Tomtom Navigator Mobile 5 (TomTom Navigator Great Britain)

Member Name: dfisher

Product:	TomTom Navigator Great Britain
Date:	17/06/06 (1286 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Allows it to be used on mobile phone

Disadvantages: Battery life sharp decrease, expensive

This review is about the Tomtom Navigator Mobile 5 edition for Windows based Smartphones.

Buying----

The software is very expensive at over £100 but what you do get for your money is an SD card, instructions and if you pay extra a Bluetooth GPS receiver unit. These packages are available in most competant electrical stores but the best deals can be found on the net using price conparison websites.

Installation----

The SD card should plug straight into the SD socket found on the side of most Windows Smartphones. I have mine running on an Orange SPV E200. Once the card is inserted the program icon comes up straight away on the start menu and you simply have to click on it to activate the program. Once activated a small discalimer about reading whilst driving comes up and this has to be OK'ed before progressing on.

There is an inbuilt security system in this device that prevents the SD card being used in another phone. A code is required to activate the product and this is done via the Tomtom website. However if your phone breaks, it isn't possible to get a new code for the new phone on their website you will have to phone Tomtom about that. This prevents you using the SD card on other phones - a major disadvantage.

Performance----

Depending on your receiver Tomtom works wonderfully. The maps and views are indentical to those seen on their Go range and are relatively clear. But since this is being displayed on a mobile screen the maps are rather tiny and hard to read on the go.

Most features are accessed using the keypad and there are many POIs including restaurants, petrol stations and ATMs amongst others.

The voice commands are clear and are given in good time and repeated just before the relevent turn approaches. There are different voices to be selected and more celebrity voices can be downloaded off the internet or be purchased from the relevent websites.

Data input is easy by either typing in the full postcode of the destination or simply typing in the street and the door number. The software allows the use of the full postcode unlike others that only accept the first five characters.

The downside about running it on a mobile phone is that it utilises a lot of memory. This greatly slows down the phone and the result is that the software is rather hesistant at times when selecting menus. Also the downside is that battery life severly decreases when the program is in use. You can program Tomtom to switch the backlight on and off when turns come up but the savings are minimal.

To hear voice commands clearly will require a strong speaker in your phone. Most phones have a very weak speaker and unless you drive a LExus it might be a bit difficult to hear if you have the window down.

Maps-----

The maps are identical to those found in the standalone Go range. However, they are not very up to date and most new roads about a year old won't be on it unless you get the map data updated. A speed camera option pack can be purchased from Tomtom that will alert you to any speed cameras en-route but this is quite expensive

Overall------

Very expensive for the software at over £100. The maps are totally up to date and extras cost an arm and a leg. Though the portability of this device can't be beaten and its rather handy if you are on foot and need to find a road. However, the impact on phone battery life is substantial and the performance of the voice commands depends on your phone's speaker power. If you want a Tomtom system then go for the PDA version or the Go range, as if you have any important phone calls that you want to pick up you may well find that after using the Tomtom software the battery may well be flat.

Summary: Expensive, too great an impact on battery life. Expensive extras

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