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Is tomtom really that much better than navigon??

severe said:
I just drove several miles with TomTom tonight, not really enough to give it a fair review. Though on first inspection, I do prefer Navigon's 3D view, especially having the ability to see further ahead. It seems to show more depth of field than TomTom.

Though I've yet to drive on the freeway with TomTom, I'm told it doesn't name the freeway exits like Navigon. (e.g. "Exit i405 North in...") This is a very useful feature that would be missed by many.

I also missed the POI icons that Navigon offers for individual stores, gas stations, etc. It's a nice touch. I also like the dark, simple look of Navigon's menu, though I'm not sure which I prefer. And the iPod issue that MBHockey mentioned (pausing audio), which I haven't checked, is another BIG drawback for me.

I'll test it out a few more days and post again. One thing's for sure, TomRom's definitely not much better than Navigon, if at all.
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The three big things TomTom has going for it IMO on the Maps is that they are newer, have more color options, and the text is much more legible on street names. Also, I can't explain it but they just look cleaner but I'm not sure why.

Really the thing that is the biggest difference in Navigon and TomTom is the routing options. TomTom has many more.

It still doesn't justify the cost though. They should be selling TomTom for $60 max, $80 for the cradle alone (for people who want to upgrade later), $120 for the bundle. Also, the cradle should be usable with cases (too bad it probably won't judging from pictures) and they should add TTS as soon as possible.

Navigon is overpriced too though. It should be like $50 considering its smaller feature set.
 
ddrueckhammer said:
The three big things TomTom has going for it IMO on the Maps is that they are newer, have more color options, and the text is much more legible on street names. Also, I can't explain it but they just look cleaner but I'm not sure why.

Really the thing that is the biggest difference in Navigon and TomTom is the routing options. TomTom has many more.
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Thanks. I haven't gone through the color options yet. I agree about the legible street names. I had been using Navigon for so long I forgot what a drawback that was.

I'll be testing TomTom all day tomorrow. I'm especially interested in seeing the choppy screen issues I've heard about.
 
str1f3 said:
I suggest you hold off a month or two before making a purchase like me. Read all the reviews on the forums and journalists and make an informed opinion on which you like more. This way you can see what they both will offer in their future upgrade paths. There is nothing worse than paying a lot of money for a product and then a competing product releases an update to make it better.

Right now, from user opinions, it is a toss up. I want to see what Macworld and other websites/publications prefer before buying one. I prefer to wait than to lose $100.
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+1.

I want more features on the TomTom (live traffic, for instance) before paying $99.99 for it. I would be tempted by a price drop, though.
 
I haven't tried TomTom yet (and believe me I am going to now), but Navigon has been utterly useless on my phone. It has yet to get a lock on a GPS signal. I also find it funny that doing a search for the term "refund" in the App Store section of this site (the section we're posting in now) returns a bunch of threads MOSTLY about Navigon LOL. That's not a good sign.

Once I get TomTom I will post comments on it, but Navigon has been a $70 loss for me, unless I can get a refund. I feel so ripped off right now its horrible. My TomTom device that I have in the car works great, so if their app works just as well I'll be happy. Granted, their UI even on their handheld units isnt that hot, but it works 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time is spent driving me into ditches and rivers LOL. But it's all good. It means the device has a sense of humor right? :D
 
MadMonkey said:
I haven't tried TomTom yet (and believe me I am going to now), but Navigon has been utterly useless on my phone. It has yet to get a lock on a GPS signal. I also find it funny that doing a search for the term "refund" in the App Store section of this site (the section we're posting in now) returns a bunch of threads MOSTLY about Navigon LOL. That's not a good sign.

Once I get TomTom I will post comments on it, but Navigon has been a $70 loss for me, unless I can get a refund. I feel so ripped off right now its horrible. My TomTom device that I have in the car works great, so if their app works just as well I'll be happy. Granted, their UI even on their handheld units isnt that hot, but it works 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time is spent driving me into ditches and rivers LOL. But it's all good. It means the device has a sense of humor right? :D
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Do the troubleshooting steps on their site. I had 100% failure with Navigon until I did an erase and reinstall. Took about 20 minutes and was annoying, but not more annoying than losing $70. Plus, now it works great.
 
MadMonkey said:
I haven't tried TomTom yet (and believe me I am going to now), but Navigon has been utterly useless on my phone. It has yet to get a lock on a GPS signal. I also find it funny that doing a search for the term "refund" in the App Store section of this site (the section we're posting in now) returns a bunch of threads MOSTLY about Navigon LOL. That's not a good sign.

Once I get TomTom I will post comments on it, but Navigon has been a $70 loss for me, unless I can get a refund. I feel so ripped off right now its horrible. My TomTom device that I have in the car works great, so if their app works just as well I'll be happy. Granted, their UI even on their handheld units isnt that hot, but it works 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time is spent driving me into ditches and rivers LOL. But it's all good. It means the device has a sense of humor right? :D
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And quite a few of the people who wanted refunds no longer do, simply because they followed Navigon's advice and performed a full erase and restore. Navigon isn't the only one suggesting this either... I wouldn't be surprised to see it pop up on the TomTom website (if they ever decide to add more to their iphone.tomtom.com page anyways). This was the first thing I did after purchasing Navigon to help ensure the program worked as expected (and it didn't require a lot of effort on my part).

I've said it before, but placement seems to be key to make these apps run reliably (after doing the erase/restore). If my phone is in my dash-mounted ProClip holder, I have yet to see the red GPS bar. However, if I sit it on the center console or in my lap, I will occasionally get this error.
 
+3

I have gmap, navigon, and tomtom (yeh im that guy). All of them lock the GPS signal fairly quickly on my 3GS. But it is all about placement. When mounted on my windshield, the lock happens before i can enter a route so by the time i load one up, its already locked. Of the three, Gmap takes the longest. Nav and TT both get it so quick its not worth saying who is faster. Im in the middle of nowhere upstate PA and neither has lost the GPS very often. If it has, it was for split second. I can not believe one app is truly that much different in terms of acquiring a GPS signal. Its the hardware. However, i do believe how the apps treat a lost GPS signal varys widely. Some estimate where you should be based on where you were driving to and may try in the background to get the lock back. Others notify you right away.
 
I've reviewed TomTom, Navigon, G-Map, and ATT. I'm not terribly impressed with TomTom. It doesn't speak street names/exits. Kind of clunky. Maps graphics are a bit weak. It does seem to have some nice stuff going for it, but in a $99 toss up I might go with Navigon. We'll see. Navigon has promised text to speech soon.

All seem to work just fine with GPS. They freakout once in a while, but seem to work OK. If I do get the TomTom window thing, it will only be if it works with the app of my choice, and it probably will be for the handsfree ability. Otherwise, I'd probably get a cheap window mount and use my existing car charger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5qubg1Iaek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJugRNg4NAo
 
OK, so against my better judgement, and a post I made yesterday saying I thought Tomtom was way overpriced, I bought it last night. (Found $50 worth of iTunes gift card I forgot I had and figured, what the heck).

Anyway, just started playing around with it, and it seemed to work quite well here, NE PA. Having only used Google maps up until now, I am a bit confused as to the lack of certain functions. i.e., the ability to not look anything up other than something built into the POI database. Kind of wondering why they can't integrate the "live" function they have on stand alone devices, to use Google maps for searching, since it's already built in. Maybe I'm just missing something blatantly obvious here.

I like the interface. Simple, easy to use and read. I can't compare it to anything else, as it is all I have. My one question, again, might just need to play with it more, is with all the routing options, is there a way to set more than one destination? In other words, lets say I'm leaving for a vacation. It's a LONG drive, so I'm stopping overnight mid way. Is there a way to set "way points"? I assumed that option would be somewhere in the advanced planning option, but after setting depart from, I get the destination option, and it sets the route. Is there any way to set more than one destination?

Eh, anyway, I'll post more as well when I have a little more time, but so far, I'm feeling OK with the purchase. Just hoping they decide to update with things like TTS and anything else needed sooner than later.
 
Thanks to both of you for the responses. I saw that reload option on their site (and here as well), but thought it seemed extreme just to get an app working. Don't get me wrong, I will try it, but it just seems odd that you'd have to completely wipe your phone out just to get an app to work doesn't it? Maybe TomTom will be the same. Time will tell I guess, since it's so new.

Reloading from scratch is the only thing I've yet to try, so I guess I will do that today. Again, thanks for the replies! I really appreciate it. Here's a question though... not sure if anyone here might know the answer, BUT does anyone know WHY a complete reload makes the app work? I mean, I can understand restarting the phone to free up memory etc, but I wonder what benefit a fresh reload provides that makes the app work. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks again! :)
 
MadMonkey said:
Thanks to both of you for the responses. I saw that reload option on their site (and here as well), but thought it seemed extreme just to get an app working. Don't get me wrong, I will try it, but it just seems odd that you'd have to completely wipe your phone out just to get an app to work doesn't it? Maybe TomTom will be the same. Time will tell I guess, since it's so new.

Reloading from scratch is the only thing I've yet to try, so I guess I will do that today. Again, thanks for the replies! I really appreciate it. Here's a question though... not sure if anyone here might know the answer, BUT does anyone know WHY a complete reload makes the app work? I mean, I can understand restarting the phone to free up memory etc, but I wonder what benefit a fresh reload provides that makes the app work. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks again! :)
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No idea, but it works :)

Says something about reorganizing the memory on Navigon's site. I was 100% skeptical about this procedure until I tried it.
 
MBHockey said:
No idea, but it works :)

Says something about reorganizing the memory on Navigon's site. I was 100% skeptical about this procedure until I tried it.
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Haha ok I will try it today! I can do it at work, so no worries about how long it takes (I can only imagine it takes forever since its 1.3GB LOL) :)
 
Sorry to ask a question that has probably been asked a 109 times already but....Does TomTom save the maps to your device, like Navigon does.

I guess my question is, can you use TomTom without having any cellular service or have it in airplane mode?

Also would Navigon or TomTom still work if say I cancelled my account with Rogers and didn't reconnect it to another cellular provider? Could I still use the application without cell service?



Thanks for the help in advance guys and gals!
 
Jamesdamon said:
Sorry to ask a question that has probably been asked a 109 times already but....Does TomTom save the maps to your device, like Navigon does.

I guess my question is, can you use TomTom without having any cellular service or have it in airplane mode?

Also would Navigon or TomTom still work if say I cancelled my account with Rogers and didn't reconnect it to another cellular provider? Could I still use the application without cell service?



Thanks for the help in advance guys and gals!
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Yes and presumably yes
 
MadMonkey said:
I haven't tried TomTom yet (and believe me I am going to now), but Navigon has been utterly useless on my phone. It has yet to get a lock on a GPS signal. I also find it funny that doing a search for the term "refund" in the App Store section of this site (the section we're posting in now) returns a bunch of threads MOSTLY about Navigon LOL. That's not a good sign.
Click to expand...

I don't want to come off angry or upset, but you know what I find "funny"? That doing a search for the negative reviews of Navigon in the App Store section of this site (the section we're posting in now) returns a bunch of posts from members that are Macrumors Newbies. Some have join dates of August 2009.

Now that's not a good sign.

While you're at it, search for unbiased reports and reviews from our members with some credibility. They're becoming increasingly difficult to find.
 
Jamesdamon said:
I guess my question is, can you use TomTom without having any cellular service or have it in airplane mode?
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I'm pretty sure no gps app will work in airplane mode as it shuts off the gps receiver. I tried it with navigon and it didn't work.
 
severe said:
I don't want to come off angry or upset, but you know what I find "funny"? That doing a search for the negative reviews of Navigon in the App Store section of this site (the section we're posting in now) returns a bunch of posts from members that are Macrumors Newbies. Some have join dates of August 2009.

Now that's not a good sign.

While you're at it, search for unbiased reports and reviews from our members with some credibility. They're becoming increasingly difficult to find.
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I don't see how my join date has any relevance on anything at all. I know it certainly doesn't mean I haven't owned an iPhone since they were first released to the public, and it certainly doesn't mean I've not been part of Internet discussions since the mid 90s. I also know it certainly doesn't mean that my experience with an iPhone app is definitive of what everyone else has experienced with the same app, even on the same hardware. Like any other app, everyone can have a different opinion and experience. Just because I'm new doesn't mean I am less credible, nor does it mean any other new members (here or anywhere for that matter) are less credible. It just means we haven't spent as much time on an Internet site as X number of other people. Period.

And for the record I didn't do a search for negative reviews of ANY application. I did a search for the word "refund" in the iPhone Apps forum. The REASON I did that was to learn from others about their experiences with refunds for apps. Wasn't looking for any negativity whatsoever. It was just surprising that the common topic for that keyword was "Navigon". That is all.

Sorry if I offended you or anyone else for that matter, as that was NOT my intention. Just taking part in a forum discussion like everyone else here, newbie or otherwise.
 
I got a refund on navigon. However this was because I objected to buying the European version when the British isles version came out a couple of days later. Great a free app I thought. However I don't get the updates and I am considering rebuying the app to get the updates. Just kicking myself I didn't do it at the time and on discount. Oh well that will teach me for trying to be cheap!

As you have probably guessed I like the navigon very much and I have used tomtom standalone devices for years
 
I've had some more time with TomTom today. Two things come to mind right away.

1. The iPod pausing issue is absolutely terrible. Like, I can hardly care what features this app has, terrible. Check this out for yourselves.

2. When I returned back to Navigon, the map was significantly darker, and more difficult to see than TomTom. This hadn't bothered me before because my other tests had been at night.
 
severe said:
I've had some more time with TomTom today. Two things come to mind right away.

1. The iPod pausing issue is absolutely terrible. Like, I can hardly care what features this app has, terrible. Check this out for yourselves.

2. When I returned back to Navigon, the map was significantly darker, and more difficult to see than TomTom. This hadn't bothered me before because my other tests had been at night.
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1. Absolute deal breaker for me too. WTF were they thinking on that one? It's absolutely brutal.

2. I haven't noticed this, but I'm confident they will address the legibility issues in a future update. Seems to be the most common complaint.
 
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