Worth buying a TomTom Navigator 5 over a TomTom Go x10?

Deep-6 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 24, 2004 Posts: 41

Hello there,

I'm in need of purchasing TomTom Navigator 5 for my h2210. I had it working in the past with in SysonChip CF Plus card, but the card recently gave up the ghost and the TomTom 5 software has been reclaimed by a colleague.

I was looking at purchasing the GlobalSat BR355 and TomTom 5 from Easy Devices for £160. I already have a very nice Brodit powered mount and Smartclip for my Peugeot 307 so it woudl make sense just to get the software and stick with my Ipaq h2210.

But I wondered, there seems to be likely chances to get TomTom 6 onto the PDA. I spotted a few threads in the TomTom forum saying that TomTom made most of their profits now from the AIO devices, and I see that software updates for the AIO devices are frequent, and even the old Go devices can now be upgraded to version 6.

Thinking of the future, does it make sense for me to stick with TomTom 5 or should I spend a bit extra on the Go 510 and be happy for a few extra years?

What would you do if it were you?

Any helpful advice gratefully recieved! Smile

Darren · Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 10:01 am Post subject:

There will be a v6 for PocketPC. Whilst its true that the greater part of their profit is derived from AIO's I wouldn't expect them to drop support for the PDA platform's anytime soon, especially with the growth in smartphones.

The answer to your question depends on your usage, if you use the PocketPC for other things then it makes sense to use it for GPS nav also. If the PocketPC's sole use is Nav then I'd suggest an AIO may be a good move. But bear in mind that AIO's can't use other software such as Memory-Map etc and your locked in to the package supplied by the manufacturer.

I still use a PocketPC as my primary device because its always with me and is my phone as well but I also have a 910 in the car. Were I only to require road navigation I'd use an AIO.
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Darren Griffin

Deep-6 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 24, 2004 Posts: 41

Darren,

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

I have only ever used the ipaq for satnav actually, so as you say I might be better off with an AIO. With the Go x10 series, i would certainly make use of the TMC module for free traffic updates when it gets released. On the Pocket PC side, the only thing I would miss would be the CheckPOInt application.

Its good to know there will be a v6 for the PDAs though, I guess its just a matter of when. I read something on this site last year effectively saying TomTom was moving to a common code base across the platforms they supported so i assumed TomTom 6 would come quicker to the PDAs than this. Any idea if there could be some kind of TMC hardware support PDAs running TomTom in the future?

I've heard there are mount problems with the new TomTom go series, I'd love to make use of the smartclip vent mount I am currently using in my 307, but I see that Brodit do not yet make custom holders for the new TomTom series.

Whats the in car reception like for the new TomTom? I have read they use the latest SIRF chipsets. I used to have a car with an athermic windscreen and so for my SysonChip CF card I purchased an external patch antenna. My 307 doesn't have such a windscreen but I have never been able to properly test the signal levels within the car as my Syson stopped working as a standalone card and would only pick up satellites with the external antenna. Now, the Syson wont pick up anything, hence the need for me to look for an alternative. When the Syson did work, it worked well, and would get 6-8 satellites on near full strength!

Can I expect this kind of performance with the new TomTom series without a patch antenna?

For budget reasons I'm leaning towards just replacing the GPS unit + software as mentioned below, but the geek/kid in me wants the new 510 to play around with! Embarassed

Thanks again!

All input is appreciated.

Darren · Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:32 pm Post subject:

Deep-6 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 24, 2004 Posts: 41

Excellent! Thank you again Darren!

Time to read up all I can on them between now and payday!

I think I will probably get a 510 then. I doubt I will need street level mapping anywhere else other than the UK for the time being, and the 910 is perhaps just a bit overkill for me!

All i need to do now is justify the cost of a new 510 with the wife! 8O

Cheers!

DavidHobbs · Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:29 pm Post subject:

Deep-6 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 24, 2004 Posts: 41

Darren · Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:57 pm Post subject:

Currently you're stuck with the windscreen mount although you could affix this to the dash using one of those black plastic 'dish' thingies that have adhesive to stick to the dash and to which you stick the sucker.

There will likely be alternatives as time progresses but the mount design makes this more difficult than it was in the past. Get the 510, you'll love it!
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Darren Griffin

Deep-6 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 24, 2004 Posts: 41

I can't ask for much more than your recommendation Darren! :-) Looks like the 510 it is. I might pop into the local PC World and see if they wouldn't mind taking a demo unit out to my car so I can see this Sirf Star III chipset in action!

I might spring for the remote control unit as well as my windscreen is quite deep and the base of it is way out of reach when I am sat back in my seat.

I wonder if there is still a section of this site dedicated to pictures of readers in-car GPS setups! Hopefully there are some TomTom Go pics so I can see what i am letting myself in for! Embarassed

Thank you for your good advice Darren! I will keep you posted too DavidHobbs!

8)

Deep-6 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 24, 2004 Posts: 41

Hello again!

Since my last post in this thread, "she who must be obeyed" has since withdrawn her approval for buying the TomTom 510 at its current price. I should have never told her how much it costs! Apparently buying stuff for our daughter is more important Embarassed

I now see that TomTom 6 for Pocket PC has been announced, for this month. Is it likely to be in shops within days or do we have a bit of a wait on our hands?

I will have to stick with TomTom for Pocket PC at the moment, so I may as well buy v6 straight out. Although I need the navigation for this weekend ideally so I may end up buying TTN5 as planned and waiting for the upgrade offer. Are they likely to give a free upgrade to people who recently purchased TomTom 5? I know upgrade info has not yet been announced, but did they not do something similar from v3 - v5?

Cheers!

AlanK · Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:16 am Post subject:

I reckon the uprgrade is the same is buying new

simmilar problem myself altho my PDA is smahsed so needs replaced rather than upgraded (Blutooth GPS for sale) - I just bought a 510 today so time will tell but so far so good as its a LOT faster than the 4700 Ipaw I was using (which is faster than your model of Ipaq aswell)

292 at the airport

RICKT · Regular Visitor Joined: Jan 11, 2006 Posts: 84

Hi...

in regards to the mount issue..."DROOP"

When i got my 710 the mount was rubbish... dropped after 5 mins

Called TOMTOM Customer services, gave them my email address i used to set up my TOMTOM online account, they checked product codes/device etc... 5 days later new mount from TOMTOM FREE OF CHARGE.... they told me just to dispose the old mount..

(however since then i have managed to mend the mount by pulling it apart and getting the 2nd lock to work correclty... so 2 mounts now...

Cheers

Deep-6 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 24, 2004 Posts: 41

Thanks AlanK and Rickt,

I've decided to stick with the H2210 for now. I already invested in a brodit mounting solution for the PDA so I can wait a while until Brodit have a solution ready for the x10 series.

I've ordered the GlobalSat BR355 GPS mouse as reviewed on this site, and will just sit tight and wait till TomTom Navigator 6 is available from the shops. I see one online store has got it on preorder already.

Regarding the processor speeds, my 2210 has a 400Mhz processor, and I remember when loading TTN5 up thinking how much faster the screen redraw was (compared to TTN3) on the main navigation screen. Everything just moved smoother, so I put it down to better programming techniques in TTN5.

If TTN6 performs the same, I'll be a happy man!

AlanK · Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:42 pm Post subject:

Well I have a 510 now - anyone want to buy TTN5 and bluetooth GPS rcvr?

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