purchase a seperate receiver for the GO 920. I believe the receiver is over $100 and the price difference between these two units (except for the Costco sale price) is about $100 (check Amazon.com). So, barring the deal at Costco, it seems if you want the traffic receiver, you should buy the 920T and save yourself the hassle.
By the way, I called Costco and the unit they are selling is indeed the GO 920, not the GO 920T. So for $399, plus about $130 for the traffic receiver, you are talking about $530 total, which is lower than the average price of $599 for the GO 920T with the receiver built in. The Costco deal seems to be the best available at the moment.
Also, here is a link to the traffic coverage currently available on the TomTom here in the US:
http://www.tomtom.com/lib/images/milan/tmc_us/index.html
It seems to cover major highways in most major markets. And I just checked Garmins traffic coverage website, and although presented slightly differently, the individual market maps are exactly the same. This must be because both the Garmin and the TomTom use the FM-TMC traffic service so the coverage is equal. Here is Garmins FM TMC traffic coverage webpage:
https://shop.garmin.com/fmtraffic/select_service_plan.asp?L=EN&CR=1&PR=1
So as I have answered most of my own questions because my posts are so close together, I have just one remaining question. And that is:
Is the route optimization of the Garmin Nuvi 760 noticeably better than the TomTom GO 920T? And what about the rerouting feature if you get caught in traffic or miss a waypoint?
December 6th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
@James
Yes, the TomTom alerts you if you are speeding. Your actual speed and the speed limit are shown at the bottom right. If you go over by about 5% for longer than – dunno, ten seconds or so – the actual speed turns red and it bleeps at you. I haven’t yet looked to see if you can turn it off (I’ll be extremely surprised if you can’t).
December 6th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
@bb
>[Does the TomTom support]
>1. 3D map view
Yes.
> 2. Avoid area routing (avoid highways, tolls etc.)
Yes.
> 3. Odometer
Don’t know.
> 4. Picture viewer
Don’t know. Think so. Who cares :-)
> 5. Route planning with re-routing (fast off-route and detour re-calculation)
Yes.
> 6. Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
Yes.
> 7. Auto sort multiple destinations (provides most direct route)
Don’t know.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
James,
Thanks for all your comments. It was very informative. I’m sure other readers will learn from them.
I don’t know much about the ‘route optimization’ on Garmin’s 700 series – but I know almost every GPS navigation system offer the ‘rerouting’ feature which is nothing but recalculating your route to your destination from your current location.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
@bb
TomTom *does* have a picture viewer.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
One comment on the voice-address input on the TomTom. I’ve just bought one and was using it in the US before coming over to Europe for a trip. Voice-address worked fine in the US, but not in Europe (i.e. it appears to be disabled when I switch to the Western Europe map). It may be a per-map setting though.
December 6th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
On the “ragged” nature of the TomTom display:
Yes, if I take my eyes off the road long enough to analyze it (and thereby risk crashing), then OK, diagonal lines aren’t perfectly smooth. But I can say with certainty that it doesn’t in *any* way constitue a negative for the TomTom. I would discount it as a buying consideration.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I’ll add to the confusion. I know that I purchased a 920 and not a 920T from COSTCO as that is what I wanted. It hasn’t arrived yet. I called TomTom after reading the comments here and they advised that the only difference between the two is the inclusion of an external antenna which is included with the 902T along with a free one year subscription to TomTom Plus Traffic service. They also said that there were two types of traffic services for the 920 series. One that is unrelated to TomTom and is a yearly subscription, the other is a TomTom Plus service that constantly shows you how heavy the traffic is by the color of the road, red heavy etc. If you add the antenna later the cost runs anywhere between $115 and $135 along with the subscription fee for the service. So does anyone actually have a 920T, and if so did it come with an external antenna? I don’t understand the conflicting information.
December 6th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Yes Joe… I have the 920T which came with the external antenna. I didn’t want to have to use to use the plus service that might not work with my blue tooth phone and also didn’t want to have another service to pay for. The TomTom itself is the same unit, mine says “Go920″ as the model number on the back, you just get the external antenna with the 920T. When you plug the antenna in, it finds an FM station broadcasting TMC and then on the right side of the screen displays delays on your current route. You can tap the right side of the screen and get info on the traffic delays/problems. It displays a solid green ball on the right if there are zero delays, or shows you how many miles to the next delay. My Motorola I580 phone works great with the blue tooth hands free calling over the TomTom, but I don’t have a data package that would use the plus service so I opted for the antenna and free TMC signal. Its an impressive GPS, you wont be disappointed.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
I finally got the wireless data from my Nextel phone to work with the TT920. I had the wrong dial out number for Nextel data. There is something to note about the Traffic feature if it hasn’t been posted. The Traffic feature used thru the Plus services is not available yet in the USA, so if your in the US, the antenna is the only option, unless I am missing something. I was able to check weather, update the sat positions, and other things thru the plus services, so the basic services work.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Thanks Gunny, that information reassured me. A few friends of mine went to the Costco site this evening and they are sold out. This is the second time they have sold out, so it’s possible that they may get more in.
December 8th, 2007 at 11:25 am
You have been very helpful to us all. I’m leaning toward the TT 920T vs Nuvi 760, but TT’s bluetooth compatibiltiy site is pretty lame – they don’t even list Verizon compatible phones, the largest carrier!
Does anyone have any knowledge of, or experience with trying to pair a Verizon Motorola E815 w/a 920T? How about the new G’z One Type S?
Also, can one subscribe to MSN on a 920T? Thanks! Great site.
December 8th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Many here forget to highlight the most important advantage of the 920 over the Garmin 6 series!!! Transcontinental mapping. For business travellers and other frequent pond-hoppers, the 680/660/650/750/760 just do not cut it!
Now, if you were talking about the 670 or 770, then the advantage would be negated, however, the price of those Garmins are EVEN higher and makes the TomTom look like an even greater bargain!! The TT has at least a $400 discount to the 770.
So, from where I sit, I see the TomTom with dual continental mapping, a richer feature set, cheaper price, slim transportable profile, and latest version 7.10maps…that is a formidable value package that blows away the Garmin even with its solid performance and deserved reputation.
TomTom is simply going to dominate the segment of the market that NEEDS EU/NA mapping.
December 9th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Their blue tooth compatibility list is small. I don’t really think that many phones won’t be compatible, you will just have to manually setup your wireless data settings. My phone paired perfectly, it just couldn’t identify my phone model. Its very simple, the link is to a site for setting up a PDA, but towards the bottom are the settings for Nextel, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile / other GSM/GPRS phones that you will enter when setting up your TomTom manually. http://scoutpal.com/db/btmodem.htm
December 9th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
The Screen is far more beautiful / superior on the Garmin 770 vs the Tomtom 920T.
other than this, i love my TomTom – cheaper and comes speach recognition and remote.
December 9th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Thanks Gunny! I decided to go to a big box store last night with my E815 in hand. It paired perfectly, and to my surprise they had the 920T on sale for $100 off. So…I pulled the trigger.
So far, so good, but it doesn’t recognize the Rite-Aid or Hess stations in our hometown!
How come??!
December 9th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Mark…. Not sure why they aren’t showing up. Were they built just recently? Did you try to go to the TomTom home software on your PC and go to “Add maps. traffic, voices, etc” and go to Points of interest and see if there are any POI’s that it might try and update?
December 11th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Does anyone know if the bluetooth on the 920T pairs with a Blackberry (Pearl)?
December 11th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Gunny…Thanks. Tech support says I will need to add these manually. She walked me through the first one, but I’m so new at this that I’ve forgotten the procedure now, and the CD manual doesn’t seem to be very clear and user friendly. It seems like it leaves out crucial steps…very frustrated at this point!!
December 11th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
I’m also having trouble w/my battery. Is anyone else?? Today I only got about 2 hours out of it. Does it draw more if one’s talking on the cellphone through it’s bluetooth connection (as I was today)?
Can anybody shed any light??
December 12th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Mark,
Yes it does.
Also, maybe you can drive up to the gas stations and mark them as favourites when you are there??
December 12th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Thanks Infama. I’ll give your suggestion a try. Is it easy to do? I’m hanging in!
December 13th, 2007 at 8:24 am
A lot of good info here, but I still am not sure which to buy for my first one. Too many people are too familiar with details about GPS, and I’m not clear on which ones are critically important. One thing is that a lot of the discussion is focused on urban and interurban driving, and traffic downloads. I am interested in the driving GPS, but also want to be able to dowload topo maps for hiking, etc; this is the big reason to get a small unit.
Way back on October 28, jerseydevil posted the following:
“The biggest difference hasn’t even been mentioned – the Garmin can upload topographical maps. This is essential if you are off road, on the trail etc.” No one has bothered to address that since, so I assume it is true (which it might be but no other feature has garned 100% agreement!), or no one else cares.
Is this true? If so, my decision is made.
December 13th, 2007 at 8:56 am
JoshKC,
It is probably true that TomTom does not offer topo maps for the 920T or for any other model. We’ll add this to the main article as an update if everybody agrees.
December 13th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I heard the maps were not as good as the Naveteq maps in the Garmin units for areas of Canada. Can anyone confirm/dismiss?
Thanks
December 13th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
FYI, more TT920 on costco website dor $ 399 = $10 shipping and taxes. Santa heard me. Hurry up
December 14th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Fred,
I have read just the opposite!!! And from more than one poster too.
Josh, check out gpsreview.net for answers to your complex question.
Tim will hook you up.
December 15th, 2007 at 1:43 am
Like many comments before me, helpful comments…and yet confusing. I thought I had it nailed down to TomTom GO 920T, but if traffic reports are not available in US, what’s the point if its the primary country for use for that feature? Would then go with TT920 vs. Garmin 770, but no one answered Bruce from Nov. 20th on camparison of TomTom 920, Garmin 660/770 and Magellan 4250 Maestro. I found the Magellan 4250 at Costco…looking to buy for my dad as gift. Can anyone shed some additional light on Magellan 4250 as a choice in comparison?
December 15th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Lynn,
Better to address such questions at a dedicated forum for such questions like the one I mentioned in my last post.
Traffic reports ARE available in the US for the TT 920T, both TMC and via the data download PLUS service. Problem with the latter is that many phones are not data compatible with the 920T, even if calls work fine.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Costco sells TomTom G0 920 for $399, so with the sparate purchase of TMC Traffic receiver for $129 you can have 920T for as low as $529, and with $100 mail-in rebate the net cost for the 920T is actually $429 vs. $700-750 for Nuvi 770.
December 18th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
There was a review in Personal Computer World Magazine (February 2008 edition – I know, future date as always) -this is a UK publication. They compared the TomTom 720 to the Garmin 660 – TomTom won – pushed into the lead because of better value for money. Of interest, all the other GPS devices used NavTeq whereas only TomTom used TeleAtlas (and they recently bought the company).
I have seen both units in action – the Garmin is better (smaller, lighter, easier to hold) if you are using it outside the car (e.g. walking, on a train). The “navigation” experience of the TomTom is better (more notice of when to turn, visual map experience etc.)
I can’t compare the accuracy of the mapping though, with the TomTom you can update the map. MapShare from TomTom has two modes of operation – the Wikipedia mode (take risks with the content but get it early) or the validated user content mode. In Europe the MSN service is not available so of little benefit.
This is an excellent thread, I hope these comments are of use.
December 19th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Kakes,
In Ped mode, the 660 has to have the antenna flap up, so negating any size advantage.
The 920 is a bit better than the 720 as well. Both are drop dead gorgeous.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Infama,
I agree, I should have been more explicit about portability. The Garmin fits more easily into a large jacket/coat pocket than the TomTom but in use a small antenna is required to be raised.
That said, I just (2 hours ago) went and ordered a 920T from amazon.co.uk for £354.30 (read $700 US – $200 more than in the USA and TomTom are a European company !). However, having used both I really preferred the TomTom, so I should declare an interest in this post. 99% of the time I will use it in my car.
I am waiting to see how good the gyroscope is for “dead reckoning” (or, as TomTom call it – “Enhanced Positioning Technology”) – I doubt it will work but I’d like to see how it deals with the London Underground !
December 19th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Lev Berkovich,
The price of the TomOm 920 on Cosco.com ($399) is after the $100 rebate. Do check the details of the mail in rebate on the TomTom web site.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Can anyone loan me his/her costco membership # since I don’t have one? I’d like to purchase a tomtom 920 for my upcoming trip. My email address is wan_13th@yahoo.com.
Cheers.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:00 am
Kakes,
PocketGPSworld.com just did a quick test on EPT aroound paris and gave it a thmbs up!
GPSreview.net did one a wek weeks back and found that it worked OK…far better than nothing.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:45 am
The garmin nuvi 760 is a much better unit then the tomtom go 920t first of all it’s very simple to use secondly very reliable unit when used out in the country ie cottage thirdly if the aircraft,and military use GARMIN trust me garmin is the way to go,and who cares if the unit has all those extra bells and whistles why not keep life simple.Further more the more features the unit has the more likely it will fail beleive it.the tomtom go 920t has voice input good luck if you have a sore throat etc.
Thanx Peter
December 20th, 2007 at 11:02 am
>>tomtom go 920t has voice input good luck if you have a sore throat
good luck if you have sore throat? Thanks Peter. That was funny :)
December 20th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Please ignore my earlier posting, I have applied a Costco card and bought a TomTom Go 920. I feel it’s very funny, because those guys are still bidding hard on ebay for the same product but much higher price. :) So, if you want to make money, why don’t you buy from Costco and sell on ebay? drop ship, haha!
December 20th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Peter,
If you really want to keep it simple, be a luddite and go back to paper maps. LoL
December 22nd, 2007 at 6:04 am
I am going to get a GARMIN 650. I was hoping to see some comments on that particular model but I could’nt.
Right now, I am going to buy GARMIN just ‘cuz I like the catchy song in their ad
“Where’s shopping mall,
Where’s chinese food,
Ding Dong Ding Dong
Give a Garmin, Give a Garmin,
Give a Garmin, Give a Garmin,
”
You can watch the advertisement embellishing the holiday spirit at…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-47QHEeFOH8
December 22nd, 2007 at 8:28 am
Josh, you might as well get a 700 series Garmin instead of the 650. The improvements are worth paying a little bit more money for.
f1
December 22nd, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I agree with F1.
The 760 can be had for $580 at gpsdiscount.com
I still prefer the 920 though. Hehehehe
December 22nd, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Tomtom Mapshare adverts:
http://www.tomtom.com/news/media.php?media=43&Lid=1
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Just bought a TomTom 920 T.
I didn’t read through all the replies… But in case it was missed, the software CD has Mac OS x software! I was surprised.
December 23rd, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Well, the moderator censored my first post here. In that post where links to two of the most thorough reviews you can find on Garmin 760 and TT Go 720.
Try again…search for your GPS unit of choice at gpsmagazinedotcom.
In short, Garmin beats out the TT…
December 24th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
I was wondering how’s everyone’s experience with the FM transmitter for hands free operation? And also MP3 streaming, good? bad? statics? (I’m leaning more towards the 920, but I’d like to hear from both users on this feature).
thanks in advance…
Ken
December 25th, 2007 at 1:26 am
Does anyone know how to take the windshield holder off TT920? I have spent over an hour but still can’t figure out the right way to do it.
Cheers
Joe
December 25th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Joe,
Just pull on the tab and it comes right off. You will smack your forehead when you see how easy it is. LoL
December 25th, 2007 at 8:25 am
Fearless1,
Just go to page 18 of the TT 720 review (comments section) and see a poster (Will) rip the review apart, point by point. Beautifully done.
GPSmag is a Garmin shill. Biased to the core.
Indeed, here is the URL below:
http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/09/tomtom_go_720_review.php?page=18
Replace the “dot” with a real “.”
UPDATE: admin put in the real dot for you.
December 25th, 2007 at 8:27 am
By Will:
Will:
I’ve had this 720 for almost 2 weeks now. I bought it towards the end of October, and it’s a real nifty device. I bought the magellan 4020 and returned it the next day for the GO 720 (mainly because it took too long to receive a satellite signal).
But I just had to comment on this review. There were a number of glaring omissions and the reviewer’s obvious endorsement of all things Garmin interfered with providing a fair and impartial review.
The first thing that caught my attention… well actually if you read the garmin 760 review he touts himself, “Already a Garmin nuvi fan, it was with great anticipation…”
But whatever we all have our favorite products, that’s cool. (I’m assuming he’s the same author because he uses the same ‘routing engine’ comparisons).
But it was the following comment that first caught my attention, “TomTom provides a dizzying array of speech options, allowing you to customize exactly how much or little you want to hear announced.”
Dizzying? Almost has a negative ring to it, no? Like having lots of options to choose from is a bad thing or something. But whatever. Just an adjective. Moving on.
“One minor TomTom annoyance: when set to Miles, the GO 720 reports smaller distances in yards instead of feet. Makes sense for Canada, but feet would be better here in the US.”
Americans are pretty big on football, and they might relate better to yards. However, aside from that my 720 DOES report
smaller distances in feet…
“TomTom provides four different day color schemes to choose from.”
There are actually 7 to choose from. And you can download lots more from the web… And there are actually 3 night colors installed to choose from (not 4), again, lot more to download from the web.
“It would be nice if the power cable connected to the windshield mount rather than the GPS, since you could then leave the car all wired up and ready to dock the GPS without having to fumble around with the cable and plug in the USB/Power cord (such as Garmin’s nuvi mounts).”
I couldn’t agree more. Maybe a little “garmin” leaning, but he’s right…
“Compared to other GPS devices, the GO 720’s map screen seems cluttered.”
Tomtom gives you the choice to have that info displayed vertically or horizontally. It looks much better vertically, with all the data laid out in a list, it looks MUCH better. Also, tomtom gives you the choice on which data to include on the screen. Reviewer should have pointed this out.
“The two different mapping providers probably accounts for the difference in the size of the water and distance between streets displayed on the Garmin and TomTom.”
Ok, so it’s not garmin’s fault that tomtom’s map is more detailed…
“Garmin’s map consistently displayed more surrounding detail than TomTom’s. Notice how the Garmin displays nearby roads and water bodies, while the TomTom makes it look like we’re driving on the only road for miles.”
Wow. This is blatantly misleading. If you look at the two images you’ll see that the tomtom is more zoomed in than the garmin. Look at the pics with the railroad track, you can tell that the tomtom is a lot more zoomed in than the garmin. so obviously it won’t pick up surrounding water bodies and roads because its outside the field of view.
“Garmin’s 3D angle is also easier to read than TomTom’s, as the angle is less severe and you can see more of a bird’s eye view on the Garmin.”
To each his own i guess. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with this, because if you just zoom out a bit, you’ll get more coverage. Also with the tomtom it shows the horizon, which is more realistic than what the garmin shows… I actually prefer 2d mode with direction up.
“A more detailed look at the reception screen reveals that the TomTom GO 720 is tracking fewer satellites than the Garmin nuvi, despite the fact that both units are using the same high-performance SiRF receiver.”
8 satellites instead of 9. This kind of sets up the 720 as being faulty. Satellite receptions fluctuate a bit. Depending on my position I typically get between 7 and 11 satellites… But another thing the reviewer doesn’t point out. The GO 720 picks up a signal in under 30 seconds once its powered up. I’m not sure the same can be said with the garmin, i hear it typically takes longer to hone in on a signal. But that’s based on garmin forums, not from personal experience.
“Another problem I noticed on the GO 720 is one of the worst cases of “GPS Drift” I’ve ever experienced. GPS drift is an issue where the GPS will show your position slowly “drifting” back and forth on the map, even if you are standing still in the same position… In its current form this problem is significant and very annoying.”
In two weeks of daily use, i have yet to experience “GPS drift.” With the latest firmware this problem does not exist.
“Map tracking, or the GPS’ ability to match the position information to the map, was also poor on the GO 720. Sometimes the 720 would display my car driving sideways, as shown above, or completely off road, as shown below.”
This is something I have not experienced with my 720. By the way, you said you had the magellan on this joy ride as well. Where are those images?
“The GO 720 also exhibited problems handling missed turns, and route re-calculation. When I missed a turn, sometimes the GO 720 would show me driving off into the wilderness for as long as 30 seconds.”
I couldn’t disagree more. This is actually the area I have been most impressed with the tomtom. As soon as it realizes you’re off track, it recalculates the route very quickly. Never slow. The 30 seconds the reviewer describes… I have yet to experience.
“Well, this looks promising! According to this message, the pairing process was a success, and I’ll now have access to hands-free calling and TomTom’s PLUS services. Right? Not so fast… Despite the previous message telling me that the wireless data was configured, the GO 720 displays a message saying I’ll need to configure the data service before making use of TomTom’s PLUS services.”
It now seems like you’re out to get tomtom. What is wrong with you? The previous message clearly states, “the following features were FOUND:”
It doesn’t say that the wireless data was CONFIGURED. Why are you so misleading? Does anyone notice how he describes this as some flaw with the tomtom feature? When in actuality you’re just going through the setup screen one by one. Why are you so annoying?
“Bummer – In the end I’m unable to pair my Blackberry 8800 or 8700 to the GO 720, either manually or using any of the pre-configured phones listed on the GPS.”
I’m left wondering if you actually tried connecting with all the listed options to choose from. It wasn’t until my third attempt (ATT Data) that I got it configured
(i kept choosing the wrong item). Though I do hear lots of people complaining about their phones not working. I agree it prolly does have something to do with tomtom’s european roots, since my phone is sony-ericsson. And I’m not willing to pay for the services anyway. If you didn’t already have a data plan, you’d have to pay extra for that too.
Additionally there’s a receiver you can get that provides traffic data. It’s the RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver. It’s available for the tomtom, but it’s another feature our reviewer fails to mention.
“Overall TomTom’s cell phone integration is a mixed bag. Once paired with a phone, the features work well and are relatively intuitive to use (although I did notice that the GO 720 was sometimes slow to hang up, and would wait as much as 5 seconds before actually disconnecting the call).”
Another thing I have yet to experience. I’ve never had a lag time hanging up the phone. When tapping the end call icon from the Tomtom, the line drops immediately.
Mr. reviewer, stop misleading your readers… or maybe to your credit, at least pick up a new unit with the latest version. and give us a new review.
“QuickGpsFix downloads current satellite location information to the GO 720 for faster GPS reception (if you haven’t used the GPS in more than 24 hours, the GPS satellites will have changed position enough that the GPS needs to re-calculate its current location by tracking each satellite until it has enough to locate, or “fix”, its position on the map. This is why the GPS sometimes takes longer to figure out where you are if it’s been a while since you last used the GPS. QuickGpsGFix uses the PLUS service to download satellite position information more quickly).”
It would be handy to mention for those not willing to pay extra for the wireless data connection, that the quick fix is free downloadable from the software that comes with tomtom. Plug into your computer and you’re good.
“One minor complaint regarding TomTom’s MapShare: when enabled, there’s no way to see which specific updates were applied. Each time you dock the GO 720 and synchronize via TomTom’s HOME application, you re notified when updates have been downloaded and applied, but you cannot see the specific changes that were made.”
One minor complaint? Where is your enthusiasm for such a feature? “Probably the most touted feature of the GO 720 is the ability to make and share map corrections.” Passive endorsement, at best. I’m sure you’re not the one touting this feature.
This is by far the coolest feature with the most promising potential, but all you can do is focus on what it doesn’t do. I bet if Garmin was doing this, you’d be writing about it in all caps.
Let me switch gears and compare this review to the garmin 760 for a second: “One of the benefits of being a large company like Garmin, is that the company does a much better job releasing updated maps annually than most other vendors. For example, Magellan hasn’t released updated maps for most of their GPS models in years, and TomTom has only released one update in the past 2.5 years.
He doesn’t even mention that with Tomtom’s mapshare, you actually update your map when you connect it to your computer. How often does it update? After two weeks it’s been updated twice. But I don’t plug it to my computer every day. It’ll also update the POI database almost every time you connect it to the computer. Not actually sure if that’s a glitch or not… ?
he goes on:
“Unfortunately, Garmin’s map updates aren’t free, and typically cost around $65 for updated North American maps. Still, at least the updated maps are available on a regular basis – a claim no other GPS manufacturer can currently make.”
Yes, no one except Tomom with their mapshare. Does anyone else see how one sided he is against the tomtom?
“By now you’re probably asking how wise an idea it really is to download map corrections from total strangers via TomTom’s Map Share service. Thankfully, TomTom allows you to specify how much or little you trust your fellow mankind, and by default will only download map corrections that have been verified by TomTom.”
Yes, those unwise people behind the tomtom veil got lucky. They included these trustworthy options. I’m sure the folks at Garmin pointed it out to them.
“I’d also like to see a feature added to MapShare that notifies users of changes made to your local area. If a map update is applied via TomTom’s service that impacts my local driving radius, I’d probably like to review it and make sure it is correct.”
Word. But only if you’re getting unverified updates.
“Home v2.0 is much less cluttered than the previous version, and makes it much easier to see what the program has to offer.”
That’s it?? That’s all you got for the home software? I mean, this is the one major vulnerable spot you could have really honed in on… Let me give you a hand.
This software is the buggiest piece of cr*p i think I have on my mac. Maybe I’m speaking from my first few days in trying to get it to work. And maybe it’s because it’s not optimized for the mac. The current version is 2.1 but for the mac it’s 1.6. the software definitely leaves you wanting more. It took me a while but i finally got it to work with my tomtom. And it’s currently batting .800 to .900. but at least it’s working now. not a total deal breaker.
“TomTom’s GO 720 faired the worst in this test, routing us in such a way that the destination address is actually on the left side of the street.”
These are interesting test results. I’d love to have a bigger sampling of routing data between the various devices.
So it puts you on the left side of the street. You’ll find that you don’t always need to arrive with the address on your right hand side.
“We would then either have to make an illegal U-turn or go around the block to arrive at 135 Central Park West on our right.”
if you get a tomtom, you’ll get pulled over by the police. If you look at the data that mr reviewer provides, the tomtom and magellan come in pretty close to tieing with each other, one minute difference. yet he points out “GO 720 faired the worst…” technically accurate, but again misleading.
Routes are one thing, but driving is believing. Do you have experience driving these routes? I recently followed tomtom’s route around town (LA) to the burbank airport, instead of going how i usually go. I was surprised to find a quicker route than how i’ve always been going for years… and let’s be honest, the routing is kind of a mixed bag for all gps devices, i hear lots of garmin people complaining about less than ideal routes. There is no perfect gps device. There are some things the garmin does better than the tomtom and vice versa.
“Google Maps also chooses the same route as the Garmin nuvi.”
Are you sure about that? because google maps comes in last at 80 miles and 1hr 33min driving time. Go ahead, check it out for yourself.
“So far Garmin’s nuvi is in the lead in our routing battle. However, sometimes a GPS that routes perfectly well in one area can perform terribly in another region. Our first test used a trip that was approximately 80 miles in length and took us from Connecticut to New York City.”
Are you relying on the distance and estimated traveling times reported by the device to decide the winner? Or are you familiar with this trip?
“Again Garmin chooses the best route, Magellan chooses the second best route, and TomTom’s GO 720 chooses the worst route. While Magellan and Garmin both route us along the 101 highway from San Jose to San Francisco, TomTom’s GO 720 instead chooses highway 880 North to 80 West — an odd choice that adds around 4 miles (6 minutes) to the journey. Even worse, TomTom again has us arriving on the wrong side of the street, with our destination address on the left.”
First of all tomtom puts us at our destination on the RIGHT side of the street not the left, as you say.
Secondly, with bay area traffic, you’re screwed either way. heading into the city from the San Jose fry’s, i wouldn’t know which way to go. And it doesn’t add 4 miles to the journey, it adds 2. Even your data points this out. Using google maps also shows a 2 mile difference.
What’s wrong with you? You’d be much better off taking the 280 west of the 101, the bay area’s best kept secret. No GPS device would suggest that. But it’s easy to re-route it on the tomtom using that freeway.
I don’t know, i feel a little suspicious with these routes you choose. Maybe garmin does have the best routing engine, but you’re recycling the same results for the nuvi 760 review. I hate to doubt your findings but it’s pretty clear where your loyalties are. How do we know you’re not cherry picking these results?
“Garmin’s maneuvering instructions are also by far the most detailed. It’s not shown in the table above, but the angle of Garmin’s turn icons actually vary to indicate the upcoming turn’s actual angle, a feature not found on either the Maestro or the TomTom GO 720. Garmin wins routing test #2.”
Again, ANOTHER fabrication.
Did you even test this in the field?? My tomtom has accurately described the angle of turn every step of the way. I can’t say for sure all of the time, because i’m not paying attention totally to the direction arrows on the 720. However, on a roundabout even, it gave the correct direction heading arrow including the circle around the bout. Turns that are more or less than 90 degrees? Yes, tomtom gives those accurately as well.
“Garmin wins routing test #2.”
uh huh…
“Garmin edged out Magellan in all three tests, choosing slightly more efficient routes with more detailed turn instructions and shorter drive times.”
when you say “more detailed turn instructions” what exactly do you mean? How MORE turn instructions does the garmin give than the tomtom? She tells me to stay in the left lane and then bear right at the next turn. She’s very good at pointing out which lanes i need to be in and when
I’m approaching a turn and so forth… Stop making me so defensive. we know you love the garmin, just try to be fair with this review.
“In all three tests TomTom’s ONE XL faired the worst.”
Is this a slip? Did you mean 720? Or did you test these out with the ONE XL? I think you would have meant the 720 because that fits your narrative of the deeply flawed GO 720. Pardon my defensiveness.
“TomTom’s FM transmitter is much better than Garmin’s transmitter (nuvi 660 / nuvi 680), which is barely to transmit a clean FM signal even when there’s no interference. I’ve read some other reviews that state the GO 720’s transmitter is soft, and that’s likely due to the volume being set low on the GPS itself.”
Nice. Something positive when pitted up against the garmin.
“In a misguided attempt to simplify TomTom’s cluttered interface, the GO 720 ships with many critical functions hidden, including the ability to cancel a route.”
That was shortlasted. I don’t recall any functions being hidden when i got my tomtom. but even if they were so what? Yes, the hide menu button is kind of a stupid option. Just keep it at show all.
“TomTom’s idea of hiding infrequently used features isn’t a bad one per se, but they have removed essential features needed for basic operation, and should seriously re-think which icons are displayed by default.”
I agree with this. But are you ever going to mention how the garmin doesn’t even have such customizable features? Because i know that’s a pretty big complaint in the garmin forums…
“For some odd reason, TomTom ships the GO 720 with the “Show music button in Driving View” option un-checked. If you plan on listening to music while driving, you’ll want to check both “Show music button in Driving View” as well as “Automatically switch to Driving View”.
You are talking about default settings, that are easily changed. Why are you so annoying? Maybe they’d want to keep your map view as clean as possible when you first break it out. But really, they’re strange peeps at tomtom with no sense of logic,
who even give you an option to do with it how you’d like.
Ok, now we’re at the pros and cons section of the review. At first glance you’ll notice that there are many more cons
than there are pros… Let’s have a look at some of the cons…
“Manual makes reference to features that the GO 720 doesn’t actually have, such as voice recognition (European version has this feature, US version does not (but the manual doesn’t explain that))”
really? A con? I’d call it a mistake. But not a con.
“Cluttered user interface”
do you mean, navigation display? Cause you didn’t even show the folks how much better it looks with all the information neatly listed. You can also choose
which and how many items you’d like on the display. Did you ever mention that?
“Slow to accept missed turns: the GO 720 either insisted I make a u-turn, or went nuts and showed me driving off road”
again, this is just wrong. Misleading. I have yet to encounter an experience like this.
“Important functions are hidden by default, and must be manually enabled (for example, the ability to cancel a route)”
why are you listing this under con? A con should be something that you cannot change. all you gotta do is hit the button and all your menu items are there.
Mine shipped with all my menu items visible, as far as i can remember.
“Major GPS Drift when stationary (GPS position “drifts” around in circles)”
NOT true. Don’t listen to him.
“Poor GPS signal reception (as of this writing, using version 7.0.0) compared to other SiRF enabled GPS units”
I’m using 7.020. And the signal reception is very good. Never had a problem yet. Even when going through tunnels, it approximates my position…
You know it’s funny. Reading the whole review, with all its “faults” Discussing the GPS reception is the ONLY time that you mention which firmware you’re using.
I find that a little suspicious. It wouldn’t surprise me if you you knew about a newer version that fixed the problem, but decided to report on it anyway
and cover yourself by mentioning which firmware you noticed the problem on. or am i just being paranoid? Stop making me suspicious of your claims…
“Night” mode only changes the color scheme on the map, not the other menu screens”
Why is this a con, exactly? Would it be to have more cons than pros for the lowly tomtom? I would think that changing the map color scheme would be listed under PROS, no?
This is a very cool customizable feature. You can download and make your own color schemes for maps. Something not even mentioned in the review. I downloaded a map color scheme someone made to look like google maps.
“Multi-destination (itinerary) route planning is cumbersome”
cumbersome? have you actually used it? It’s definitely much more useful than “cumbersome.”
“Automatic screen dimming feature is too sensitive. When enabled, the GPS switches in and out of night mode constantly if you drive anything other than a convertible in the California sun”
you have a choice to turn the automatic night mode feature on and off, so when there’s dimming it doesn’t automatically switch you into night mode.
You gotta put all this in the proper perspective. Also, you can choose to have it dim automatically or not.
“Routing engine not as good as Garmin or Magellan”
On paper this may appear to be correct. But did you do any real world testing? Are you just going with the times that the devices list? Again we need more
and objective data sampling.
“MapShare doesn’t let you see which specific roads were updated — it just tells you that “updates were applied”
This is probably your most ridiculous con. Laughable really. Tomtom’s most promising feature… and YOU DON’T EVEN LIST MAPSHARE IN PROS! definitely not touting this feature. you refer to it instead in cons…
If it sounds like a hack, quacks like a hack. then you my friend, are a hack.
“Some menus return you to the previous page, others dump you back to the map view for no apparent reason”
I couldn’t agree more with you on this one. This drives me crazy.
“Fingerprint prone exterior case”
What exterior case came with yours? I didn’t get a case. Are you referring to the screen? Cause my screen does a pretty good job of being fingerprint repellent.
Again, another con that shouldn’t even be listed.
“Conclusion: 65/100″
“I really wanted to love the TomTom GO 720.”
I doubt that.
“The GO 720 has excellent text-to-speech that sounds natural, and can announce actual street names instead of generic maneuvers (although for some odd reason this feature is disabled by default).”
What is your obsession and insistence with pointing something out that has a feature enabled or disabled like it’s some awful chore to go in and change the setting yourself? Again i’m being defensive here… but this is a reach to keep in line with your “mo’ problems” motif.
“Adding to the frustration, for some inexplicable reason TomTom hides many important features on the GO 720. For example, by default there is no way to cancel a route. In order to cancel a route, you’ll first need to enable the hidden menu, and even then it will take 4 screen taps to cancel the route (very annoying when driving).”
Let it go man. You keep bringing this up. I know it’s the conclusion and all but really, you enable the show all menus button and things are smooth sailing after that. It ain’t a dealbreaker bro.
“The interface feels cluttered, as TomTom’s software engineers have packed the GO 720 to the gills with features and options that haven’t improved the most basic requirement of getting you from point A to B.”
Does anyone get this? He’s actually complaining that tomtom added so many features and customizable options. Are you kidding me?? At least there ARE options. Garmin gives you far fewer choices.
This tomtom does a fine job getting me to point a and point b. No complaints what so ever. Not yet at least.
Easy to re-route, block a certain part of your trip (a nifty feature that, again, no garmin can do), or simply re-calculate a different route.
Fletch, Is this fletch? do you work for Garmin?
“The GO 720 has a long list of great features that just might keep you distracted long enough not to notice that the core functionality of the GPS doesn’t work that well. TomTom’s routing engine remains poor compared to Garmin or Magellan, and the GO 720 consistently chose the worst route in my testing.”
I am very curious about your findings, and again, would love to see a bigger data sampling. It’s just that my confidence in your fairness is low.
“If TomTom spent as much time on software development as they clearly spent on hardware design, the GO 720 would be a fantastic GPS indeed. Unfortunately the GO 720 still needs work, and I can’t quite recommend it just yet.”
“The TomTom GO 720 is a beautiful GPS that will impress at first, but disappoints soon after the honeymoon wears off.”
I didn’t see that coming. I tell you what. I’ve had this thing for a couple of weeks and the honeymoon has yet to wear off. I actually don’t care what gps device i have, i’m mesmerized with ANYTHING that is gps. It’s the coolest thing since tivo. The mapshare alone, though, is enough to keep your stock with the tomtom.
If I had the Garmin I’d be a happy camper too. It’s just so much more expensive.
So I wanted to see what kind of review the Garmin 760 received because it comes closer to the feature set that the GO 720 has.
It’s pretty interesting to see what features he touts on the nuvi 760 but fails to mention on the GO 720 review.
“I was pleasantly surprised to see Garmin has included the ability to input a set of longitude/latitude coordinates as a destination address. I find this more useful than you might think. For example, some destinations don’t have an official street address and need to be input as a set of coordinates. Routing to coordinates is also useful for Geocaching.”
The GO 720 has this feature, but nowhere in the review does he reveal that.
Here he is glowing about the “where am I” feature on the garmin 760:
“Garmin’s “Where Am I?” feature is a helpful feature that can be used to tell emergency personnel your location, as well as locate nearby services. To view your current location information, tap Settings >Where Am I?, as shown above in figure 102. This is a fantastic feature that provides one-touch access to your current street address (or closest street address), nearest intersection, and exact coordinates.”
Again the GO 720 has this feature, but for some reason he chooses not to write about it. And he actually lists it under Pros for the garmin 760. Why wouldn’t he do the same for the tomtom? I think you know the answer.
There’s another thing I’d add under PROS for the GO 720. It’s the screen’s touch sensitivity. It’s a breeze to tap through all the different screens.
Sorry for the flaming, I got a little worked up with some of the findings… And to your credit, maybe the newer version is that much better than what you had. All your readers want though, I think, is a fair review. When you stack up some of your arguments with such blatant garmin favoritism you’re doing us all a disservice.
thanks…
December 25th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Infama,
Thanks for your advice. My head is now bleeding since I smack it too hard. LOL
Cheers,
Joe
December 25th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Guys,
How to pair up Blackberry Pearl 8100 and TT920? In my case, Blackberry Pearl 8100 could detect TT920, but the connection could never be estiblished even after the passkey “0000″ was entered. TT920 can never detect Blackberry Pearl although it says clearly that the two systems are compatible on TT’s website. Any suggestions?
Cheers,
Joe
December 26th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Joe,
You also need to turn on Btooth on the GPS itself too!
The service provider is also an issue…with Verizon being the toughest nut to crack. There is a recent thread on the GPSreview site that has links to Verizon discussions.
December 27th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I bought the tt go 920t,and let me tell you as soon as i took it out of the box wow very impressed with the packaging the windshield mount oh my god terrible; now i know why they have voice input (big deal wow) its because when you tap the ttunit the damn thing just moves it does not feel like its going to stay there;I mean it just feels insecure,and furthermore to actually use the unit right away well thats just impossible.The remote for god sake its a gps unit not a tv what i mean by that is its just another item you’ll either sit on step on or worse lose;at the end of the day this tt unit has to many bells and whistles they should focus on there whindshield mount,and there map display.oh by the I returned whithin an hour of purchasing it,and eventually bought the GARMIN NUVI 760 PEOPLE.
Thank you
Peter
December 27th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Actually,
The remote can be velcroed on the steering wheel and the unit operated without touching it! THAT is the point of it. You should not be stretching over to touch the screen when driving!
Map display?? I though you said it wasnt a TV, now you are extolling Garmin graphics?? Garmin screen refresh is slow and the cursor movement is jerky. The TT lines are jagged, but the cursor rolls smoothly and the map in the browse mode zooms way better.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy your Garmin. I LOVE the 920…blows any Nuvi away! LoL
December 27th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Man, I thought TT920 has 20G disk space like TT910, what a mistake! The disk is only 4 GB and is almost full without adding addtional stuff. How can it handle future updates? How can it store songs and pictures? How many SD do I need to carry? Does it mean that I shall buy an IPod as well? Any comment? Cheers,
Joe
December 28th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Man, all you guys suck. I have spent the better part of the night reading all these posts and I still can’t decide between the 920T and the 770. I like the voice input with the tom’, but I like the built in traffic receiver with the garmin…Those are my only sticking points. I am so confused!
December 28th, 2007 at 5:07 am
Well…………I bought the 920T and with my $100 Rebate, it cost me $499.99, I can’t wait to get it. I went to the TomTom website and did the interactive they have, which is kinda cool and from there I was sold. Garmins really are weak when compared the the BEAST called 920T! I am easily amused and sparkly things make me stare. The Golbhopper of the true one said not to, but he can’t rule this forever. Turned around still does you too, but eating there aint going to be good fellas. Yesterday and left it, for sometime and went better the time has dipped it good and ready!
December 28th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Actually the tt g0920t has to many wires the traffic cable is not interfaced into the main lighter adapter so you’ve got wires all over the place in the car the remote can be velcroed?? wow interesting any way you in Infama enjoy speaking into your go 920t which is not used anywhere in the aircraft,and or military LOL.. Oh by the way I’ve used my GARMIN NUVI 760
off road up in cottage country,and it worked amazingly good luck with tt go920t lol.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Question…Can the Tom Tom be moved between cars, or doe it have to be hardwired?
Going to Italy for a month and thought it might be helpful. Also, is there a monthly or yearly charge to use these units.
TIA for help
December 28th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Please expain in more detail what you mean by “wires are everywhere” when using the 920T with the traffic cable. I don’t understand what you mean and this might change my decision to buy a tomtom.
December 28th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I looked on the tomtom site and the garmin site and both the 920T and the 700 series garmins need the external antenna to receive traffic updates. The tomtom can get the traffic updates without the antenna if you subscribe to tomtom plus traffic, if you do then it comes wireless via your cell phone. So both units require external antennas, but the tomtom can also work without one. Besides, if you’re creative enuff you can hide the wiring and it shouldn’t even be an issue. The one thing I do like about the 760 that I can’t find on the 920T is the black and white display the 760 has that shows MPH and other stats. I forget what its called, but its cool and I wish the tomtom had it. Its a good page to have displayed when you’re not using the unit for anything, but it still can show info its tracking. Do you guys know what I am referrring to? Also, can the tomtom use SD cards like the garmin for a language translation program and other additional features?
December 28th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Any GPS can be moved between cars, boats, etc… You can remove it from your car and walk with it for navigation if need be.
Yes!
December 28th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Sorry, forgot your other question. With the tomtom There is only a monthly fee if you subscribe to the PLUS Services. If you just use it out of the box, there are no monthly fee’s.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I have an incredibly dumb question: can anyone tell me how to open the 920T’s remote in order to install the batteries? Even my engineer son was baffled!
Thanks!
December 29th, 2007 at 1:16 am
The battery runs on the energy of skin cells that shed from your thumb as the remote is used. This is a fairly new technology not too many people know about. To give it the initial charge required to operate, rub it vigorously with both thumbs until u feel it warm from friction.
heh, I dunno man. Aint got my 920T in the mail yet. Thinking about refusing delivery and going with the 760. Consumer reports rates the 760 at 81/100, and the 920T 78/100. I am so confused as too which unit to commit to…
I hate myself.
December 29th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Can the TT 920T receive traffic updates (1) by using the included cable that you attach to your window, OR (2) completely wireless by using bluetooth via your phone and by subscribing to the PLUS Service?
I’m confused and cant decide on which unit to keep.
I hate myself…
December 30th, 2007 at 2:29 am
so, my TT920 arrived on Thursday… (ordered from Costco.com on Christmas day which was Tuesday, yeah… it was pretty fast!). I’m contemplating returning this unit. At least with Costco’s recently updated 90 days return policy, it doesn’t include GPSs… well, at least I don’t think so. It doesn’t matter anyway cuz, I’ll decided long before 90 days if I’m going to keep this or not…
first off… I was playing with it, and noticed an inconsistency… Under POI, the House Of Blues in Anaheim California is under the “nightlife” category where as the House of Blues in Los Angeles is under “Restaurants”. Right off the bat, I know I wouldn’t want to search by category if I’m in a unfamiliar town cause, it may not be under the category I think it’s in. Okay, so search by name would be better, BUT that is IF I know what I’m looking for… But suppose in a scenario where I’m from out of town, and I’m just browsing to see what’s going on in Los Angeles, and I go to POI under “nightlife”, the House of Blues in LA won’t show up, does that make sense?
TTS feature (Text To Speech) is okay… One of the things about the TomTom that I like are the different voices you get to choose from and download with the different accents/languages and such. Some of the other GPSs kinda have a rather “computer” like voice… well, the TomTom has them too (a male and a female), the TTS feature will only work with those computer-like voices. And the pronunciation on some of the streets/city names can be a bit off at times… well actually, at times… WAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaay off, LOL. The first time I heard it say “Los Angeles,” it was soooooooooo off that I was like “…huh? WTF? Where??!!!” Then I realized what it was trying to say, and just kinda laughed it off. I think there’s suppose to be a way to correct it, but I’m kinda over it. I rather have the better sounding voice(s) than the robotic/computer like ones anyway, and sacrifice the TTS. It doesn’t help being in Souther Cali. we have a lot of Spanish sounding street/city names.
Picture Reader… Okay, I know some of you may careless on this feature, but it was one of the things I had in mind when I decided on the 920 (over some of the other cheaper models). Well, this coming year I’m going to Europe which is another reason why I picked the 920 cuz of the European maps but that’s another story, okay back to picture viewing… I was visualizing ME in Europe and just taking tons of pictures with my point and shoot digital camera, and when back at the hotel or while relaxing at an outdoor cafe, going thru the pics WITH the 920… Pop the SD card in and start viewing, right? Like one of those digital picture frames? Right? NOPE, pictures can only be loaded through your computer :( What a downer
Bluetooth Hands Free feature… NOT loud enough, and NO… the person you’re talking to’s voice is NOT streamed through the car’s speakers (like it says under “features” in Costco’s site).
FM transmitter – quality? Poor, statics. BUT IMO a lot of things can cause this… so, I’m not going to go into it… All I know is… I would NOT want to use the 920 to play music… Oh, by the way… you can only load music through the computer as well… So far, I haven’t figure out what the SD card slot is for.
I’ve already made a some corrections, and added new POI of new businesses in my area. Which IS a feature I like… BUT I just don’t know if TomTom will varify these corrections… I can just see it know…. someone adding a hospital to their “map sharing”, when it doesn’t really exist, and upon an emergency, some other poor guy/gal’s going be misled to think there’s an emergency room somewhere.
Navigation wise… It’ll get you from point A to point B, but at times, I just don’t understand why It would have me get off an exit or two earlier, then take a side street that parallels the freeway, when I could’ve gotten off a later exit. Also, on a particular route… it gave me the “not-so-short-distance” to my destination… It’s too much to explain, but it would be equivalent to make 3 left turns vs 1 right turn…. (and no, there weren’t any one-way streets)
so, in a nut shall…
*Inconsistencies in POI categories
*Bluetooth/hands free feature-NOT so good
*FM transmitter/music streaming-NOT so good
*Picture Viewer-Too much effort
*TTS -meh, overrated feature IMO
*Weird directions
But the thing is… I’ve also talked to Garmin owners that have complained about similar things too… ugh!
Oh well, I’ve got plenty of time to play with this thing and decide if I’m going to keep it or not (thanks to good ol’ Costco)
December 30th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
re: 920
I have to admit though… I love the fact that whenever I look up a business, the phone number is right there, and with a press of an icon, it dials it for you, I never have to use the yellow pages again… I mean, I can do this with my phone too… but just the fact that it’s offered is a nice plus…
I wish it categorized the different kinds of restaurants like the Magellan though… (like Japanese, Italian, Chinese etc etc…)
December 31st, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Mike,
Go to Tomtomforums.com for a pictoral explanation on opning the remote.
Peter,
I am enjoying the TT. TT is the number ONe maker of automotive GPS units in the world.
December 31st, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Tom Lerner,
The 920T has 2 wires while the 760 has one. The TT has a separate power wire and a traffic antenna. Consequently, it has a slightly BETTER RDS-TMC traffic reception than the Garmin.
December 31st, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Scott,
The 920 shows the mph speed, distance to destination, red flash if over the speed limit, branded POIs on the route map and a host of other things the garmin cant do…at least not while in navigation mode.
up to 8gb sdhc card has been used, but not all brands work. The lang. translation from Garmin SUCKS and costs to much in any case.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Ken,
There is no perfect GPS unit.
Garmin for example have strengths where TT is weak and vice-versa. Even some of the weaknesses you describe…weak FM, is WORSE on the Garmin 7series!!!
With Mapshare, you have levels of security in the download. You can choose that level, all the way doen to corrections verified by “some” users.
Tons of features that will take some playing around to digest. You can do basic navigation, as it works straight out of the box, BUT you can really set this thing up when you learn how to.
Finally with TTS, I have to admit I have an advantage. As a former 910 owner, I have tons of other computer voices in my old Loquendo backup files. I can switch them out with the current voices if I choose to.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:07 am
One writer mantioned Topo maps with no one responding so here goes my two cents. I’m a Garmin user starting with the Rino series walkie-talkie. Yes Garmin is pricey and seems to charge for everything. They have nothing to do with map data as mentioned it’s Nav teq data.
I own a Street Pilot 2720. Mapsource Topo data maps can be added to it but it will not create a route using the data because it is simply a “map”. As you drive your position is shown on the “Map” but it won’t be “locked on to” a road because there is no road data active…it’s picture..nor is it searchable. It is searchable on the walkie talkie for landmark type POI’s.
I would suggests not using a car GPS for hiking. My brother just bought a Nuvi 260 and he was wanting to hike with it. I have not had a chance to try and download Topo map data to it yet, but would think it’s probably possible. This funtionality is not even advertised for the 2720 even though it’s possible. Probably because it’s meant to be used in a car. Now if your crawling around in the hills four wheeling then it comes in pretty handy.
The Rino series started with a 120. I now own a 530HCX color with sirf chip. It will route and recalculate routes automatically ON ROADS and accepts all Garmin data types. The prompts are only different tone sequances, that is no text to speach. The display is quite similar to the car unit but with limited features. Recalculation is very slow on longer routes but it works.
Delorme is another company getting in GPS also. They produce their own map data and units. They have a map share program also. Unfortunatly they are way behind the 8 ball on this stuff and are playing catch up now. I beta tested one of thier first handheld units. It worked. LOL. They are working on integrating arial view mapping into thier products as well…but it will cost you.
So what’s my view? Sounds like TomTom makes a good unit for the price and for by far most people it would be more than enough.
January 5th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Maps… hehehe…
Here in Spain, Tomtom maps showed roads yet to be built… Garmin are in the newest update lacking some built years ago…
What do you prefer?
Owned both: kept the Tomtom, kicked the Garmin. The only free thing with Garmin is the decision to buy it… or not.
January 5th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I own a TT and think it serves its purpose. I did buy one with a defect off eBay brand new, and TT honored the warranty which Garmin does not. When TT asked me for my receipt I said all I had was my paypal stating the item and price. TT took it. And because the defect was under 30 days they paid for shipping to and from and are sending me a brand new unit, if over 30 days you get a remanufactured unit. I called TT 3 times there time to answer the call sucks in the afternoon to night hours call first thing in morning no wait times.
Now to my findings
If you use bluetooth and turn up ur brightness on the display battery life goes to 1 hour. The bluetooth works with nearly every phone for basic functions you just need to know how to set your phones settings. To use your FM radio as speakers you need to use a very weak static station with TT volume set at 100 percent if the station you find is non-staticy then its in use and will have poor sound resulting in static. Shortest route does not mean shortest time it means shorest route. Sometimes the longest route is the shorest in time. You can view your route in demo mode to see if you like it or not. I used my TT for a few weeks and there was a few map errors but every GPS has them. Just think millions of roads if not billions and a few mistakes. Even mapquest has its moments of bad directions. I think this whole thing is a VHS or Beta case all over again as with every product. Half say Garmin half say TT. As for me I just think we all pick the one we like and stand behind it 100 percent, even if we are wrong in our choice. I would happily take a Garmin 780 or 760 if I was rich so I got what I could afford. I am impressed with alot with my TT and disappoint with some too. Just as im sure I would be with a Garmin if I owned one. I think reviews are over rated by CNET CR and CD because they are given those units to test and can be give favortism to TT or to Garmin or they already have a set choice. I read different forms spending days if not weeks reading every possible review and consumer reviews, and decided for the money id buy a TT 920. At first I leaned towards a TT 910 for the big storage but the overall size was kinda big. I hope to think I made a decent choice for the next few years as now I have seen HP ipaq 310 looks very promising in the next few years running 600 MHZ dual core with impressive screen pixels I think 800X424 it even dislays actual buildings in popular cities but its just to new and to weak. Give it a few years I think it will blow away most others.
I hope my information makes someone informed on TT and Garmin and I hope which ever one you choose you enjoy it as much as me. Also you do not want to leave your GPS or any trace of your GPS in your car. The number one break ins are GPS related now. I have a Game boy case that I tote mine around in even if I go in the local store for 2 minutes I pack mine up and know my TT is safe from the vilians.
January 7th, 2008 at 11:27 am
“…The TomTom “Help me!” menu allows easy access to emergency services…”
Anyone try that feature and have some feedbacks?
Thanks in advance.
January 8th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Hi guys, im greek and i would like to know if TomTom navigators have greek menu, greek font and voice promts in greek. Also if someone has used any TomTom in greece i want to know about the coverage that it provides. Thank you.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:28 am
yes the emergency service is a list of nerby police. fire, hospital anything emergency related numeber and will guide you there as you can call them via bluetooth or manualy if you have a phone. Works great. I hope this has helped in your question.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:58 am
I have had my 920T for a week now, here are the highlights of my initial observations:
Opportunities for Improvement
————————————
a) The mounting unit for the car could be better – a lead for the battery and another lead for the FM-TMC makes it look messy and they are independent of the suction mount. As it’s a DC supply, the argument for less interference from pairing the leads is weakened but not untrue (as there will be noise from other engine component with the DC supply). Having them permanently go into the mount and the tomtom picking up from there would be better.
b) The manual could be clearer – however, most questions were resolved by looking at the support section of the tomtom web site.
c) Aside from new maps, I’d like to be able to put music/photos on the SD Card and have the unit read them. Without this, storage is very limited (one album, 50 hi res pictures).
d) EPT (or “dead reckoning”) does not work in all situations, it needs a steady speed and other criteria prior to it activating (details on the support section of the web site).
e) Menus/Options are not all that intuitive. e.g. I listen to some music on the unit, then want to navigate and start my journey. I don’t want the music symbol on my display, don’t know how to get rid of it. Also don’t want the “I can’t connect to the phone” icon on the display without having to disable the bluetooth phone. This is 99.9% down to user error – i.e. I haven’t worked out how, I’m just saying it should be easier to work out.
f) “Walking” route planning assumes you’re going to stick to roads, the unit does not seem to understand footpaths and the flexibility of walking – it does understand you can walk in the wrong direction on one-way roads though.
g) With the display on and bluetooth on the battery lasts about 2h, not 5h.
Strengths
———–
a) The unit is perfectly shaped to fit in the hand, feels solid and is very well finished (they have used good materials).
b) Navigation and navigation options are excellent. I tested it against familiar routes, it sometimes gave results I didn’t expect – I tried them and, as someone else has pointed out, my journey may have been longer but was quicker. Re-calculation is quick as well.
c) The HOME software is excellent for configuration and updating the phone – updates were free, paid for options are clearly indicated (e.g. John Cleese’s voice).
d) The display is superb and auto adjustment (for low light) works well.
e) The built in speaker is excellent (the shape of the unit helps no doubt).
f) The hands-free bluetooth is superb… and the phone supports more options than on the web site (i.e. I have a Sony K800i – the web site states only the latest k810i is supported for SMS text-speech when in fact it works with my older phone).
g) The FM transmission is fine as long as you set the volume high. It works well when using the unit to transmit the tracks you’ve loaded onto it to the radio and then it interrupts when you need directions. It could be better but is limited in transmission power by legislation.
h) Voice activated entry actually works. I could not believe it – we’re talking about proper noun recognition and I’d say I had a 90% success rate.
i) POI is good – e.g. Help Me actually had not just normal doctors but Homeopathic/Kinesthetic practitioners listed though perhaps these should be listed in another category.
As has been pointed out, there is no “perfect” unit. I was really tempted by the Garmin 770 as the price has been reduced in the UK, but EPT and the superb customer support (e.g. just compare the web sites and give the published numbers a call) swung it for me when choosing the TomTom.
Also, strategically, TomTom own the mapping software they use and are working with Google – Mapshare is in its infancy, I anticipate innovation here with Google. Garmin have partnered with Microsoft for MSN Direct which is of no use in Europe (at present) so that carried no weight.
The Garmin product is also excellent and would fit in my jacket pocket better as it’s slimmer and weighs less – I am convinced no matter which one you buy you’ll be happy but will find some aspect that needs improving and several that impress.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Kakes,
Good review of your findings to-date.
I am leaning towards the 920t, as opposed to the 770 but still have a couple of queries; I thought the point of the SD card was to be able to load additional music/photos? Does the 920t announce which side of the street your destination is on? Lastly, how do you rate the installation and removal of the unit from the holder/mount – given that cables need to be plugged/unplugged each time?
Many thanks!
January 11th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Hi Mark,
Thanks, it was only a short review.
I’ll address each of your points below:
>I thought the point of the SD card was to be able to load additional music/photos?
I can’t get it to play videos or view pictures from the SD card. On the tomtom web site you can buy maps on SD card for Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa etc. however. So, it can read from the SD card for maps and therefore it should be resolvable by a software upgrade (if enough people request it) to allow it to read for the card for media. I suspect (no evidence) that this is a legacy of the 910 which had much more storage, I guess there was not enough time to make modifications (they would be at a low level) to enable the media player to read from the SD card rather than internal memory. Of course, depending on you skills, you may be able to do something yourself – tomtom provide the code for the open source components – which includes the media player (Mplayer) – take a look at http://www.tomtom.com/page.php?Page=gpl. I anticipate people will contribute modifications / apps for the x20 series.
>Does the 920t announce which side of the street your destination is on?
No, though I think this is because where I am the roads are single lane and not separate (I’m in the UK) and it’s only 4m from one side of the street to the other! In the US, I suspect the device will make sure you’re on the correct side of the street if the sides of the road are separate (I once worked in Dallas where even in the residential area there were 2 lanes each way!).
>Lastly, how do you rate the installation and removal of the unit from the holder/mount – given that cables need to be plugged/unplugged each time?
We have 2 cars so I invested in the tomtom “3 to go” pack of accessories (Carry case, mains-power charger, additional car power adapter). What this means is I unplug the cables from the bottom of the 920T and leave them in place in the car and it’s very easy to remove the device (and means I can semi-permanently fix the cables in place in a neater fashion). The cables are close together at the bottom of the device, easy to remove. Actually, another observation is the FM-TMC cable plug is a bit bigger then the power plug (which has a 90 degree connection), which means the device can’t be sat flat on the dashboard (fortunately, I don’t want to do that but depending on the car someone else might). What does not come with the “3 to go” pack is another FM-TMC cable; this is not necessary for me (the diesel car is the one we use for long journeys when TMC will be useful, so I leave it in that car).
I hope this helps.
January 11th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I ended a sentence and the full stop got included in the link ! It should be:
http://www.tomtom.com/page.php?Page=gpl
Apologies
January 11th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Kakes, some innacuracies you posted.
Video would be a 3rd party add on application from the likes of mobilnova.com
Fotos and music are easily handled with the SD card…see details below. Maps on an SD card wont work without the firmware application on the card as well.
The 920 does not announce the side of the road verbally, but when you reach your destination, there is an arrow on screen that points to the relevant side of the road. So yes, you do get that info. This works everywhere, including the UK.
Using a vent mount from mountguys.com, I can set up and dismantle the unit in seconds. The added advantage is that the unit is positioned closer to the driver.
Adding music to an SD card:
Just for info: the card in the unit as shipped is a dummy. You may purchase a REAL card and store stuff on it.
The card’s folder structure mirrors the one in INTERNAL memory (built-in) and so the INTERNAL will have folders called
mp3
photos
itn
You can create the same exact folders on the SD card and store stuff, such as mp3’s, jpg’s and in that last ITINERARIES.
UPPER/lower case matters in this linux based system.
The device will sometimes meld the items and sometimes as Internal or External (storage).
January 11th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Thanks for that Kakes and Infama.
That has addressed the last of my queries, all I need do now is convince my financial manager – my wife!
I’m a Brit living and working in the US and I want a device that will work well here and in the UK when I return.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!
January 11th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Hi Infama,
Thanks, you really have got to know the 920T !
I made a mistake and meant music, not videos. I did use a real SD card (I borrowed my son’s card) – however, I was not aware the content had to be in folders with the exact names matching the structure of the internal memory (was this in the documentation?). It’s still a pity, when on holiday, I’d like to view the pictures on the tomtom screen (it’s bigger than my camera) but unless my camera can save to a directory with that name then I can’t put the card in the tomtom – am I right ?
re: maps, I’ve not ordered one (US and entire Europe is fine just now !), but I made that statement based on the following from the tomtom site:
“If you order a map download, a broadband internet connection is required. Installation requires you to use TomTom HOME on your computer. Click here for more information on TomTom HOME.
Also, make sure your memory card (SD card) has enough space. ”
Hence I thought you purchase/download the map and tomtom HOME places it on the 920T with the memory card in place. I was not aware you needed special firmware (if I have understood you correctly). At the moment this is not a concern to me.
I’m fine with the side of the road info, don’t need an announcement – was just responding to Mark and I neglected to point out that indeed the arrow does point to the house.
My arrangment with the additional power supply is fine (and neat) – though I agree the mountguys.com site offers very interesting units at good value.
Infama thanks for the effort you’ve put into responding, this thread really helped me make an informed decision.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Mark – re: financial manager… I bought the device FOR my wife as when we go to London she used to navigate while I dealt with the more assertive driving styles experienced in the capital… and, to be honest, her in-city navigation left something to be desired and could lead to arguments…
I used to work in Dallas – the roads are bigger and better… but the directions/signposting leaves a lot to be desired !
Best of luck !
January 11th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Hi Kakes,
I get most of my info from fora like gpsreview.net, gpspassion.com, tomtomforums.com, yournav.com, and pocketgpsworld.com.
gpsreview is probably the best of a great bunch of sites. Tim is very knowledgeable and helpful. He is the site manager there.
I meant the same firmware on the internal memory of the 920, not anything different. You need to have Navecore ver 7.221 on both memories to use the map in either place.
Regarding the camera SD card, you are correct. However, you can use a PC to shift the photos to the mp3 folder and then stick it in the TT 920.
January 12th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Very Nice debate and all…..but all of you should know that theres a couple more models coming out from garmin and magellan within a month or so…..peace! (nuvi 880 and maestro 5340)
January 12th, 2008 at 4:36 am
Ivan,
There will always be new models coming out, we can but review and comment on the devices available now and try and provide data for others to consider.
The thing to consider is many of the devices on the market are software upgradeable. Hardware will improve – new models may be thinner, lighter, faster with more memory – I can live with what I have until I replace it in 3-5 years time.
People could always wait 5 years for the new Galileo based systems ;)
January 12th, 2008 at 7:34 am
True Kakes.
That is where TT can shine. They have a history of frequent free firmware upgrades that are backward compatible for all but the very oldest models.
TT cust reps have told people that major software/map upgrades are expected by early Summer.
Mio and Garmin make great units as well and Magellen is good in America.
January 13th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Tomtom is one of the few, if not one of the only that honors eBay purchased units as long as it is new, and even if its refurbished they will guarantee D.O.A. and give the free 30 day may update. Garmin I know will not deal with eBay bought units unless you have a company logo receipt. Garmin will not even treat it as a new unit unless you get a company logo receipt. There are many reasons to deal with Tomtom hence Tomtom is a good brand to buy as well. The new Garmin 880 is going to run 950.00-1,100.00 and is kind of pricy for a unit that will be compatible to Tomtoms 920. Garmin has the MSN which I like but im sure Tomtom will team up with someone in the future to compete with Garmin. Tomtom does have a lower shelf price than Garmin and Magellan units. I have tested most if not all current GPS units and I have found a flaw with every unit. I think HP ipaq 310 is sleek and advanced running dual core processors I think 600mhz with screen resolution of 800X448 or near there. Specs are close but not dead on it im sure. Just think the next few months to a year HP will have a very very impressive unit im sure. The major cities use images of atual buildings and even the freeways have pictures of actual road signs. The functionality of the GPS is good overall but not great. Gps units will be made soon from every computer, TV, and radio company out there. So its all prefrence and I think the first start is what the company will do for me as a consumer. Will they back up the product even if I bought it brand new off eBay? (I used my paypal print out as proof I bought it new since brand new was in description). Will the company honor the GPS updates like 30 day map upgrade? Tomtom did, but Garmin WONT. You can shop for Garmin Magellan or whomever but you will not get the same treatment as if you bought it at Circuit City unless you buy Tomtom. (buying off ebay saved me toms of money. I paid 306.00 for a brand new 920). So I am double happy. :)
January 13th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Wow Eric,
That is a GREAT price.
As a former HP employee, I know that they can make great stuff. They just need to team up with one of the big three for software….and kaboom!
January 13th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Very nice forum!
I’ll be traveling to Italy and plan to buy the Gamin 770 since it has North America and European maps
Will it work there? Would the TOMTOM be a better choice for Italy?
Can I plug the either GPS unit into the cigarette lighter socket for power?
Thanks
January 14th, 2008 at 2:59 am
David,
Either device will be fine as is, however, the 920T will normally be cheaper.
As most of the use will be at home in the US, you should try out both machines (or a Garmin 760, as the 770 is not widely sold in stores) to see which you like better and to test mapping and routing for your home location.
TT is great in Europe, but so is Garmin. I have seen glowing repots of tourists using the 920 in Italy, so no issues there.
Both units have cig. lighter cables. Neither will work in Europe for TMC traffic, as the Euro specs are different. Perhaps the TT has an edge there, as you can more easily buy an external TMC antenna for TT in most electronics shops in Europe, if you need Traffic on holiday. TMC traffic service is FREE in Europe…no subscription required, as they are Govt services.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:40 am
The tomtom 920T definitely works in Europe for TMC – I used it last night in the UK. It’s very useful as it updates the itinerary based on the predicted delay and it will actually read out the problem information (text to speech) received from the carrier. TMC is based on digital information over FM so I can’t see why it won’t work in the US as well as Europe; the device optionally lets you select which country you’re in to speed up frequency scanning. Perhaps the aerial / external transceiver are different in the US ? I would not think they are, but tomtom customer support can advise before you buy and, in any case, a European version can be picked up in Europe.
Each European country varies, some have this as a government service, some not. The service is “free” for example in the UK because tomtom have paid the subsctiption for their devices (and also in any European countries where it’s a commercial service). Coverage in the UK is not great and is mainly carried by a commercial operator on the Classic FM channel. The BBC cannot provide the service purely because it’s a paid for commercial offering (IMHO this needs to be addressed, it should be a national service).
Other European TMC coverage is probably better than in the UK – re: Italy, here are some details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_Message_Channel#Italy
tomtom support is excellent in Europe – most countries are covered ( http://www.tomtom.com/support/support.php?ID=2 )
Here is the Italian support number in case you want to call and confirm:
Italiano
Numero di telefono
Orari di apertura
Italia 0245281004 lunedì-venerdì ore 10:00 – 17:00 CET
January 14th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Kakes,
US antennae/receivers dont work in Europe and vice-versa. I am 100% sure of this. I even tried my euro antenna in the US with the the predicted outcome…no worky!
January 14th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Just a quick random question that I didnt see answered yet…
I have seen that the TomTom has different day and night colors, which I assume means that the unit will know it is night time and automatically adjust the screen accordingly, by either dimming the brightness and/or changing the color. Does the Garmin Nuvi 760 automatically dim the brightness at nighttime? Or at least is the brightness control easy to get to if it is not automatic?
Thanks!
It was a really hard decision between the Garmin Nuvi 760 and the TomTom 920. I ended up going with the Garmin, primarily because of its superior route optimization ability. I work in Real Estate and visit many comparable properties at any given time, so the Route Optimization was essentially the most important feature.
For those interested, I bought my Garmin Nuvi 760 for about $550 ($537 plus S&H) from http://www.jandhproducts.com. It is suppose to arrive tomorrow and so far I have had an excellent experience with JandHProducts (despite them not having a phone number for you to call if you have a concern). This price was the lowest that I have found and they currently have these units in stock. If I have any issue with the unit or with JandHProducts, I will be sure to post a followup here.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Yes the Garmin switches from day to night screen.
So does the TT and it gives you a choice of 4 day and 4 night schemes to choose from. When you have chosen, then that is the one it switches to.
January 16th, 2008 at 5:35 am
A quick question (hopefully). With the Garmin 770, I understand it can quickly quickly tell me where the nearest restaurant is and the information about the restaurant (e.g. type and phone number) – just a few taps of the screen.
Is this possible on the 920T – or do you have to go and reconfigure it to display all the restaurants (a POI category?) on the map – and is full POI information easy to pull up (e.g. phone number). I could not find this information on the tomtom website. I saw, with the Help Me button, there is some information easily available (e.g. doctors, dentists) but I want to be able to pull up restaurants and other retail categories easily without having to have the information on the map via POI all the time.
Having looked at the devices and reading reviews I’m leaning toward the 920T (build quality, the enhanced positioning, customer service), however, this is an important feature for me.
Thanks.
January 16th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Nicola. Yes, the GO 920T has easy access to POI data. You can just search for restaurants near you or along your route. It has the location, address and telephone number after a few screen taps.
January 16th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Yes, 920 has Restaurant POIs and other categories of POIs too.
However, the max number of results per search is only 24. Also, Garmin can search by rest. type, ie Chinese, Italian, etc.
TT can search by all restaurants or by name.
Full info is given when found, including telephone number and you can call straight from the device itself once BT hookup is done.
The amount of POIs are about the same, but Garmin has the edge on implementation.
January 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Thanks guys,
It’s interesting the Garmin knows what type of restaurant (e.g. Italian) but not the tomtom. I don’t know who keeps all the information up to date but you would have thought they could share POI information. If the data is there, I would think the technical people at tomtom would be able to show the data so I’m guessing they don’t have the same data.
However, 24 results is more than enough – what I wanted was convenience in not having to stop the car and then go into many menus. I’ve actually held both devices and while the Garmin is more compact, the tomtom seems far more robust… and is a little bit less expensive !
January 17th, 2008 at 6:28 am
With the TT, you also have the remote, so with practice, you can scan thru menus without having to stop anyway. Just velcro the remote to the steering wheel and you have device control at the tip of your fingers.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:48 am
The Garmin maps are 6 years out of date and the price for updated map is $65.00 us dollars.
The TOMTOM has map corrections on it and the map is not 6 years out of date.
January 18th, 2008 at 6:01 am
I reckon it takes 7 taps to find the nearest Restaurant to you:
1. Tap on Main Screen
2. Tap to select right arrow (next selection of options)
3. Tap on Browse Map
4. Tap on Find
5. Tap on POI
6. Tap on POI Near You
7. Tap on Restaurant
I’m still a novice user, perhaps there are ways of setting preference or doing this more efficiently and I’ve not used the remote yet.
I’ve found the restaurants are normally large chains, I’d like to add some local independent restaurants… time to learn about MapShare…
January 19th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Google told me this was addressed on this site, but with massive # of posts, I could not find it:
Can someone please tell me how to open the remote control to install batteries on the TT Go 920? Brand new user, and the picture description does me little good. It’s like trying to open a bowling ball – there do not appear to “separable” parts.
January 20th, 2008 at 2:27 am
ASP, check out http://www.tomtomforums.com for an explanation.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I just found out about the new Nuvi 880. It´s sounds way better than these two. Anyone who still didn´t buy a gps should wait until summer to get the Nuvi 880. Anybody got any info on the Nuvi 880 for Europe?
January 21st, 2008 at 2:07 pm
You have a $1,000 bucks kicking around???
This is a monster price.
By then TT will have announced something major as well. Its tit for tat all around, and you could end up waiting forever. I hear Appple is about to jump in and of course, so is Nokia!
January 21st, 2008 at 4:05 pm
You will never end up getting a GPS if you wait for new models that are announced…
Look at this year’s CES:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7173582.stm
You can see from the above there is the new “smart” Dash GPS which you could wait for… oh wait, is that so new because tomtom have been running a trial in the Netherlands: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/96664/vodafone-and-tomtom-team-on-cellular-nav-system.html
Then there is 3D navigation…
http://gizmodo.com/345907/3d-gps-mapping-to-come-to-us-at-last
Of course, the ultimate would be a combined GPS and Galileo system with links for live traffic information and 3D maps… you will have enough time to save up for it ;)
I have no axe to grind, Garmin are an excellent GPS company as well, but it is like buying a PC… new faster, smaller models come out each year with new features. Beware those manufacturers who promote products too far in advance though, you could be waiting quite a while and end up disappointed.
Tomtom are rubbish at marketing, I guess that could be down to them being an Dutch company as opposed to Garmin being based in the US (Kansas) and well versed in Marketing and Public Relations.
January 21st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Troub, where did you get info that Garmin map is 6 years old? And for James, to clarify, Garmin changes to night screen based on sunset time, TT via light level. Infama, overall fair comments (at least recently ;-). Also regarding high initial price for the nuvi 800 series, note that in only 3 months the price of the 760 dropped over $300. Can’t see why anyone would not wait 3-4 months to purchase the 800’s, which will very soon after release be down to under $700 in webstores.
January 21st, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Also a point I would like to make. Suggest perhaps doing a system backup to laptop or desktop of you TT. A lot of recent issues with TT home, better safe than sorry.
January 21st, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I apologize, I was pulled away and meant to elaborate. First off, even tho I own the Garmin 760, the TT920 and 920T are excellent nav units. The additional customization features of the TT are very nice and generally thought out, tho some might not have been really necessary had the interface been designed a bit differently. The screen refresh rate is better than my Nuvi, tho the antialiasing of the nuvi screen does allow for a “crisper” look and easier to read fonts. True route optimization on my nuvi has been really helpful on several sales trips, but being able to selectively block a particular road (due to construction) would be of great assistance, like the TT can do. My reservations about TT tho are as follows: The currently installed European mapset is flawed, as Infama will tell you if you ask. I won’t bother with detail except to note that it has mysteriously reverted to an old map of certain areas. This may (or may not) be corrected in the soon to release map update. Also, I’ve been noting some recent issues with TTHome, from Mac issues to TT updates crashing units to satellite update code errors. It appears to me that TT is not able to keep TTHome running current as it should, with some updates being rushed with inadequate testing. Map issues are also still unresolved in Hawaii, even tho TT indicates they are “aware of the problem and working on a solution” for month after month (tho the problem there, as well as in Canada has existed for years. TomTom is great about bringing new features to market at a fair price, but they don’t always perform as advertised when first released. Tho Garmin is slower to incorporate some of the new features, when they do, it’s done right. For example, TT has had multiple-point routing since the 720. Garmin only brought it to market with the 700 series. . . BUT the Garmin feature is a big improvement with the addition of TRUE route optimization. TT brought voice-enabled nav input to the 920 as well as a remote for some functions. Garmin’s version to be released on the 800’s is much more complete and robust, giving almost total control of the nav unit via voice and simplifying the remote to accomplish a single task, activating voice command functions. While TT may be the first to release features, Garmin generally (but perhaps not always) includes a much improved version in it’s units. Until TT demonstrates that it has a handle on the issues affecting their equipment, I’ll stick with Garmin for now, tho I am keeping an eye on some of the new Navigon systems. Sorry if this a bit long-winded.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I’d like to note one correction to Kakes. TT does not own Teleatlas. They simply have the current high bid acceptable to the TA board. It’s very likely that Google and/or Microsoft will be submitting a higher bid, one that TT won’t be able to match. (after all, with an $8billion plus buy of Navteq, don’t you think several players may decide that TA bid from TT is just a “wee bit” on the low side?)
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:22 am
Gator,
Some good points, but let me make a few corrections.
Garmin had LOTS of the features in older models, but chose to strip them out of the new slim-line Nuvis. They then offer them back piece by piece in ever more expensive models as if they are innovations. This is just plain gouging.
TT had itinerary planning for years, even on the original GOs (2 model generations ago). They chose not to implement true route optim. as it really is not a very essential feature. If you built your itinerary from closest to furthest, then 95% of the time, that will be the optimal route.
Garmin has addressing issues too, like how highways are named. TT is more flexible ther. Garmin is more flexible with redundant city naming and Hawaii addressing. TT will fix the Hawaii addressing in the next firmware update, as it is a very minor change in firmware.
Canada is more complex, as it is an issue with DTMI Spatial (TeleAtlas), same as the redundant city naming. It can be done for the next map update though. Note that in recent posts at GPSPassion, it has been shown that TT can find addresses in Ontario that Garmin cant!
TT Home version 2 is NOT Mac compliant at the moment. This is openly known.. The older 1.5 version cannot allow map downloads, so is limited in its use. TT runs on Linux, so that Home is not essential for housekeeping activities.
Garmin had better watch themselves, as I keep reading posts about DOA units. One Guy at GPSPASSION is on his third nuvi770! 2 others at GPSreview had to return their nuvi 350s. None of these manufacturers are even close to perfect.
Finally, we HEAR about what is planned for the Garmin 8xx, but until they are released, it is just speculation. Who can say for sure that these features will work as advertised? In any case, if you have to wait 3 months for it to be released and 3 months for the price to fall to $700, then why not get the Navigon 8100 that will START at $700??? That unit is gorgeous, has stereo, has voice commands, enhanced lane assist and reality view and a slew of other goodies, including enhanced FREE traffic!
The future is cloudy!
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:10 am
One other point Gator.
I have only seen 2 confirmed cases of map downgrade issues (both in Euro pe). TT has confirmed one to me personally and it is surely a TeleAtlas issue. TeleAtlas has the same issue on their website, so the problem started with THEM. Google maps inherited the same problem too.
Thus, the issue was not as bad as first feared.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:40 am
Yes, the navigon will have lots of features. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Let’s wait and see how simple it is to operate. Thus far it’s been much more involved than the TT product. Those I would consider power users, such as yourself, have had some issues figuring out the TT, (not always real simple to get around in, is it?) while those users of the top-line Navigon’s haven’t come close to figuring out all they will do. As I said earlier, I’m watching Navigon, but certainly not ready to get one yet, nor recommend anything but the low end unless they have hours to spare playing with it.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:56 am
Gouging is also rearing it’s ugly head at TT, if your definition is stripping out features. You know which unit I’m going to mention. . . the tt720, stripped of its voice functions for the US simply to gouge buyers looking for voice features with the 920. If TT was so concerned for it’s owners, why haven’t they activated the voice function (which IS there) via firmware? Because then they couldn’t gouge 920 owners when the 720 with voice would have worked just fine. TTHome, when first announced, looked like a selfless act from TT, just to make life so much easier for their owners. It’s not. TTHome eventually will be used as pay for play with few free services, anything of value pushed into Plus. Basicly just another TT way to squeeze out a few more nickels from it’s users. Do I think Garmin will do the same. I’m sure. Something that “looks like and smells like” TT home will be set up, probably for pay. They’re both gonna get us one way or the other. Competetion will only make it worse wherre the add-on fees are concerned
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:49 am
I agree, my wording was inaccurate and the tomtom and TeleAtlas deal is not signed. I do think the board of TeleAtlas will consider the merits of the partnership and not simply take the highest offer (unless it’s WAY above the others and I accept your point about Google – they have far too much cash at hand).
This page / forum was specifically about comparing two units and it helped me greatly, I have never owned a GPS before. It’s moved onto strategy – who’s the best player, who will treat customers the best etc. This call is much harder, we’re talking about two great companies each with their own merits. Some comments seem to be harsh – re: gouging. I think tomtom’s positioning of the 720 and 920 is more about “marketing” (like Intel producing a crippled Pentium and calling it a Celeron to differentiate products!). Also, Garmin are also simply trying to differentiate but in a different manner; the people most concerned about this behaviour are those who are upgrading units.
From my perspective, sitting in Europe, the 920T had more merits than the 770 (see my previous comments re: EPT, support etc). Even recent posts have been useful, I was not aware of issues using units in Canada. Even so, I doubt I would have been disappointed with a 770 and the 920T is fine even considering some of disadvantages when comparing it to the 770.
What I would not do is wait more than 4 months for a promised new device if I wanted one now – I’ve been let down from compaines and their “slideware” promises before. Did anyone wait for Vista to be available on a new PC before they went out and bought it and then found that 1GB of memory was just fine and they were happy and all their apps worked as promised? Quad-core will be in most desktops in about 9 months, that won’t stop me buying a dual-core now if I need it.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:59 am
OK Gator,
I agree that they are both gougers, but Garmin is the past master of this and TT is learning fast. TT still is more “generous” for the moment.
Navigon so far has stayed above the fray, but let us see how long that lasts.
I am always on the side of the consumer. LoL
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:05 am
Kakes,
Gator and I have a shared history of talking strategy and advanced feature sets over at GPSreview.net
People are very knowledgeable there and these are the kinds of discussions we hold.
We find advanced features, market positioning, strategy and future entrants to be interesting fodder for discussion.
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:33 am
what i like about the garmin is that we can install the multilingual dictionaries and translators, which is a great extra. Does anyone know if i can do the same with the TT920? I prefer a gps not only by it´s mapping capabilities but also by the software that comes or that i can install. Garmin seems to have reaaly good extras (clocks, calculators, etc.).
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:16 am
TT has 3rd party software, but they tend to be utilities or video player. They dont have travel guides, dictionary or calculators available. They also supply general country info and emergency service info per country out of the box. There is also info on first aid techniques and the “Help me” function that allows you to call or route to emergency medical services.
Garmin does not have video player available. The other services you mention are available for purchase separately.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
The Garmin version “help me” feature in also on the 700’s out of the box. Limited “try-out” versions of language translators and foreign phases including pronunciation, limited “try-out” travel guide. The travel guides do seem like they be very helpful in European travel as they can be set to “talk” automatically when you enter or drive thru an interest area, giving history, background, etc. of the poi.
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:54 am
Does the 770 allow you to track your movement (it’s not a feature in the table)? If so, is this possible (eg. 3rd party software) on the 920T ?
It would be useful as you could accurately submit expense claims for miles driven for work… assuming it’s easy to get the data electronically out of the devices.
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:00 am
Kakes,
Garmin 700s have a track log. Event_logger is a free 3rd party App for the TomToms.
Gator,
Can you describe the “help me” function on the 760?
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:41 am
Kakes, yes you can track your drive and keep track of miles driven on the 770. Press the current speed in the lower left corner to bring up the miles driven/speed info. Breadcrumbs should have been active out of the box and will show where you’ve been with a light blue trail. If not active, enter map in the menu, then “show” under trip log. Another nice feature of the current speed docker is that it will turn red if driving over the limit if the 700’s are showing the posted limit on screen. Infama, the Garmin version “help Me” is under “Where am I”, which gives you one touch routing and contact info (which can be called via bluetooth phone if needed) to the nearest Hospital, Police Station or Gas Station (gottago, gottago). Also will show all others close by.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 am
Gator,
Thanks.
Tell me, does the 760 show speed limit warnings, when you are driving too fast? I mean on screen on the Nav page.
TT 920 does in Europe, but apparently not in the US.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:33 am
Yes, but it varies quite a bit. On the interstate and major tollroads, probably 90% of the time. Major state highways, a bit less. Local roads, seldom.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:34 am
Gatorguy – I don’t have the 770 (bought a 920T – I know… should have confirmed my requirements first !). The 920T does warn me if I’m over the speed limit, on a few occasions it has the incorrect speed limit in its database but on the whole it’s very accurate… I’m not sure I’d want the device to keep a log of where it was exceeded !!!
infama – what a comprehensive application, I located it here (http://web.tiscali.it/macri/Event_Logger/). Of course, I’m going to read the detailed instructions at least twice before attempting an install; they are aimed at experienced users. It says in the instructions you can get altitude information as well which may solve Marco’s previous requirement in this thread.
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:07 am
Does anyone know where i can find 3rd party software for TT 920 on the net? I find that having the possibility of installing good software on a gps is also an imortant factor on choosing which brand to purchase. The only reason i havn´t bought a TT920 is because the 770 has better applications.
I live in the Azores (Portugal), NDrive is a portuguese gps brand which sells the maps with a Azores on a SD. No other gps has these maps. Can i purchase the SD from NDrive and see the maps on a TT 920 or 770?
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:31 am
Kakes, On the 700’s where the speed limit is in the database for the highway you are traveling, no user input is required. When the posted speed (shown on map) is exceeded, the speed docker will change to red. And yes, the 700’s do show highest attained speed in the trip log. Easy to clear if you want.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:51 am
Kevin,
Garmin and TT use proprietary maps…however Garmin can take topo maps.
Mio tends to be flexible with other maps. TT is rigid!
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:53 am
Kakes,
I have not tried to attempt using either Tripmaster or event_logger yet. I did install mibilnova video player on my 910 though.
TT is better served with hacks than Garmin. Mio is best at this.
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Wow! great thread!
As l read through the postings l changed my mind between TT and Garmin
a dozen times! Ha! Being a “newbie” at G.P.S. ultimately it looks like both are great units for any “newbie”. What unit l purchased will ultimately depend on my wife! (My plan is to sway her to get one for my birthday in March while in Vegas).
Depending on her purse strings here is what l have come up with from most wanted to least ($300-$600 again depending on her generosity!)
1)TT 920
2)Garmin 760
3)Garmin 660
4)TT 720
5)GARMIN 360
Would anyone suggest a different order or product?
(Oh my! What have l said? What have l started now?)
(Group hug!)
Newbie
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Depends on what you need it for and what features are important. Are you the only user, or will your wife use it also? That’s also important.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Little of everything Gatorguy
I would be the main person using it for driving Canada/US.
We cruise a lot but l doubt if it will work out in the oceans and seas.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Not ever using one l can’t be sure what features would be most important but l do know l wish to have a unit that is:
-reliable
-bluetooth
-slim so l can carry it easily
-good details and clarity on the screen
-large enough screen so l do not go bug eyed trying to see it
-Maps for U.S. AND Canada
-perhaps ability to load oceans and seas if possible or even available
-sturdy
-POI’s
Extra toys are nice but nut a must.
January 24th, 2008 at 3:45 am
Both brands would be satisfactory for auto use.
Garmin has the edge for Topo maps and they have marine experience.
I know Garmin works better in airplanes crossing the atlantic.
TT is more a road machine.
January 24th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Infama, is correct, either will work for you just fine. If your wife will be an occassional user, might lean towards one of the Garmins for simplicity. If you only, the TT’s have a lot more you can play with. They both will pretty much accomplish the same thing.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Thanks Gatorguy and Infama!
l agree with both of you either unit will be great l am sure.
l will advise the giver of the gift (the wife) to keep an
eye open for specials. l know GPS city is in Las Vegas
not far from where we will be staying have good prices
but l am sure Walmart, and Costco might have a good buy on as well.
l try to steer away from internet orders because all the good
buys are from US companies so once you add shipping, and
possible duty We Canadians are not saving much if any.
Thanx again guys!
January 26th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
“In any case, if you have to wait 3 months for it to be released and 3 months for the price to fall to $700, then why not get the Navigon 8100 that will START at $700??? That unit is gorgeous, has stereo, has voice commands, enhanced lane assist and reality view and a slew of other goodies, including enhanced FREE traffic!”
The 8100 will be about $400, $450 street MAX. The announced European price is 500 Euros. While that strickly translates to $700 to $750, if one looks at the pricing on the 5100 and 7100 they dipped to $200 and $250, and $300 to $350 very quickly (within weeks of release). So while the 7100 was carrying Euro list price of “400 Euros” ($600) it was selling for half that here stateside.
On the other hand, owning both a 7100 and a Nuvi I feel Navigon is really third rate on several fronts compared to Garmin. Navigon easily has as high a proportion of many DOA and quickly dead units. EG users with brand new 2100s, which are failing left and right, are being told they have to wait for RMA replacementstns many weeks until new units become available as the US branch is out of replacements.
The rubber hits the road when it comes to the central issue: good routing. On that front my 7100 fails badly. It regularly routes poorer than Magellen, Garmin, and TomTom, as well as compared to Google maps. Notably it uses the same base maps as Navi and Google maps so it is not a map issue.
January 27th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Thanks for the input Be.
Good points.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:57 am
most ppl here are from America and ofc u all gona say Garmin is the best
coues its ur home stuff also like u say American cars are better then Europeans but u are wrong
TT is better then Garmin in Europ dunno about america Garmin f&%¤&/ me up in Helsinki i wasted 26 km on the road
never had problems with TT 920 T best GPS system in europe also sayed by profecionals not some random ppl:)
ps. GARMIN in baltica is bullshitt, u cant even navigate here. TT can
January 29th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Just got a Tomtom 920, spent an hour on the phone with their tech department, the unit will not connect with my blackberry 8830 world edition. Tech says its a hit and miss with cell phones and BBerrys. Anyone have a solution for this? I like everything about the unit, but its useless as a handfree phone.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Actually Rolf, I think Korean and Japanese cars are better-built and a better value than any of the American OR European cars. I also like Garmin quality. ;-)
January 29th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
By the way, Rolf, do you ever visit Greece since you’re so close by? How’s the 920 navigation there?
January 30th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Gator, You are EVIL.
LoL
January 30th, 2008 at 2:02 am
MP,
Go to http://www.tomtomforums.com
http://www.gpspassion.com
and
http://www.gpsreview.net
to search their forums to come up with a solution.
Pretty sure you will get a definitive answer there
January 30th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Thanks
January 30th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Just a note that Garmin has now added sirf QuickfixII to the nuvi 700 series via firmware update 2.6
January 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Gatorguy, I bet you will like this nice new Garmin device…
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/31/garmin_launches_nuvifone/
Going to drive to Kansas to get your hands on one early or wait until Q3 ?
I just hope TomTom don’t go trying the copy them because we need a few successful European companies ;)
January 31st, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I’ve been reading about it at another site. Looking forward to a review by my favorite reviewer.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:15 am
Hi Guys,
I’m still reading all your helpful comments with interest. I used a Garmin during the previous weekend and I noticed when you touch the screen it makes a comforting (!) bleep. I’m just curious that in all the demos I’ve seen for the Tomtom they never seem to make a bleep sound. Is that standard or just a user setting?
Keep up the good work!
February 1st, 2008 at 3:36 pm
The 920T does not go beep when you touch the screen and I’ve not seen it as a user setting – the configuration options are many so I may have missed it, but I did take a look.
That said, there are so many free / 3rd party developments for this device I’m sure if you posted a question on one of the numerous forums you’d find some bright spark with a solution for you.
I personally don’t think I’d turn it on if I had it though it’s down to user preference. What I do like is the tomtom adjusting the volume setting based on ambient noise (this too is an option which you can turn off), my car radio adjusts the volume dependent on the speed to achieve a similar result.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:01 pm
The one thing I keep seeing with reference to TomTom 920 vs. the Garmin 760 is the TomTom is so “feature rich” compared to the “dumbed down” Garmin. Apparently many TT owners are misinformed or unaware of some of the features on my Garmin 760 that are missing from the TT920, so here goes:
The Garmin 700’s use sirf QuickfixII for FAST satellite lock, can display position accuracy, satellite position and strength, use the new MSN2 services, can build a route on computer and upload to the nav, can easily do a screen shot of the map to give to your GPS-less friends, can navigate to any set of coordinates within the map if the address if not known, will verbally announce what side of the road your destination is on, has stable support for Mac-based computers, will leave a “breadcrumb trail” on the map to see where you’ve been and can use topo maps. NONE of these features is available from TOMTOM. Garmin has also been great at adding new features, supposedly reserved for the new 800 series to the 750, 760 and 770. If there have been new navigation features added to the TT920 since release, I’m not aware of them. As you can see, the Garmin is also very “feature-rich”, loaded with useful functions rather than menu customizing fluff. Both are very good units, perhaps the two best available right now for their purpose. Buy for the features you’re looking. Neither is best for every buyer, and neither is “dumbed=down”
February 2nd, 2008 at 7:16 am
To be fair, I want to correct two items in my post. The TT does show satellite position, and can do route building on computer via TTHome.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
The Garmin got an upgrade recently with the firmware upgrade 2.6. Address entry was upgraded and QFix II was implemented, so the unit is less dumbed down. However, that was just last week, so the previous comments WERE valid. Plus Garmin had to come up with the goods fast, as the 700s were NOT ready for prime time. Same thing TT did with the 720. The 920 was better prepared for the launch, as the 720 paved the way.
Now for the other side:
TT can take screen shots in TWO different ways. One is dead easy, so that point is moot.
The 920 does show satellite strength as well, just not the GUESSTIMATED GPS accuracy.
The 700s wont navigate off route (not without Topo maps installed). They will navigate to the nearest STREET location and point the aroow to the heading of the off-road destination. The 920 wont route at all to off road destinations.
The 920 shows the side of the road via arrow. I suppose that like in the case of the Garmin, this will be addressed in a firmware update.
FULL Mac support is back and will be wrinkle free in a week or so. Many Garmin function are ONLY available to PC users. That wont be the case with TT. TT has the most Mac friendly history of ANY GPS manufacturer!
Yes, Garmin 700s have things that TT users will find enviable. Nice screen, tracklogs, route Optim, better POI implementation, trip stats, screen hold button, SIF 2 with autonomy (I would want both 1 and 2), integrated TMC antenna in the US (Not in Europe), active mount (some like this, not me), etc.
However, there are many deficiencies wrt the 920 and even more wrt older Garmins!!! No selective route exclusion, no customization, no EPT dead reckoning, no Mapshare, sparce info on main screen, late trun warnings in the city centres, no voice recognition, no remote (sweeeeet option, I cant tell you enough how good this is), no POI icons on screen, no compass on screen in 3D view, 3D building footprints rendered on map in major metro areas, no quick menu function, MUCH better map browing with the TT and the ability to input hi-resolution map overlays in areas you are interested in (source could be google Earth!), faster TTFF even after the SIF 2 upgrade, faster map parsing in browse mode, etc. There are a few other things I even forget, as the TT can do so many things.
I do agree though, neither is perfect and there is feature envy on both sides.
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Actually you CAN put POI icons on screen in the Garmin 700’s if you really want to. I’ve added speed camera/speed trap POI’s and when in the proximity of one, an icon is on-screen. Just need to set proximity alert. TT will certainly show more assorted icons at the same time tho.
February 2nd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
That little exchange was quite useful ;)
1. I did not know the TT could take screenshots
2. Is the Garmin really better at Route Optimisation ? I find the 920T is fine – perhaps this is related to the fact they use different maps and the Garmin’s are better ?
3. I had no idea you could input hi-res map overlays on the 920T; I’m not sure how or even why one would want to do this
4. My 920T remote is still in the box – I thought it was a gimmick, I’m going to give it a try now !
What is SIF 2 with autonomy ? Am I missing out on something with the 920T?
From my point of view, the most persuasive arguments to get a 770 over a 920T are the ability to, out of the box, have an audit of where you have been (with useful statistics on the journey) and the integrated TMC antenna.
Compelling features of the 920T are EPT, Mapshare and an open plaftorm with quit a few developers for additional features (if you have the courage to tinker with the device). I also think the 920T is more robust but this is subjective (it does weigh a bit more).
What would be really cool would be the ability to insert a WiFi SD card and use the 770/920T to browse the web and get software updates/QuickFix data… this would build on the picture viewing and audio features but I’m just exhibiting consumer scope creep !
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
Infama, Garmin’s mapsource also allows you to overlay routing data on Google Earth maps and has since 2005.
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Kakes,
Despite how it may seem, Gator and I do learn from each other. Because of discussions like these, I know far more about Garmin and I suppose the same cane be said for him and TT. These debates stress the limits of the devices capabilities, as we need to present them in the best light in order to score debating “points”.
The Garmins aare great devices, but a bit pricey for me. The TT are great devices and are better priced.
1) TT can take snapshots AND they can acomodate printscreen when using Home to Operate the Go.
2)We are not talking about routing algorithms here, we are talking about optimizing an Itinerary! TT does not do this automatically, you have to do this manually if you want. Normally people plan itins from closest point to furthest. However, the Garmin 770 has the ability to calculate the fsatest time from any combination of route arrangements and propose the fastest. Not a big deal as it can be wrong, given that the routing algorithm may be flawed for one or more legs of the trip.
3)Imagine you are going to a huge congress like CES oor CeBit? You can overlay the map of the congress grounds at the right lat/long. coordinates and navigate on foot while there with the GPS. You may also want to overlay your neighbourhood from the Google Earth map source!
4) The remote is the clincher. It is BT so you dont have to point it at the unit. Velcro it to the steering wheel and you dont have to take your eyes off the road. Super feature. You can even go backwards thru the menu with it!!!!
5)TT has Sif1, Garmin just got Sif2. Sif 1 is downloadable and lasts for 7 days. Sif2 is autonomous but lasts for 3 days. Sif2 is more convenient if you use the device regularly. If you leave it off for 4 days, then it will take a day or 2 to regain all its abilities and will be slower to acquire satts till then. Sif1 is useful immediately after downloading. Here is a secret, I DL my fix on the fly by mobile phone!!
770 does not have integrated antenna…at least not in Europe. In any case, the US antenna is useless in Europe.
770 is better in terms of screen brightness, true route optimization, tracklog and breadcrumbs and trip log. Add the (marginal) convenience of Sif2 sincelast week.
920 is better in price ($200 less), faster satt fix even after the 770 Sif2 upgrade, EPT, Mapshare, GPRS telephone Plus services and customization.
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
BTW,
Let there be no doubt. Gator is a great guy.
I like him a lot…he is my GPS buddy! LoL
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hi Infama,
I genuinely meant the discourse was useful, no sarcasm there !
I get your point about itinerary routing, if I were a Pizza delivery driver this would be fantastic and I would without doubt buy the Garmin. On the other hand, I don’t know how much Pizza delivery guys earn and I would be able to afford one :(
I’m going to look into map overlays, I have to say the tomtom manual could really do with some improvement on the various advanced features. I’m often a client sites which are on business parks – the business park maps are more detailed (especially when they have just been built). Can’t find info so far on how to do it but I’ll keep looking.
Do you reckon the 920T can be upgraded to sif2 ?
You guys are both experts – I appreciate your significant effort in replying to the various queries. In fact, I think you should both be sponsored by the product manufacturers ;)
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Kakes,
According to TomTom, it cannot take screen shots. There is a method that requires TTHome and is somewhat easy, and another that is kind of a “back door” way used by the engineers (apparently), but it’s not simple. Yes the 920 can overlay routes on the hi-res Google Earth maps, but then so can the Nuvi760 using mapsource (as the TT uses TomTomHome).
Sirf QuickfixII is a newer technology developed by the sirf people. Biggest difference between the original Quickfix, used in the TomTom 920, and the newer Quickfix II used in the nuvi, is that the TT version requires you to download a file via some “data port”, either computer or cell-phone, at least every 7 days to keep the data current. If not, long satellite lock times may result. The version used by the nuvi requires no downloads, simply turn the nav on at least every three days. The software that “predicts” future satellite position resides on the nav itself. Satellite lock times between the two versions may vary by 0-10 SECONDS, basicly negligible. Advantage is that the Garmin version is more convenient; nothing to remember to do.
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Kakes,
Infama IS a great guy and I consider him a friend. He’s the one that got me started on the research. I got tired of him bashing my 760 purchase! I apparently have a TT720 being sent my way, so perhaps after using it for a bit, I may have a better opinion of TomTom. I know I keep seeing a lot of issues involving TTHome, and from the reports of users, it’s no where near the usefulness it should be. Perhaps given another couple of years it may be a much better product (’if they don’t move all the useful features into PLUS pay services)
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Hi Gatorguy,
The good thing is competition, in this market, works. It’s not just tomtom and Garmin keeping each other on their toes, you have giants like Sony and Panasonic bringing products to market. What will keep tomtom and Garmin from making extra feature a cost option is:
1) competition (other vendors providing them free)
2) Open Source – their platforms can be developed on by 3rd parties (I assume this will also be the case for Garmin)
Of course, both tomtom and Garmin need to make a profit for their shareholders and remain in business… so I don’t mind paying for genuine innovation or features (e.g., on the 920T, i’d pay $20 extra for a travel log so I could produce mileage expense claims, rather than use the free open source code I found).
I suspect you will not like the 720T because you will be so familiar with your Garmin – or, at least, it’ll take you quite a while to get used to it. Like moving from Vista to Leopard… how do you right click, it could be annoying!
I only use TomTom Home for updates (mapshare, POI, QuickFix) though if I can work out how to incorporated detailed map overlays I might use it for more. 2 years for improvements is too long, tomtom will lose too much market share if they act that slowly and every indication (from their Netherlands job area on the site) is they are very active right now.
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Kakes,
Look here for instructions on how to do overlays. Forums at GPSPassion.com is a good place to learn more on this.
Gator,
These are actual map overlays..not route importations. You can overlay crystal clear photo quality Google Earth maps on the TT map!!!
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Sorry Kakes,
Here is the abovementioned link:
http://create.tomtom.com/manuals/create-your-own-content/
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Aren’t you overlaying the Google map for navigation purposes? Seems they both accomplish the same thing, route over map or map over map with route. What would be the real difference?
February 4th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Not at all.
It is the actual map overlay. Sort of like a topo map, but rather its a “raster” file composed of a high res map portion.
You actually map your own overlay map!
The Google-maps thing is about the importation of destination and wqaypoints to create a route. You can do that in Mapsource already, and TT can do that via Home or via google maps. actaully, I think that the 700 series can do the same route importation with the 3rd party app.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:37 am
Hey guys I need help I have the TomTom one 3rd generation.
I got it for Christmas this, however I live in Thailand 6 months out of the year and TomTom has no maps for Thailand. Does anyone know how to convert Garmin maps to be used on TomTom.
By the way really like my TomTom.
Eric
February 6th, 2008 at 4:39 am
You can’t convert them to use on the TomTom and vice versa. Both Garmin and TT maps are proprietary. Infama can answer better for 3rd party maps on the TTOne, but there are some 3rd party maps that can be added to the Garmin’s. Just be sure to verify with the vendor.
February 6th, 2008 at 4:51 am
orry Eric,
There is no workaround.
You have to sell it and go with a cheap Garmin as they have Thai mapping.
February 11th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
In the market for TT or Garmin mostly for Europe. Is it true TT does not have the capacity for breadcrumbs? This feature may be the deal breaker for me.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:14 am
Sherie,
No the TT does not have the breadcrumbs feature.
February 12th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
By the way, Infama, what’s the deal with TT going to device specific maps? Don’t see what the problem would be if you have an SD card. Between maps, TTHome server/update/software and lingering Mac issues, they seem to be doing everything they can to p*##-off their customers. Any bounce they may have gotten over the holidays is being wasted by some bonehead moves lately.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Agreed Gator.
Apparently, they are concerned that units with slower CPU wont work well with the big maps. I say sell the map, put out the disclaimer and let the customer choose.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I’ve read the comments from start to finish on this excellent website and I am astounded at the knowledge. Infama, thank you for answering so promptly a few days ago. I own the nuvi 260 but I’m still trying to decide between the TT920 & the 770. My needs are simple, I intend to use the machine as a road map but not mp3, traffic, etc. I’m leaning toward the TT but I have some elementary questions:
a) I am forever getting lost in European cities and towns-the street names change frequently and the signage is often poor. Will the TT call out the name of the street I need?
b) Does anyone know if the maps to Croatia and Slovenia are adequate?
c) Does the TT have a visible antenna? Surely not, but someone told me that.
d) Is it light/small enough to carry in a fanny pack?
These are all questions from a techno-idiot but I am trying to get on the learning curve with GPSs.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Sherie, are you using this primarily as an auto unit or a pedestrian unit, or kind of split 50/50? Regarding the 920, yes it will call out the road name (with the proper voice), A lot of highway has been added in the newly released map for Croatia, Infama can probably answer for Slovenia. The TT does not have an visable antenna, but with the arched back it’s a bit of a tight fit for some pockets. Backpack is no issue. Note that, unlike the Garmin 770, it does not have a “screen lock” button to prevent accidental screen taps, so it’s not as suitable for walking as the Garmin. Map-wise, I ‘d probably give the tilt to TomTom in Europe in most (but not all) cases. One perk is that is you buy the 920 now, you are entitled to the just released map update. If overwhelming use will be in an auto, I’d recommend the 920 over the Garmin 770. If a lot of walking use, the Garmin may be the better choice, due to both a longer battery life than the TomTom and the screen lock function.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Gator nailed it for the most part Sherie.
If you buy now, you will get the upgrade for free to West and Central Europe version 7.15 (via internet). Coverage of Croatia and and Slovenia should be greatly imporved in the EASTERN Europe optional map for about $80. I think that coverage in the W&C Europe map will be sort of scanty for these countries. Also, no Greece map for TT.
The 920 is NOT bulky at all and will fit easily into my front shirt pocket.
Not sure what Garmin offers in their Europe map. Please go to their website and browse the map program to see level of detail.
In summary, check both units to ensure max coverage of the areas you want to travel in. Also, be mindful that the Garmin is a bit more convenient for walking, but the TT is a bit more feature rich, for things like EPT for tunnels, Mapshare, selective route exclusion. Garmin has the edge for true route optimization, but that is not a big need for people on vacation.
February 14th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Infama, I agree it’s not bulky but it is a bit thicker than the nuvi. Just don’t wear any of those dang Italian shirts with the narrow pockets.
February 14th, 2008 at 7:02 am
Thank you Gatorguy and Infama…I note that the Best Buy in Toronto has the 920 on sale for $479. I could take a drive on Sat and go to Buffalo, where I’m sure I could get it cheaper, if only because we pay 15% sales tax, but if something went wrong I’d have another long drive back.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:13 am
[...] Here is a review from TomTom GO 920T vs Garmin Nuvi 770 There are a TON of comments here. TomTom GO 920T vs Garmin Nuvi 770 — NaviGadget # Fletch Says: What about the fact that TomToms routing engine stinks compared to Garmins? Or [...]
February 15th, 2008 at 3:50 am
Sherie,
Here is what I found out:
Croatia – 43% street network (23 fullt atributed, rest basic) + 100% of major roads network and interconnecting network
Slovenia – 32% street network (32% fully attributes) + 100% of major roads network and interconnecting network
Major + interconnecting roads coverage means in reality that you will be able to drive betweeb any towns and cities inside any country, but there might be roads inside the town/city missing. For example few years ago when Poland had only major + interconnecting roads coverage, the only roads inside my city that showed on the map was those that were part of official country road network (with numbers etc.).
the other balkan countries are included as connector network only (major roads)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I assume this data is in the Eastern Europe map and not in the W&C Europe map, except for major connecting roads…
February 15th, 2008 at 3:53 am
Sorry,
I dont consider GPSMAG reviews as objective or particularly enlightening. The only positive is that they have lots of nice screen shots.
http://www.pocketgpsworld. com has a reviews on the 920T and the Garmin 710.
http://www.gpsreview.net has reviews on the 920 and the Garmin 760.
These 2 sites do a better job of evaluating the products.
A quick compatrison can also be found at http://www.yournav.com
February 17th, 2008 at 7:50 am
I now own the 920. Imagine my surprise when I could not locate my own street in the index, nor those around me! Voice command could not find it either. I found that I don’t live in Toronto. I live in North York. Problem: no one coming to the city would know this. The term isn’t widely used since almalgamation a decade ago and even snail mail says Toronto. I know you can use postal codes, but who has that? This is part of the city, not even part of the greater metro area. How can this be corrected?
February 17th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hi Sherie,
I live in the UK but bought the 920T because of trips to the US and Canada – and, interestingly, I have relatives who live in North York in Toronto. I thought North York is a locale withing Toronto – i.e. if I saw Toronto I’d have specified that, not looked for North York. I’m really worried about this because my relatives in North York live near the Fairview Mall and I went on the Fairview Mall web site and they list their address as:
1800 Sheppard Ave. East
Toronto, ON
M2J 5A7
Now, if the 920T can’t find such a location (i.e. it doesn’t think it’s in Toronto) then I’m going to have problems using it in Canada and TeleAtlas need to look at it as, perhaps, they could be using an old geographic data.
In the UK, it’s normal practice to use the post code and house number to locate addresses. I guess if you don’t have the post code then you also won’t know the locale (e.g. North York and, in the example above, it’s not listed) and this is going to be a problem… especially if you’re from another country and haven’t a clue what the locale names are.
I know that for London it doesn’t work in that manner. i.e. you don’t need to specify “Finchley” or “Hampstead”, just state London and the street name (if you don’t have the post code).
Does anyone know if this is the case with the US as well ?
Anyone with a Garmin 770 know if it works this way as well ?
February 18th, 2008 at 5:56 am
For the problematic area of Toronto, the Garmin’s (at least the 700 series) use redundent labeling. Thus it will properly find the address, whether you enter Toronto or North York. As a matter of fact, it will list all available occurances of that address anywhere in the database if you’d like, no city required. TT is aware of the issue with their Canada mapping.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Gator is correct. (For Toronto and Ottawa)
TT does not have redundant mapping like Garmin, but many Ontario residents say the TT database is actually more updated than Garmin’s. I cant say for sure, but that is the preponderance of what I read.
I expect that TT will update their firmware to allow search by street name any where in the province, but for now, they use the exact township naming (ignoring the amalgamation).
Apart from the postal code workaround, the other option is to browse map first to find the street.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Sherie,
I just checked the new W&C Europe map (ver 715.1703) and yes there is street level detail for the big cities in Croatia/Slovenia. In Ljubljana, Zagreb and Dubrovski I see dense street info. Then there are connecting street detail for towns and smaller cities. Some smaller cities will have good street level coverage as well.
For you it is important to upgrade the map to ver 715 to get the Eastern Europe improvements (its within the 30 day guarantee, so there can be no objection). You must use Home and if you have a problem, contact Customer Service thru the TT website and they will arrange to put it in your account for downloading later, even after the 30 day window.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
A potentially helpful feature on the 920T I discovered today. If you have paired your cellphone, you can send a text message with your GPS coordinate and some pre-defined (modifiable text).
If the other recipient has a tomtom as well and it reads the message (i.e. their phone is paired) then it recognises the coordinate and can display it on the map for you and navigate you to that point (or store it as a favourite etc.).
This of course relies on the other cellphone user having a tomtom as opposed to another manufacturer’s device; in Europe this is very likely but I guess not the case in the US. Of course, you can read the GPS coordinates and manually enter them on any device – the useful bit is when driving instantly seeing where the other person is.
February 19th, 2008 at 6:09 am
New North America map version 715 came out yesterday. All you new buyers need to rush over to HOME and claim your new map upgrade.
If it doesnt work, contact Customer Service right away to get them to resolve it for you.
February 19th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Once again, I thank you for all your info. Kakes, I hope you find your way around in Toronto…I’m not so far from Fairview myself and I followed your example by calling up addresses in Scarborough. Same problem!
February 19th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
TomTom still has a bit of “detail” work to do. It’s a fine unit with a lot of features. They just really need to pay a bit closer attention to details like addressing issues and TTHome rather than blaming the customer for using it incorrectly. (Almost) none of the problems will be that difficult to correct or improve if they’ll ever give them their attention. They just don’t seem to put a premium on customer service.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:05 am
“New North America map version 715 came out yesterday”
I bought my 920T on 2 Jan. What timing :(
There is no “upgrade” price, you have to purchase the new maps at full price – for all of Europe this is £79.99 ! I called TomTom support, The Europe maps came out 2 weeks ago, which is much closer to my 30 days date which makes it even more frustrating. However, the guy at TomTom said he’d only really bother to upgrade after a full year with the advent of Mapshare. Oh, and he also said not to be too concerned, they bring out maps 4 times a year so I’d have out of date maps sooner rather than later !
I know I now have a device with over 60,000 Mapshare updates, I’m just wondering if anyone knows how good it is !
Gatorguy – what problem are you having with TomTom Home 2 (V2.2.0.33)? It works fine for me… I agree perhaps TomTom need to focus on the prime function (e.g. fixing the Toronto search issues). I do find their customer service is quite good (from pre-sales to post sales support) – perhaps this is because I’m calling the Europe number ?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:24 am
TT Customer service is quite OK. The company has some internal communication issues, but overall they work.
Gator has never used HOME as he is a Garmin guy! LoL
Gator is correct though, TT needs to attack addressing issues with more gusto.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Infama, I forget Kakes in in Europe. I’ve seen very few posts complaining of “server” (???) issues there, primarily in US. They treat you guys REAL good. LOL
February 21st, 2008 at 8:31 am
European customers have about the same level of service, BUT, Euros have more experience with TT and are more resorceful in solving issues. TT is “new” to the US and customers there have different expectation levels.
For examples, if US users cant get the new maps DLed in a day or 2 its panic. Over here, people know that it may be better to wait for a week or so to let the rush die down and then calmly go collect the new map.
February 21st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
HMMM. . . not sure about the same level of service. Seems a lot of the knowledgeable TT users tend to go to the Brit site when they have issues.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
II actually started my search for a portable GPS on THIS site. I actually work for a company that manufacturers GPSs, and I am not buying MY own brand even with huge employee discounts, just cause I am looking for PERFECT regardless of price and my unit although better than 90% of what’s out there isn’t perfect
I headed out to buy the Garmin (just reputation) , but flat out the TOMTOM920T feature set seemed so much more complete I opted for the 920. I also got a great deal at Circuit City over presidents day :)
On opening , you feel you hit gold when you see the charging cradle of the 920 Brilliant feature, something pretty standard on PDAs and high end cell phonesbut sorely lacking on GPS units. Opening the box , was a delight everything seemed solid , well engineered , the mounting was a slight disappointment that proved to be a HUGE problem. But alas I had the 90 and began my settings. The software that accompanies the package is well thought out “ the whole community sharing thing is a nice “social networking” feature, the famous voices , just gimmicky (that turned me off) and here came the moment of truth!
The 920 would noit get a signal ANYWHERE! Now I own a blackberry 8800 and that GPS gets 4 satellites in my basement! In my terrace I get 8 ! the 920 ZERO!
Okey since with the 920 you can plan routes and run a simulation the lack of satellite signal didn’t seem to be a problem I figured by the time it is in the car I will get my signal.
My trip was pretty straight forward . vicinity of JFK Airport in NYC to Melville Long Island. My Pioneer AVIC 3N hits the perfect route on the 2nd of multiple routes. Easy.. Belt Pkawy to Southerstate . southern state to 110, 110 to office building! The TOM TOM also calculated multiple routes .. and OH BOY! There was no way I could get the 920 to send me even close to a short or fast route , it insisted in sending me to the Whitestone bridge then navigate some side streets then south to Norther Pkway then to the Long Island Expressway to exit 40 navigate some side street to 110 and then my office .This was about a 1 hour 45 trip! Something wrong here said I.
The other routes and simulations ALL send me towards the Whitestone bridge and various flavors of navigating back south. The more routes I asked to find the longer and longer it took. That pretty much told me that I had a bad unit. I exchanged the unit and the new unit gave me exactly the same results. I updated maps, same results, I uploaded user maps , the same
So at this time I had given up on the 920 , but I had not even began to find the annoyances and lack of basic usability principals in this thing.
1) Why on EVERY trip if you want to avoid HOV lanes ? why not one choice in settings?
2) The navigation through the user interface is dismal . you punch the right arrow to go through 4 screens then you realize you may have wanted something different and must arrow back 4 times to get back and make a simple change in choice.
3) The “color schemes” were right down atrocious both day and night. The sample on the screen before you choose them is a joke , really someone HAD to be joking when they did this. You can not tell one from the other and once you pick one, and decided THAT was a bad choice, again press 4 arrows to go back get another one.
4) Now, the infamous mounting. This time in my car (just testing cause I was not about to trust a GPS that adds 60 minutes to 45 minute trip!
This “suction cup really SUCKS and not in a good way in this instance.
5) This thing doesn’t have a simple lock to excerpt more suction and lock,(The pretty cheap NAVIGON blows this one away and it also blows the Garmins away) you wipe the glass, wipe the rubber ,moisten the rubber cup. Press and the moment you mount the unit (nice mount by the way) and the first string vibration in the cabin, down it comes. Now, imagine THAT traveling at 60 MPH!
6) That ever popular FREE for life traffic!. You must set an antenna all around your windshield that looks like a Christmas tree. I don’t see how anyone would put up with such nuisance in fact I can’t believe this is legal, this thing can cause someone to get tangled up in it during an accident .
7) The clutter on the screen is RIDICULOUS and the sensitivity only works reliably when pressing the unit against a solid surface. So much for on the road, choice changes.
So there was NO redeeming value on the TOMTOM- shows which way a road goes ? what good is that when it also tells you to make a U turn in the middle of a expressway ?
So now, I am waiting for the release of the GARMIN 780 (yeah , I do belive that the pricier the better) . In the meantime , the only thing that I found attractive about the TOMTOM , was the cute name!
February 29th, 2008 at 4:55 am
I completely disagree with the prior review. I dont think the poster took the time to learn all the features.
First off, no one ever spoke of free traffic in the US. If you dont like TMC, you can get wireless GPRS traffic with the right phone and data plan.
The creen is completely customizable to have as little or as much “clutter” as you want.
What sensitivity are U talking about? Solid surface?
The TT got sat lock for me within 2 mins the first time I used it…before quickfix was downloaded!
HOV lane warning? Never saw this while in the US. I guess, a simple setup would remove this popup screen, so again, a simple solution.
I heard of the Whitestone Brigde issue before, BUT who cares if you live in NYC and know better routes…wyou dont need a GPS to tell you your local area. If you dont, well again who cares? In any case, just drive another way and it recalcs in a couple seconds.
U-turn on a highway???…I have NEVER heard of this before.
There are TONS of colour schemes available. Find one you like. I personally have at least 8 for night and 8 for days.
Who cares about how many taps for set up screens? You dont do that while driving! Pref changes should not be done all that often. Nav functions are easily reached in a couple taps or via the quick menu. Only cancel route takes excessive taps and will be fixed soon for sure.
The mount is cheap, but I never use it anyway. I only want vent mounts! I dont want to advertise for smash and grab thieves.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am
infama
You have heard of the whitestone bridge issue and is NOT important ’cause I live in NY ? and your litany of reasons why this blatant defect is not important REALLY does not go far in giving anyone any sense of trust to the unit. If the Whitestone bridge IS an issue (which has been expericed and you acknowledge) what else is in there that is not giving you thre quality you expect ? Now, I shouldnt worry and follow my own routes cause I live in NY what if you do NOT? Lets remeber my route begins at JFK. Somene carries thir TomTom on a buss trip and plots a route to where I was going … the Whitestone issue is NOT a problem ?? Just on that remark is clear you are in love with this unit and nothing can be said to disuade you.
So my comments may be heeded by someone who is not as infatuated with the unit and has a clearly defined bias towards it.
As per reading instructions. I shouldnt have to read ANY instructions to get a satelite link outside my house when a blackberry gets 8 instantaly.
The sensitivity of the screen .. The TonmTom kept ignoring my screen touches while mounted on the cradle ( the short time it it stayed on the windshild, harder presses made the whole thing come down) now, if you put the TomTom flat against a surface and press no problem .. get it ? But , who cares right , how many times will you have to push the screen while you are navigating!
Who cares about many taps? LOL this is funny .. so none of the complaints are important, if every shortcoming of this thing is unimportant to you then sure GREAT unit. Why compare? buy it , ignore that it ads 60 minutes to a 45 minute trip, do not use it in your home town ’cause you should know the way and because you havent seen a U-Turn in a middle of a expressway it doesnt happen ?
Probably by trivializing the stated shortcomings of the TT you are doing more harm than good to the company, since you DO admit they are there but that YOU personally as a matter of individual choice feel it is not a big deal!
At any rate you seem to forget that this was a comparison , and that the Garmin has None of the problems so you do not have to accept bad engineering as a matter of course. People do vote with their bucks. Time will tell how far TOMTOM goes in the USA. Perhaps the USA consumer expects a little more from the goods they buy.
February 29th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Sorry I had not read every single comment on this thread (I should have) but I find it fascinating how INFAMA, spends such tremendous amount of time vigorously defending the TT to the point of implying people are lying when they have reported a problem ( like the recovery from a bad turn taking so long , your TT shows you driving into the woods) or as it happened to me kept asking to make a U TURN on the Long Island Expressway. Yes it COULD mean , “get off the LIE look for an overpass cross it drive back to were you where you were before you made your stupid mistake and lets pick this up again”
His/her thorough knowledge of the unit and almost fanatical denials of its problems seem to point to someone who is SELLING this thing. Perhaps if his responses were not so dismissive to the uninitiated and so detailed to refute a magazine article, his credibility may improve. Right now I do smell shill!
February 29th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hi Misteroz,
I agree with some of you point but some others make me think there may be problems with your unit.
I don’t like the TMC aerial either, though I have managed to tuck the wire between the windscreen and the mounting.
Let me comments on your observations:
1) Why on EVERY trip if you want to avoid HOV lanes ? why not one choice in settings?
No HOV lanes in the UK so not able to comment. We do have toll roads and toll bridges and I like the option of choosing because I don’t mind paying for the Dartford Bridge/tunnel but don’t often need to pay to go on the M6 for example.
2) The navigation through the user interface is dismal . you punch the right arrow to go through 4 screens then you realize you may have wanted something different and must arrow back 4 times to get back and make a simple change in choice.
I think the navigation can be improved but do understand what the designers may have been thinking… make it easy to read (i.e. large icons) an simple rather than efficient (smaller symbols, but more of them on the screen). I often don’t go into the intricate menus when driving, when not driving and in the home I agree it can be a pain !.
3) The “color schemes” were right down atrocious both day and night. The sample on the screen before you choose them is a joke , really someone HAD to be joking when they did this. You can not tell one from the other and once you pick one, and decided THAT was a bad choice, again press 4 arrows to go back get another one.
You can download and even create your own colour schemes, it is really quite easy.
4) Now, the infamous mounting. This time in my car (just testing cause I was not about to trust a GPS that adds 60 minutes to 45 minute trip!
This “suction cup really SUCKS and not in a good way in this instance.
I find the suction cup excellent. I don’t remove it though, I bought another suction cup for my wife’s car. Once it’s fixed it really is quite firm.
5) This thing doesn’t have a simple lock to excerpt more suction and lock,(The pretty cheap NAVIGON blows this one away and it also blows the Garmins away) you wipe the glass, wipe the rubber ,moisten the rubber cup. Press and the moment you mount the unit (nice mount by the way) and the first string vibration in the cabin, down it comes. Now, imagine THAT traveling at 60 MPH!
I live in the UK (where we travel at 70MPH) and travel in Germany (where you can travel as fast as you like on the Autobahn) and the unit is solid and fine.
6) That ever popular FREE for life traffic!. You must set an antenna all around your windshield that looks like a Christmas tree. I don’t see how anyone would put up with such nuisance in fact I can’t believe this is legal, this thing can cause someone to get tangled up in it during an accident .
I agree, this is unsightly and I’ve had to spend some time carefully placing the wire between the glass and the car’s metal. There is a “mod” where you can modify the adaptor to use you car’s FM aerial (much better) but you need to be able to use a soldering iron and, of course, you will invalidate the warranty.
7) The clutter on the screen is RIDICULOUS and the sensitivity only works reliably when pressing the unit against a solid surface. So much for on the road, choice changes.
I have take off some data and have the speed/next turn info on the right (vertical) rather than at the bottom horizontal; it’s OK. My mount is fine, so I don’t have the problem with screen sensitivity.
Also, I have only once been told to turn around on a highway and this was when I told the unit to avoid a route with traffic problems – I did not know the area and it turned out that was the only route without driving back out of the city and coming back in from another direction.
I genuinely think you have an issue with the unit supplied w.r.t. mount and sensitivity.
I have found, on local routes, I sometime know a better way – this could be down to the unit’s determination of what is “quick” versus what is “short”.
I used this site to inform me about the two units and I’m happy with my 920T but I agree it’s far from perfect. You may not find exactly the same problems with the Garmin 770 (or even the 780) but I’m sure you’ll find other issues. At the moment, I don’t think there is a “perfect” unit. infama and gatorguy are very passionate and their expertise has been very useful.
Europeans are perhaps not as extrovert and assertive as Americans, however, we have strong consumer rights (e.g. standard 12 month warranties on nearly all products) and what TomTom don’t want are high return rates. I hope this comment is of use.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Kakes
There could very well be some major differences in the USA model and the European model. The HOV thing for one is a major difference in firmware.
If I had a bad unit then i was lucky enough to get TWO bad units that behaved exactly the same. I am curious if the Europeans do show the same symptoms as the US version, perhaps some minor changes to appeal to one market or the other could have caused the problems . As I said on my first post the company I work for does mnfg a GPS ( and I will not say which cause I like my job) we have experienced problems in the US unit that do not show in the EU units and vice versa. Now you ask our engineers and they will admit the modifications are “minor” and that most of the problems are user related . They may be minor but the unit you buy in the UK is not 100% exactly as the one I bought. In fact there is such thing as bad batches of product , “bad runs” , bad components etc. Typically you can tell a lot from a serial number and since I know this business I checked my serial numbers and they were within a very close range, so there could be one component (a capacitor for example) that is just slightly off , or some fine tuning for satellites in the USA that were not done correctly.
There could be a zillion reasons why my two units were unusable. the rubber cup mounting is an universal complaint in the USA , perhaps you got something different. There are many reasons why you see a rating of a product on Amazon for example showing 5 stars for one individual while the next says the thing is junk.
What I was trying to convey were my experiences and as I said the peole in the USA vote with their money. But I find it quite arrogant and simplistic for someone to tell me that I should ignore problems because.. Well I should ignore them. An answer like yours is intelligent, well thought out and clearly unbiased. THAT helps everyone while the fanatical “you guys are nuts cause this doesn’t happen” while it has happened to more than one person who do not know each other at all. This kind of defense is always suspected as far as I am concerned. In all honesty I found the exchange funny because it was so immature like buying a TV set and not being able to watch channel 9 and someone telling you that is minor you have another 500 channels to watch.
Yes your comment is VERY valuable and perhaps someone at TOMTOM (not disguising the problems) would look into the possibility of bad units making it into the USA market. It has happened with Sony-Ericsson phones where the “i” version (international) was a dream while the “a” version Americas was a nightmare.
It does happen and a candid approach to the problems is the best way to assure the product will improve. Denial really gets you nowhere.
Thanks for your kind reply, and I am sure there will be SOMETHING on the Garmin I will hate!
ps- I DID say that the charging cradle hooking up to the PC was an absolute revolutionary , and highly useful addition , didn’t I ? So Even though I hated the unit ALL GPS manufacturers have “something” to learn from the 920.
February 29th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I assume you meant you were going to wait for the Garmin 850 or 880, not the 780.
March 1st, 2008 at 5:02 am
OZ,
I first heard of the Whitestone bridge issue with a MAGELLAN Maestro 4250 which uses Navteq maps!
March 1st, 2008 at 5:14 am
I see we get to the accusations of employment for the GPS comp[any. LoL
How predictable!
Gator backs Garmin, does he work for Garmin now?
Come on man! This is our hobby and we spend a ton of time reseraching the issues on line and with our own units.
Dont you think that if TT was in the habit of having people U-turn on highways, that there would be a consistent clamour of complains on the more than 7 forums that we frequent?
You call my credibility into question? Fine, find me even 1 other independent/credible reference to this U-turn issue on another forum!
Gator would have been all over this if it were true, and justifiably so.
TT has its flaws, but give the devil his due. You may indeed have a dud unit.
March 1st, 2008 at 5:54 am
Oz,
Did you even reset the unit? The 920 with GPSquickfix has one of the fastest sat locks in the business. This has been confirmed by countless posters and reviewers, so pardon me if I am taken aback by your comment!
The screen is ultra-sensitive and has a fast response rate.
The nav screen can be fully customized with info and the info bar can be made vertical or horizontal.
The purpose of a review is to give objective evaluation (of course subjectivity cant be 100% ruled out) and so one has to be careful not to give out info taht is not generally true.
To say that the 920 has a sat lock problem, an insensitive screen, an always cluttered screen, atrocious colour SCHEME (singular), Free lifetime TMC in the US, no quick way to get to common functions and such stuff is patently FALSE.
Only explanation is that you dont know how to use the device properly or you have a dud unit.
The manual should be your friend, if not, then at least go on the good forums and ask questions. That is how the rest of us learned.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:09 am
I live in Europe but have a US bought 920 that I used for a few weeks there, including in NYC. I never got any HOV lane popup, so clearly the option for the popup was disabled on my device. These are easy setup features that are part of the customization capabilities of the 920. Choice is a good thing!
There is no material difference between the European 920 and the US one. The only diff. worth mentioning is what they strip out to make both maps fit. Voice recog. files from the OTHER continent were stripped out to save 250mb of space. These files are easily available for free download at the TT website and can be put back at will. Remember, the units are made to work identically on each side of the Atlantic…that is the point of the 920 and the G770.
The real issue is YOU. You may have had a dud issue and spoke subjectively. When corrected, you reacted defensively. YOU were not in possession of several facts nor do you have wide experience with the product. I have no stake in TT and Gator can attest that I have sent complaints directly thru to them to get REAL issues fixed. I am just concerned that people read your review and take it as Gospel, when the real situation is quite different.
TT has real problems that they need to focus on like Hawaii addressing, bad batches and redundant city naming, they dont need to waste time on non-issues like screen sensitivity and speed of sat lock. Gator an I have spoken freely of this here and at other forums.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:27 am
This from the Tomtom site:
++++++++++++++++++++
Whenever I create a route, TomTom brings me a specific way. Even if I click the alternate route I can’t go the way I want. For example, I do NOT want to take the George Washington Bridge to get to the New York State Thruway but would rather go via the Whitestone Bridge. I can’t figure out how to tell TomTom this. Bridges are not listed as POIs. Can anyone please help me?
March 1st, 2008 at 6:29 am
First Oz said there was no redeeming value of the 920, then he said only the cute name and in a later post he mentions the charging cradle.
Talk about damning with faint prasies!
He says he works for a rival GPS company.
I wonder if it starts with a “G”. LoL
March 1st, 2008 at 8:12 am
The Garmin 760/780 and the tt920 have some fundamental feature and operational differences. Regarding navigation, tho, they are quite equivalent. I gave up responding to complaints that someone’s Garmin took them on a back road when they wanted to use the highway, or their street, already 2 years old, wasn’t in the map so it must be out-of-date compared to other manufacturers. There’s roads and routes my 760 will take that Infama’s 920 won’t. There are roads in his Teleatlas/TT that don’t show on my Navteq/Garmin map. When he and I first started comparing the two devices, we made a big deal out of it. Didn’t take long for us to find missing roads, misplaced poi’s, odd routes on occasion in BOTH of our units. There is no perfect map nor infallible routing available to anyone’s consumer gps.
The biggest reason I own and use a gps is to confidently get me to places that I otherwise would find with difficulty or not at all. In that regard, it has yet to fail me.
I appreciate simplicity and prefer not to take the time to “customize” the interface or features. I’m quite happy with the “look and feel” of the Garmin 700’s, especially with the recently added improvements and features via firmware updates. Infama likes to “tinker” and enjoys the option of 3rd party apps for his TT with it’s linux-based open source operating system. Neither unit is any less than one of the finest consumer navigation devices currently available. I’ve seen complaints of bricked 760’s, as well at TT720 and 920’s, Magellan 3000 and 4000’s, HP ipaqs, in fact every model produced from every manufacturer. Of course there are some bad units, just like there are bad BMW 8-series cars, or the occasional bad meal at a 5 star restaurant. To infer that the entire line or menu is rotten is a lot more than a stretch. I have some issues with the way TT does things, as Infama does with Garmin. But one thing I will admit to is those “serious issues” that he and I used to throw at each other have, in the long run, turned out to be mostly leitmotif. I don’t believe there are two finer mass market auto gps units than the 760 and the 920 when you consider features, support and price. I have features he would like and he has features I’d like offered on my Garmin. But they are both going to reliably do their job with a minimum of user input and stress.
Your experience with the 920 was definitely not typical. I can’t say I’ve seen many posts complaining of satellite lock issues. Only ones I’ve noted are from those that apparently didn’t understand about updating their quickfix data via Home, and the very occasional complaint caused by athermic windshield glass. Complaints even then are very rare. You’re more likely to see reception complaints aimed at Garmin (mostly a lot of smoke, and again largely due, on the 700’s, from failing to update their firmware).
Screen clutter? I tend to agree to a point, but as Infama correctly pointed out, YOU CAN CONTROL the amount and type of info displayed, which TT fans appreciate. It just requires a little work to set up the way you prefer. Comparing the two out of the box is pretty unfair. The Garmin will always look and act better IMHO until the TT owner sets his 920 up the way HE wants it. Then the 920, for that user, looks a whole lot better to him than the 760 in many instances.
I’d suggest to any potential buyer to pay much more attention to features needed, and then to features wanted. Suggest you then read user reviews at REAL sites such as gpsreview.net, pocketgps, gpslodge. Amazon reviews need to be viewed with suspicion in some cases. There are “paid” reviewers posts in some areas. No device deserves 5 stars. If you want to see how the device works and what they actually do, gpsmagazine.com does excellent feature and use reviews, but do note that they are pro-Garmin, so suggest you give little weight to their conclusions. Pay close attention to customer support complaints. Magellan, for instance, generally builds a fairly-priced and featured gps. Their support sucks tho. Completly ignore list prices. As it stands now, nearly all the devices on the market are comparatively priced when you consider features. (One of the unfair and UNTRUE knocks on Garmin, especially from TT owners, is that Garmin is over-priced. You’ll see how untrue that is when you do the price comparisons). One of the best shopping comparison sites is Shopzilla. It is your friend.
Least important of all is who the map supplier is and the date of the map in a new unit. The changes year to year in maps is really minor, and certain areas are just mapped better from one supplier than the other. Overall differences between the two major mappers, Navteq and Teleatlas, are trivial. But do check to see that maps of other countries or regions that you might need in the future are available from the manufacturer. Garmin has usually been quite good at covering other regions. TomTom maps in Europe are usually pretty complete. Some manufacturers have fewer maps available.
In a nutshell, MisterOz, I’d agree with Infama that if the issues did truly exist on the devices you had, the units you used were not representative of the 920. Overall, it’s a well-built, good value gps with very few true operational problems. As much as I like my Garmin, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the TT920 for certain friends whose needs differ from mine.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:28 am
Does the trip log feature record time along with location? Can I dowload the trip log data to my computer? THe reason I ask is that I want to be able to track my speed, elevation, and location which should be possible if I have time stamps for each point. I’m just trying to decide between buying the 770, or buying a 350 plus a basic gps that tracks location and time.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:01 am
Yes, the tracklog is time and date-stamped in my 760. Why are you looking at the 770? I assume for dual-continent mapping?
March 1st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Lots of LOLs on any reply makes me wonder still more about the motives of the poster so there you are.
It seems people keep missing the fact I had TWO units that presented the same problems. It is also missing my speculation that there could be a batch of units that made it to NYC and have manufacturing problems (does any one remember the exploding DELL notebooks ?) Dell kept denying the issue and blaming it on user error and NOT reading the instructions until one of the notebooks was caught on CCTV on the assembly conveyor belt exploding like a small grenade. It happens. There is a very good chance that was my problem but I think two tries was enough to turn me off to the reliability of the existing product in NYC (how is that to being careful not to step on anyone’s ego?)
Now, what does the fact the unit comes with a cradle (which I admired as a true innovation have to do with the unit I used had having no redeeming value ? (and all the disclaimers above apply)
I am not a neophyte to these things, I have been in R&D for electronic gear for 20 years so “resetting the unit” is the first thing I did but that is my word and you either take it or not . As far as me working for “G”, wouldn’t *I* own a “G” already ?.. Now see if “G” has any distribution centers in Long Island NY
Did I go through every single recommended upgrade TT suggested when I used the HOME program, YES. With the exception of the user maps, I rather trust the company to know what maps work the best.
I hear that Garmin’s Tech Support SUCKS, the “techs” are under informed rude and terminally egotistical, I take that into consideration, on the other hand I hear the TT guys are a lot more helpful, but with me , they just went ” ooops , dunno”
Having gone through hundreds of evals and reviews on line it seems that the Garmin crowd is as fanatical as the TT crowd, It is off putting not very good for people to make a clear decision based on “social networking” , and the best decision is to plunk your bucks and give the unit a try.
Two mistakes I want to correct: Yes there is no free traffic on the TT my mistake, the fact remains the aerial is a Christmas tree and very unsafe remains.
Yes I made a mistake on the unit I will wait for. It is indeed the 880 expected in early April.
And who knows I may get the Garmin and think it is a REAL piece of crap, but as a lot of people have pointed out, if it is good for the military … Now, do they think that the Garmins sold to the military are the same grade, quality and feature set as what they will buy at Circuit City? Probably some do, I do NOT.
If the Garmin blows then I will bite the bullet get an in dash Pioneer Z2 (as I have on my own Supra)- and take my loses when I have to return the lease which I want the portable one for.
Yes it is TONS of money but most likely tax deductible at some level.
Perhaps it all boils down to my being spoiled by the in dash Pioneers!
When you have a GPS that automatically learns your traffic habits and within a week knows that you prefer exit 17S to exit 17N although 17N is the shortest and fastest route you do get spoiled.
Since there are still tons of research to do, I will be closing this chapter in my TOMTOM saga (I am not planning to go back to it- nor am I trying to influence anyone’s choice)
Thanks all for the dialog it was fun!
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:12 am
Note that Garmin has received a patent for just the type of “learning” tech that you mentioned. Also noticed they partnered with pioneer. Perhaps their tech is what you’re referring to. Expect we might see it in an upcoming Garmin release.
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Mr Oz,
Its supposed to be fun for us all here, afterall its a passtime. You only got one LoL for me and so count yourself lucky. I normally issue tons as its normally a light hearted situation for me.
I apreciate your turning down the tone and will reciprocate. I never doubted your experience per se, I merely cautioned you that it was not typical based on my fairly large online experience. It is certainly possible that you got units from a bad batch, this stuff happens. I have no desire to try to convince you to stay with a TT. If you dont like it for any reason, then I agree that you should look elsewhere. Garmin does make good machines.
As for the “G” reference, that was clearly a joke aimed to show you that such accusations are easy to make!
Good luck on your seach for an ideal unit that will satisfy your needs.
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:46 am
tomtom is better, the go 720 is very reputable, and accurate with text to speech and mapshare, the 920 can only exceed the expectations.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Dave, the TT720 is better than what?
March 4th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
930T (and 730T) announced… available April but, as I’ve said before, never reply on manufacturers dates or hold back from getting a 920T if you really need it now!
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/174195/new-tomtom-uses-drivers-street-cred-to-dodge-jams.html
Gatorguy – you know the obvious answer…. paper maps and a magnifying glass ;)
March 4th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
HAHAHA! Kakes, you’re quick!
March 7th, 2008 at 3:28 am
what to bay grmin 880 or tt 920t to use it in usa & Europe
thanks
March 7th, 2008 at 5:50 am
dubai
You need to compare the Garmin 880 to the TomTom 930T, neither of which you can buy today !
If you look at the content of this page, you can make an informed choice between the 770 and 920T depending on what features you consider important and even what limitations you might find unacceptable…
March 7th, 2008 at 9:11 am
thankyou kakes ,ok between garmin 780 and tt 920t
March 7th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
dubai,
What appeals to you more :
a) Knowing a more accurate time you will arrive at your destination and maps/points of information kept up to date by consumers
OR
b) Being able to fully control the SatNav by voice and also being able to keep a complete audit trail of where you have travelled
If a) then 930T, if b) then 880
This is a very crude method and, to be honest, who knows how the new products will perform ?
I’d wait until they are out and a similar comparison page is setup here !
March 8th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Other differences will be for the 930T: Reality view, lane assistant, voice input for addys only, IQ routing, selective route exclusion, EPT, extensive customization. Also total Europe maps, including Russian and all of Eastern Europe, but no Greece. List Price is $650.
For the 880, there are NO Europe maps (extra cost), there is speech recognition, dual front speakers, 3 months MSN2 for free, possibility to add games (cheap extra cost), very bright screen, tracklog, lost of peripheral data like elevation and SirfIntantFix2. List pice is $1,071
March 8th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Garmin 850 (no bluetooth, but all the rest) is alreday available for only $621. Suggest you ignore all retail pricing as theat’s for the “Box” stores.
The speech recognition on the nuvi is much more robust and thorough than on the 930t. Several other features carried over from the nuvi line that aren’t available on the TT’s (many are listed earlier in this thread). If you have use for the EU maps, spring for the 930t, or better yet, pick up a discounted 920, nearly the same device. If you don’t need dual-continent maps but the speech recognition is important to you, I’d seriously look at the Garmin 850.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:58 am
What would be the best unit to purchase to use in Israel.We will be traveling in May 2008 and would like to have a gps with us.Also,can I purchase a unit that will work both in the US and Israel.
March 10th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I think Mios offere Israel maps.
March 10th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Gator,
I dont think the VR on the 850 is any more “robust”. The 920 is plenty robust and indeed, we have no real reviews yet of the quality of the 850 VR, but pre-release observations were good.
The 800 series advantage is in a better implementation! That is, you could do more with the VR on the 850, covering much more than just addy entry.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I dunno, Infama. Watching the video over at passion, it requires no training, handles different accents pretty flawlessly. I’d still say more robust from the couple of videos I’ved seen. Did you watch the passion one?
March 14th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Good to see all the discussion is between the TomTom 920 and Garmin770/760. As I live in Australia the main selling feature is the Garmin track log. Garmin is the only car GPS that offers this feature. If you ever find yourself off road or on tracks that are not on the GPS map, you will find this an advantage when it comes to turning around and going home. This is a standard feature for all marine GPS’s but Garmin is the only car GPS that has this feature. Also it can be used for putting in your pocket when you go trecking.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Hi, i heard that if i buy a gps (tt or garmin) in north america the traffic receiver will not work in europe and vice versa. is this statement true?
I live in europe, from reading all the comments i can almost conclude that TT is better in europe and the garmin for NA. Can i conclude this?
Lastly, since i live in europe am i better of buying my gps here in europe or is it ok if i buy it in NA. Are the european versions better prepared for europe or are all models (europe+NA) exactly the same wherever i buy it?
Thanks.
March 15th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Hi Kevin,
infama and others have pointed out the actual base units in North America and Europe are the same, however, the TMC receivers are not. So, if you buy your unit in the US, you would need to get another TMC receiver for Europe and vice versa. If you’re in the UK, TMC is a bit of a joke as coverage is patchy.
I don’t think it’s as easy to conclude TT is better in Europe and Garmin better in the US – this forum is full of data/discussion and opinion on the various features, benefits and issues of the devices. That said, TomTom are based in the Netherlands and R&D is carried out there, Garmin is based in Kansas. European roads are different to those in the US (which is a newer country and had the ability to plan from the ground up for cars – especially the inter state highways which were funded as part of a defense budget); this may have influenced the designers.
Neither of these units is a “bad” unit, of which there are definitely some in the market. You may find both units will be discounted in the coming months as they are going to be superseded by enhanced ones.
March 15th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Well said Kakes. Both models have some unique features which appeal to different buyers. Both are very dependent of the mapping supplier for determining how appropriate they are for your location. In general, yes Teleatlas (TT) has put more effort and resources into EU maps compared to North America. Vice-versa for Navteq (Garmin). But until the most recent Teleatlas map in the TT 7.15 update, Garmin’s Navteq map covered Ireland better, as well as some coverage of Greece and Turkey, unavailable from TomTom. TT’s latest maps now cover Ireland pretty well and have significantly improved both Spain and Eastern Europe coverage. Now the latest Navteq Europe map used by Garmin, released this month, has reportedly done even better in E.Europe coverage. There is really no cut and dried answer as to which is best.
March 15th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Seems to be a common sentiment, but I’m pretty tech-savvy and have been reading reviews for a couple of days now and can’t decide between these two units. I’m hoping that the collective knowledge of Infama and Gator can help me here. Instead of just asking “which one should I buy”, I’ll provide details of what’s important to me and I’d really appreciate it if you guys would chime in. I’m listing these in order of importance.
(1) I live in Orlando, FL, and travel to other metro areas. I’ve read the TT has a problem finding addresses in suburbs that don’t actually lie in the city limits of large cities. For instance, if I’m trying to find 1234 Blah St. in Kingwood, TX, (a suburb of Houston) but I don’t know I’m actually in Kingwood and keep trying Houston as the city, will either of these units be able to help me? Same thing for my home city of Orlando. It’s surrounded by tiny suburbs that don’t always have clear city limits signs, so it would be a nightmare if the unit cannot help me navigate the whole area. This would be a deal-breaker for me.
(2) I travel 2-3 times per year to Europe. Mostly UK, Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. I will obviously use the unit more in the States, but my unfamiliarity with Europe makes me more concerned about the accuracy of the unit while overseas (i.e. getting lost “at home” would not send me into a panic the way getting lost in a foreign country would). I’ve read much about the accuracy of each mapping company in the States (seems to be a toss up). Is the same true for Europe? Is the TeleAtlas vs. Navteq debate the same there as it is here (a coin toss), or is Navteq simply inadequate in Europe? I don’t need lots of details here (seems this particular debate is endless), just a gut feeling from you guys who are obviously more informed than me.
That’s really my most important criteria. I just want one that works well at home and in Europe. The extras all seem very nice, but are just icing for me. Of all the extras I’ve read about , playing mp3 files is probably the only one I’d use regularly. I may eat those words one day (assuming I get the 920) and claim that voice recognition is the greatest thing since sliced-bread, but for now it’s not important enough to make me lean towards one unit or another.
I know given those criteria that I could get by with a much cheaper unit, but it seems that if I purchased a cheaper one and added maps of Europe, I’m getting into the price range of these units anyway so might as well go with the better unit and play around with the extras.
Any help you guys can give would be appreciated.
March 15th, 2008 at 11:57 am
LOL. I was working from a cached copy of this forum that was apparently about a day old. As soon as I submitted my last reply, it refreshed to show me the message I posted and I saw that Gatorguy just answered my concern #2 this morning. I think his Garmin allows him to see the future as well. Must me an undocumented feature. :-)
Thanks for the great info. A definitive answer for my concern #1 would be much appreciated. That is the real deal-killer for me.
March 15th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
UPDATE – I just drove over to Best Buy to try out each of these units. I’ll leave my brief impressions here, keeping in mind it was just a test drive with the store units, so I didn’t actually navigate anywhere.
First off, I really didn’t mind using either unit. Neither was drastically different than the other. A little hunting and pecking allowed me to find most features I was looking for. I do have one question, though, about the Garmin unit. How do you find POIs in other cities? Couldn’t find this quickly. It kept pulling up POIs near where I was located, with no intermediate question for where I wanted to look. I’m sure this is simple, I just couldn’t figure it out quickly.
I’ve seen some nitpick about the graphics on each unit (jagged lines, etc). I just didn’t see anything on either that would keep me from buying. No deal breakers there.
The TomTom touch screen seemed a bit more responsive than the Garmin. Could just be the demo unit, but you had to really tap the Garmin unit to get it to respond, while the TomTom needed a lighter touch. Again, no deal breaker.
This last thing is a real deal breaker (for me) and I hope Infama jumps in here and tells me that what I noticed was due to my inexperience. It refers to my question #1 from earlier today and it’s something I’d read about in other posts. It seems as if the TomTom has no concept of metro areas, etc. Most big cities in the US have several surrounding cities that kind of meld into the larger one, with little indication at times of where you actually are. I have a lot of friends, for instance, that live “in Houston, TX”, but their addresses are actually in the surrounding areas (Friendswood, League City, Kingwood, etc). I tried out several addresses, trying to play the role of someone that simply flies into the Houston airport and may only have a street address. With the TomTom, it was impossible for me to find any of the addresses, which would have left me completely stranded if I’d been in this situation. You seemingly HAVE to know the city in which you’re searching to be able to find an address, even if that city has 1,300 people, is relatively unknown, and sits next to one of the largest cities in the country. What blurs things a bit more is the fact that sometimes these are separate cities, but sometimes they are simply an area of town that has been incorporated into the larger area, but still retains it’s name to the locals. For instance, Clear Lake City, TX, was once it’s own city, but was incorported by Houston a long time ago. Most people who live there will say they live in Clear Lake, but they actually have Houston addresses. The TomTom would not help you in this instance. The Garmin allowed me to select a state, and either select a city or not. If you don’t select a city, it will search the entire state for roads that match what you’ve entered and return a nice list you can select from. This worked nicely. When selecting a city, even, it seemed to search the entire metro area of that city. I tried out every address I was unable to find with the TomTom and found each with no issues. I simply entered Houston as the city on the Garmin, and found addresses in League City, Friendswood, and Kingwood, no problems.
I hope this is an oversight on my part, because I really like the TomTom unit and was heavily leaning towards it simply because most Europeans seem to love it and I really want one that works well there during my visits.
Do you guys know if the Garmin performs pretty much the same in Europe as it does in the US, ignoring the obvious Navteq vs. TeleAtlas debate. I mean, if I fly into London and enter an address near Gatwick for instance that isn’t in London proper, will the Garmin pick it up like it did for my Houston examples?
Thanks again, everyone.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Your observation was correct. TT’s do not do redundent city labeling. If you enter the address for the wrong city, you’re not going to find your address solely by using the TT. Many users reference Google to find what the actual city should be. . . not very convenient out on the highway.
March 15th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Thanks Gatorguy. Didn’t now the phrase to search for. Now that you’ve given it to me, I popped +tomtom +”redundant city labeling” into Google and I found more info on the topic. Very helpful.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Gator, while the TT is bad with redundant city names, in practice it is not a big problem. I have never used google for example. Canada seems to be the big problem. The problem does not exist in Europe.
Garmin units do work well n Europe and Navteq maps are quite good here.
TT920 VR takes no training, Iused it from the get-go just like you saw in the Garmin 800 video…same level of robustness.
BTW, TT920 does cover Turkey and all of East. Europe, up to Russia. Greece is the notable exception, but as I understand it, even the Garmins are pretty useless in Athens.
Casper,
if redundant city naming is a deal breaker for you, get the Garmin…but it will cost you a bit more for the 770.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Infama, Europe may be great, but the user will be PRIMARILY in the US. Redundant city labeling is certainly an issue here, and does come up fairly often around the large metro centers. I’ve already seen the issue searching an addy in Tampa that actually turned out to be Temple Terrace, a suburb. The TT wouldn’t have found it.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
What address in Tampa, Temple Terr? Did you search on the Go720? The redundant name is not as big a deal in the contig. US as in Canada or Hawaii.
I realize the user is US based….see my advice.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Also would appear now that the new Garmin City Naviagator Europe map has more extensive coverage than the TomTom 7.15 map. Infama may be kind enough to check as I believe he’s using the 920 version map which is a bit more thorough. Coverage found at
http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/citynavntEurope.jsp#
Infama, I’ll get the address back to you. I’ll just have to figure out which address it was. Only a couple weeks ago, so I should find it. I’m sure you’re aware of the issue tho, where the address you’re searching is actually for a suburb. Similar to the New York/Manhatten addy you had problems with.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:13 am
The New York thing was a clear bug…different from the Redundant labelling. Fed Plaza was missing from the addy database, but showed up in POis!
There are different build versions of all TT maps, but the 920 has the most detailed versions always.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Garmin coverage:
Great Britain and Republic of Ireland
Great Britain: Full Coverage
Isle of Man:
Northern Ireland: Full coverage
Ireland: Full coverage
Channel Islands:
Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden
Denmark: Full coverage
Finland: Full coverage
Norway: Full coverage
Sweden: Full coverage
Germany
Germany: Full Coverage
France and Benelux
France: Full coverage
Belgium: Full Coverage
Netherlands: Full Coverage
Luxembourg: Full Coverage
Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein
Italy: Full coverage
Austria: Full Coverage
Switzerland: Full Coverage
Liechtenstein: Full Coverage
Spain and Portugal
Spain: Full coverage
Portugal: Full coverage (Continental Portugal not including Azores and Madeira)
Andorra:
Gibraltar:
Czech Republic
Czech Republic: Bradlec, Brno, Dalovice, Josefuv Dul, Karlovy Vary, Kosmonosy, Mlada Boleslav, Ostrava, Prague, Praha, Plzen and Repov
Greece
Greece: Athens
Eastern Europe
Estonia: Detailed coverage of Tallinn
Latvia: Detailed coverage of the capital city of Riga
Lithuania: Detailed coverage of the capital city of Vilnius
Poland: Full Coverage
Slovakia: Detailed coverage of Bratislava and Kosice
Hungary: Detailed coverage of the Greater Budapest area, the Balaton area, Debrecen, Miskolc, Eger and Tokaj
Slovenia: Detailed coverage of Ljubljana and Maribor
Croatia: Detailed coverage of Zagreb, Rijeka and Pula, Split, Selin, Zadar, Dubrovnik and the Island of Krk
Bulgaria: Detailed coverage of capital city of Sofija
Romania: Detailed coverage of Bucuresti (Bucharest) and Timisoara
Moldova: Major Roads Only
Serbia & Montenegro: Major Roads Only
Albania: Major Roads Only
Macedonia: Major Roads Only
Ukraine: Major Roads Only
March 17th, 2008 at 9:53 am
TomTom
Map of Western & Central Europe v7.15
With this map you can navigate door-to-door anywhere in 25 countries across Western & Central Europe. The following countries are included: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Hungary, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and Vatican City Download 1927 MB GBP 79.95
So, in addition to the fully covered countries above, there is main road coverageand major city coverage in the rest of Eastern Europe, Russia and Turkey! No Greece, but as you see Garmin offers Athens only and that map is essentially useless according to Greek posters on line. I guess it is better than nothing and thus that is why I have my old 2006 Grek TT map on an SD card.
TT offers more in Europe, but the difference is not great.
March 17th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
So coverage is pretty much the same whether TA or Navteq, correct? I understand you feel the implimentation is better with TT. By the way, do you know anyone who is using both maps? It seems a lot of the Brits seem to lean towards Navteq maps (on the Garmins)
March 17th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Feb. 28 quote at Yournav regarding new TT 7.15 Europe map:
MY INITIAL VIEW OF v715…
Dire… just dire.
Let me explain.
I don’t know how it might be for the rest of the country, but up here in Tyneside for me, it TRULY looks and seems like what has happened with v715 is NOT simply a development and amendment to the previous map.
I can honestly say hand on heart that what it really looks like has happened here, is that TT/TeleAtlas have literally not even used the previous map as the starting point for this one, but used historic data instead.
Because round here, my map is littered with every long since closed, abandoned, or no longer a through route street, that you can imagine.
Seriously, the quality of data of the previous map, v710 was MUCH better in my near area, for roads that are now closed, removed, bollard’ed off etc.
Suddenly, with v715, they are all BACK again, open, and incorrect – and I am talking LONG closed roads here, I don’t mean in the last year or so – historic closed streets are suddenly open again.
Indeed, it really is as if TeleAtlas have just looked at really old maps of my local area, as this is exactly the picture it paints – the v715 map compares quite similarly, with old old versions of A-Z Gazetteers I still own.
Bizarre in the extreme – how can it be so much more wrong, than it’s predecessor?
But the worst thing of all…?
Another new problem v715 introduces…
Streets now, are much longer on TomTom – that is, they are not made up of distinct sections any more, as the previous map was.
So this makes a bad situation MUCH worse, in that I can’t even use “Map Correction” to block or unblock a street, as I can’t just block of the short section that is not actually open any more – if I try, the ENTIRE length of road or street is nearly always used now, compared to the v710 map that was made up of lots of little sections.
Note this is not a complete case – SOME roads are still made of sections, so you can do it – but the vast majority of the many many closed roads that are marked as open on this new map, are one long section. Indeed, some roads in this new map are marked as one continuous section even when crossing over major A roads, or looping back on themselves.
So bad enough that v715 is so incredibly, and historically wrong when it’s predecessor was actually up to date.
But becuase of this new issue, you can’t even MANUALLY CORRECT the majority of them, as they are too long and continuous an element on the map now.
Nightmare.
Apart from the odd new street here or there, I am yet to see what improvements this new map brings, for the huge amount of PROBLEMS it already has shown me.
Oh er.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Infama,
When you say the problem (redundant labeling) does not exist in Europe, are you saying they’ve implemented this feature for the European maps, or are you talking geographically? Just curious. I fly into and out of Gatwick airport normally, which I thought was in London until I placed a call to London proper from my hotel room and got hit with the long distance charges. So back to a question I had earlier … if I tried searching for addresses near Gatwick (I still have no clue what city that airport is on … London is in its name, though), could I just plug in London and find them on the European maps?
Thanks again guys. This decision is killing me. I really like the price of the TT, but this particular feature (or lack of feature) is driving me nuts.
On a second note, any clue as to when Garmin will release the 8xx series (besides second quarter as they list on their website)? If they come out and prices drop, it would make my choice much easier.
March 18th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Time to clear up some blatantly incorrect information about the
TomTom 920
REDUNDANT LABELING: -YES-
Choose “San Jose” then put in an address in Mountain View – NO PROBLEM
Choose “Washington DC” for an address in Alexandria – NO PROBLEM
Choose “Dallas”, address in Richardson still NO PROBLEM.
WAYPOINTS: -YES-
They are called favorites, and they are quite easy to enter, for current location, address or Long-Lat, location on map. How many waypoints or “favorites” can you set? Depends, how much memory do you have free?
Not only that, but you can organize them as POI types.
WORKS WITH APPLE MAC: -YES-
I keep hearing that there is no GPS that works with Mac. Not true. the TomTom 920 works great with a Mac.
HOV: -NOT A PROBLEM-
Users must have turned on some deep feature, I have set routs with and without HOVs and NEVER was asked about them.
WHERE DID I LEAVE MY CAR: -YES-
On the TomTom it is called “Position of Last Stop”, and you don’t even have to have been “docked” to use it.
ITINERARY PLANING: -FANTASTIC-
Excellent Feature.
MOUNT: -OK-
No worries so far. Although it would be nice if it attached with a nice magnetic click like the apple power supply. I’m going to mount mine off the window anyway. I think of the suction mount as being for rental cars.
COLORS: DAY -YES- NIGHT -NO-
Day looks fine, both 3D and 2D, night…I prefer Garmin. (Garmin 8, TomTom 6.9).
OFF ROAD – OFF MAP: -NO!!!!-
Also known as bread crumbs – I can not for the life of me figure out how to access this feature, so I looks like this one just doesn’t exist. You can set waypoints…I mean favorites as you go, but that kind of is the point. Not having to do that, so you can easily backtrack.
Seems like this would not be a hard feature to add in software though.
OPERATE IPOD: -YES-
….You have to get a special adapter of course….
DIRECT ACCESS TO DISPLAY: -NO-
Here you are paying $500, and a good portion of that is for the display. Now why doesn’t the unit take a standard video input so you can hook up a back up camera? Seems wasteful. Cost – Environmental Impact – Business Opportunity – After all, they could be selling me the camera.
CONCLUSION:
Garmin wins if you are the off road trail-and-traffic type and you only want to buy one unit.
Otherwise TomTom can simply not be beat, coming in at 2/3 the price of the similar Garmin 770.
My opinion, get a separate unit for traffic, and a set of Rino 530HCx for the trail. That way you get “Buddy Finder” through radio instead of some service, and you get a built in two-way radio to boot. (You’re not going out on those trails without radios anyway, right?)
March 18th, 2008 at 3:21 am
Decent summary Jan.
Redundant labelling is only a problem in SOME few areas…mostly in Canada!
I guess New York and Chicago could have problems, but I have not heard of any specific cases. It is not really an issue in Europe as addresses are given in a more precise fashion.
March 18th, 2008 at 3:27 am
Casper,
If you are worried, then get the Garmin. However, here is how I would do it. Gatwick airport is listed both as a POI and as “city”. The airport is not strictly in London…indeed the regular train takes half an hour or more to get to Victoria station in South London.
Just browse the area around Gatwick in the map section and you will se the city names to use. Its no biggie. Normally, this isnt even an issue as the addy will be listed as “288 Anywhere street, Crawley SWx xxx, UK”.
Gator,
You know as well as I do that too much stock cant be put in a random rant by a poster. What build version does the poster have? How many others in tyneside make that claim? Do you have addy examples I can check out? I have version 710, 715 and 660 on the same machine, so its easily verified. I have seen too many of these complaints that have NOT checked out to get too excited too early.
March 18th, 2008 at 3:34 am
Yeah, but I don’t get to rile things up much anymore. Sorry Infama. . . LOL!
March 18th, 2008 at 3:36 am
I imagine you already checked whether he posted examples, since I think I saw one of your posts in there earlier.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:08 am
Yeah Gator,
I checked the map post out. That post was made back in Febr. and people requested actual addys to verify and the poster never responded, even though the poster is very active. Makes me skeptical to trust the info.
That poster complains a lot and tend to be inflammatory. The info could still be good, but I remain unconvinced.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:01 am
Update
Where is my car:
Actually there is a “last docked” feature as well under “navigate to”. It works with the doc not the plug.
Backup:
Seems one could simply copy the files off the disk, but this feature seems to be broken. I wonder if there is any file management going on with the device.
TomTomHOME:
Annoyance! The old version was better. This new version is even more buggy.
Night Colors:
You can change these. It is fully editable, and there are plenty on line that work nicely. Some people have actually made color schemes to match the interior lighting of certain cars.
However, setting to downloaded schemes is a bit awkward.
Latest Map Guarantee:
TomTom gets a bug Fat F!!! I have 710 and there is clearly a 715 available, but the guarantee isn’t working. TomTomHOME is telling me I have the latest and therefore trying to charge me for the upgrade.
The 710 maps seem good, but I am worried because the 715 blurb talks about “door to door” in Europe. Well, does 710 not already have that?
Status Bar:
It doesn’t matter how much you remove, you won’t recover any screen space for the map.
Quick menu:
Eats up more screen space. Only allows options which are not very useful.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Like you I noticed he made quite a few posts, but hadn’t specifically posted addy’s for anyone else to check. If he doesn’t do so, I agree, it makes his post suspect.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:12 am
For Jan….
Update
Where is my car:
Actually there is a “last docked” feature as well under “navigate to”. It works with the doc not the plug.
>>>Not sure what you are saying here.
Backup:
Seems one could simply copy the files off the disk, but this feature seems to be broken. I wonder if there is any file management going on with the device.
>>> Check again. I have an Intel mac and I have backups in PC an Mac and I NEVER use HOME for that. Simple drag and drops only. You may be doing something wrong…
TomTomHOME:
Annoyance! The old version was better. This new version is even more buggy.
>>> Actually it was, but now works perfectly for me, except for using 8gb and larger cards. Home wont recognize them, but the device will read them.
Night Colors:
You can change these. It is fully editable, and there are plenty on line that work nicely. Some people have actually made color schemes to match the interior lighting of certain cars.
However, setting to downloaded schemes is a bit awkward.
>>>I can download with my mobile phone…indeed, that is how I did this. Fast and cheap.
Latest Map Guarantee:
TomTom gets a bug Fat F!!! I have 710 and there is clearly a 715 available, but the guarantee isn’t working. TomTomHOME is telling me I have the latest and therefore trying to charge me for the upgrade.
The 710 maps seem good, but I am worried because the 715 blurb talks about “door to door” in Europe. Well, does 710 not already have that?
>>>715 is 710 with a few updates and speed limit data. No biggie. If you bought within 30 days, you can get a free upgrade. You have to call or emaill TT and be prepared to email/fax them your purchase receipt and your update coupon number. They chenged the process, so it is NEVER done via Home now.
Status Bar:
It doesn’t matter how much you remove, you won’t recover any screen space for the map.
>>True, but you can make it vertical and change the screen config.
Quick menu:
Eats up more screen space. Only allows options which are not very useful.
>>>Are U kidding me, I LOVE this feature. Only missing option is Clear Route! I almost never use the regular menus now.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Casper,
There is no problem with redundant labelling in the UK. The airlines are mischievous – they even call Stansted Airport “London Stansted” and it is over an hour away (CM24 1RW)! No need to worry about Airports, railway stations etc. as they are all POIs.
For example, Richmond, Hampstead, Finchley etc. you don’t need to know the London address is in any of these boroughs, the 920T will find them fine as they are in London (Greater London).
My concern, based on reading this and other forums, is using the 920T in Toronto. Other than that, it’s fantastic for my needs (I don’t go off road). I would have liked an audit trail of where I’ve been (when I summon up the courage I’ll install some Open Source software to do that).
In the UK, the Garmin is now cheaper than the 920T (920T = £295, 770T = £261) – prices from amazon.co.uk.
March 18th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
The more I read, the more it seems the Brits like the Garmins, the rest of Europe prefers TT. Also, many seem to carry BOTH!
March 18th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Jan, a quick bit of advice regarding “where you left your car”. If you wander too far off the (mapped) road, you may get a “route not found” when you try to track back, according to several posters. A marked “favorite” save may work better in some cases, perhaps at the entrance you used or along the trail, not far from the road.
March 18th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Marking favs is an option that can be put in the quickmenu!
Look at the VOLUME of posts at the PGPSW.com forum for TomTom!
Some stores here in CH only carry TT and Garmin…they dont even waste time on the others. I have NEVER seen an HP in a store here.
In CH, the only other brands I have seen live are Navigon, Mio, Panasonic, VDO, Roure 66, Becker, Alpine, ViaMichelin and Packard Bell.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Packard Bell? Who’s making it for them?
March 19th, 2008 at 3:39 am
Dunno, but they are sold in hypermarkets.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Returned my stupid Nuvi to BestBuy. Piece of junk got us lost and almost in an accident. Directed us the wrong-way down a one-way street!!
Just got a TomTom and got directions to the same location, perfect!
March 28th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
I’m sure you’ll be very happy with your TomTom instead of the dumb ol’ nuvi
March 29th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Here is a worse case of Sat Nav blindness : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/6646331.stm and it turns out it was a TomTom http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Automotive/Navigation/J4A9S6E5
If you’re in the US I expect you will be able to sue Garmin for damages had you had an accident. Alas, in the UK the driver is responsible !
March 31st, 2008 at 12:54 am
This is an old story that we discussed at PGPSW last. She was TOTALLY at fault. Commonsense cant be abandoned like that. The driver is resposible always.
I am glad she was unhurt, but seriously, she should know better than to violate train crossings like that.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:29 am
I live in Italy and contacted TT about the TMC receiver issue. They responded you only needed to change the antenna for a US 920t to be used in Europe. So I guess the receiver is built into the antenna? I saw a 920t on a US Military base that said it included both US and Euro TMC receivers but it only had one antenna in the box. I know the US Military Exchange stores sometimes have special “international” products they order for the troops to use around the world.
Could both receivers be in the one antenna?
April 1st, 2008 at 4:16 am
The receiver IS the antenna. There is a bulge in the cable that has the actual receiver.
The 920T is just the 920 with a TMC cable in the same box. If you buy a cable and attach, then you have the identical thing to a 920T, but would have cost you $30 to $50 more.
You can only plug in one cable at a time, as you can only be in one continent at a time anyway.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:47 am
What do you think about the military version I saw with only one antenna that says both US and EU receivers are included? Think they could both be in one antenna?
April 1st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Nah,
It is just an error. Definitely 2 different antennas, as far as I know.
April 1st, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Never own a GPS. Moving to Europe in July. Price of the 920T is cheaper here. Any concerns I should have? Stupid Question I’m sure will it give direction in English in Europe?
Thanks in advance
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:32 am
Yes, I live in Europe an bought the 920…NOT the 920T in America. The US antenna will NOT work in Europe, so only buy the 920T if you expect to spend a lot of time commuting in the US, so that you get your money’s worth. TMC traffic is free of charge in Europe.
The unit will give instructions in whatever language you choose, whereever you are. I of course only ever use English and In live in a Francophone environment.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
HUGE kudo’s to the incredible research done by the likes of infama, gatorguy, and others. I almost closed this thread as soon as it opened because I felt the initial review didn’t have much to offer. But, I noticed there were a lot of entries, so thought I’d glance through. I ended up reading the entire thing, and wow… This was one of the best sources I’ve come across.
I’ve boiled my issues down to two basic areas, which tinkering in a retail store in Alabama won’t answer for me.
1) Am I understanding correctly that the Garmin can be used on jeep trails, where the TT is limited to roads? If they are capable does it cost extra to get? Does either unit have the option of giving or inputing positions using the mgrs or lat/long format? I recently bought my first jeep and have been finding all sorts of trails on Ft. Rucker. While I’m not to worried about getting lost on base (I can always walk back to main post), I will very shortly be heading back to Alaska and much more likely to find myself well away from a “short walk”.
2) Is there a performance issue w/ either gps nav units that far north (Alaska/Canada)? Does anyone know if either the nuvi or tt gets better reception or suffers from intermittent signal loss? The eTrex I used to use stationed up there w/ the Marines performed adaquately (I turned it on, got my 8 digit grid and turned it off), but suffered horizon/line of sight issues, frequently requiring relocation to the top of a hill (not always possible in a vehicle, or on a highway).
I’m familiar w/ the Garmin system from previous Hertz rentals, but I’ve talked to TT owners who love theirs. I like the display on the TT w/ the “geeky” info on the side regardless of the map display that takes me back to my Nintendo days. I was ready to buy the TT accepting the “fact” that I’d have to buy a second gps for offroad travel, but now I’m wondering if that is true.
April 4th, 2008 at 1:09 am
1) Garmin is better for occasional off road excursions, and you can buy (and download for free) some topo maps. This is not an option with TT. However, for real off road expolration by foot, the Nuvi would be a poor choice. You would need a fit for purpose GPS like a Colorado or Etrex, etc. In any case, the nuvi 770 is only to be considered if you need European maps, otherwise the 760 or 750 would be cheaper and better option. The TT 920 throws in the Europe maps for almost free.
2) Not sure about extreme Northern reception, but I have never heard complaints…even from Norwegian and Finnish GPS owners. The sensitivity in the Sirf III chip is such that I dont think you will have a problem, plus you can even add an external antenna for little money.
If you can afford it, I would say that you would be better off buying a top line unit of one brand and a basic unit of the other. That way you get the flexibility and advantage of TWO maps sets that will cover the weaknesses of the other. Perhaps the TT920 and a garmin 250, or a Garmin 760 and a TT One. Check Shopzilla.com for best prices.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
In regards to my previous post concerning the EU and US receiver model see below. I feel they tried to say all is OK but now see it is not. I am not going to waste my dime and time on an international call for them. Going back to the store tomorrow.
Customer (John Thomas) 04/02/2008 11:03 AM
Hello,
I purchased a 920 T from the overseas Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and it states on the box “EU and US Traffic Receivers Included”. The sticker that says this has 6A00.310 on it.
The box only contained one receiver antenna that has a ticker with 4V00.083 on it.
The 920 S/N is M85497B18964 and there is also a 8M00.980.7.22 on the box.
I assume this a special version for AAFES customers but shouldn’t it have two receivers? I returned to the store and they have no idea and suggested I contact TomTom. Please advise.
Response (ST Robert U) 04/02/2008 01:39 PM
Dear John,
Thank you for contacting TomTom. We appreciate the time you have taken to contact us in regard to the receivers included with your TomTom GO 920T. Our goal is to provide you with exceptional customer service and we are happy to help.
At this time, our TomTom GO 920T device can be used in the both the USA and Canada but only comes with one receiver. TomTom GO 920 devices purchased in the USA will only include the US RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver and devices purchased in Europe will only contain the European receiver. We apologize for any frustration this may cause.
If you believe that your TomTom box does state that they are both to be included in the box, we would be happy to review any information you would like to give. You may take a picture of the box that clearly and legibly shows this statement and attach it to your TomTom account for us to view. To attach a document using our website, please follow the instructions in the link below.
http://www.tomtom.com/7783
If you have any further questions or comments, please email or call us at 866-486-6866 Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM until 7:00 PM EST. Thanks again for writing. At TomTom we believe in showing you the way the easy way.
With Best Regards,
Robert
and
The TomTom Customer Support Team
Customer (John Thomas) 04/02/2008 02:27 PM
Hello,
Thank you for the prompt response. I don’t “believe” my 920T box says it contains both EU and US receivers, I “know” it does as I am looking at it. I have attached a photo. The AAFES Base Exchange is selling these and just sold about 25-30 last week and I bought one. They said more are on the way.
Response (ST Robert U) 04/03/2008 12:01 PM
Dear John,
Thank you for responding and attaching the pictures of your TomTom GO 920T’s box. Upon further research of this issue, we see this is a special offer that we were not aware was available as of yet. The RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver included in the box with your device will work in both North America and Europe. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this has been.
If you have any further questions or comments, please email or call us at 866-486-6866 Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM until 7:00 PM EST. Thanks again for writing. At TomTom we believe in showing you the way the easy way.
With Best Regards,
Robert
and
The TomTom Customer Support Team
Customer (John Thomas) 04/04/2008 04:57 AM
Hello,
This morning I tried the unit on the A28 and A4 Autostradas in Italy where I know there is a traffic signal. The unit would not pick up any transmission; I even relocated the antenna to several locations on the windshield.
It is my understanding there are two receiver antennas sold, one for the EU and one for the US. I was also under the impression the receiver itself was the black pod on the antenna. I understand the GPS unit can receive both EU and US signals but how can you can sell two antennas and then tell me that one works for both signals? I also looked up the number of the antenna and found on the internet it is in fact the US model.
You guys are the experts and it is your product but I am telling you something is not right. If I cannot get this resolved today I will be forced to take the unit back for a refund as I have a 15 day window that expires tomorrow at the Base Exchange.
Are you 100 percent sure there should not be two receiver antennas in the box?
Response (ST Robert U) 04/04/2008 10:21 AM
Dear John,
Due to the nature of this issue, we believe it may be in your best interest to contact one of our Support Specialists via telephone (866-486-6866) for further assistance. Speaking with you directly will assist us in determining the best possible solutions for you. In this way, we can walk through the resolution side by side to get your traffic working correctly and troubleshoot any issues as they arise. Please reference incident number 080402-005352 when calling.
If you have any further questions or comments, please email or call us at 866-486-6866 Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM until 7:00 PM EST. Thanks again for writing. At TomTom we believe in showing you the way the easy way.
With Best Regards,
Robert
and
The TomTom Customer Support Team
April 4th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Sorry, I missed this part of the post:
Response (ST Robert U) 04/03/2008 05:13 PM
Dear John,
Thank you again for your response. It is not that your antenna contains both receivers but that the RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver included with your TomTom is configured for use in both Europe and North America.
With Best Regards,
Robert
and
The TomTom Customer Support Team
Customer (John Thomas) 04/03/2008 04:47 PM
So you are telling me that one antenna contains both receivers?
April 4th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Thx very much infama.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:51 am
No problem AK.
It could very well be possible that it has a double configuration, but I doubt it. What they should have done is to send you a second TMC receiver! I think its wise NOT to miss the 15 day return window.
TT is normally good at giving cust. satisfaction in Europe, so I am surprised that you got such a runaround.
Try returning the unit, THEN making the call to see if they will send you the Euro version. If they do, then go back and buy another 920T.
If not, find another GPS solution.
April 5th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I own the TT920 which I bought in Toronto. My use will primarily be European. On March 1 there was a comment I’m not sure I understood. Does the TT not have voice in Europe, since I purchased it in NA? Can I download it somehow? Is it free? Thanks for your help everyone
Sherie B
April 5th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Also, I would like to use the remote on the TT920, but I’m not sure how to set it up.. The instructions are useless. The card with the symbols on it make no sense. What is the blue light symbol? Do I have to connect the remote with the TT somehow? Can anyone help me, please?
April 6th, 2008 at 7:44 am
I have a 920T since one week,and i do about 50,000 km a year.
In Canada Quebec since the first of April 2008 it’s a low
we need a hands free mode.I tell you that the hands free works very well.
using the remote is fantastic and easy to use .I talk about 1600 minutes
evry month no voice distorsion nice screen i just point the remote on a
phone number and it also controls the sound, it’s that easy to make a phone call.Spoken address no typing.The maps are great no problem comparing
to Garmin.And at last about $200.00 less.What can i ask more.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:59 am
i just purchesed a tomtom go920 and by far the best navigation unit i have seen, but uin regards to bigjohn, i also bought mine at AAFES and it came with two diverent antenes, on for europe and the other for north america, although i’m not sure how well it works i intend to find that out here in the next few min.
April 6th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Sherie B,
You already have all the voices you need, but you can always download more. You can use an English TTS voice in ANY country. That poster you read was mistaken. I live in a Francophone location and only use English voices.
With regard to instructions on the remote…go to http://www.tomtomforums.com and search for instructions on how to open it to install the batteries. When that is done, all you need to do is press any button on the remote to pair it to the GPS. You may need to reset the GPS to get it to pair with the remote. This pairing needs to be done every time you switch on the dvice…just press any remote button.
The remote is GREAT!
April 6th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Velcro the remote to the steering wheel and you dont even have to take your hands off the wheel.
April 6th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Infama, once again I thank you for your useful comments.
Sherie B
April 7th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Blue_flame1986, thanks, what exchange did you buy from? Aviano here.
April 7th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Spangdahlem, germany
April 7th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Here is the TOMTOM customer service, “Sorry sir, you are screwed”
Customer (John Thomas) 04/08/2008 02:17 AM
I knew the “purchased in Europe” was coming. I purchased in on a US Military Base which means I purchased it in the United States, period. It is the US model of the 920T. Any item purchased at AAFES is US and carries the same warranty as buying it in the US. I paid with AMEX and paid in US Dollars.
Don’t tell me you have exhausted this, get a superviser on this and rectify the situation. I paid for an item, it was sealed, it did not contain what it said was in the box. That is fraud.
Pass me to a superviser please.
Response (ST Robert U) 04/07/2008 06:48 PM
Dear John,
Thank you for responding. I understand this situation has been frustrating for you and do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has been. I would like you to know that we are TomTom support in the US and we may not be able to address all of the issue that occur in Europe. Unfortunately, it seems like we have exhausted everything that we can do about this issue on our end. Because this is an offer that is currently only available in Europe and you purchased the device overseas, we highly recommend that you please contact our UK Customer Support team via telephone. They can be reached at +31208501004. For more information regarding how to contact our European support teams, you may visit the link below.
April 8th, 2008 at 3:43 am
Big John,
The Europe Cust. Service is BETTER than the US version. If you push it with them, they will give you the other antenna to get you off their back quickly.
Try the nice approach first before escalating if no satisfaction.
April 8th, 2008 at 5:55 am
To open the battery compartment of the remote….
To open the remote.
1- Use a blunt knife and push tab in the direction of the arrow (forward)
2- Push halfway or so, not all the way, THEN push UP, so as to pop out the faceplate.
Its easier than you think!
April 9th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Yeah, they are not even answering me now.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Send it back and buy a new one when you can verify that 2 antennas are in the box!
April 10th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
So I’ve noticed that some people have done a lot of research and more than I have. So I ask, which system has the better user interface and POI’s? I live in the Chicago area and I travel a lot to Georgia, and the surrounding states. I also do a lot of traveling to Ontario, Canada… mostly in the most southern part. And once in a while we take the trip to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and other Maritime provinces. So I need a unit that works great in Chicago and in these parts of Canada. And I have place I like to stop on the way to both places and would like them loaded into the system. I love both these units and would be happy with either. I will admit the remote is a nice feature, but not a deal breaker. :)
Thanks in advance!
April 10th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Obviously I want one that is going to have the better maps and directions which isn’t one of the questions I asked at the beginning… lol, sorry.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Naw, now I’m gonna bust their chops everyday, I am pretty tenacious about such things. Tomorrow a letter goes off to the HQ in Amsterdam about dear Robert and his service.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Wish I had more constructive input on the device but I guess I can say their customer service in the US (like most companies today) is lousy.
April 11th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Rev,
Try them out in the shops.
Both are quality products and either will do well for you.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Rev
“which system has the better user interface and POI’s?”
Now just imagine if we posted that on the Web trying to compare the interface on an Apple Mac and a Vista PC ? infama is right, you need to take a look yourself as both are good and opinion is very personal (e.g. some people don’t like the fact that TomTom only has menu navigation in one direction – I like it as it’s simple for when I’m driving and I just cycle round quickly).
April 11th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Though Kakes,
With the 920 remote, you can go backwards too!
April 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Follow up on customer service: Sent email to some bigwig and they had the UK branch contact me and again ask for proof (photo of the box). Came back and said learn something new everyday and mailed me a EU antenna/receiver.
April 13th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Big John, let us know when it arrives and if it works, I’m not sure about TMC coverage in Italy but if you go on a long drive and head into Germany you’ll find it excellent. The UK is a bit hit-and-miss.
So why the difference in customer service in the UK/Europe compared to the US … the US is a very large market (population 250 million?)…
April 14th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Told ya Big John!
That has been my experience with EU CS so far.
What is the serial number on the antenna?
The UK has a special one that is better than all the others…because the signal is sooo weak in the UK.
The antenna works well in Switz and France.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
So Infama, are you ready to admit that TT’s customer service is subpar compared to EU? I’ve mentioned before that US CS appears to be pretty poor. Note that even you now suggest that owners with unresolved problems try to work with the Brit site to get them handled. TT was just not ready (still isn’t) to support the US market, IMHO.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Hi all,
I used a Garmin for the whole year of 2007 and starting on Jan 2008 I use the Tomtom 920.
My feeling and thinking after 4 months of using tomtom:
Pros:
1. Great features on map colors as community provide you a lot of choice
2. Great way where to place the message bar + road name
3. Mapshare
4. Possibility to SEE ahead of time what’s next after the next turn (”In 200m turn right then stay in the left lane” that’s the voice. If you miss it, instead of re-hearing it, you can see 2 Arrows, the biggest on RIGHt, then a smaller one on left, very handy when you have hearing pb like me). Garmin doesn’t have this wonderful feature.
5. Regular update on Maps and the map engine calculate like a human being would choose: ex: you don’t take a highway for just driving on it for 1 minute then exit. You would go straight in town. When it works, it’s great!!! For the fastest routing, Tomtom wouldn’t ALWAYS pick highway. Garmin does.
6. the voices are smart: in Canada, all signs are in 2 languages. It chooses just to read out only English if you chose the English voice. Ex: written: Turn right on promenade(french=street) Richmond Street, it just reads out: Turn out on Richmond Street. Garmin prnounces both.
Cons:
1. In Canada at least as far as I know, the map is crappy despite of regular update. Sometimes you are driving on a very old road, and on the Tomtom gps, it shows that you are in the middle of nowhere and it keeps recalculating! Ex: From Ottawa to Mont-Tremblant; inside Ottawa itself; in Montreal!!! all big cities and yet, sometimes, even on highway, it tells you that you are in a field with cows!!!
2. The road names are TOO OLD. Today, the road name is Baseline, and it used to be say Hw 103 10 year ago, when the computer reads out, it makes the driver feel awkward!
3. when the map is inacurrate, it can make you drive like 5 times longer than when you take google map and pick your own way.
4. Battery life is just barely 1 hour.
As a consumer, I love Tomtom for the flexibily, design and Visual guidance.
As a delivery guy, I love Garmin for the map accuracy but routing engine sometimes not so logical. But at least the map is accurate with right name, and I do arrive to the destination. If Garmin could it could ad the 2 steps ahead Visual guidance, it would be wonderful. But there is no perfect device for everyone. However, as a GPS, map accuracy is the most important single thing. Then the routing engine.
I hope that it can help. Ottawa 16 April 2008
April 16th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Which Garmin? I look ahead on my 760 quite frequently. Big arrow and all. Even time to that turn. And my call route is even optimized for me for minimum drive time. No TomTom is going to do that.
April 19th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
TT CS is better in Europe sure, plus the army base is in Europe.
However, TT CS in the US won awards last year!
April 21st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Gator, do you have to tap to see the arrow?
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:45 pm
No, there is a big arrow on map screen showing turn direction. You do need to tap the green nav bar if you want close-up turn detail as well as time and distance to that turn.
April 26th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I purchased and used both in my truck at the same time over the last number of days (I’ll return the one i don’t like). They were identical in every way, excpet that the Tom Tom has much more features. I will stay with the Tom Tom
April 27th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Hey guys. I need some help. I’ve been reading a lot of reviews of the Garmin nuvi series units and the Tomtom units and I’m torn! I currently have a TomTom 3rd Edition, and I previously owned the Tom Tom GO 720.
I want accurate maps, fast routing times, and text to speech.
The major difference that I can tell with the TomTom 720 + and some of the more price friendly models is the processor speed. This can make all the difference when recalculating a route after you’ve missed a turn.
I haven’t tried Garmin yet, but one thing I noticed is that they seem to release a lot of models that but there aren’t any significant upgrades.
Should I get a Garmin nuvi 760 or a TomTom GO 730 (when it’s made available at the end of this month)?
April 28th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
The TT730 is not a significant upgrade either. Actually only 2 added features, one of which (Roadview) is extremely incomplete and the other, IQroutes is only somewhat effective. It’s not updateable without a new map purchase, and doesn’t take into account what weekday it is, nor time of day. Pretty much a dressed-up 720. In general, the more speech functions and display options, the faster the processor needs to be to keep up. I can confirm the new x30’s do not update any faster than the Garmin 700’s. But they do have extra customizing features. Either will essentially fill the same purpose, they just handle the details in different ways. Take a look at he 700’s in a store somewhere that will let you “play” with it a bit. You already know what the 730 will look like if you had the 720.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I have searched and searched for the multi-destination feature on the TomTom Go 920 that Crutchfield says that it has and can not find it on the web site or anywhere. Does the 920 have this capability?
April 30th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Gator, you miss a great feature..LANE Assistance, which is more complete and more useful than Reality View (roadview).
IQR is very effective. It improves routing by varying degrees in every on-line test route I have read about. I agree that it will take a new map for updated IQR info though, and that it is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. TT could have easily added this info to an upscale map offering and sold them to X20 users.
Mike,
In the 920 that feature is called Itinerary planning and its in there for sure.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Yes, you can do multi-stop routing on the TomTom 920. It actually has a few more optional settings than the Garmin version. In the end, you can do the same with either PND, except for route optimization (automatically looking at various combinations of routes/stops to get to each of the destinations in the shortest computed time). TomTom doesn’t yet offer that.
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Sorry if I missed this info in the posts. Eur maps and traffic info on US models of TT920 vs Garmin 770:
1 – Are European maps available on both units out of the box with no need to erase US maps to make space for European maps beofre goig to Europe and viceversa coming back to th US?
2 – A US TT920T can receive Eur FM traffic info after replacing the antenna ($50). Can a US 770 unit receive Eur FM traffic info? If so, can the US 770 unit receive traffic info in Europe out of the box or is it necessary/sufficient to change the auto charger cable (that I believe includes the FM antenna and maybe the receiver)? Thanks.
May 5th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Can someone tell me the Mfr Part # for the european tomtom 920 RDS-TMC traffic receiver? Of course this info isn’t listed on the TomTOm website. I think the US # is 9V00-080, but I need to find a european model for my trip to Germany.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Tom,
Make sure to get this one. It is the only one strong enough to work in the UK, where the signal is very weak:
9V00.013
You may want to check UK online retailers.
Tony,
Garmin does not have the TMC antenna integrated with the powercord in Europe! Its a separate wire.
EU maps are available right out of the box for both with no need to switch. HOWEVER, in order to have the voice command function ready for both continents on the unit at all times, you need to have the maps separated, one internal memory and the other on an SD card (at least 4gb for ease of use). US 920s come preinstalled with version 7.10 maps and cspeech files (for voice recog) only for the US. You can DL the EU ones for free from the TT.com site or the tomtomforums.com link (350mb+). Only one set of cspeech files can be on a given memory, or VR will not work. Given that you will want to upgrade to version 7.15 maps withing the 30day free upgrade window, I suggest you get a fast 4gb (eg Sandisk Ultra II, class 6) SDHC card soon after buying the 920.
For the Garmin, I dont know. I know they have less internal memory, but their file size is also less.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Infama, Thanks for the reply about the traffic receiver and the info on the cspeach. Very helpful.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:04 am
You are welcome.
BTW, Version 7.20 maps are out now for the 920 and you can upgrade for free within 30 days.
May 10th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Infama: Thank you very much. Do you know if it is sufficient to change Garmin’s wire antenna to receive traffic info in Europe on a Garmin 770 sold in the US?
May 11th, 2008 at 11:26 am
I dont know. Sorry.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:37 am
I bought a new TomTom 930 and I am, so far, delighted with it. The IQR function is very impressive. Among other things, it’s shocking how well it predicts your ETA. I would say the Lane Guidance feature isn’t all that necessary — it only comes on at really major highway exits and intersections anyway. The dead reckoning feature is just terrific — I would say, with that, there’s not much reason to prefer installed GPS systems.
The one absolutely brainless thing TomTom did when designing this unit was, they made the frame high-gloss black. That is beyond annoying — it picks up glare and reflections like you read about. It was so annoying that I carefully masked off the frame with reflective tape and sprayed it matte black. Daunting to spray-paint a new $500 piece of equipment, but ever so much more useful now.
Don’t bother with the “T” variant — the traffic broadcasts in the USA are basically nonexistent. Not TomTom’s fault. I’m going to use my cell phone and subscribe to TomTom Plus services — weather, traffic, etc. — while not perfect, that is said to be a much better route than the TMC stuff.
May 15th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I bought my 930 a week ago and, like David, I am similarly delighted. It’s a lovely bit of kit to look at and hold. Has a feel of quality about it. Unlike David, I am not bothered by the high gloss finish to the frame.
The IQR is scarily accurate. It was just a couple of minutes out following a 4 hour drive and that was entirely due to hitting stationary traffic in the final mile or so of the journey. The lane guidance also flickered into life on the very first use too.
I haven’t tried the traffic service yet, so can’t comment about that. I haven’t had any issues yet with screen brightness either. The speaker appears loud and clear enough. I generally have it set at around 75%.
The 930 boots-up very quickly, a matter of a few seconds, and also is very quick to calculate new routes.
This is my first GPS, so I have nothing to compare it to. I’ve got a bit bogged down at times when trying to find an address but that is probably just a case of me learning how to do it properly. Other than that, it seems to ‘do what it says on the tin’.
This has been a very useful forum, btw.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
TomTom’s data service uses TMC as well. Same info whether cable or data.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Infama – aside from a commercial perspective, any view of if TomTom could sell a software upgrade to the 920T so it can become a 930T ? Same hardware ? I like the idea of IQR and the lane guidance a lot !
May 16th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Infama: Thanks anyway.
Gatorguy: Do you know if the Garmin 770 sold in the US can receive traffic info in Europe as well as in the US? (I live in the US and travel to Europe very frequently). Is there a Garmin accessory that I would have to purchase to receive traffic info in Europe when I go there?
Thanks in advance
May 17th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Yes, the 770 is sold in Europe as well and traffic there is available. You’ll have to check at Garmin.com / on the road / traffic receivers to confirm the proper cable.
@Kakes – The 920 and 930 are identical in hardware as far as I can tell. Difference in in the maps and Navcore8. Most long time TT users suspect that perhaps by the fall that they will offer navcore8 to the x20 series. Maps are quite a bit more tho at $129 US, compared to standard TT upgrade price of $100, which I already thought was quite high. Garmin’s recent map update is available as little as $55 for North America.
May 18th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Gatorguy – thanks. $129 will translate to £120 (standard practice of ignoring exchange rates !) which is quite a lot. By Autumn I’ll need a new map update, my unit will be 12 months old in Jan. Getting market share is one thing, keeping customers loyal is another ! I suspect once (if it happens) TomTom gain TeleAtlas they may have more scope to be flexible on map upgrades…
May 18th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
There’s no reason they couldn’t be flexible now except for greed. Consider this for a moment. Garmin is purchasing the map data from Navteq, compiling it for their devices, packaging it, adding a markup for themselves and then selling it to distributors who can make a profit selling it for as little as $55. Now how much do you think Garmin paid Navteq for the map data? I figure less than $15, perhaps less than $10. After all they still had to compile it, burn a DVD and package it, which must be at least $5 or so. Then they have distribution and marketing costs, which must add at least a dollar. Minimum Garmin added costs in the $5-6 range I would think, perhaps more. Distributors can’t be paying more than $35-$40 max, if they’re trying to sell at a profit. They have overhead too.
Then there’s TomTom. No distributor channel. captive audience with no other place to get the map other than TomTom directly. They likely pay TeleAtlas about the same as Garmin pays Navteq. Garmin may be making a profit of $15 or less per unit considering free upgrade copies at their cost. TomTom probably closer to $80 per update. Who does it look like the gouger is.
May 18th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Kakes the UK price for WCE 805 is 79GBP. Check the website.
Gator,
With regular 3month updates, TT is NOT seeling big volumes of maps. The economy of scale is different from Garmi who is now selling a map after 18 months and “everyone” has to buy.
I agree that TT should drop the price, but they cant drop them to Garminesque levels with the current business model. After all, they have to process and compress the data to make the new maps and then pay TA a commission on each map sold. They will have to go subscription!
Kakes, I agree with Gator’s view on IQR.
May 18th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Gatorguy: Thanks
May 19th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Garmin’s update is actually once a year, not 18 months, but who am I to quibble. LOL!
May 19th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Gatorguy, you’re the voice of reason.
In Reply To: Should I get a Garmin nuvi 760 or a TomTom GO 730.
I tried the Garmin nuvi 760 while I was in Tampa, Florida two weeks ago and I must say I’m pleased with it except for a few problems. Despite not wanting to travel down a US highway in favor of the Interstate, the Garmin nuvi 760 tried to reroute me to the original route, repeatedly, until I reached the point of no return. Boot up and satellite synchronization time were something to be desired. The good? The map detail is great. I live in rural America (a small town), and the Garmin found roads that I didn’t even know were there.
I just received my Tom Tom GO 730 today, I haven’t had much time to try out the new features, but I do enjoy the highly capable detour function that Tom Tom always has.
Any idea when Garmin will stop releasing a ton of models, but instead start adding some flagship features with more customization? When Garmin adds ‘geek’ level customization, then I’ll make the make the permanent shift to them. For now I’ll deal with the European catering Tom Tom GPS.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Infama and I had just that discussion the other night. I’d love to see a “Pro” model of something like the 760. (I think he named it the Nuvi Pro One. . . LOL) Add the Triton chipset so that smooth scrolling and redraw are possible (ala HP310) with out sacrificing antialiased fonts and lines. Restore selective road avoidance and truck routing from the Streetpilot line, add a couple of add’l customizable fields (from the Garmin 7200, turn off recalc voice, route color change), and allow for changable battery. Go ahead and charge me an extra $200 and I’ll still buy it. The 760 is a great start. Now give me just a few more features and I’m a happy camper. It’s tough to beat a Garmin feature cause they WORK. Just need to add a couple more and I’m a happy camper. I like the idea of the TT930, just not as stable as the 760 and some of the new features just aren’t ready yet. (I know static interchange images are in there somewhere . . . I mean, TomTom said they were and they wouldn’t try to mislead us, right? Right?)
May 19th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Just a couple of suggestions for TomTom as well. Give me the option of clearing nearly all the data fields and reducing that big blue box. I’d rather have a bigger view of the map sometimes. Allow scrolling by just dragging the main map screen. Open the mapping so that if I’m going to Mexico, or Costa Rica, Brazil or Russia or China, I can load a third party map if I need to. There’s a map for nearly every place you might travel for a Garmin. Heck, I can even load a topo map, inland lakes, map after map to my 760. Go anyplace mentioned above and leave your TomTom at home. Allow me to navigate to an off-road location. (It’s not the map, it’s TomTom). Reorganize the menus to be a bit more intuitive. And lastly, really work on general system stability. Still too many “mystery” reboots and odd lockups. Resetting it should almost never be required. I’ve used the nuvi 760 since last November and a master reset has NEVER been necessary. One month with the TomTom and reset once, rebooted several times.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Gatorguy: I would definitely pay an additional $200 for a “pro” model 760. I also agree that these new Tom Tom x30 features need some serious work. I’ve seen several complaints on this board and Amazon that the Advanced Lane Guidance static image only shows itself rarely.
I did have a problem with the 760 trying to get to find the satellites, and I wasn’t even near tall buildings. I had to reboot the system a maximum of 3 sometimes times to get it to work.
Maybe if enough of complain to Garmin they’ll add selective detouring back in, and may one day lane guidance.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 am
TT does not need serious work. Just a FW update and that should be coming shortly. The first month or 2 is like this, even for Garmin…recall the 760 pre FW 2.6?
As for the interchange signs, reality view, that is a function of the TA map. In Europe its better, for the moment.
Now that TT has bought TA, look for rapid map improvements.
I agree with Gator about most of the suggested TT improvements though.
Why cant that recalc voice be turned off on the 760? Sounds annoying.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I am considering buying the Garmin 770 instead of the TT 920 but the only thing stopping me at the moment is that I do not know if there are any downloads available so that I can have voice directions spoken in cantonese. This language is not one of those listed that come as standard with the model. I do not mean the language guide which is available for purchase which literally just translates for you but having the actual driving directions spoken in cantonese and not English. I am happy in the maps being written in English. I would thank anyone who would be able to answer this for me. I do understand that the TT920 does have this as a standard language option. It would be easier for me therefore just to buy the TT920 but unfortunately my wife prefers the 770 model and would choose this model if at all possible. Cantonese is her first language.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Yes, Cantonese comes standard out of the box on the nuvi 770
May 24th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Gatorguy, Thankyou for your reply
August 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
can someone please tell me the answer to the following: If I route the gps and then go off that course, will new course automatically redirect me to the destination or will it take me back to the original route?
I have new Lexus 350 GPS system and its a disaster. Once I select the route and deviate, it will always direct me back to the original routing, even if I am almost at my destination – it will direct me back to the original route, even if it is much further to reach the destination.
Are the Garmin 650 and 750 systems the same? Will either one reroute once off course? Will one always return to the original route, no matter what?
I have used a Magellan 4250 and if I deviate from the chosen course, it will take me to my destination without turning me back to the original route.
August 31st, 2008 at 1:22 pm
can someone please tell me the answer to the following: If I route the Garmin gps and then go off that course, will new course automatically redirect me to the destination or will it take me back to the original route?
I have new Lexus 350 GPS system and its a disaster. Once I select the route and deviate, it will always direct me back to the original routing, even if I am almost at my destination – it will direct me back to the original route, even if it is much further to reach the destination.
Are the Garmin 650 and 750 systems the same? Will either one reroute once off course? Will one always return to the original route, no matter what?
I have used a Magellan 4250 and if I deviate from the chosen course, it will take me to my destination without turning me back to the original route.
September 1st, 2008 at 12:38 am
i believe it re-routes for you.
i’ve got a garmin and this is what it does
September 1st, 2008 at 9:22 am
I have a Garmin Nuvi 370 USA+EUROPE when you deviate from your route it will always recalculate. Sure it may ask you to go back if that is better/shorter otherwise it will give you a new routing from the point where you are.
I now wish to ask something. In the USA it speaks out the correct names of the street in English, however in Europe, if you keep “English” then it will speak those street names like if they were english words (they are NOT!). The result is horrible. No way to understand what he is saying. Then, sure, you can set the local language… but, it is no longer the same thing. It will just say turn left, turn right and will entirely skip telling the streets names.
So here is my question. The newer Garmin or TomTom are both using the correct voices to read/speack the street names in each country? USA=English, France=French and so on. ? Thanks for clarifying this. important detail.
September 1st, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Miles,
Garmin Nuvis re-route anytime you deviate from the course. For example, let’s say the Nuvi tells you to “Turn right on Kerry Street,” and you drive past Kerry Street. About 5-10 seconds after you go past Kerry Street, the Nuvi will say, “Recalculating,” and then give you new directions to get to your destination. The Nuvi will say something like, “Continue for 2.1 miles then turn right on Longford Avenue.”
September 6th, 2008 at 3:11 am
Hello
I need some help I want to buy a GPS and I don’t know wich one to buy? Between this two wich one is better and why? Garmin nuvi 770 or Tomtom Go 930?
Thanks
September 10th, 2008 at 7:30 am
Hello everyone.
We have a Tomtom 720 GO which has maps of Western Europe installed. However there is no map of Greece. How can we download one? Do we need another card to put the info on or can we cancel another preinstalled one to free up some space.
Many thanks,
Christos
September 13th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
The one point I have not seen here is the difference in screen contrast. I have use TomTom, Garmin, Magellan and Lowrance gps units in flying, driving autos and on my motorcycles. Even a small bit of sun hitting the TomTom washes out the screen and makes it unusable. Of all of these Garmin has the best screens. I’ve recently had a Nuvi 250W and before that a GPSmap60csx. The latter had the best screen I have seen on any unit. It also had the most optional display parameters. Unfortunately, my eyesight made it impossible to use on the motorcycle. But the more the sun hit it, the better it looked. The Nuvi 250W was better for my eyesight and the screen was better than the TT and Magellan screens. Of course it didn’t have some other features like setting up a multi-waypoint route.
I’m about to purchase a new gps and it will probably be a Nuvi 7XX. I know it is not supposed to be “motorcycle friendly” but the 250 did well and nobody’s motorcycle unit has the wide screen. The Zumo has all the bells and whistles but only a 3.5 in. screen.
October 19th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I have read lot of comments…all of them have been very helpful. I ve been using tomtom 720 for 2 years now. all of sudden now when i plug it in the car charger, i got a blank screen… i don t know what happens. Does any body have an idea of what could be the problem?
October 19th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Since my old Tomtom does not work.. i want to buy a new Gps… but i do not know which one to cjoose between tomtom 920 and garmin 760… I used garmin recently… there is a very nice feature: the spell-checker: when i typed like the fist 4 letters of a city… it gives me the whole city name, the same goes true for the street names… does anyone knows if tomtom 920 has these features….if yes i will definetly buy the tomtm..
October 29th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Hello,
Excellent thread.
I have a question about the bluetooth. I’ve seen that Tomtom 930 has the option to send its audio output not only through FM, but also to a bluetooth HiFi device.
Did anyone tried this with a bluetooth-enabled car? (for example, I use an incorporated bluetooth hands-free through my Honda’s stereo. This could be a nice alternative to the problematic FM transmitter.
And the second question: do you know if such a functionality is available for the Garmin 770?
Thank you in advance!
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