Are TomTom moving to a fully closed system?

[jkdwiz]

[Kremmen]

This single issue would be a showstopper for me. Currently I have a built in system and I use a Talex but when changing my car in a few years I may decide to get a separate SatNav system.

If I can't use this database on a TT then I won't get a TT.

I still have an original TT1 that I dust off every now and then that works perfectly. May have to stick with that.

Simples!
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DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3

[Andy_P]

[gav28]

TomTom yet again show their contempt for their customer base. They did it with the lack of updates for the Symbian O/S and Windows Mobile devices, so this is no suprise. With the growth in smart phones, this is surely where the market is heading, rather than standalone units. Googlemaps is a great, considering it is free. I am sure it will soon catch up with the features provided by mainstream SatNav products, so 3rd party POIs will only be a matter of time.

There are other great SatNav products out there, iGo is easily as good as TomTom, available on cross-platform support and continues to support custom POIs. Until customers vote with their wallets, TomTom will continue to feel able to stick two fingers up to its "loyal" customer base!

Just my 2p worth :-)

[gcusick]

I've had a Tomtom XL IQ for a few months now, and have been distinctly underwhelmed. The sound quality is lousy, the battery life disappointing (< 2 hours!) and the wonderful Easymount system absolute cr*p. Don't get me started about the suction mount! Add to that the fact that the thing seems to crash pretty frequently, requiring a reset. If TomTom now make it harder (or impossible) to use 3rd party PoI sets, then I shall certainly be looking elsewhere.

[mikeprytherch]

Tomtom knows its market place better than anyone (we hope !), I wonder what percentage of TT owners download anything to the device, I guess the percentage of people using this forum is pretty high (I use the POI and Speed Camera from PocketGPSWorld), however my question is - are we a "typical" user, I know lots of friends who have never done anything with their TT and it would certainly make things easier for TT in terms of cost not to support such things, my question is what is driving TT to do this ?

If we are a small percentage of users who install 3rd party stuff then TT don't care, however if its a big, it will come back and bite them hard, I hope they know their market as well as they think they do, I for one will not purchase device without custom POI's. TT also need to be aware that market dominance is easily lost anyone remember Lotus 1-2-3 ?

[mikealder]

@ gcusick:
As you have a device that was sold with Custom POI support it will remain with it, the newer models recently put on sale are the devices that don't have the full POI support. An update to your device won't remove funtionality that the device was sold with in the first place.

Two hours from the battery is about all I would expect to be honest, the device is supplied with a car charger that it should be used with whilst in the vehicle.

EasyPort mount, I fully agree that its a PITA to get the device sat on the mount and when you do get it in position if you try to adjust the position the device tends to fall off, as for the suction mount I threw that part in the spares box quite some time ago and modified the TomTom supplied unit to secure to a Brodit Pro-Clip attached to the dashboard (see Here for details) - Mike

[MaFt]

[TED21]

I've had an XL1 Live for about 8 months. If I had not paid almost £200 I would have chucked it in the dustbin by now. I must have re-loaded their software at least 10 (ten) times and on replacement units. What I feel about TT is not printable. My present unit is back with TT, AGAIN.
I can get arouind out of date maps but not; units that switch off, traffic does not work all the time and will freeze as and when you most need it.
Their camera alerts are wrong, it shows cameras that are not there or on the wrong side of the road.
Another part is that they have changed how you work the XL, because they have changed their software, AGAIN. They don't seem to update, they just seem to mess up what did work.
I also use an old 'Road Angel' at least that still works after all these years.

[gamichea]

[peteward]

If TT removes support for user-supplied POIs then I won't buy a new TT.

[andy-c1]

if that is the case this might be my last tom-tom as I rely heavily on the pgw poi's for shops food schools toilets excreta .it will be a damn shame
But to top it off I think they are death nailing themselves as there are now free maps available for some phones and other devices which a lot of people will turn to as I just want to get from point a to b and don't really care for the route as long as I get there
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TomTom 5001

[Mikegps]

I read your comments a month or so ago about TomTom's new plans for a closed system on new sat navs. As a result I quickly bought a TomTom 950 Live rather than wait for the new systems to become available. Having downloaded latest (16/6/10) update and travelled just over 100 miles I can confirm that Pocket GPS World's camera database is far more accurate than TT Live.

If TomTom prevent owners downloading upto date data independently perhaps TomTom should subscribe to Pocket GPS and keep their Live data current?

I am impressed by the 950 Live generally and with the "Live" traffic conditions update system especially. But why make a good piece of kit worse? Can only be megalomania.

[fujitsusteve]

I too have upgraded without realising the restrictions, I wrote to Tom Tom as below
Hi Tom Tom, I just bought a new XL2 having previously used Tom Tom on a PDA.
Whilst on the whole I am pleased with my new device I have some questions.
I have managed to add my own POIs via computer but this only seems possible to add via device if you want to add to existing categories rather than a new category. If it is possible could you let me know how.

Speed cameras were preinstalled but very out of date, your website says an initial free update is available but this has not happened automatically, is there anyway of checking this and updating them for the first time?

I used to be able to change the warning sound for speed cameras, can I do this on this device? if so how and if not why not?

Am I restricted to only using Tom Toms own speed camera database - especially if I want audio warnings?

Can I install mobile speed camera warnings on this device? It is not the live version but I used to have them installed as POIs with audio warnings.

When editing POIs in the map corrections, any POIs that I have installed do not show up and cannot be edited. Only the preinstalled categories are editable - why?

Thanks for your time

I only got an automatic reply to say they recieved the email saying they would reply within two days, but this was at the begining of June.

Frustated!

[corrour]

As a reseller one of the major points of TomTom was the ability to add custom poi`s to make up for the lack of ones supplied unlike Garmin who give you loads and make it easy to add more.

If the insist on more restrictions it will be at their cost and other major brands will take the sales.

Keep up the great service. its the TomTom users who will get the Speeding Fines

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