Guest kieth Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 am thinking of buying a tom tom 700 sat nav intend touring spain france and europe wonder if any one has any thoughts they could share with regard to how good they are before we buy thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Hinton Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Hi Keith, I'm thinking about buying a Tom Tom 700 as well. I've heard they are pretty good but I break out in a cold sweat every time I reach for my wallet. ebuyer.com are selling them for £349.97 at the moment with free shipping. I'll wait to see what response you get. Rgds. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest david lloyd Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Keith - John I don't have a TomTom 700 - I already had a O2 PDA (handheld PC and phone all in one) so I bought the TomTom Navigator 5 software with full european mapping. If the 700 performs anything like as good as mine it is money well spent. I have a keen sense of direction and have always been able to find my way around but this takes all the worry or stress out of navigating. Just as an example - on the way back from the NEC I heard a traffic warning about long, long tailbacks on the M1 - no problem - just asked the TomTom to avoid that part of the route and we were sent a different way. With a little help from others on this forum I have just downloaded the French aires, Caravan Club sites and CL's, C&CC sites etc too. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trigrem Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Like David I have TT 5 loaded on a PDA. Have used TT extensively in Uk and all over Europe. Would not be without it, it gives "She who shall be obeyed"the pleasure off looking at the scenery instead of concentrating on getting us lost! Only advice I can give is, Remember you are the driver, and a good map is still useful so that you can go the route you want and not where the TT wants to take you. doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alf W Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Have the original Tom Tom, before they produced the 300,500,700. Have used it in France as well as the UK. Excellent. Cannot compare it with other systems since I have't used them, but do not regret the expendidute. Great bit of kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phil Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 had a tom tom 700 for six weeks. only used in uk so far.seems good to us. never used any others so cant compare. phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrewv Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Look at this link thenavigationcompany.com it has a useful forum comparisons & information on other navigation devises they also had a stand at one of the shows last year I have owned the Navman 650 for a couple of years But it has now been superseded by the new Navman 550 version this is comp able to the 700 tom tom I have used the 650 Navman across France Germany Austria Spain & GB it has worked admirably never letting me down! It certainly takes the stresses away from Navigating or fear of getting lost down some dead end road However with all the systems there are glitches in the software & I have found that sometimes the speech unit is giving you directions to take a particular turn when the display indicates differently Its just a matter of getting used to the unit Good luck in whatever unit you choose I believe that now there is little difference between most of the systems & it is probably down to whose doing the best deal at the time Ps can any one post the download site info for the airs etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pete walker Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 hi we bought tom tom go 700 just before the price dropped by a £100 pounds, and i don't regret it for one minuet, not had the oppertunity to use it abroad yet, but the arguments it's saved whilst looking for cl's ect. if we get lost now we can blame tom tom. pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Annie Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 We now have a TomTom 700 and are very pleased with it. We have not yet used it in Europe but look forward to its assistance when we go off to France this summer. When we had our previous motorhome, we had a Pioneer DVD system installed. It worked well but, oh dear, the cost of buying an up-to-date DVD was horrific - much more than a new TomTom. The decision this time to go for the TomTom has proved a good one. Annie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mel E Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Got my dear one a 700 for Christmas (cheaper than divorce due to navigational errors!). Our son used it to and from the French Alps last week and reported poor GPS reception in the valleys, so the thing kept trying to recalculate routes - useless. He drives a C5 and tried various mounting positions without success. I also found, driving south along the M6 north of Stoke that, for about 10 minutes, it continuously positioned us about 150 yards to the left of the motorway. I've never had this problem with Garmin Pilot GPSs which I've used for over 12 years. Is this a fault? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mick t Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Got my tomtom700 last august.Since had a trip to spain and east france, found to be very good once you learn how to input correctly.Just updated the maps , will see if the A120 is now corrected as it seemed that we were always driving in a field, dont know how upto date there maps are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul D Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 We have had the basic Tomtom go for 1 1/2 years now. Excellent. Used all over Spain France (and UK!) never gone wrong. Would not be without it. The basic one now comes with "major roads of Europe" which is actually quite comprehensive. Go for it! you won't look back. It's saved our relationship on quite a few occasions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest david lloyd Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Mel E - Mick T I get a similar problem on the new part of the recently completed section of A1(M) north from the new M62 for about five miles. It isn't on my copy of the UK maps so looks as though you are in a field whilst it frantically tries to recalculate routes and get you to turn left or right onto the roads that cross the A1M - it's not a problem for me as I know it is a new road and a) I'm definitely on it and b) I know where I'm going at that point!! I'm not sure either how old the maps are or, for that matter, if they are updated free - but it's the only problem I've had with it and other than that it really is great. I'm finding more and more facilities every time I use it too. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mel E Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 David, The M6 just north of Stoke is hardly new !!!! This is a brand new unit and the maps are at least 2 years' out of date - very disappointing. I've been told by someone in the business that TomTom are making next to nothing on the hardware but looking to coin it from people buying map updates - or for the 500 extra countries. And the updates do seem incredibly expensive. Incidentally the InfoMap from Tele Atlas which I bought almost 2 years' ago is much more up to date than TomTom - and updates cost just £35. Problem is it need a PC to run it and it can only be selectively downloaded to a PDA (it's just too big - 7 CDs!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mick t Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 When i updated mt tomtom700 it was free. The new version is 5.420 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest david lloyd Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 My Navigator 5 pack came with Western Europe on 6 CD's Mel - I have only loaded UK/France/Major roads of Europe onto a 1GB SDCard so far (plus the aires/CC sites/C&CC sites POI's). I'm sure TomTom do have more up to date versions of the maps - as Mick says - but the last time I looked it seems like I would have to buy the new CD's. By the way my Navigator 5 is only about 6 months old. Any one know if more up to date maps are available as downloads for TomTom Navigator 5? david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alf W Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 How up to date the Tom Tom maps are will depend to some extent on how long the unit you buy has been in the retailer's stock. If you have a query I have found that questions to Tom Tom via their web site have been promptly and efficiently answered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sheila Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 We bought a Tom Tom 700 last August like Pete above, just before the price plummeted. Story of my life... It has been very good, but just like a real life human navigator it is not perfect. We had the same problen in the French and Swiss Alps, and occasionally the signal is lost in amongst tall buildings in city centres. Do not throw away your maps, and use your common sense. Sometimes the voice instruction alone is not enough, but a quick glance at the display will make everything clear. It's certainly true that Tom Tom saves arguments, and provides a scapegoat when things go wrong! We do not regret buying it and use it on our van and our car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trigrem Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Regarding up to date maps, TomTom rely on a mapping company, the mapping company rely on local authorities informing them of road changes. By the time the information is collected, new maps produced by TomTom, they are usually 2 years outof date. Some roads I know of that no longer have access have been on TomTom 5 years after they were closed. However they are relativelly few, and remember you are the driver and if tomtom directs you down a road marked as a cul de sac, you ignore tom tom, and it will sort itself out. I have often found myself driving across what tom tom thinks is a field, but what is actually a new road, I just keep driving and eventually you finish up on a bit of road tom tom recognises. To avoid nasty suprises I always plan the route and examin it before setting off. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trigrem Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 In reply to Andrewv post on 01/03,ref download sites. Have a look atwww.jollyinteresting.co.uk for details of Caravan club sites and cl's, and also Camping and caravanning Club sites and CS's. On the same site is one for campsites in France. For downloads of Aires in France, also France Passion sites, go to WWW.motorhomefacts.com This is now a subscription site, cost £10 per year, but considering that a company is advertising the addition of CC sites and CL's only to a Garmin for around £60 its a bargain to subscribe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mel B Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 We have a PDA and have used Co-Pilot and TomTom, we far prefer TomTom, it's much more user friendly and you don't have to prat about getting activation codes by phone or email if it ever needs resetting, as you do with Co-Pilot ... not much use when you're in the middle of France and your PDA has a paddy! TomTom does have its odd ways, such as the comment about it telling you to turn one way and then showing you going another on the map - always trust the map - but this doesn't happen very often and is easily spotted. Don't forget that TomTom, or any sat nav system for that matter, is great for use in this country as well, especially at night when trying to find someones house in the dark that you haven't been to before, or for getting you out of a city centre onto the route you want. One of the reason we went for a PDA rather than a dedicated sat nav unit (apart from the other functions it performs) is that if we didn't like the software we could just change it and keep the PDA, which is what we eventually did. I don't think you can do this with the little 'tv' set ones so once you've bought one you're stuck with it, like it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest david lloyd Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 MelB I agree - I had Destinator PN on my XDA before TomTom and it wasn't half as good - particularly as it didn't have full postcode facility. Very happy now with TomTom. david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacerunner Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 I have had Tomtom original for 2 years. I love it!! Very easy to load up 'Points of Interest', e.g. low bridges, supermarkets, speed..er.. safety cameras etc. You can also make your own favourite POI's as well. would never set sail without 'Jane' on the crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigrem Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Further to my post of 2nd March. There is another site worth looking at for positions of French Aires, go to camping-carinfos .com You can download to a TomTom equiped PDA, I am not sure about the 700 as I do not know the download procedure for that model. You can also purchase a CD containing the aires which can be used on a computer, I find that useful for planning long tours as against each days route on TOmTom. Incidently the Aires have Latitude and Longitude coordinates on the website and CD, which is usefull to find the Aire more easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigrem Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 Sorry correction to my last post. The site should have been campingcar-infos.com Just a touch of finger trouble! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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