Current Garmin 2610 user making the move to TomTom ?

[s2ksimon]

Hi All,

I'm a current Garmin user (a heavy user) for the past 5 years and want to try Tom Tom as I'm fed up with the lack of Garmin map updates, the routing, waypoints that Garmin are lacking. I heard good things about the Tom Tom. I hope my questions below can be answered.

1. you go off route, how fast does it re-calculate ? Is this "unit" specific. I know on the older garmin units(older street pilots) , this took forever as it had such a slow processor.

2. Can i make my own routes from pc software and will the Tom Tom route it exactly as planned ? Currently, Garmin make it quite difficult to do so with their way points charting.

3. Map updates- How often ?

4. Way point updates ? how often and where to download them ?

5. How detailed is the screen ? I currently enjoy things like, manual and visual prompts, arrival time, time to next turn, time to next exit.

6. Do I have the ability to input streets, intersections for searches, POI's ? Currently Garmin are horrible with this.

Is there a unit that has all of this ?

thanks for reading

simon

 

[Nextourer]

Hi and welcome to TTF!

1. Yes it'll depend on the model. Different models have different processor speeds although even on the slowest one (ONE), recalculation is pretty fast (unless it's the beginning of a route that'll take you across the country)

2. TYRE and Google Earth can let you do that

3. Don't know cause I got mine in Nov 2006. January 2007 is the latest set. I think my last one (v660.1215) is from last summer... so.. probably once a year? maybe twice?

4. waypoint? you mean POIs? err not the embedded ones since those will come with the map updates but stuff like Baskin Robbins are updated sporadically. Of course you can always create your own and update them any time!

5. Your choice. You get to choose what you want displayed on the screen. There's current time, time to arrival, distance to destination, current speed, and how many minutes early/late you'll be. In terms of direction, there's both a visual on the map itself and an arrow with the distance to the next instruction on the screen below. You'll also be prompted aurally.

6. You can search by address, city centre, postal code, intersection, lat/long, point on map, POI (near you, near home, along route, at destination, in city).

Everything I've mentioned is available from the base model (ONE) to the top range (GO 910).

There's even more features coming for the GO720 (read the press releases here!)

 

[Pedro2NR]

Hello and welcome Simon!

1. you go off route, how fast does it re-calculate ? Is this "unit" specific. I know on the older garmin units(older street pilots) , this took forever as it had such a slow processor.

I have both the 910 and the ONE. The 910 is quick on re-calculating the route. It has a CPU of 400 MHz and 64MB of RAM. The ONE has a CPU of 266 MHz and 32MB RAM. Both re-caculate quick! The best part is that you won't hear an audio "recalculating route".

2. Can i make my own routes from pc software and will the Tom Tom route it exactly as planned ? Currently, Garmin make it quite difficult to do so with their way points charting.

Trye is found here. Be sure to check out the FAQ section on the site.

3. Map updates- How often ?

Generally once a year. TomTom will offer 'Map Share' by August or so. For more information on Mapshare, visit here. TomTom President of USA, Jocelyn Vigreux has been interviewed regarding the new Map Share found here

4. Way point updates ? how often and where to download them ?

There aren't waypoint sites for TomTom that I have come across.

5. How detailed is the screen ? I currently enjoy things like, manual and visual prompts, arrival time, time to next turn, time to next exit.

This information is displayed on the main screen with options to enable/disable some of these features.

6. Do I have the ability to input streets, intersections for searches, POI's ? Currently Garmin are horrible with this.

Yes there are options for navigating.

Is there a unit that has all of this ?

thanks for reading

simon

Later next month, TomTom will release the 520 and 720 models. They will come with TomTom's newest software: NavCore 7

 

[s2ksimon]

you guys have very very helpful.

thanks so much for your help.

I think I will be making the move to TomTom in the upcoming weeks.

I'm going to start going through the diff models. I really like the size and convenience of the ONE, but I may opt for something with a larger screen size.

 

[digital-flex]

I think your best bet is to wait for the 720 to be released as its a slim form factor with a wide screen with TTS.

The map share feature should also be of interest as you would be allowed to make corrections on your map.

 

[s2ksimon]

any idea when its to be released ?

 

[digital-flex]

any idea when its to be released ?

Our Admin, Jason, has met up with the big folks at TT awhile back and mentioned that the release date would be early August.

Details on the 720 unit can be found here - https://www.tomtomforums.com/showthread.php?t=2602

 

[s2ksimon]

thanks for the heads up. I will definitely pick this unit up in the next month or so.

 

[zerimar]

I too was Garmin 2610 user for 5 years, and was using TT5 on a Qtek S100 and now I have TT Go910. The 2610 was the cutting edge 5 years ago and therefore considered to be slow in this current age. I'm quite sure that Garmin has also fast units today. Here are my comments that I could think of right now:

Garmin 2610:

- brighter and very readable screen even under direct sunlight with or without screen protector.
- better tech support
- free map upgrade if qualified (based on last maps activation date).
- speaker is way much louder and clearer even when driving at 180mph with open windows in the DE autobahns.
- possibility of having it connected to the car's pulse gen.
- possibility of selecting font size and colors.
- very slow in getting a gps fix
- more intelligent day/night screen switching
- very clever mounting mechanism

Tomtom 910
- fast recalculation (due to faster processor and better technology)
- fast gps fix (due to sirf III chipset)
- Lousy tech support (although living in CH, I contact the UK since I can't write in German).
- No free map upgrades (new maps came out 2 weeks after my purchase and was rejected a free map upgrade).
- Screen totally unreadable under direct sunlight.
- built in GPS antenna
- user friendly gui
- no manual zoom feature (till new OS arrives)
- lousy mounting system, not optimized for unit's weight (center of gravity)
- physical design quite nice but not ideal for diy mounting system due to connector dongle
- having a harddisk is a plus
- mp3, bt, and cell phone connection via bt also a plus