The TomTom Rider provides text- and voice-guided directions. You get 2D and 3D map views; the map screen shows the street you are on at the top of the screen, and the next destination street or exit at the bottom of the screen, which we found very useful. We also had other pertinent information displayed onscreen, such as speed, time, next instruction (arrows and yards to go), battery life, remaining trip time, remaining distance, and arrival time.
Voice prompts are channeled through the included headset (wired or wireless), but we found the included Bluetooth headset to be atrocious. The wires that hang everywhere blow in your face when you're on the highway. Plus the volume, even cranked up, is just way too soft if you have a loud bike or aftermarket pipes like our bike does. We swapped it out for the Cardo Scala Rider Bluetooth headset, and it made a huge difference. The integrated Bluetooth also provides for hands-free calling (you can check for a list of compatible phones here. Again for safety reasons, the Rider will not allow you to make outgoing calls when the bike is moving; however, you can accept incoming calls. If a number is listed for a POI, provided you're stopped, you can dial it directly from the Rider. We paired the Rider with our Palm Treo 650 and had no problem accepting or making calls.
Speaking of POI, the unit has a comprehensive database of attractions, with entries for stores, movie theaters, campgrounds, rest stops, gas stations, community centers, and other locations--impressive. Unfortunately, we found some of the listings to be out of date, which can be a big problem if you're in dire need of gas and don't find a service station where one is indicated on the map. Finally, you can get real-time traffic information on the Rider, but you'll need to subscribe to TomTom's Plus services to do so.We tested the TomTom Rider in San Francisco on a 1997 Honda Magna VF750. From a cold start, the unit took up to two minutes to lock onto a satellite fix; subsequent starts took anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. The Rider accurately pinpointed our location, and it was very cool to watch the cursor track our moves. That said, we thought the maps were just OK. On a number of occasions, the Rider did not have the correct street names for secondary streets and alleyways (the unit correctly identified major roadways), if at all, and sometimes calculated some insane routes to our destination. On the upside, the automatic route recalculation was lightning fast. If we missed an exit or turned the wrong way, it immediately refreshed with an alternate route.
The TomTom Rider is rated for five hours of battery life, and we got exactly that on a single charge. We also gave it a full charge and let it sit for a week without powering up, and it still had a half-charge left the next time we turned it on.
- See more CNET content tagged:
- TomTom
Where to buy
TomTom Rider:
$1,107.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon.com Marketplace
|
$1,107.99 | See Site |
|
