- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 41 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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16 out of 17 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Best Consumer GPS Product Out There"
Pros: Excellent 3D Display
Cons: Bluetooth Pairing Can Be Tricky with Microsoft
Summary: Firstly let me state I don't use TomTom Navigator 5, but TomTom Mobile 5 which runs on Microsoft Smartphones (and some Symbian-based devices). My phone is an Audiovox SMT5600 available through Cingular (excellent phone).
However, you should be aware that TomTom develops a core GPS engine then tweaks it for various different hardware devices. So TomTom Navigator 5, TomTom Mobile 5, and the TomTom software installed on the GO series are all practically identical. So my comments are applicable to all these platforms.
I use my own bluetooth GPS receiver (not the one provided by TomTom), so the software can be paired with any such device.
The TomTom software provides an excellent 3D view that for all practical purposes matches the exact road-layout you see in front of you as you drive. It provides road names on major roads as you approach them, allowing you to easily confirm where you are. And best of all, TomTom provides the best verbal instructions I've encountered in any GPS software, which gives you plenty of advanced warning on any upcoming maneuvers.
The software is very configurable, with a whole bunch of options you can tweak (display colors, spoken voice, spoken language etc etc).
After you enter a destination, TomTom gives you the choice of picking the shortest route, fastest route, avoiding tollways (if it determines there is one on your potential route), avoiding freeways etc etc.
There is a nice feature called advanced planning which, if you aren't yet sitting in your car ready to go, allows you to plug in the start and end destinations, and gives you a preview of the calculated route. You can look at the preview in the form of map instructions (just like Yahoo or MapQuest turn-by-turn directions) and it even lets you simulate taking the journey so you can see what it "looks" like, complete with spoken directions. This feature does not require the GPS receiver, so its very handy for showing off to your colleagues in the office.
There is a whole POI (point-of-interest) database provided which I must admit I don't use too much. Can be handy if you're running out of gas and want to be alerted to where the nearest gas station is. The POI shows up on the display, and an audible alert can be optionally configured.
I've seen one review which criticized TomTom for its POI implementation, because a user couldn't find his nearest bank. However I tend to use address type navigation. I can browse to my bank's web site on my phone, find the address of the nearest branch, plug that in to TomTom and I'm good to go.
The GPS software is very good at recalculating your route if you make a wrong turn. But this should be standard with any modern day GPS software. I have encountered one slightly incorrect location in all my use so far. The software calculated the destination was about 500 yds away from the actual location. Note this is an issue with the underlying map used by TomTom (which is supplied by a 3rd party), and not a direct fault of the TomTom software. I encountered the exact same error with a competitor's product (which used the same map provider).
All in all I highly recommend this software (on whichever platform you choose). There is a very large and active user community for TomTom products, more so than for any other consumer GPS device. And you can find a lot of information and extra goodies for TomTom products. Fancy spoken directions by Darth Vader? Its out there in the public domain. So is a speed camera database for the UK (very handy when I return on vacation to my homeland).
No other product has such a vibrant, informative, friendly and vocal user community.
- 1 reply to this review
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You should review electronic gadgets for a living. I think this was the most helpful review I've ever read!
TomTom Navigator 5:
