 Great Starter GPS |
| Review Date: December 13, 2008 |
| Reviewer: J. Miller, Lexington, KY United States |
I've had the 125 for about two weeks and really like it. Although this is the first GPS I have owned, I have had limited experience with units in rental cars (Hertz NeverLost). It was hard to decide which starter GPS brand to buy, but I decided on the TomTom from the good reviews and a very positive experience I had with the way it maps a few years back.
A fellow from England was in a training class with me about 4 years ago in the San Jose, CA area and he had a pocket PC with GPS software from TomTom. We were headed to a Sharks hockey game in two cars, with me riding with him. It sure seemed like the TomTom was taking us on a different route than I would have taken, but we arrived at least 15 minutes before the other car. That always stuck in my mind and ultimately swayed my decision to go with a TomTom. I'm sure a lot of the differences between brands are a personal preference like a Coke or Pepsi thing.
I got this a few days before we flew to FL so I gave it a good test running around KY. Some of the routes it chooses aren't exactly like my "shortcuts", but it never took me on an obviously wrong route and truth be told, some of my "shortcuts" probably aren't as quick as the routes the TomTom plots. Depending on the route, if you go a different way, it will attempt to guide you back to the planned route or plot new directions according to the street you turned on. This recalculating happens pretty fast and I was pretty impressed with it. This little GPS had two hospitals I was looking for in small towns in its' POI database and it plotted good routes to/from each of them.
Then we flew to Orlando where I rented a car and when this little guy really came in handy. It took us from the airport to a hotel at Disney where my wife was staying for a conference. Then the next day it took us to Port Canaveral where we were leaving on a cruise. It also guided me from the port to Cape Canaveral where I dropped off the rental. One thing I like about this TomTom is it lets you know in plenty of time which direction you'll be turning next so you can get in the correct lane.
The only problem I had in FL was when I first left the rental car garage. These little guys don't really pick up a satellite signal indoors so it took a few minutes when I pulled out of the garage for it to find the satellites. That seems to be common with all GPS units and because mine was in a different state from where it was last used it probably had to search longer for the signals. There is a program you download and update weekly from TomTom called QuickGPSfix that is supposed to speed that process up, unfortunately I didn't have that program installed yet.
This little GPS has answered four of my main concerns about a small entry level GPS:
1. The sound will be too hard to hear or understand while driving.
A: The volume is loud enough for me to hear when it isn't even set at max volume.
2. The small screen will be hard to read and hard to see in sunlight.
A: Neither of those concerns about the display have been a problem at all.
3. Sure the GPS units all have good maps of the main cities, but what about small rural areas?
A: I haven't found that to be a problem either.
4. The older units had an external antenna, will a GPS this small with a built in antenna be able to pick up signals in rural areas?
A: No problems yet picking up a signal unless I'm inside something like a parking garage. From my understanding it isn't your geographical location that would cause a problem but tall buildings or mountains blocking the signals.
I have absolutely no regrets buying this for the Black Friday special of $100 and I already saved $16 by not having to rent a GPS in the rental car I had in FL.
Is this little GPS perfect, no, it does have some limitations but for an entry level GPS I'd say that is to be expected.
Not every POI is listed in the database, but there are sure a lot of them, I even found my favorite pizza joint in Reynoldsburg, OH listed (Massey's Pizza). If where you want to go isn't listed you can easily enter the address and even save it as a favorite.
As noted this model (like most in this price range) doesn't have text-to speech, so instead of saying `turn left on Elm Street', it just tells you to 'turn left in so many yards' and then to 'turn left now'. You can set the preferences to show the name of the next street/route you'll be turning on next at the bottom of the screen. I find that feature to be very helpful and perhaps more useful than hearing a computer generated street name get mispronounced.
I'm not sure if this is a problem or not, but there is no external slot for a memory card. I guess that would only be a problem if the next map update exceeded the available memory.
Here on Amazon they list a new feature called Send Addresses Directly from Google Maps or Mapquest. When I tried that with Mapquest the button was only valid for Garmin units and Google Maps wouldn't send to my unit either. I think the problem with Google Maps is the computer software (TomTom Home) has not enabled the feature to operate the GPS from your computer. Since the 125 is a new model I'm not sure if that will ever be corrected or not, but it would be nice to send locations from a map program into your favorites.
Being an entry level GPS it looks like it will serve my needs well. It will also help me determine if any features on a more costly unit would be worth doing an upgrade. Maybe next Black Friday will be another great deal with even more features.
I haven't really used the suction cup mount yet; I just keep in on the center console of whatever I am driving. Since I usually drive a mini-van where the windshield is a long reach I'll look into a dash mount. I found this to be a very easy to use device and right after I opened the box I had it in the car plotting a route to a restaurant we were heading to that night.
If anyone is interested this only has the maps of the United States, but just for kicks I turned it on while we were at sea on the cruise. While it obviously couldn't map where we were it did pick up satellite signals and listed our direction, speed, and location via Latitude and Longitude.
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Hurray, I finally found the perfect GPS!
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| Review Date: December 31, 2008 |
| Reviewer: James Beswick, Los Angeles, CA |
I spent two painful weeks with a Garmin Nuvi, and gradually watched my Mio C320's maps get more and more outdated, so I was overjoyed when I found this for $79 in Best Buy. There was a $200 version with a wider screen, but being a cheapskate I opted for the smaller model. And for once, I made a good technological decision!
Highlights, in order of excellence, are:
- The unit starts up and locks satellites in seconds - it's really fast. I live in San Francisco where the fog is a natural enemy of GPS, but little TomTom seems unfazed.
- The screen-mounting device is so elegantly simple that I'm amazed not all GPS systems work the same way. I can mount it in 3 seconds flat and it never falls off.
- The screen layout is the most intuitive of any I've seen. The map is clear, it shows speed (and speed limits), current time and estimated time, and upcoming instructions. It's also easily configurable to add traffic cameras and anything else you choose.
- Searching for points of interest is rapid and accurate. Enter SFO instead of "San Francisco Airport", or "Trader Joe's" and it finds matches in no time at all. And you can enter zip codes, city centers and intersections without getting frustrated.
- The menu navigation couldn't be easier, and even though the configuration options are extremely detailed, they're easy to find and change.
- Selecting alternative routes (if you hit traffic, etc) takes two clicks without having to reenter everything over again. It also confirms if toll roads and HOV lanes are acceptable.
- The voice is clearer and louder than other systems I've tried.
- It changes between day/nighttime colors automatically on schedule.
... and best of all...
The integration with TomTom's online features is absolutely flawless. You can add map updates from the user database of changes, meaning that the system is completely up to date whenever you plug it into a computer. There's also some free maps (such as traffic cameras) which you can download and install in seconds. This feature alone makes it worth $79, since there's no waiting for manufacturer updates or paying for new maps.
Overall, I don't see how this system could be any better, especially for the price. The user interface beats every other system hands down (reminiscent of when I started using Google Chrome instead of Internet Explorer). I now understand why TomTom has such a loyal user base - buy one today!
PS - I'm not sure what the complaints are around multiple destinations since I entered several en-route to Los Angeles and had no issues here.
PPS - The integrated GPS in the Chevy Tahoe is a model example of how *not* to build a GPS system, in case you're interested. |
TomTom the hypster
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| Review Date: December 28, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Michael DiBenigno, Indianapolis, IN USA |
| I predict uproar with this statement, a GPS is a GPS, most new products get you from point A to B quickly, have updated maps, POI, route options, etc. But TomTom is different in it's platform. The great content comes in what could be called Web 2.0, or user based information, it makes your GPS fun and more accurate. You can easily download voice options or even record your own voice (or your mothers) to give the direction commands. I currently have Clint Eastwood giving my turn by turn navigation. The audio fidelity is excellent with the large speaker in the back, no annoying buzzy sounding woman giving you directions. Users can edit maps such as when a road closes for construction that change can then be seen by other TomTom users! TomTom is an excellent device with everything you could want in a GPS, I'm glad to see such an excellent blend of technology and embracing user generated content. All my friends comment after hearing Clint Eastwood tell me to turn right, oh so I guess TomTom is better than Garmin. |
Works great!
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| Review Date: December 28, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Jordan M. Koch, |
| I gave this GPS to my parents, who are not very tech savy, for christmas and it seems to be doing the job! They can enter the address easily and said they trust it to get them places they have never been before. We tested several known locations and each one the GPS delivered us to without mistake or issue. It even has british voices to sound sophisticated :) I would recommend this to anyone who has no need for more advanced features. |
Great
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| Review Date: December 31, 2008 |
| Reviewer: deal mom, Louisiana |
| I bought this for my husband on amazon at 50% off and thought it was a great deal. I really debated on getting it feeling like we wouldn't really use it but we've used it just about every day (if only just for fun). It's easy to use and so far very accurate. |
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