My initial impressions of the 140S

[theparson]

I just purchased a 140S from a local Best Buy. I immediately noticed an improvement in routing. The 140S took me home from the store via the same route I would have chosen. The 130S always took me home via a somewhat inferior route.

I like the advanced lane guidance (in the lower left hand corner of the screen). I have not yet seen a static image for any intersections in my area (Rochester, NY).

There are some minor changes to the menus. There is 64 mb of ram as compared to 32 mb in the 130S and 2 GB of memory as compared to 1 GB of memory in the 130S. The computer voices are different.

I am very pleased. I think the addition of IQ Routes make it well worth the upgrade.

 

[dhn]

Thanks for the feedback.

We in Canada do NOT have any ALG or reality view for any roads up here with the latest map (NA 825). It wasn't until last weekend when I was in Niagara Falls, NY and Buffalo that I saw both features on the map. There were about four separate instances of Reality View that I noticed.

In truth, the ALG seems to me much more useful than the RV. Others may have differing opinions, of course.

 

[theparson]

More impressions:

The screen is not quite as bright as that on the 130S.

The 140S places a nice shadow under the car icon.

The routing is absolutely fantastic! The routes all seem to be the same as a local driver would choose. As a matter of fact, locals might learn some better routes from this device.

 

[Hondo]

Does the 140 have Itinerary Planning?

 

[theparson]

Yes, it does have itinerary planning.

By the way, I took my 140S back to Best Buy and exchanged it for a 340S, the widescreen version.

 

[theparson]

I took my first trip out of town today with my 340S (140 miles round trip). The reality view image popped up each time I exited the New York State Thruway. This was interesting in that there was nothing complicated about these exits---just your normal expressway exits. The flashing arrow indicating the correct lane is really cool!

 

[theparson]

Today I played golf at a course about 20 miles south of my home which I have played numerous times. I normally would travel part of the way on I-390. The 140S suggested that I go another way. The TomTom's way was better. I continue to be blown away by the excellent routing.

I will be traveling to North Carolina in a month. I can't wait to try this unit out on a long trip.

 

[theparson]

I have tried mounting my TomTom on the LCD display on my radio. It's been stuck there for over 24 hours and is holding securely. Mounted this low and with an iCap shade, there is very little problem with the screen becoming washed out with sunlight.

The radio LCD display contains very little useful information.

 

[Hondo]

What happened to the 340S -- did you take it back and reclaim the 140S?

By the way, I took my 140S back to Best Buy and exchanged it for a 340S, the widescreen version.

 

[wdccruise]

What is the memory capacity of your device?

If you were able to install the latest map, "USA Canada and Mexico" version 830.2325, would you tell me the memory capacity of your TomTom 140/140s/340/340s device?

Attach device to computer.
Open My Computer.
Click right mouse button on the TomTom "disk"; choose "Properties".
What is the Capacity shown?

 

[theparson]

I did exchange the 140S for the 340S. I know I'm fickle. I found that I actually liked the "cuteness" factor of the smaller model. The smaller model was actually on sale for $30 less than what I had paid for it. Best Buy made the exchanges with no hassle and without a restocking fee. For their sake, I hope they don't have too many customers like me.

Both the 140 and the 340 have 2 GB of internal memory. About 250 mb of it is free.

 

[Dr Dave]

I'm considering upgrading from a 130S to a 140S, I like the idea of more memory. One thing I can't find is if there is an SD slot, Cnet says it doesn't have one, Radio Shack says it does Tom Tom's site doesn't say. Which is it?

 

[wdccruise]

ONE 140s does not have an SD slot (eom)

No SD Slot.

 

[Dr Dave]

Thanks, I'm just wondering if that should be a deal breaker, when it comes to electronics I like having more memory (whether it's needed or not). I like the IQ feature and lane guidance too. I can return it at Radio Shack and throw in 10 bucks and get a 140S at Walmart.
Somehow Walmart is underselling Best Buy and Radio Shack by about 50 bucks. I would prefer to do my business with Radio Shack though.

 

[theparson]

It is very well worth $10 if you can upgrade from a 130S to a 140S. The 140 has twice the RAM and twice the storage. It has a much larger POI database and advanced lane guidance. The biggest improvement is in routing. The IQ routing alone is worth the upgrade. You won't be sorry.

 

[Dr Dave]

That's what I will probably do, just a little bummed that there is no SD slot, the specs on RadioShack and the manager locally said it had a SD slot.
I am very pleased with the 130S that I presently have, the 140S wasn't available at the time I purchased it.

 

[theparson]

The lack on an SD slot should not be a problem unless you are planning to travel to Europe (or elsewhere) and want to add an additional map.

 

[theparson]

I posted above that I had 250 mb of free space on my 140. This was before the latest map update. Actually, after I installed the 830 map, I only have 8.9 mb of free space. The version 830 map seems to be considerably larger than the 825 map.

I do have some extra color schemes installed on my unit. It would be easy for me to free up some space by deleting some of the voices.

 

[theparson]

I just returned from a trip from Rochester, NY to Charleston, WV to Topsail, NC.

I was very impressed with my 140S. It never suggested a faulty or weird route. One route it suggested in West Virginia was far superior to the route I normally take.

The voice directions always seem to be spoken at exactly the right time.

"Reality views" of expressway interchanges popped up frequently. I have really come to appreciate the feature.

I love that you can set voice warnings for Rest Areas.

The only negative thing I have to report is that some POIs in the Topsail, NC area were shown in wrong locations. I also found this to be the case with my Garmin 260 last year.

A new section of interstate in North Carolina is in the latest map. My brother's Garmin (with the latest map) does not yet show the new road.

I have more confidence in the 140S than any GPS I have owned.