Customer Reviews

TomTom GO 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

After using a GPS navigation system in a rental car, I decided I needed to purchase one for my own. I researched a number of devices, both online and at retail shops. The "TomTom Go" is definitely a stand-out among all the devices I investigated.

The TomTom Go arrives in a classy box... evidence of the manufacturer's zeal for producing a first-class device. Set-up was fairly easy and intuitive... and it started working right out of the box. A quick introductory "tour" is shown on the screen that gives a great overview of its capabilities.

If you purchase the U.S. model of the TomTom Go, the device is pre-loaded with "major highways of the United States." This provides general maps of most interstate highways, along with many state highways and major roads.

Also included, free-of-charge, is a stack of CD's that include more detailed maps of other regions of North America. To install them, you simply plug-in the TomTom Go to your PC (using the included USB cable.) Then install the maps that are important to you. The device comes with a 256mb SD card installed. I kept the "major highways of the U.S." map, and added the entire Northeast and California maps, with room on the SD card left to spare.

The GPS unit can operate by plugging into AC or DC power (both cables are included), or can operate using its built-in rechargeable battery. Most people will probably use the included cigarette-lighter adapter for continued, easy use. The battery fares quite well on its own; mine lasted 6 hours without needing a re-charge.

At this point it is worth mentioning: this device is ENTIRELY self-contained. While you can use the included hardware to mount it, along with the included power cable... there is no real installation required. You can quite literally pick up the device in the palm of your hand, carry it to another car, and be on your way with a fully-functional device.

As long as you've supplied power to the device (or given the battery an initial charge), you're ready to go. Within minutes, I was navigating to various destinations easily. You operate the TomTom Go by using intuitive menu options on its impressive touch screen... which offers a bright, crisp display. The 3D view is intuitive and fun. A slick zoom feature allows you to see a birds-eye view (or helicopter's eye view!) of the road... including geography and town names, for miles ahead!

At night, a very handy night-vision option can be used, which gives a low contrast view for safer driving.

(Note: When using the TomTom Go in a rented convertible, I must admit the display could get a little washed-out from the sun glare. This just depends on the angle of the sun, and was a problem only 20% of the time.)

The manufacturer's website offers additional accessories and installation options, but the kit comes with everything you need right out-of-the-box, including cigarette lighter adapter, AC adapter, USB cable, SD card and a certificate for a free carrying case (which you order online, apparently.) Other available options on their website include a professional mounting kit, supplemental antenna, and colored faceplates.

It is important to have a PC and internet access, so you can install the additional maps and register the unit online.

The manufacturer's website offers additional downloads, including supplemental narrator voices; some of them are definitely tongue-in-cheek ("Zappa" guides you with a Southern California valley girl accent!)

I was taken aback at the seemingly low price, compared to other GPS systems. I worried that I might be 'settling for less' by not purchasing a more expensive unit. But make no mistake: the features are comprehensive, and there is NOTHING cheap-feeling about this device.

That being said, I do have two complaints about the TomTom Go:

Complaint #1) When starting up, sometimes it takes up to 5 minutes to register the satellite signal... even on a clear day with no obstructions to the sky. This was a bit disappointing, as other GPS systems can usually register a signal in less than a minute. I'm not sure why this happens, as TomTom Go's computer itself has virtually no warm-up time. (Literally, it takes perhaps 2 seconds to power-up and then it's ready to use.) Once a satellite signal is established, it stays pretty solid.

Complaint #2) Listings for points-of-interest (such as restaurants and gas stations) didn't seem complete. In the Los Angeles area, for example, a search for restaurants produced numerous locally-owned establishments, but was nearly void of standard fast-food joints such as McDonald's. (This could simply be due to the overwhelmingly large number of restaurants in California though. Dunno.)

All-in-all though, I can't say these are major issues. They are minor tarnishes on a nearly-perfect little system.

One more quick note: make sure to purchase the correct device. This one I'm reviewing here is the "TomTom Go." There are other devices from TomTom, but they may be add-ons for PDA's and computers.

In summary, TomTom Go is a classy GPS device, reliable, easy-to-use, and offers a near-perfect balance of style, usability and value.

i bought it for 759 when it first arrived the states, and it's selling at 66X at harmony compXXXXXXX now. it sounds expensive, but actually it has its own value.

first of all, it looks great. unlike ANY other PDA nav systems, this one matches your car. i usually put it on the left side of the steering wheel, on the windshield. the display is really bright and clear. the speaker is amazingly loud too. the built quality of the accessories and tomtomgo itself is very solid and flexable, which does not make it feel "cheap". the battery can last for 4 hours that i consider very reasonable for such a good display.

it comes with a 256mb SD card for storing maps, which is more than enough for most people.

the OS, to my suprise, is very easy to use; even my friend, who is a computer idiot, know how to use it within 1 minute. the GUI is very simple and functional. in addition, the system is very stable, and i have never encountered any problem till now. the CPU is pretty fast too.

however, it sometimes does not show the shortest distance, and also doesn't speak out the name of a street or raod, which is the major con of this product. it does not support OSX either. ( but i think u can still download those maps from the CDs into the SD card by a card reader, but never tried). it should also comes with a display cover to avoide finger prints too.

it does provide an "eagle eye" map viewing function, but i still prefer the tradition 2D one more. at least, it works better for me.

to conclude, i recommand this nav system to anyone. you get more than what u paid; this is a very high quality product. even the box has some kind of design too (although it is copied from iPod's box..)


P.s. This is my first review on amazon.

I purchased 3 units because I could not make up my mind between the Garmin Quest, TomTom Go and the Megellan 700. Staples suggested doing this because they have a 14 day return, So I could try them out.

Number one the Garmin Quest. A great product, very accurate and fun to use. But I wanted a touch screen.

Number two the Megellan 700 $1200.00 unit. A piece of junk. It could not even find my house. The street has been there for 6 years. Buzzing noise when talking. The scroll would get stuck and it got very hot. No way would I keep it.

Number three the TomTom Go $736.00. Very accurate, great touch screen. Great looking on the dash of my Benz. The only problem with it and why I only gave it 4 stars is the display, it is very hard to see in the day light. That is the ONLY bad feature. I love the birds eye view when I can see it. The voice is load and very clear. You can download different voices. Don't worry about it only having a 256MB SD card, you can purchase up to a 4GB card.

Bottom line, the Garmin Quest is another great product, but just too small.

I decided to keep the TomTom Go. Best for the money. Support also says they are working on an accessory to help see the display in the day light.

The TomTom GO GPS navigation system is the best. I have never written a review for any product, but if any product deserves 5 stars, this is the one. The GO system works right out of the box, with nothing to load or install. However, if you want detailed local maps, you have many to choose from. The system comes with 8 CD's.

You really just turn it on and you'll be ready to access maps, points of interest and voice-guided instructions in your language of choice. I opened the box, plugged in the AC adapter and with a few touches of the screen, was ready to go.

The GO's touch-screen removes the need for buttons. There is only one button on the unit, an on/off button. The touch screen is easy and fun to use. At first I was annoyed by the lack of a detailed instruction guide. Once I tapped the screen, I realized that a manual is not needed.

'GO's built-in GPS receiver provides unprecedented levels of satellite navigation using the latest hardware and software.' This is 100% true. The GO provided excellent directions, fast route recalculation and easy to read maps.

PROS: 5 hours of continuous battery power. 3.5-inch display.
High quality voice directions. Continues to give directions if signal is lost.
CONS: Very expensive.

I bought this device because travelling in the USA can be extremly stressful. I found to my amazement this is a product that truely works from the time you open the box and start it. However, when installing detailed maps for different states I found that you had to activate it, but you do not recieve any information about this in the scarce documentation that comes within the package. To activate go to preferences, switch map and activate there. Once you have done this I found that it worked extremely well. Even when negotiating the new road contrauctions. Despite this small missunderstanding in the documentation I'm extremely content.

I have had mine for 2 weeks and I was just as the box described it... within 4 minutes I had programmed 2 journeys, memorised my home address,and it had picked up all the satellites!The touch screen works very well, and the buttons on the virtual keyboard are large enough not to make mistakes,the directional voices are clear.I managed to keep a signal throughout mountainous regions and in tunnels! The only thing that it seems to be missing is a large compass. One thing to be aware of though: on some newer vehicles with athermal windscreens you will need to get the outdoor antenna to get a signal. Apart from that it puts many of the more expensive GPS units to shame!

I'd have to say I'm usually not easily impressed by new products, but the 3D view on the TomTom Go definitely did it. Now all my friends and family want one for Christmas. Very intuitive, doesn't require too much button pressing, and it works better than my $1.8K NAV in my other car.

Not having the voice speak the street name really didn't bother me like one of the other reviewers. I like the fact that there's usually a couple of warnings before a turn is necessary -- usually a couple hundred yards away, and then to confirm right before when the turn is to be made. My other GPS only gives me only the earlier one, but when there are a couple of exits close together, it can get a little confusing.

The real test was when I drove in San Francisco at night, and it was tested against all the one-way streets that I'm usually not familiar with. Worked like a charm. It was even able to list out all the restaurants nearby when we considered where to go out for dinner.

On another night, I drove through a dark canyon road and kept the display in the "day" mode. The 3D view allowed me to glance to see what turns were ahead as if I was driving in daylight. The perspective in the display was just like what I see on the road so it made driving through the turns very predictable. The 3D view is definitely the way to go.

The only negative I saw was with the display. Not that it wasn't bright enough, but because of the glare at certain times of the day. It usually happens in the morning for me, when the sun is somewhat glaringly low and the TomTom Go reflects the bright light from the seat or my light-colored shirt. It would be nice if it had a better non-reflective coating on the display. Still, I think this product is a great value for the money, and I'd buy it again in a second.

I decided to buy this GPS after through research. PC Mag and others had rave reviews, but all focused on the user interface and the quality of the voice directions. Bottom line: I decided to return it because of the routing algorithm and maps.

Pros:
* high quality device, very well built
* excellent (!) mount
* Brilliant user interface. Probably the best you can get.
* Hi quality and loud audio coming out of such a small device.
* Tomtom will take you to your destination (in case it has it on the map) if you rely only on the voice commands.
* fast: quick routing and instantaneous re-routing.

-- I did not have any issues with long time to acquire a signal. Usually it took <1 min if no obstructions and a little longer in NYC.

Cons:
* Customer service is a joke. No phone number. I wrote them a couple of emails (I though that I am doing somehting wrong with the routing), and got ridiculous replies.

* Map is outdated, like other reviews mentioned (eg tried looking for 330 South Service Rd. Melville, NY - and it only has numbers 35 - 45). I would have forgiven them for this if it had a reasonable routing algoritm.

* The worst part is the routing and I enclosed a detailed example below. You just cannot understand the route Tomtom chooses, because it omits MAJOR road names and exit numbers (eg when you plan from the east side of NYC to East Dover, Vermont, it will tell you to go to Unnamed road - which is actually the FDR, then to Bruckner Expressway, then to I-91 omitting I-95!). When you actually drive, it will give you the right directions, but when I go on long trips, I would like to check the route that my GPS chose, and maybe change it manually. This is practically impossible with Tomtom.

This is a copmarison between Mapquest and Tomtom. As you can see, Tomtom just forgot about: Harlem River Drive, I-95, GW Bridge, I-80...

Start: 350 E 92nd st. New York, NY
Going to: 27 Wright Way Fairfield, NJ

TOMTOM:
-------
(After 350 yd) turn left onto Frenklin D Roosevelt Dr.
(After 4.5M) Keep left onto Unnamed road
(After 0.6M) Keep left onto Unnamed road
(After 21.0M) take Exit 52
(After 75 yd) keep right on Lane Rd.
(After 180yd) turn right onto Two Bridges rd.
(After 1.5M) turn right onto Write Way
(After 0.35M) end at 27 Wright Way Fairfield, NJ

Mapquest:
---------

* Start out going SOUTHEAST on E 92ND ST toward 1ST AVE. 0.2 miles
* Turn LEFT onto FDR DR/FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT DR. Continue to follow FDR DR. 0.2 miles
* Merge onto FDR DR N. 4.1 miles
* FDR DR N becomes HARLEM RIVER DR. <0.1 miles
* Take the I-95 S exit- EXIT 24- on the LEFT toward GEO WASHINGTON BR. 0.6 miles
* Take the exit toward RT-9A/H HUDSON PARKWAY. <0.1 miles
* Merge onto I-95 S via the exit on the LEFT toward GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE UPPER LEVEL. 4.9 miles
* Merge onto I-80 W via EXIT 69 toward GARDEN STATE PARKWAY/HACKENSACK. 16.1
* Take EXIT 52 toward THE CALDWELLS/FAIRFIELD. 0.2 miles
* Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto TWO BRIDGES RD. 0.3 miles
* TWO BRIDGES RD becomes PASSAIC AVE/CR-613. 1.6 miles
* End at 27 Wright Way, Fairfield, NJ

I bought a unit in The Netherlands and have used it for two weeks. The mount is rock solid using the suction cup mount to the windscreen. The device itself is a work of art. It has an exceptionally easy-to-use touch screen interface. You don't even have to read the manual- it is very intuitive.

You just put in the city, then the street, then the house number then follow the units directions- it will take you right to someones house with uncanny accuracy. Or you can ask it to take you to the nearest ATM/gas station/post office/etc.

The best thing about it is the 3D perspective used while navigating. It is much better than the 2D/top-down perspective that most units use. The full color map display is easy to read and 99% accurate so far for the Benelux area in Europe.

Another key difference from other PDA based units is the speaker on the TomTom Go is superb- It is loud and clear of distortion. The volume is easily controlled.

The unit gives clear voice directions in your choice of "voices" in many languages, man/woman, etc. It will say, "in 200 meters turn left" and then about 20 meters before your turn, it will say "turn left" (or you can change the units to feet/miles). And if you need the device to repeat the verbal instructions, you just press the lower left corner of the screen and you will hear the instructions again.

It has an internal battery that lasts about 5 hours or you can use the included 12v "cigarette lighter" power cord.

I can't write about the quality of the US digital maps, but the European maps are very good so far. Every single street in my small town is present including the alley behind my house. Every ATM/store/bank/train station/gas station/etc is faithfully represented as a Point of Interest.

This unit costs a lot of $, but is worth it. Overall, it is the best designed piece of technology I have used in years.

Short list of positives, all mentioned by others: voice is excellent, maps are accurate, maps load quickly, 3D view is great, suction mount works perfectly (no need to order the `flexible' optional mount), screen is sharp and bright and large enough, price is very reasonable. This is an excellent unit. I have not owned another car unit, just handheld ones, so I can't compare TomTom to its competition. However, I can answer some of the problems others mention.

"... the print on some screens is so small as to be unreadable." Yes, some of the print is *very* small. However, I was able to read it without the mild reading glasses I have for books and newspapers. More to the point, the only important information for a driver (besides the map display itself) is the turn predicting arrow which is big enough for anyone to see.
"...direct sunlight totally blanks the screen." Not for me in sunny California. Two things can blank the screen: wearing polarized sunglasses, and bright reflections from inside the car. My car has an LCD display of its own and polarized glasses make it impossible to read too. The reflection problem can be solved by tilting/rotating the TomTom to face a dark background. I have tried a screen-protector and it doesn't seem to make much difference in preventing glare. Finally, is there *any* GPS LCD display without some visibility problems in bright light? I doubt it.

"...also doesn't speak out the name of a street or road, which is the major con of this product." I've thought about this and speculate that TomTom decided not to risk degrading voice quality by attempting to pronounce street names. The voices are recorded human voices and are very clear, but you can't record all the street names in North America (and Europe) in the many languages required. Too much expense and not enough memory. Therefore, you would need to use a computer-generated voice algorithm, and that means lousy pronunciation, and that means confusion. I don't want to hear a voice that sounds like the telephone information computer.

"...Maps not updated. Missing POI's." Again, the question is, how does this compare with the competition? Everyone, not just TomTom users, complains about non-updated maps. POI's are subjective - TomTom doesn't like MacDonald's very much but I can live with that. "It likes the highways, constantly trying to pull you into one." Yes, TomTom will twist into knots trying to keep you on the freeways, to the point that it figures 20 miles on the freeway is better than ten miles on surface streets (the 3rd alternative route on a recent trip). Bummer in Los Angeles, I'll tell you. But, you can fix that either by giving it a waypoint that forces it off the freeway or, better yet, just take the route you know is better. What you need is to be guided the last mile or two, not the first twenty. Just enjoy listening to "Jane" imploring you to make an illegal U-turn. Eventually she'll come around.

"When starting up, sometimes it takes up to 5 minutes to register the satellite signal." Maybe not 5 minutes, but TomTom is sometimes slower than my handheld. Definitely something for the engineers to work on, but also a relatively small problem for me.

One guy had major routing problems - unnamed roads that were important roads for instance. I have not had that problem. Is it possible he was using the preloaded Major Roads map and not the detailed maps that come on the CDs? Before I loaded the CD maps, I drove on a couple of missing roads and really confused TomTom. After loading the CDs I find *nothing* missing. TomTom knew all the roads at the Veteran's Administration grounds, which are private. It knows about this alleyway in my neighborhood (in fact it tries to route me that way coming home, which is rather dangerous).

Another reviewer complained that instructions are, "too unspecific ... AND right or left turns are never indicated... " and so on. Well, on mine right and left turns are *always* indicated, by voice and with the turn arrow on the screen. I have no idea why anyone would say they aren't. That aside, some intersections, turns and exit ramps are complicated, and it takes a while to get comfortable. The thing to remember is that the voice alerts you generally but the screen guides you precisely. The 3D map shows the exits, turns, veers, and choices clearly, and your route line (dark) is easy to follow. The turn arrow tells you what's coming (sharp turn, bearing change, zigzag, whatever) and how far away the turn is. The voice essentially reads the arrow and distance to you, but by the time it says "In 200 yards turn right" you're only 150 yards away. IMHO a simple programming change would fix this, but it's no big deal once you know what's happening.

Unresolved problems for me (but I still love the unit): (1) you have to know the city name when looking up an address. In Los Angeles County, with 87 cities (!) this is a real problem. [4/30 I discover that you can feed in a zip code instead of a city name.] Why can't you just give a street address and, if it is not unique, *then* choose a city? I read in other systems you have to identify an arbitrary section of the city - even worse, so I'll count my blessings. (2) There is no way to "prefer" one kind of street or highway when calculating routes. In fact, the whole system is rather inflexible on routing, and the options you have to avoid parts of the route are tedious and distracting if you make them while driving. But as I said it's the last mile or two that counts. In my city I can do what I want and let TomTom guide me in. In an unfamiliar city I have to let TomTom take me all the way. Either way, I'll get there.

Final peeve - my rebate request has been rejected because they claim I didn't send the UPC code. I did, but of course can't prove it. Rebate mischief is a whole new ball of wax, and won't affect my rating now, but if TomTom plays hardball on this, I'll add another review later. Customer service - not needed yet.

11/20/2009 - they did play hardball on the rebate. Result - the next unit I bought was someone else's. Bad TomTom.