What Do You Think? (own a Garmin, looking at TomTom)

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Miss POI

I owned a TomTom One XL for about 2 weeks before I returned it and bought a Garmin. I loved the features of the TomTom but the accuracy of the TeleAtlas maps it came with left a lot to be desired. Roads were missing that have been around for decades and directions sometimes left me a mile or so from where I wanted to be. I was using it around town to test it and decided if the accuracy was that bad, it would be of little use if I was someplace else when I really had no idea how to get somewhere.

I find the Navteq maps that Garmin, Magellan and others use to be much more accurate here in the United States. (My understanding is that the opposite is true in Europe.)

Thanks!! I'll do that

I did read something like that in customer reviews I've read recently and I don't plan on going to Europe until next year though we do a lot of roadtripping in the States, my daughter and I.
I think what most intrigues me is the idea that I wouldn't have to pay for upgrades in maps and I can add things that are not already there.
I've only had my Garmin 2 yrs and it's already discontinued and the last upgrade didn't have several updates locally including access to my own home and a major highway change out by the airport?!

Hi Gypsy...welcome to poi-factory. I have a Tomtom 930 but tried out a friends Garmin before buying anything. Both systems are good...I had no problems with the Garmin (other than being a newbie and not knowing what I was doing) but decided on the Tomtom because of the upgrades. As far as difficulty in using a Tomtom, I guess it's what you get used to, when I was using my friends garmin I thought that it was difficult, but I was new at it. When I first bought my Tomtom I kinda fumbled through some things but quickly learned most of the "ins and outs" of using it, now I love it..it's very easy to use. I also like some of the Tomtom "extras" mapshare, map corrections, and the ability to add streets, something that I guess some of the other brands don't have. In the end though, they are both good, it's just what you're used to, or what you're looking for. I've read that some people have problems with the Tomtom not being accurate on their maps, I've not had the problem at all, as a matter of fact I am very surprised as to how accurate the maps are, don't know why the difference. I have taken a few trips and my Tomtom has worked flawlessly, taking me to exactly where I needed to be.

As for me I would highly recommend the Tomtom, but others would do the same for their GPS makes too.

Hi Gypsy....I think all of the major brand GPS units are overall very good. They all work a little differently. Like others have said the mapping and customer service are very important. After considerable testing and reading I ended up with a Garmin 750 which I like very much.

Reading GPS reviews I think you will find that Garmin always comes out on top. Here is a site that rates them..

http://www.gpslodge.com/archives/014480.php

Good Luck...I am sure whatever you choose will work out fine for you.

Hello and welcome to the site!

I think the best advice I can give you is to try one out.

The TomTom interface makes much more sense to me, but opinions are subjective, and there is really no better way to decide than by trying hands-on.

I've used the TomTom 5 and 6 engines on Pocket PCs for a while (The 920 uses version 7), in different US cities along New England, Illinois-Indiana, Arizona, Nevada, California and Hawaii, and so far, for the 'kinks' I've only seen an address or two being off for 50 yards or so. Mapshare takes care of that problem, I'd guess.

I rate their CS as above average.

Navigon also offers free map updates, and their products are very sharp-looking, although no on-the-fly corrections/sharing. TomTom on the other hand controls iPods and has a call for help feature.

Some stores have very good merchandise return policies (such as Costco, Amazon, etc.). Check out their conditions prior and take one for a spin.

Krieger.