Since i’ve upgraded my PocketPC to the Dell Axim x30 i’ve been on the hunt for a new SatNav GPS to get me from A to B. With my iPaq 3850 I had the Navman 3400 Voice setup which uses an iPaq sleeve but always found it a little bulky.
With the Axim being Bluetooth it made sense to go for a Bluetooth setup and i settled on the TomTom 3 Bluetooth option. The GPS receiver is just larger than a match box, rechargable and sits at the front of the car - which is a super neat solution.
The software TomTom Navigator 3 blows the socks off SmartST that the NavMan GPS uses. A three dimensional view of the road ahead and roads off is the primary view, although you can change to overhead maps. When you go into a menu they’re big buttons so you can use your finger whilst you’re driving to drive the GUI and when it comes to typing in an address the letters are big (unlike SmartST which uses the default PocketPC screen keyboard).
What i really like is the new traffic plugin, this uses the GPRS connection on my phone to update itselft periodically during the journey alerting you to incidents en route which you can have TomTom reroute you around.
Points of Interest are the next great feature. There’s a fairly comprehensive ‘POI’ database in TomTom ranging from petrol stations to cash points - these show up as icons on the 3d view as you’re driving along. If you suddenly find you need gas you tap the screen, go into ‘Navigate to’ and select ‘Petrol Station’ and you get routed to the first petrol station in the list. What’s nice is you can ‘add’ new POI categories from the internet, of signicant interest will be the UK Speed Cameras POI along with another addon for most SatNav’s ‘Checkpoint’ which will alert you when you’re approaching selected POI’s.
You can find TomTom at http://www.tomtom.com
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