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Spawn Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 25, 2004 Posts: 5
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:08 am Post subject: My experience of TomTom GO |
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Hi all, I am new to SatNavs and this website.
I bought a TomTom Go last Friday and was very excited after reading all the reviews about it (Most were excellent). I had the TomTom delivered to my place of work so when I received it I quickly charged it up and tested it on the way home.
The unit did take about 10 minutes to warm up and get a signal, but I expected this as I had only just took it out of the box.
The first problem I experienced was that TomTom tried to take me about 10 mins out of the way to get home. I couldn't understand why it was doing this. I even put in a via point but what it did was take me home first and then to the via point and then home again. It took me a while to figure out why it was doing this.
I had a look on the "Browse Map", and it was completely missing out a road that was quite clearly there (the road was showing on the map but for some reason the road had little pink dots on it ????) and it kept diverting me around it, and it still does. Leading me to my first query/question. What does it mean when a road has these pink lines on it? Is there a way to tell TomTom that it's ok to go down this road?
On Saturday I decided to upload the most recent update (4.2 is it?) and a few POI's including the camera database.
Everything seemed to work fine, I tried to navigate to my girlfriends house (again it diverted me around the road that wasn't there!!!), I was driving down a pretty straight road (A11 in UK) and TomTom decides to tell me to turn around when possible??? In its defence the screen stayed the same and it did correct itself.
My final and main gripe with TomTom is this : I was driving to work today and TomTom lost signal on a road that it had a full signal the day before??? Why did it do this ???? it did not get a signal again for about 25 minutes and by this time I was already at my destination.
Thanks for reading this far. So my questions are the following, would be great if someone could answer them
Q1) What do the little pink lines on roads mean?
Q2) Can TomTom learn that if you go down that road then it exists and will correct this?
Q3) Why does TomTom lose signal on a road that it had full signal on the day before?
Q4) Why did it take 25 minutes to get a signal back?
Q5) Did all this happen because I installed the update?
Q6) If yes to Q5 how can i revert back to the old one?
Q7) If a road you go on is "unnamed" can you name it yourself?
Q8) The A11 in UK was duelled well over a year ago but TomTom still thinks it hasn't, will this ever be updated?
Q9) Should I send TomTom back and stick with my Atlas and A to Z ?
Thanks for your time
Shaun |
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Eldar Pocket GPS Moderator
Joined: Sep 24, 2004 Posts: 1294 Location: London
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:19 am Post subject: |
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Q1: The pink dashes mean that the road is closed to traffic
Q2: No
Q3/Q4/Q5: It could be because of upgrade to s/w version 4.40 - other people reported GPS sensitivity problems with it.
Q4A (less likely): Satellites position might be different from the day before with lower signal levels
Q6: Yes, but you'll loose the ability to import POIs
Q7: No
Q8: You can report it to TomTom/TeleAtlas, but it's not likely to be updated in the near future
Q9: You might consider buying another GPS device if you think that TTG is not suitable for you, it looks like you are getting frustrated with it. |
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Tim Buxton Pocket GPS Moderator
Joined: 14/09/2002 20:56:18 Posts: 5231 Location: Surrey, United Kingdom
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:22 am Post subject: |
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Pink lines mean that the road is marked as not navigable. There is nothing your Tomtom can do about this, it is in the data supplied by TeleAtlas. You can report this error to TeleAtlas. Don't worry about it saying it's a PDA report form, the GO is selectable from the 'Products' menu.
The laters patch is 4.40, available from here. _________________ Tim |
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rob-bob Regular Visitor
Joined: Oct 27, 2003 Posts: 85 Location: rotherham
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:48 pm Post subject: tomtom go |
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Shaun
i had loads of problems with the maps on go ....just see my other posts....in my opinion i would be very tempted to go for the navman icn510.....i think tomtom have lost alot of respect with this product.....i would love to try the navman first just to see how good it is......
Cheers
Rob |
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MrRubberGloves Regular Visitor
Joined: May 09, 2004 Posts: 163 Location: Blackpool, England.
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:39 pm Post subject: Re: tomtom go |
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rob-bob wrote: | Shaun
i had loads of problems with the maps on go ....just see my other posts....in my opinion i would be very tempted to go for the navman icn510.....i think tomtom have lost alot of respect with this product.....i would love to try the navman first just to see how good it is......
Cheers
Rob |
If the NavMan also uses TeleAtlas maps then won't the same problems occur? |
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rob-bob Regular Visitor
Joined: Oct 27, 2003 Posts: 85 Location: rotherham
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 7:28 pm Post subject: Re: tomtom go |
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MrRubberGloves wrote: |
If the NavMan also uses TeleAtlas maps then won't the same problems occur? |
yes i think they do...i dont know why but all the bad things i read about the maps are against the tomtom go....i think the navman has the better software which is why i think its better like the slider bars which let you decide which roads you prefer to use instead of tomtom taking you all around the houses....im not sure who they used for tomtom2 but the maps were better
Cheers
Rob |
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MrRubberGloves Regular Visitor
Joined: May 09, 2004 Posts: 163 Location: Blackpool, England.
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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Having used A-Z town maps and Collins Maps for the UK is one of the reasons I bought the TT Go as their maps are very similar to look at and seem far clearer on the screen than other Sat Nav models.
I knew there would be the odd problem with the mapping details on the TT Go as there will be with other Sat Nav models, this is the reason I'd like to see map updates released more than once a year. |
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mutant Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 11, 2004 Posts: 19
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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I can't help wondering if in order to keep the price down TTG didn't opt for an older or less up to date version of the UK maps.
It would be interesting to know the date they were compiled.
It seems strange in these days of updatable firmware, updateable virus definitions etc. that no one is offering maps with a live update (or equivalent) facility.
Without this things can only get worse with Local Authorities struggling to spend their parking revenues on "Road improvements" that don't actually improve the traffic flow - so more mini-roundabouts, dead ends, no right turns etc. All, of course, in the name of safety.
Michael |
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MikeB Frequent Visitor
Joined: 20/08/2002 11:51:57 Posts: 3859 Location: Essex, UK
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 8:57 am Post subject: |
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The GO Maps are the latest of the TomTom mapping products. They have the M6 Toll road in them, which none other than TT Mobile have.
Roads can take up to 18 months to get into a retail version of navigation softwarem even major ones!. _________________ Mike Barrett |
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delboy0754 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Jul 10, 2004 Posts: 296 Location: In the Office
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 11:07 am Post subject: |
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MikeB wrote: | The GO Maps are the latest of the TomTom mapping products. They have the M6 Toll road in them, which none other than TT Mobile have.
Roads can take up to 18 months to get into a retail version of navigation softwarem even major ones!. |
Plus, after eighteen months, the roads might be Altered again, ie: roundabouts added, barriers and extra lanes added, etc.etc.
As said before in these forums, GPS mapping takes a lot of work, and there'll
NEVER be 100% accurate mapping. Roads are altered on a daily basis, even where i live in Blackpool, there's a big pedestrian area being built, but the maps still show it navagable.
If there's map errors then report it to TeleAtlas on the form provided on TomTom website. Report it, don't
Complain about it. |
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timmyo Regular Visitor
Joined: Oct 20, 2004 Posts: 76
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 11:50 am Post subject: |
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I agree with that sentiment
These 'terrible' problems with routing mean, as far as I can see that either:
1. In an area you already know you wouldn';t have gone that way - so don't
2. In an area you don't know your journey might have been very slightly extended - by how much? So what? You got there didn't you? :D [/list] |
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mutant Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 11, 2004 Posts: 19
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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delboy0754 wrote: |
Plus, after eighteen months, the roads might be Altered again, ie: roundabouts added, barriers and extra lanes added, etc.etc.
As said before in these forums, GPS mapping takes a lot of work, and there'll
NEVER be 100% accurate mapping........
If there's map errors then report it to TeleAtlas on the form provided on TomTom website. Report it, don't
Complain about it. |
If I and others were complaining about roads that had been altered in the past few months your comments might be justified. Likewise, the fact that someone has managed to add the M6 Toll road doesn't mean that all other road changes are as up to date.
For example, the road closures around the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London have been there for many years and and still not reflected on the maps.
Also the suggestion that all this has nothing to do with TomTom and that complaints should be forwarded to TeleAtlas is bizarre. By all means report problems to TeleAtlas but the product is supplied by TomTom and it is them that choose their suppliers and are responsible for how up to date the maps are.
If one buys an Ordnance Survey Map or Road Map it usually has a date on it that gives you a good idea of how up to date it is likely to be. By contrast the TomTom/TeleAtlas maps seem to be shrouded in mystery - why shouldn't we know exactly how up to date the maps are so we can make an informed choice as to which product they would like to buy. To hear third hand that maps might take 18 months to update from whenever is of no real help. There must be some sort of production cycle. If the TomTom maps are more up to date than Navmans or visa versa then fine but let us be told.
Likewise, why is the policy on updates shrouded in mystery. How difficult would it be for TomTom to let us know if and when updates will be available and how much they are likely to cost. If people thought that there would be an update in, say, the new year the complaints would stop overnight.
Also reporting a problem is not a trivial exercise it takes time and thought. If TeleAlas were serious about people reporting problems they would have an online database of reported changes to save everyone reporting the same old things over and over again. You could also see at a glance the true extent of the problem.
I don't believe that these are unreasonable requests or that I am asking for the impossible - just for some information.
Michael |
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mutant Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 11, 2004 Posts: 19
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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timmyo wrote: | I agree with that sentiment
These 'terrible' problems with routing mean, as far as I can see that either:
1. In an area you already know you wouldn';t have gone that way - so don't
2. In an area you don't know your journey might have been very slightly extended - by how much? So what? You got there didn't you? :D [/list] |
And how does that help in planning a route out of, say West London, without being directed onto the M4 or M25?
Try planning a route from, say Putney to Salisbury and instead of being directed through Twickenham to the M3 you are sent on a roundabout route to Hammersmith, along the M4 and then around the M25 to the M3. Longer, further and impossibly jammed.
Or try a journey across London and see if the device can be persuaded to go down the Mall.
None of this would be a problem with the option to set a couple of Vias.. but as things stand setting up even the simplest of journey's can be so tedious that it is not be worth the effort.
And before you say don't turn the thing on until you are out of London that is not what I paid for.
Michael |
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rob-bob Regular Visitor
Joined: Oct 27, 2003 Posts: 85 Location: rotherham
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 8:00 pm Post subject: tomtom maps |
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Did tomtom change their map supplier from tt2 to ttgo as i find the latest maps on GO worse, just wondered why they were this way......my tomtom go sits on the side now as i am back using my tt2 on the pda which is much better.......
also one of the big problems i also found with go is the re-routing it keeps trying to make you do a u turn....on the tt2 if you hit a bit of traffic and pull off the route tt2 will find you another route when ttgo keeps trying to make you do a u-turn for quite a while..... i know this is a software thing but being able to turn u-turns off would help
also if i update my maps on tt2 to tt3 am i going to get crap maps like on tt go...
Cheers
Rob |
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stix Occasional Visitor
Joined: Sep 27, 2004 Posts: 58 Location: Zurich, Switzerland
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:09 am Post subject: |
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Please remember folks it's not just the UK maps that have to be updated... there's the whole of europe to consider! Coordinating that is not easy and as someone already said - the maps will NEVER be 100% up-to-date and you just have to live with it... there's no way of avoiding it! |
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