Customer Reviews

TomTom PDA Navigator 6 U.S./Canada Map DVD (Windows or Mac) Bluetooth GPS Receiver

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

 

 

I purchased this for use with my trusty Treo 650 smartphone, before a plane/rental car trip. (We have been totally spoiled by the nav system in our new car, and I wanted that kind of confidence while tooling around L.A.) The Tom Tom worked great. It's easy and intuitive to use, and the maps are detailed and very legible. My only gripe is that it often seemed to take a full two minutes to link up with the satellite, and I was unsuccessful in training my spouse to wait until the little green light was blinking before setting off (and in fairness, when you're in a parking garage, you have no choice). This leads to having to choose an initial direction before the GPS knows where you are. There is no such delay in our car-based nav system, so I think this could be better. Other than that one gripe, I was very pleased with the system. It makes a great partner to the Treo--when it came time to go home, we knew we had to ship some things we had picked up along the way. I texted "ups store anaheim ca" to Google (46645), got the addresses, and plugged two of them into Navigator to see which was on our way to the airport. It guided us to the chosen location (and then on to LAX) without a hitch. I even downloaded Eddie Izzard's voice (from his own website) to liven up the audio guidance: "Thank God you're there! I can shut up now." The Tom Tom was a great addition to this trip, and I'm sure many more to come.

I've been using this software for a number of years and love it.

Via the PC "TomTom Home" program, TomTom will offer you an updated map to buy. Beware, this dates from 2007. There are no newer maps available, nor will there be as TomTom have ceased all support for this version.

There is no new version that will run on my HP IPAQ so I have to buy a new SatNav or put up with old maps.

Thank you TomTom!

I've been using the product for three months.

Pros: The software is easy to navigate and intuitive to use. The Tom Tom Bluetooth GPS unit connected very easily to my Dell X51V. Plenty of points of interest and easy to understand map and voice instructions.

Cons: On occassion the routes it chooses don't make sense. I know this because I frequently use the GPS even when I know where I am going. There are two particular routes I take that is stubbornly wants to make me go the very long way, over 20 minutes out of the way, even though the fastest route is a major highway.

Overall, I like this product very much. Unlike the Garmin GPS10 Bluetooth unit I had before (which is horrible, don't buy it), this product is very reliable and the software and communications works every time. If you are going to use a GPS and PDA combo, this is a good choice.

Got a new Navigator 6 software AND bluetooth GPS combo off Ebay for $20 (including shipping). Because the combo deal is so cheap DO NOT buy the software alone. Yes, maps are somewhat older but still useful in most situations. Already used to Nav.6 as I had it in my iPAQ rx5915 previously which I sold. I bought this to use in HP iPAQ rx3100 - easy install of software and immediate recognition of bluetooth GPS through my iPAQ. Because the software and map files are too large for available memory on the PDA itself, I loaded it onto a 2 GB SD card (total USA and Canada maps and software takes up about 1 GB). The initial software installation onto the computer and transfer to PDA is a little tricky, made harder by lack of detailed instructions but read EVERY sentence carefully in the install sheet and you'll be ok. The thing is, for $20 bucks you get a really good bluetooth GPS receiver, with fast signal acquisition, which can be used separately with a netbook or laptop equipped with bluetooth (most of them have it) and a map program such as MS Streets and Trips. For $20, I've expanded the usefulness of my PDA with a terrific GPS receiver and program. Well worth it for $20.

OK I heard good things about this product, but when I got it, it was a different story. First the directions were in IKEA form, only pictures. You actually had to log onto Tom tom's site and look the installation directions up. The next problem I ran into was installing it onto my Palm Treo 700p. I purchased the DVD version which saves to your phones memory card. The only problem with that is that tom tom doesn't detect the memory card in the phone so you have to use an external card reader. I had to go and now purchase that also.
Once I finally got everything installed onto my card, I reached the point where I had to install the maps I wanted onto my device from the DVD. The DVD only had maps of Western Europe, not of the US and Canada. I found this weird, so I checked both boxes and they all said Tom Tom Navigator 6 Software with Maps of the US and Canada (DVD) and Blue tooth GPS Receiver. My DVD which was located in this box in shrink wrap was labeled Maps of Western Europe. This was obviously the mix-up of tom tom's packaging department. I called tom tom and explained the story, even though they packaged the unit, they somehow blamed it on Amazon and said I had to deal with them. I asked Tom tom if they could just send me the maps I needed and they said I would have to pay for them, which would be about $125. If your not familiar with Tom tom, you can purchase new maps from there web site and they are uploaded to your personal tom tom home web site they don't even need to send you a new DVD. Tom tom wouldn't even do this so I returned it to Amazon and currently looking for a better navigation system with better customer service. Something I thought about too, I have the Palm Treo, what happens if I upgrade my phone next year and this navigation device isn't compatible? I would have to re buy another system. Because of this I would suggest buying a stand alone navigation system, just not from Tom Tom.

First off, I'll echo what others have already said -- TomTom has ceased development and support for the Windows Mobile smartphones and pocket PC version of Navigator - with the exception the HTC Touch Diamond.

(The HTC Touch Diamond, which runs Windows Mobile, comes pre-installed with TomTom Navigator 7. Navigator 7 is, unfortunately, only available *exclusively* on the HTC Touch Diamond.)

Therefore, before you make a purchase decision, you should be aware that you will *not* be able to get any map updates or support from TomTom.

With that said, this package is worth buying only if you can get it cheaply and you're buying it primarily for the Bluetooth GPS receiver that is included in the package. I got a good deal - the Bluetooth GPS receiver alone is worth the price I paid. Shop around for the best price; there are several merchants on Amazon that sell this package.

Pros
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- Fast Automatic Re-Routing
The automatic re-routing takes seconds.

- Descent Battery Life
The GPS receiver can run for about 12-15 hours before it needs to be recharged.

- Accurate Directions
The GPS has not failed to bring me to my destinations thus far. The only hang-up I encountered was it didn't know about new section of road that has been built since the last map update.

- Intuitive User Interface

- Good Graphics
The 3D representation of the roads are very accurate and impressive.

Cons
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- Unpredictable Satellite Acquisition
The GPS receiver can take under a minute or as long as 5 minutes to acquire satellite signals.

- Outdated Maps and POI (Points-of-Interest)
Further, the Maps and POI cannot be updated since TomTom no longer supports this product.

- No Spoken Street Names
Directions are given in the form "In [so many] yards, turn left/right," and not "turn left/right at [some street name]."

- Major Quirk on the IPAQ 111
The software exhibits a strange behavior on my IPAQ 111 with Windows Mobile (even with a Clean Boot and fresh install of TomTom). Whenever the software starts up, the backlighting turns off completely. The work-around I've found is to painstakingly navigate through the menus (I can still make out the menus despite the lack of backlighting) to the backlight setting, readjust the sliders, and press OK.

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TomTom Navigator 6 will help to bring you to your destination very reliably if your destination is in the software's outdated database. Just be aware that you won't be able to get map updates support from TomTom. Bottom line: if you can get the package for a very good deal, it may be worth looking into.

Hi!

I started using my Trusted IPAQ 4155 (Running Pocket PC2003) with the Navigator 5 back in January 2006. Back then it came in six Cd's. I got so used to it that I transferred it to my AT&T phone HTC8525 (that ran Windows mobile 5). I kept using the Tom Tom Navigator 5, Ver 5.1 for three years in a row without a hitch. "Tom Tom home" is not compatible as it was not available back then and it is not needed to install Navigator 5. This installation software is the only problem that i have found.The installation Cd that came with the NAV5 package helped with the installation on the IPAQ and the HTC8525. The big problem came when I changed to a Verizon/Audiovox XV6700 that runs WM5. This is basically the same phone as the HTC 8525, the phones look almost identical, but I found out too late that Tom Tom and HTC were partners and that my Navigator software was not "designed" nor "approved " to work with the Verizon/ Audiovox XV6700. In order to make it work, You have to manually load the maps into the new Memory card, find the .CAB file on the installation files, then load it to the phone memory and from within the phone, install the .cab file, once it loads the setup program in the phone, it's just a matter of telling the Tom Tom Navigator program where the maps are located. You have to keep the same folder structure as you had in the IPAQ and the 8525 and it works Ok. You have to "rip"(copy and paste) the maps from the CD's to the Computer Desktop, then transfer them to the memory card, then put the memory card on the phone. The only thing that only works sometimes is the "Navigate To" feature. Originally in the IPAQ and the 8525 you can open your Outlook Contacts, select any contact, then open the "Menu" tab and there is an option there that you can "Navigate to", once selected, the Tom Tom programs (both NAV 5 and 6 ) opens automatically, shows the address on the map, turns on the bluetooth connection (it's looking for the GPS transmitter that you have to turn on yourself) and calculates the route. This feature only works intermittently on the XV6700, but i can live with that. I bought the navigator 6 just for fun (and it was a cheap way to get my hands on a brand new bluetooth receiver!), I wanted to use the Tom Tom Home feature, but it's quite unstable in Windows Vista. I had to try it at least 5 times to install it correctly, and it takes FOREVER to load the DVD maps onto a clean and new Ipaq Memory card.
You are off the reservation with this software. You need to understand the phone you have, join into a discussion group related to your phone and be able to tinker with it with no fear(google your phone model# and "hack"), what's the worst that can happen? a hard reset? that's why you have the CD's/DVD. Reload it and move on. If you do a hard reset the maps stay on the card, so all you have to do is reload the installer software, re enter the installation key and move on.
I know this, once it is installed correctly, it will work time and time again.
Now that I have the Navigator 6 on my Ipaq, and i compare it with the Navigator 5 on both my phones... the verdict is..... It's the same program. The only difference is the Tom Tom Home feature and some color schemes, but 99.5% of the rest is the same. I rate them both 3.5 stars.
When you buy this kind of software you have to be able to dedicate some time to educate yourself with it, be able to "hammer it down" to make it work the right way, but once it works, and you get used to it, You'll love it and will give it 5 stars!
There are a ton of "Points of interest" that you can download for free, then customize them as you wish.
These are discontinued products and Tom Tom wash off their hands with their "It's not supported, sorry" . Do not expect a lot of hand holding from Tom Tom, they are in Netherlands and frankly, they want you to buy an I-phone with their new app on it. That is the easy route to follow. Me? I bought it and have used it daily for four years non-stop, they will have to pry it from my cold dead fingers. LOL

Tom Tom Navigator 6 Software with Maps of the US and Canada (DVD) and Bluetooth GPS Receiver. Loaded the DVD software onto a computer running XP with no problems. Selected maps of areas of the USA I needed most and sync with HTC Kaiser phone placing program and maps onto phone storage card section. Received an error message at first that software could not locate map, but resolved on second attempt. I have not used software whilst driving yet so cannot review that important aspect.I was satisifed with ease of installation.

While it is very cool having my palm centro act as a GPS map aid using a keychain bluetooth GPS receiver, I have to give this product the lowest rating for one major reason: tom tom doesn't provide map updates. Even if they did, updates for four regions would end up costing 150% more than the this software which includes dozens of maps.

It has worked very well for me considering I have not read the manual. The one thing that took me awhile to figure out (partly because my last pocket pc gps did this automatically) was you have to manually tell it to switch to a map of a different state.