TomTom comes to Android, but with some limitations

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Ned

Ned

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See this article for the details but you can now run the TomTom GPS app on an Android device, but only on the smaller screens.
 
One advantage is that it stores the maps on the device, so you don't need a working internet connection to use it. That will be great for wifi-only tablets when they get around to supporting higher screen resolutions.
 
If it worked on the Nexus 7 I would consider it.  $50 is better than $300+ for a new GPS :)
 
It's nice that so many toys are being included in a smartphone these days - but I found that while functioning as a GPS, I don't want it to be anything else. Before buying my current TomTom, I experimented w/the Droid X I had at the time to see if it would be an OK GPS.

I had a dash/window holder for it and while driving used it as a GPS. But then the phone rang - and then I decided to change the track of music I was listenting to -- and later the radio station I was trying to get to -- and so forth. There didn't seem to be a quick way to get back to the GPS screen I was on before messing with other stuff. And, of course, I was driving the 5 freeway at the time. I am a solo RVer, vs. having a navigator to do all this stuff while underway. I quickly decided that for me, a GPS should "only" be a GPS.

After only one trip, I bought an $89 5" screen TomTom on sale at Target w/free lifetime maps - and couldn't be happier w/the decision. It has all the features I see in the posted link here. I have used the Droid GPS as a backup in terms of finding something that TomTom hasn't updated as yet, but that seldom happens.

Ned, very nice TomTom's are available for far less than $300.
 
Ned, very nice TomTom's are available for far less than $300.
Click to expand...

Of course they are, and so are many Garmin models.  But for the features that most people seem to want today, the prices are much closer to $300 than $50.

When I want to listen to the radio, I turn on the radio.  When I want to listen to my music, I use an MP3 player.  When I want to make a phone call, I use my phone.  I wouldn't try to do all those things and navigate via GPS on one device, especially if I was alone :)  There are easy ways to return to a previously open app from another with just a few touches, usually 2, depending on the device.  One feature of Android is that apps don't shut down when you switch to another.
 
Having had several devices, including GPS chartplotters and PCs running GPS and chart apps, die while underway in unfamiliar waters, I tend to favor redundancy. I'm usually the navigator and, while Chris is driving, I'll have two GPS units (a TomTom and a larger magellan) running on the dash, and a map program on my Android phone or Chris' iphone.

I look forward to the TomTom app becoming available for my 10" tablet. But I wonder if that will happen, given the potential impact on their mainstream business  ???
 
Ned,

Thanks for the report.  I've always admired TomTom's products and design philosophy.

Those of you who have been following my posts might remember that I've been an enthusiastic fan of Android since its inception and have had an Android phone for some years.

I agree that having the map data stored on the device is vital.  I am presently using CoPilot Live, which preloads maps, and am quite pleased with it except for a couple of minor usability problems (excessive keypresses for common operations).  I previously used Sygic Aura, which showed its European roots in unfortunate ways (like rounding to the nearest kilometer then converting to miles and tenths), and which was prone to crashes.  It too preloaded the maps.

I would recommend CoPilot unconditionally at this point and believe it is at least in the same league with, if not the equal of, most of the dedicated devices.
 
Ned said:
Of course they are, and so are many Garmin models.  But for the features that most people seem to want today, the prices are much closer to $300 than $50.
Click to expand...

My current GPS is selling new on Amazon for $139. I purchased it on sale for $89 several years ago. The current version of that model is now selling for $148 HERE. Would be curious as to features these units that sell for less than half of $300 do not have that most want? All I see is blue tooth and voice recognition.

When I want to listen to the radio, I turn on the radio.  When I want to listen to my music, I use an MP3 player.  When I want to make a phone call, I use my phone.  I wouldn't try to do all those things and navigate via GPS on one device, especially if I was alone :)  There are easy ways to return to a previously open app from another with just a few touches, usually 2, depending on the device.  One feature of Android is that apps don't shut down when you switch to another.
Click to expand...

Radio in the RV is useless to me. With my Samsung Charge I can listen to most any station anywhere regardless of the long lonesome highway I may be on - and Vz covers most all the routes I travel. I stopped using an MP3 player years ago when I discovered my Motorola Smartphone allowed me to store all my music and manage and move it using Win Explorer and Win Media Player. And I have little need for a phone that is just a phone. So "all in one" works well for me.

Yes, I have explored how to get back to GPS from wherever I might be - and anyway used, it makes no sense to me use a smartphone as a GPS in my RV or Jeep other than as a backup.

BTW, my Samsung Charge when mounted on the windshield allows me to video my route - for whatever reason. Someone asked me about the resurfacing of CA 95 between Needles and Blythe, and about the dips in the road. So I videoed a short section just South of Needles. Am working of getting the lens from behind a portion of the mount, but that will be tough the way the mount is constructed.
 
BTW; there's an android app called dualsportmaps that is better than any GPS app I've even seen, works on an android tablet too.  Plus there's a website, www.dualsportmaps.com that is with even more capabilities.  people upload tracks from all over the world...  amazing to me.  If you use MapSource, this is MapSource on steroids.
 
I have to agree with Bob - I have a 5", fully featured, TomTom with lifetime maps that I bought for $135 18 months ago. And a newer 5" Garmin Nuvi for about the same. Both lack Bluetooth, but I have no need for it anyway. Could have had that too, for a few $ more, if I wanted it. The $300 models just don't offer enough more to even be tempting.
 
I don't know.. I do have an Android now (Galaxy S-iii) but in assorted tests Tom-Tom did not do as well as the others in routing.

I recently upgraded Microsoft S&T to 2013.. I'm very impressed with the routing, way better than what older versions have given me.

Side not: Microsoft 2011 (last version I used) showed no improvement over 2005, and cost over 100 dollars (I only used the trial version)  Bought 2013 from Micro Center, they did not have a "Just the software" in stock, only had a "Software plus GPS dongle" and only one of those when I entered, zero when I left, at the Michigan store... Recall the over 100 price for 2011 from Mickey soft... 67 dollars plus 6% governor fee and it was mine... Dongle and all. (That is "last year's version" pricing)

The first trip I used it it cut a good 10 miles off my original plans, and 20 off 2011's route.  And though it did route me down a few miles of "Reduced speed" roads, only a few,  Thus it saved gas.. Plus it took me past not one but two farmer's markets.! (Side efffect that had nothing to do with routing but is still a plus).
 
I usually have a 5" Garmin, Google maps or I-exit on Ipad, and an old copy of Streets and Trips on a Netbook running.

How can we find our way without 2 or 3 mapping programs running? Especially now that we have traveled these routes a few times. ::)
 
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