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"dont even bother" on by driving_dave
Pros: recharable battery
Cons: too many to list here
Summary: i recently used this on a 2500 mile trip. there are so many things wrong with this, so i will only list the ones that stick out in my mind:
1. you can't navigate anywhere unless you are located on an actual road. if you're in a parking lot or off the street it says 'no valid GPS signal'
2. exits are giving with exit numbers instead of street names. not sure about where you travel but not alot of highways have exit numbers where i live
3. it doesn't have banks/ATMs in its 'points of interest' database
4. street names don't show up on screen while driving. it just shows a red road.
5. city names don't show up on the screen. i actually had to break out my AAA map to see what city i was in.
6. the GPS location of it's points of interest are way off, in some case 1/2 mile.
7. on my 2500 mile trip the unit reset/rebooted about 9 times and froze/locked up once.
8. the maps are old/inaccurate. it doesn't even have a freeway near LA that is at least 5 years old.
i could go on and on ... but it's not worth my time ... -
"Neat feature list but poorly implemented." on by Jolliec
Pros: BlueTooth, Includes Case.
Cons: Terrible maps and routing. Does not have phones numbers for POI.
Summary: I tested many NAV systems over a 1 month period. I read a review of the features of the TomTom 300 so I waited until it came out and tried one. Compared to the Garmin c320/c330, it is not even close. The Garmins maps, route calculations, POI and UI are so much better.
I let my wife try both and she absolutely hated the TomTom. She said it was not intuative at all and difficult to use.
The maps are horrible and the POI's are not up to date. No phone numbers are included either.
The TomTom would take me on routes that were obviously wrong. Did not know quite a few street names and will display "unnamed road". Even on ramps it will display unnamed road whereas the Garmin will say "On Ramp".
If you get off route, the TomTom will insisit you make a u-turn over and over again until it gets you back on the original route. The Garmin will recalculate based on your current heading and route. -
"quality of maps extremely inconsistent, support is frustrating" on by ndrwkwn
Pros: software, cheaper compared to c330
Cons: support is horrible, quality of maps are terrible in certain regions
Summary: Performs well except that the quality of maps range from excellent to horrendous, depending on which city you are in and how recently roads were changed. Some roads as new as 5 years do not exist on the map. Sometimes, it would think I was traveling on adjacent country roads when I was on the highway and would switch back and forth between these roads. These errors were, however, few and far between. I am/was impressed with the device. Software is feature rich and flexible unlike the Garmin c330. However, I found the maps on the garmin to be more consistent.
I do want to mention my experience with the technical support which was a major disappointment.
I was unable to get the unit to connect to my bluetooth cell phone, so i tried the support feature. They do not have phone support, instead they have a web-based FAQ page. If your question has not been asked, then you are allowed the option to email them. So I did, and 2 days later somebody replied telling me that i had to activate my wireless internet from my cell provider in order for it to set up the connection. I replied, and in no uncertain terms told the rep that I do have this service with my cell provider. The person then went about telling me in different ways that I had to have GPRS service from my provider. This went back and forth, it seems the person did not believe me and just kept telling me in different ways that i had to enable the wireless internet option with the provider. I was sent links showing what phones were able to connect, etc. I've already perused the website so I knew all the basics. It seemed impossible that the settings on the device (for t-mobile) was incorrect, or inaccurate, or something else was wrong. The person kept insisting that I had to enable the service, when it fact i did have this service all along. This was the most frustrating experience i had with any product. Not only are they difficult to reach, but when they do reply, they provide you with no useful information on how to resolve the problem. In fact the rep seemed more interested in finding flaws in my statement rather than providing any help (I had said that I had used wireless internet for a few years, he said this was impossible as the v3 had only been on the market for a few months, when in fact that phone had been available for years in many countries). support was a total let down and waste of time. Up till now, I have not seen the bluetooth feature work. My experience with inaccurate maps and uninterested technical support has tainted my experience with this product. I did however appreciate all the thought that went into the design and engineering of the product which is why i gave it a solid 4. -
"Very Handy GPS" on by jetlei98
Pros: Quick Touch Screen & Easy to Use (Glad to Have)
Cons: Some Unnamed Roads
Summary: I really like how compact it is and it's really easy to use. There is no lag when touching the screen and to imput addresses. Works right out the box. Ya only have to connect to the internet to update to a new version.
They need to update the maps a little more than they do cause I see a few unnamed roads.
I get great reception when I have it on the dashboard or stuck to your windshield very low. I like to tuck it in the upper corner to get more vision while I am driving but I get none to very poor reception.
Little expensive but worth it. -
"Nice to have Auto Gadget-but beware!" on by ricok987
Pros: +Great to use when travelling to new places+Good Turn By Turn Directions (Most of the Time)
Cons: -Not Useful for Alternate Routes Driving-Glare from Sun can sometimes reduce screen visability-loose signal under bridges & tunnels, and at other times for no apparent reason
Summary: I have had this unit now for about 5 months and am generally please with its performance with a few exceptions. I recently made a trip from NJ to VT, but went in a round about way (following someone else's car), and the Go was not that intuitive in my Route. I constantly had to update the signal with alternate routes, and because I was following someone that knew where they were going the Go had trouble remapping telling me to turn around and go back to get on another road-almost the whole trip. On the way back to NJ I did follow the Go's routing and it did cut an hour off my total travel time. I think if you will be travelling in heavy traffic areas you might want to upgrade to the GO 700 to get the avoid traffic functionality. I wish I had that when I got to the George Washington Bridge, and sat in a half hour line of traffic to get across the bridge.
One interesting side note: I used the Go to navigate to my sister's house (who lives an hour and a half from me) and the unit gave me one set of directions for getting there, and another set to get home-I still can't figure out that one!
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