The PND market ain’t dead yet. Garmin’s got new models in the pipeline and TomTom just launched several navigators, including the US debut of their Internet-connected GO 740 Live GPS.
ZNF regulars know I’m a minimalist, preferring convergent devices. However, true turn-by-turn iPhone nav is at least a few months away and the Palm Pre hasn’t launched yet… but I need an updated GPS now, given the newer neighborhoods I find myself in. I looked into map updates on the family TomTom One 3rd Edition, but have instead decided to invest that money into one of TomTom’s latest base offerings.
The text-to-speech capable TomTom ONE 140-S ($200) features the larger speaker and “easy port” folding suction cup mount introduced last year. It also sports a sleeker enclosure than our previous ONE, plus incorporates the formerly premium IQ routes and advanced lane guidance features. Generally speaking, I also prefer TomTom’s UI and customization options over Garmin products. And being a PND, as opposed to a phone, it’s much easier to share and more efficient to operate.
Bonus coverage: Zach Epstein, of Boy Genius Report, and I initiated a trade on Twitter. We both have collections of gadgets headed to ebay, so I’m swapping that TomTom ONE 3rd for his Nokia N800. I’m probably getting the better deal, but we both agree bartering with friends beats messing around with deadbeat ebayers.
Forgot to mention… I’m so glad to see that horrible plastic packaging has been replaced with a cardboard box. And one 140S pre-drive observation: The USB port is so recessed, you may not be able to use any old USB cable you have laying around. The one stashed in my desk wouldn’t fit, so I had to unbox the included cable.
Hm, after a few drives I’m not sure I’m feeling this mount. But the maps are a definite improvement. Still some weirdness and inaccuracy, but there always will be. Speaker volume is very good and the lane assist graphics will come in handy when visiting unfamiliar highways/cities, as I’ll be doing next week for work.
Hmm… you like TomTom over Garmin? I’m helping a co-worker pick a GPS unit as a gift and we settled on upcoming Nuvi 1350 which will be mostly for driving around Houston and suburbs.
But if TomTom is better, maybe I need to have her consider XL 340S which, it seems, is a comparable model.
I got the Garmin nuvi 660 a couple of year and can’t understand how we ever survived with out a GPS. On vacation in Vermont last summer it was incredible. The only thing I’m not happy with it the suction cup mount. It will stay attached to the windshield for about an hour then crash on the dashboard. The wife usually just holds it now. The traffic and bluetooth features are great too.
How well do the current models provide lane guidance in congested cities? I don’t have much experience with these units, but the Garmin that came with a rental car last summer did a horrible job in Manhattan – I kept finding myself in the wrong lane before a turn. Are the new models any better at this?
Ivan, I was also looking at those models – for free (with small ads) live traffic and Bluetooth speakerphone. They also look slimmer than existing models. I thought of pulling the trigger on the 265t or 265wt, but somehow I can’t buy something I know is the previous model. And I needed a new unit now. So I went a bit lower-end with the 140S… figuring I’ll have a smartphone with these features sometime in the summer.
dwgsp, Not sure. I’ve seen it pop up in two different ways on the highway over the weekend. Using a full screen image with blinking arrows, or replacing the info panel with arrows representing lanes. Not sure what triggers the different options – I was thinking my screen wasn’t wide enough which is why it used the arrows below. If I see any during city driving, I’ll let you know.
dave i agree the mount feels a bit awkward. a few times, after detaching the mount, sticking it to window, then re-attaching the tomtom, i hear a click and it seems to be in but its only partially in, then then tt falls from the mount. But, once the unit is locked in properly, it seems to work great
Dave, TomTom’s web site says that advanced lane guidance kicks in when “you approach complex motorway intersections”. That sort of implies that it does not kick in when you’re on city streets, for example.
Say I make a right turn onto a multi-lane street, then need to make a left turn one block later. I want to know about the upcoming left turn ASAP, not when I am almost into the intersection.
Any wisdom on this is greatly appreciated.
These units all visually display a directional turn in the info area for all maneuvers. Also, the unit does a fairly decent job of giving me advanced verbal notice. The ‘advanced’ stuff is to display highway splits and/or multiple exists with a fullscreen graphic. Not sure how it would handle your situation, but Manhattan can be a bear under even good conditions – considering car traffic, pedestrian traffic, closed roads, and blocked satellite signals.
How come it doesn’t came with a cd for installation in your computer for mapshare and other downloads like the one 130 ?
I just bought the Tom Tom one 140S on Memorial weekend, and until now, I can’t use it. When I turn the device on it says no maps found. I give up. Can somebody tell me how to use this device??? I am an idiot with it. By the way this is my first brand new GPS.
I got mine yesterday. It worked right out of the box. Hooled it up to the computer to get updated maps and I swear with a DSL connection 1t took 1 hour 35 minutes to download. More than an hour later i says it is still installing the updates I can’t believe how slow it is or what might be wrong.