Customer Reviews

Tom Tom iPod Connect Cable and Audio Cable

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Now I'm going to sit on the fence a little bit here. I bought a TomTom GO 910 a few months ago and bought the iPod cable at the same time. I also wanted to use the TomTom as a hands free kit for my phone, via Bluetooth.

Issue number one is cables! If you're using all of this then you will have four cables trailing over your car dashboard: TomTom power, external mic, iPod cable, cable to car stereo aux input. You can reduce this cable count by one if you have a car stereo that supports Bluetooth (I don't so have not tried this).

I paid to have all of my cables routed behind the car dashboard. They come out in a neat little cluster by the corner of my windscreen. The iPod connector comes out in the glove compartment (the cable is plenty long enough).

So, functionality:

No iPod charging! This is a pretty serious omission, especially for long journeys.

The on-screen iPod controls are OK, but not excellent. Relatively responsive, but clunky compared to the iPod itself (not entirely surprising).

There is no support for compilations, so the artist list contains artists who only feature on a compilation album. This is a bit annoying, but not the end of the world.

No support for album art.

It takes a few seconds to transfer the song list to the TomTom. I have about 4000 songs on my iPod, transfer takes 2-3 seconds.

Annoyingly the TomTom volume control changes the volume of the directions voice and the iPod. It would be better to have two volume controls, or to just have the iPod audio level fixed.

When the TomTom has something to say, the iPod is paused. This is useful, but it would be nicer if there was an option to just lower the iPod volume.

And quality:

There is definitely noise on the line. It's not noticeable when driving and listening to music, but when stopped in traffic listening to an audio book you can hear the noise.

There are some bugs in the system. Occasionally the TomTom loses contact with the iPod and I have to unplug/replug it. Also sometimes after I've been playing music the TomTom will go silent (no more talking) until I power off/on.


Overall I'm happy with the product as it means I can listen to anything from my iPod when I'm driving, and cost less than getting a new car stereo with iPod support, but it could certainly do with some improvements.

I love my TomTom 510. I love my iPod. So I thought, "Hey, a match made in heaven!" Not so much. The audio quality is quite poor - reduced volume, static, and frequent popping sounds. Furthermore, the iPod controls on the TomTom are very limited. For example, I often shuffle an artist or genre, but you can not do that on the TomTom. Also, I listen to a lot of podcasts, but there is no podcast option on the main iPod menu on the TomTom, only audiobooks. And, when you connect the iPod to the TomTom, the iPod locks up so you can only control the iPod via the TomTom. I would not recommend this product at all.

Hey guys I was thinking about buying this for my TomTom but heard of the poor sound quality which was a huge deal to me. I normally plug my iPod in through the auxilary port of my car but that will be taken up by my nav system now.

What did I do? I went to radio shack and got an audio splitter for about $10. This allows me to plug both the iPod and TomTom into a single port with no interference. The only downside is no controlling iPod with the TomTom but I'm used to that anyway.

I bought this product a couple days after getting my TomTom 510. Great idea and I like it for the most part, but I experience the same problem with popping and crackling noises. The connection to my iPod is fine and it plays through the speakers fine, but the quality is a shame. I don't know if a software update by TomTom will fix this or if it's a hardware issue, but I hope it gets resolved. I love the unit and the iPod and phone features too much for this sound issue to ruin it. I'm hoping they come out with an update to address the missing podcast menu at the same time fixing the sound issue. Right now not really worth it, but could be with a fix from TomTom.

I am not sure why so many other people had issues with this device. If you use it correctly and are using a tomtom 720 or higher there is no background noise and it even works with my iphone. I am glad I do not have to touch my phone while driving ever again.

I bought this cable to use with my brand new TomTom 720 and it works great with my iPod video 30GB. The on screen touch controls are very convenient and accessible and I can easily control my iPod safely while driving. Very handy. I love TomTom !

The audio quality is horrible. Pops and clicks constantly. I have a 720, and the user interface leaves you going through too many gyrations to make this something you want to do every time you turn on your car. I find the direct lineout connection to my iPod much more usable, because you don't have to startup the iPod again when you turn the car on, and you get the benefit of charging the iPod, that you don't get with the TomTom in the middle.

There simply isn't enough benefit to justify putting your TomTom between your car and your radio.

This was a useless purchase -- the sound is filtered through the TomTom and not through the speakers of a vehicle as expected; why would anyone run their iPod through the TomTom when the sound is barely audible. In addition, it is hit or miss whether the iPod's music is in fact filtered through the TomTom.

I bought the Tomtom GO710 purely for the handsfree functionality (which is pretty bad) and the iPod control. I viewed the navigation part as a bonus. An iPod control box from Pioneer and a bluetooth handsfree solution from Sony Ericsson would have cost me about half not including installation. Things were looking good until I plugged in the iPod. It sounds like an old turntable with a dusty record. I thought there had to be something wrong so I contacted Tomtom. They said it had to be my windshield mount. They sent me a new one. No help there. Then they wanted it sent in for service. I did. It took 5 weeks. No help there either. I am thinking it is a software fault in the operating system, or the CPU in the unit is just not up to the job. Now for the second big let down. It doesn't charge the iPod!!!!! So in winter, if you forget to bring your iPod in from the car, it'll be out of juice in a very short time.

Tom Tom iPod Connect Cable and Audio Cable

Pros:
1) Allows touchscreen control of your iPod on your TomTom

Cons:
1) Sound quality poor and volume was lacking
2) Doesn't resume song when turning TomTom back on
3) Didn't work correctly with my 3 Gen iPod (wouldn't pause iPod when turning off TomTom, but seemed to work correctly with my iPod Mini)
4) Doesn't charge iPod

Don't waste your $30 (you can have mine)

Harmon Kardon Drive+Play is a MUCH better option for controlling your iPod.