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How are the battery lives on Tom Tom and Navigon?

H

hokiepokie07

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 20, 2009
601
11
I'm leaning toward TomTom, but I was just wondering on the battery life.

I know they have that car kit coming soon, but I'm just wondering for now.

I have a car charger, but will that kill my phone (running TomTom on iphone and charging)?

Without the charger how fast does TomTom or Navigon kill the battery?

thanks!
 
with the charger it will work fine, and will be charged for the day ahead as well

without, it lasts around an hour on a 3G
 
Without a charger, it'll kill the battery pretty fast. I'd imagine 1.5 to 2 hours or so. I have a USB port on my car stereo that I use to charge it. It can barely keep pace with the power draw of the iPhone during navigation though -- if I drive with the GPS on for two hours I'll lose around 10% charge even though it's always plugged in.
 
philgilder said:
shouldn't
Click to expand...

that's the only reason I am hesitant on purchasing it.

I always have my phone with me, and may not always have a GPS navi.

However, on trips, I don't want to hurt the phone long term if I keep it running for say 8 hours while charging.
 
Lasted around 90 minutes on my 3GS this week without auxiliary power. Even with an external battery it will never last a day, so I am having to fit an auxiliary power socket to the motorbike. Should be OK however for my bicycle plans!
 
Though I prefer TomTom over Navigon, I have to admit that it seems to drain the battery faster than not only Navigon, but also Sygic and G-Map.

You'd almost think TomTom was streaming all its data live (like Telenav) to explain such power drainage.

I have never actually timed it, so I can only tell you that TomTom will suck your battery power dry if you don't have a car charger (and even then, it's not a sure thing that the phone will stay charged) and it can make the phone quite warm (hot) to the touch after prolonged use.
 
I have the TomTom app and unless my iPhone is plugged in while using it, the battery drains very fast (something like 1% per minute).
On at least 1-2 occasions, I have even lost battery percentage while it was plugged in. I'm not really sure how that happened.
 
why would charging it and running gps at the same time be an issue??

i've been using navigon and car charger (kensington mount) for 4-5+ hour trips at least twice a month for the past several months. no problems so far.
 
My battery dropped to 93% in a 20 minute ride while plugged in. I guess this is another reason to get their accessory... iPhone wont be using its own GPS chip which apparently causes too much power drain.
 
hokiepokie07 said:
that's the only reason I am hesitant on purchasing it.

I always have my phone with me, and may not always have a GPS navi.

However, on trips, I don't want to hurt the phone long term if I keep it running for say 8 hours while charging.
Click to expand...

It will not hurt your phone. After it finishes charging the phone, it uses the power from your car or wall or wherever (you have it plugged into) to keep the phone working. You cannot overcharge your phone, if that's what you are worried about.

I use my phone in my car all the time on the car charger so I can listen to internet radio.
 
frozencarbonite said:
It will not hurt your phone. After it finishes charging the phone, it uses the power from your car or wall or wherever (you have it plugged into) to keep the phone working. You cannot overcharge your phone, if that's what you are worried about.

I use my phone in my car all the time on the car charger so I can listen to internet radio.
Click to expand...

Apparently the wall/car power isnt enough to power the TomTom software. It still drains your battery even plugged in. Only remedy is the car kit that has its own GPS.
 
With Navigon I see a little power drain on short <20 minute rides. However, using a USB powered plug in the car charges it while being used and I end up with a fully powered iPhone when I get to my destination. I have not had the chance to take it on a long drive yet so I can't vouch for how long the phone will last without power using the GPS.
 
With the unimpressive battery life of the iPhone logic holds a GPS app will drain the battery quickly. My experience with the Navigon holds this to be true. I use mine with a car cord all the time with no issues. And as stated above it gives me a charged phone for the rest of the day.
 
With my Navigon on my 3G, I left San Diego with 57% charge and I got about 2hours and 15 minutes with it. I drove about 160 miles before it finally died. So I guess if I had a full charge it would last me quite a bit.
 
A lot has to do with the amprage (sp?) that is being drawn by the given charger-accessory being used. If the iPhone is drawing more power than it is receiving via the car charge (typically a trickle set-up) then the battery will still drain, albeit slower than if it was unplugged altogether.

I have an integrated set up that pulls the iPhone's audio into my BMW's factory system and also charges it. However, this setup is running (powering the iPhone) at XXX ma, and the iPhone with Nav & iPod running just pulls too much juice for the charging solution to keep up. It does get quite hot after extended use in this fashion.

On a side note, I've noticed that Trapster is a notorious battery killer - most likely due to it streaming the maps OTA.

Thanks,
 
I wish everyone would clarify which app they're using, because, while both use a lot of power, it seems that TomTom uses more than Navigon.

I have a integrated USB charger in my car, and when I play music and use Navigon, it seems to keep up just fine. In fact, it produces a net charge to the iPhone at a rate of ~5%/hour, which is impressive, IMO.
 
Navigate while charged!

I use Navigon, which is awesome if you haven't gotten that from the multitude of threads, with a generic iphone car charged- something i picked up at a street fair in NY for $10. I have yet to experience the lose of power while using the car charger while navigating. Actually over a 2 hr trip to the boonies of connecticut, my phone actually went from 70 to 80 percent charged. AT the same time on a 1 hr trip to New Jersey, the phone went from 100% to 25%.

if your gonna get Navigon, you have to use some type of car charging system. Don't have any experience with any of the other iphone navigation apps but would imagine its the same for those other products as well.
 
Well, I have been very "scared" of buying any navigation software because of my experience with my now passed on iPhone 3G. I had it plugged up to a cig lighter to charge and was tracking my route with Google Maps. I had it sitting on my leg and the back got so hot I panicked, unplugged it, shut it down.

I am worried my 3GS will do the same thing, and that just can't be good for the phone or the battery.
 
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