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115 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Has everything you need, June 4, 2005
This review is from: TomTom GO 300 Portable GPS Navigator with Maps of US Pre-loaded on SDd (Electronics)
I had been using an older Garmin GPS in my car for some time. It wasn't a street pilot, it was a Garmin III. I bought the TomTom Go 300 and can't believe how good it is.
The TTG 300 includes everything you need: Detailed maps of the USA on the 1 GB SD card with those maps and additional maps on CDs. It has mounting hardware, power cords, etc. but you probably know all that.
I am impressed with how well it picks up the satellite signals. My Garmin would never pick up a signal inside the house, and it would often not find one on a cloudy day. The TTG works fine in both cases.
The voice is clear and loud (adjustable) and you can have it give you a new instruction at any time. It will navigate to an address, a nearby "point of interest" (bank, airport, park, hotel...). And it will find alternate routes if you hit a roadblock or just don't like the suggested route. You can tell it to build routes that are fastest, shortest, for biking or walking. You can avoid tolls or not. I really like the choices.
I think the screen is easy to see and the screen updates are plenty fast.
So far the map data has been fairly accurate. Around my home town I notice that some roads that are 3 years old are missing, but I would expect that. The TTG will show you on the road even if the map data is a little off. In other words, it will snap your position to the map road even if you drive off it a little. But if you go far enough off a road, it will show you exactly where you are (in the middle of field or whatever).
The menus are very easy to use. Much easier than I expected. You use the touchscreen to pick a city, street, address, and you're off. It does have the 3-D view of the map which is similar to the view out your window, but I still prefer the typical 2-D map view. You can see more streets that way.
The point of interest database has lots of places. I don't know the exact number of categories but I would estimate there are at least 25 categories (banks, airports, rental cars, amusement parks, gas, theaters, courthouses, police, hospitals, doctors, dentists, border crossings, zoos, etc.) And you can create your own categories and add places. I did not find a list of ATM's, however, and this would have been useful.
You can also view the satellite signal strength, battery life, and actual Lat/Long. I wish you could enter a Lat/Long as a destination, but alas, you cannot.
As other people have said, it is very difficult to see in bright sun. At times, I have to reposition it to reduce glare, but this inconvenience would not stop me from buying it again.
I have not used the bluetooth feature and can't really see myself paying for the subscription feature.
Overall, it is a Very Powerful navigator. It comes on when I start the car and goes off when the car stops (because the cigarette lighter goes off). It is very easy to use and very easy to follow. I actually want to take more trips now just to let the TTG figure out the best way to get there. And now my friends all want one. I see Garmin now has a similar model, which I haven't tried. But I would still buy the TTG again if I was shopping for one.
Update 4 months later...
I still like the unit and its functions, but as others have said, the map data and routing is disappointing at times. It always got me where I wanted, but half the time it seemed to take me the longer way. It seems to be reluctant to put me on a freeway for short trips, even when it is faster. And I haven't really compared this to another brand, except for the system in the the Audi A4, which does seem to do a better job: Even knowing what side of the street your destination is on. But that is not an after-market system. So if I was shopping for an after-market system today, I would most likely still buy the Tom Tom for the features, but I would take a close look at the routes is suggests while driving.
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disposal Item - No repair available from Tom Tom, April 30, 2006
This review is from: TomTom GO 300 Portable GPS Navigator with Maps of US Pre-loaded on SDd (Electronics)
Overall I liked my Tom Tom Go, until it was 15 months old and went blank refusing to turn on. It was dead. I called Tom Tom support and they said send it in. I did, they called and said it was out of warranty, which is 1 year. I agreed, how much to fix it? Sorry we don't fix them, we through them out, no repairs. But, we'll sell you another one for only $300. And, it will be the same model you have, no upgrade to current model.
I think this is a real rip off. I spent about $650 USD for this and it worked 15 months, then throw it out when it breaks.
Be aware if you buy Tom Tom products. They do not offer reasonable support.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I can't imagine doing my job without one!, May 1, 2006
This review is from: TomTom GO 300 Portable GPS Navigator with Maps of US Pre-loaded on SDd (Electronics)
I am a property claims adjuster for a major insurance company. My territory is the Eastern half of Pennsylvania. I spend a lot of time in the metropolitan Philadelphia area. I originally purchased (years ago) a travel program for my computer. This was horrible! I had to keep my maps with me at all times and it typically sent me the wrong way down one way streets. I then began to use Map Quest. It was ok. At times it was confusing or would misdirect me. I frequently got lost and had to check my street maps on a regular basis. I would regularly get lost when going from one destination to another. It was very difficult to read instructions, pay attention to the trip odometer, while trying to drive and pay attention to traffic. I had considered getting a GPS, but thought they were expensive and difficult to use. I also thought that you had to pay for a service and download maps all the time. But then another adjuster showed me this model and just how easy it was to use.
I can't imagaine doing this job without the Tom Tom GO! My friend showed me once how to use it. I briefly read the directions and I was up and running! It took me about a week of being on the road to get used to it, and to trust it. I stick this on my windshield just under my rear view mirror. The screen size is just right, not too big to obstruct my view, but not too small. I have not had any problem with glare, however it is a little difficult to see when you have sunglasses on. I have only had problems with losing the satellite signal in tunnels and on one spot on the PA Turnpike Rte 476N. The signal comes right back seconds after exiting the tunnel and the unit picks up right where it left off.
The instructions are clear and easy to understand. And by watching the "car" moving on the screen, I can see ahead of time where I have to go. I often ran into problems finding side streets where the signs were faded, bent, missing or blocked by trees. It is great to be able to see the names of the streets in advance. Driving around from one destination to another is a snap and I can't believe how much time I have saved by not getting lost! If I hit a detour or a traffic jam and get off the route (or I miss my turn) it will automatically re-route me within seconds. I can also plan ahead if I am aware of a traffic jam. I can touch the screen and have it give me an alternate route in advance. And wherever I end up, I just tell it to take me home and it does.
I took the Tom Tom GO 300 with me on vacation to Florida (we rented a car). I had read a review where it said that it would take about 10 minutes to get a location/signal when turning it on after travelling great distances and found this to be true. I did find the same problem as other people- some of the newer roads were not on the map. But I still never got lost and that was great. You can save your hotel as a favorite address and never lose your way "home." It was also great for finding gas stations, amusement parks, restaurants, etc. My 9 year old son loves to watch it and tell me what streets we have to turn on.
I always know where I am, how far I have to go to the next turn, how far I have to go in my trip and what time I am expected to be there. Barring any traffic problems, I have found it to be very accurate. I shopped around at various stores testing out similar Garmin and Magellen models and kept coming back to this one. My husband is a skeptic and does not read directions. I showed him how to use this in 10 minutes. Now he uses it for his own trips (when I am not using it of course.) The portability makes it easy to take from one car to another. I bought a medium sized camera bag to store the unit in. I just detach the entire unit from the windshield and put it in the camera bag (still attached to the windshield mount.) This makes it easy to carry in and out of my house (I was told to avoid extreme temperatures to prevent damage to the LCD screen.) It also gives me the ability to put the bag in my trunk when leaving my car while in the city. I have been using this unit daily since I got it for Christmas (4 months ago). I have found the windshield mount to be quite easy, convenient and stable. On only 2 occassions, the unit could not locate an address, one of which was a 10 year old house, and had to use MapQuest as back up.
Overall, I think this unit is great and have recommended it to many people. I can't imagine how I did this job without this unit! This is mandatory equipment for anyone who spends a lot of time on the road.
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