GPS For the Car - Might Be That Time Again

[allanc]

Is anyone using a TomTom GPS that uses their IPhone 5 for 'live traffic'?
I am wondering if it drains the battery quickly, interferes with the quality of their conversations or any other quirks or quarks that I should be aware of?

 

[HCHTech]

I'm a TomTom fan, but don't use my phone for the traffic thing. I much prefer a dedicated device, I've used my phone for nav in a pinch, but it just not the same - screen too small, calls make the map go away just at the wrong instant, etc. etc. It definitely drains the battery faster - I try to make sure it's plugged in when doing nav so I don't have to worry about running out of juice later. I use it as a hotspot for my tablet to do customer invoices & etc.

That said, I do love looking up a contact and pressing the navigate icon to plot the route - it would be nice to have a dedicated gps that would sync with my contacts somehow.

TomToms (along with everything else, I suspect) have really gone down in quality over the years. I think I'm on my 5th one now, it's only 14 months old and already starting to go. The digitizer thinks the screen was pressed at random times so it goes back to the menu. Tried removing the bezel and cleaning the edge, but that didn't help, so it's already time for a new one. These 55-year-old eyes really appreciate the 6" screen, I'd get a 7 if I could.

Sorry, just rambling and didn't really answer your questions!

 

[allanc]

I'm a TomTom fan, but don't use my phone for the traffic thing. I much prefer a dedicated device, I've used my phone for nav in a pinch, but it just not the same - screen too small, calls make the map go away just at the wrong instant, etc. etc. It definitely drains the battery faster - I try to make sure it's plugged in when doing nav so I don't have to worry about running out of juice later. I use it as a hotspot for my tablet to do customer invoices & etc.

That said, I do love looking up a contact and pressing the navigate icon to plot the route - it would be nice to have a dedicated gps that would sync with my contacts somehow.

TomToms (along with everything else, I suspect) have really gone down in quality over the years. I think I'm on my 5th one now, it's only 14 months old and already starting to go. The digitizer thinks the screen was pressed at random times so it goes back to the menu. Tried removing the bezel and cleaning the edge, but that didn't help, so it's already time for a new one. These 55-year-old eyes really appreciate the 6" screen, I'd get a 7 if I could.

Sorry, just rambling and didn't really answer your questions!

My car (Mazda-3) has a large built in GPS.
But:

1. Speed limits only display and function on highways
2. The 'live traffic' does not work at all (not broken - simply does not work)
3. Does not speak street names unless it is a highway

 

[ohio_grad_06]

Honestly, I use google maps on my phone. Never have to update it for one. Maybe for your tom tom, buy a square trade warranty on them so when they start to go claim that warranty.

 

[allanc]

Honestly, I use google maps on my phone. Never have to update it for one. Maybe for your tom tom, buy a square trade warranty on them so when they start to go claim that warranty.

I agree with HCHTech .... the screen on my IPhone 5 is waaay to small.
Also, here (in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) you can get a nasty ticket for touching your cellphone while driving.

 

[glricht]

I've been using a Garmin for many years -- the Nuvi 2597LMT for the last two. The screen's very visible as the unit is mounted right on the dash. It displays speed limits, traffic delays, school zones, etc. It's always plugged in to the cigarette lighter so I never worry about battery life. We're onsite-only so it's just about a "must have" addition for the car. Normally have the audio muted though as I use the phone a lot in the car (have one of those Bluetooth mic/earpieces which allows two hands on the wheel).

 

[allanc]

I've been using a Garmin for many years -- the Nuvi 2597LMT for the last two. The screen's very visible as the unit is mounted right on the dash. It displays speed limits, traffic delays, school zones, etc. It's always plugged in to the cigarette lighter so I never worry about battery life. We're onsite-only so it's just about a "must have" addition for the car. Normally have the audio muted though as I use the phone a lot in the car (have one of those Bluetooth mic/earpieces which allows two hands on the wheel).

I had Gamins before my current Tom Tom.
They both had major issues within 2 years which is why I switched to Tom Tom.

 

[frase]

Honestly, I use google maps on my phone. Never have to update it for one. Maybe for your tom tom, buy a square trade warranty on them so when they start to go claim that warranty.

Same works better than TomTom etc, I have a dash holder for my s4 and use Google account with maps - flawless.

 

[NJW]

I have the TomTom app on an Android phone. The advantage, for me, is that it doesn't need a data connection as the maps are stored locally (cf. Google Maps). The Android app can download map updates by Wi-Fi, which, afaik, the TomTom hardware can't.

Any app (on any device) is going to hammer the battery if it's continually running screen updates (not quite live video, but continual), the background GPS process, recalculating route alternatives, arrival time, etc. The data requirement for traffic updates is quite low, in my experience, but I don't use it often as I am rarely in an environment where it's necessary.

Bottom line, use an external power source.

 

[glricht]

I had Gamins before my current Tom Tom.
They both had major issues within 2 years which is why I switched to Tom Tom.

Just out of curiousity,what were the major issues that you ran into?

 

[altrenda]

I don't think I could work or live in LA without Waze on my phone. One of the best parts is the arrival time it lists is spot on within less than 5 minutes.
Yesterday, the 20 mile drive from a client by the airport to one in the Valley said 1 hour 9 minutes, and I made it in exactly that.
I love LA.

 

[allanc]

Just out of curiousity,what were the major issues that you ran into?

If I remember correctly, one would no longer connect to enough sats.
The other Garmin was lost - in other words - the GPS seemed to work but it miscalculated its location.
I have been working with TomTom tech support for many hour trying to get my traffic to work.
If it doesn't work in 48 hours - I have some serious thinking to do.
BTW - I bought the 3 year extended warranty from BB and it expired in January ... my luck .

 

[gikstar]

I don't think I could work or live in LA without Waze on my phone. One of the best parts is the arrival time it lists is spot on within less than 5 minutes.
Yesterday, the 20 mile drive from a client by the airport to one in the Valley said 1 hour 9 minutes, and I made it in exactly that.
I love LA.

For those of you here in the USA, if you haven't tried WAZE, check it out! It helps notify you of where cops have been seen, where accidents are located, where the best traffic route is when you need to move off the main highway because that's backed up, etc. The more persons using it the better the system is. You are providing help to others when you use it as it shows the speed of the traffic in which you are moving to others using WAZE also.

 

[altrenda]

I thought Waze was available almost everywhere. I know that it was developed in Israel before google bought them for over a billion $

 

[gikstar]

I can only recommend it for those in the USA because I haven't experienced it anywhere else. Was really helpful traveling from Ventura County to San Bernardino County at Christmas time... of course it would have helped if we could have left in the wee hours of the morning where there was less traffic. Still took forever to get there since all the highways were crowded.

 

[activeits]

I am testing out Waze over the next week, because I had one called M8 really good, you put in the Post Code and then it would show you the house numbers/names, which was really useful because it would tell you when you were at the house, rather then just the street. Unfortunately they were taking over my Intel a couple of years ago, and last week discontinued.

 

[Martyn]

i use tomtom on my iPad mini for general sat nav but use CoPiot Premium when towing my caravan with my Land Rover because I can define a RV as the vehicle to not send me down narrow roads.

 

[lcoughey]

I'm more than happy with the Maps app on my BlackBerry Z30. Had a couple Tom Toms in the past, but tired of having them stolen from my car.

 

[allanc]

I'm more than happy with the Maps app on my BlackBerry Z30. Had a couple Tom Toms in the past, but tired of having them stolen from my car.

I put my GPS in my glove-box before leaving the vehicle.

 

[Cambridge PC Support]

I've been using my TomTom for the past 8 years with no problems, but then spotted the TomTom app on Android, which was free for 50 miles per month so thought I'd give it a try. Liked it, and paid the £15 for 1 year, comes with 4 updates in that year, traffic information, and eco-routing which I didn't have before. I'm using it with a 2.1A charger as it canes the battery.

It's great, but the only issue I really have is that my phone (HTC One M8) gets really hot, especially now the weather is warming up. Not happy with the latest Android update (Lollipop) for my phone anyway, and might have to do a factory reset in the hope that it'll sort it out. Also, I'll play with the display settings to turn down the brightness.