I have just got my latest toy - an XDA Mini S, a phone/PDA combined with lots of twiddly things to play with. The music is very good too when using the headset provided. I would like to put Tomtom on it as well so that I have phone/diary/satnav all in one box and just carry one piece of technology around with me, plus the gps receiver, rather than several. I have used Tomtom on an IPAQ very satisfactorily and apart from a somewhat smaller screen cannot see too many disadvantages to using the XDA in this way. However chums tell me that there can be a lot of frustrating fiddling about with bluetooth connections, registry edits etc etc in order to get it installed. In which case why not just buy a standalone, plug it in and get on with it. especially as we are off to France in a fortnight and I want it up and running for our touring holdiay over there. I am not too worried about the relative costs involved and am more concerned about hassle free reliability. I would be very interested to hear any views on using Tomtom on a phone/PDA set up.
Many thanks in advance, MGs
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I use TT5 with an iPaq 4150. I avoided all the problems by just using the wired kit, which lives in the car all the time. It takes about 30 seconds to plug in, and the only irritation is really that if the kit is not powered before you put the PDA in the holster with TT running, it tends not to pick up any sattelites.
Other than that, it's very convenient. A friend has one of the newer iPaqs with built in gps, and that it superb from the Tomtom point of view - always available GPS. Personally I would find a phone that size would grate, but he seems to think it's fine.
Gord.
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Having used Mobile phone/Bluetooth GPS, TomTom One standalone and now a PDA with built in GPS I can say that the biggest hassle I had with any of the above was with the bluetooth GPS receiver and getting Tom Tom to recognize it. Once it was paired everything worked just fine, but when it wasn't playing nice it meant switching the phone off/on/off/on etc, doing the same again with the GPS, then entering the GPS configuration menu in Tom Tom and trying to re-pair the connection etc.
If money isn't an issue and hassle free use is paramount then a standalone is the only way to go. They do have their downsides in that you have to be very aware of theft if you leave them or their associated accesories on view, but such is life.
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iPAQ 2210 with TomTom 5 and CF card antenna all the way for me.
> Setting up was a doddle.
> The CF card antenna means no wires or bluetooth; it behaves as "one box".
> Works perfectly in car, on motorbike (complete with intercom connection giving spoken instructions), and on mountain bike.
> Free of charge CheckPOInt and PocketGPS speed camera overlays installed to work with TomTom.
> Drive to the airport, whip out CF antenna, insert wifi card, browse web and use e-mail.
> On the flight, whip out wifi card, insert 1GB CF card, and listen to music or watch video whilst playing games to while away the journey
> Reach destination and as well as navigation use iPAQ for photo display (our Canon camera also uses CF cards).
> TomTom application lives on CF antenna (as it has 256kb storage) so is only loaded when its needed (ie no wasted space on iPAQ).
> TomTom maps are on an SD card that sits permanently in the iPAQ (it has both card slots).
> Probably more to write if I stopped to think, but in essence I am so glad I didn't buy a TomTom GO or equivalent.
Any downsides?
Only one: If the iPAQ is moved a great distance between being last switched off and then switched on again, it can take a couple of minutes to get a satellite fix. In most cases though, lock is obtained in just a few seconds after power-up.
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"Free of charge CheckPOInt and PocketGPS speed camera overlays installed to work with TomTom."
PocketGPS now charge for their speed camera database. Not a huge sum (I think its only about £3 per update), but certainly no longer free.
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PocketGPS now charge for their speed camera database. Not a huge sum (I think its only about £3 per update), but certainly no longer free.
Thanks for that, trancer.
It must be six months or more since I last downloaded a PocketGPS update because I find that being an Application with overlays rather than just an overlay, CheckPOInt is more versatile (for example press a button to log a new camera or remove an old one and the coordinates are uploaded to CheckPOInt on next synch). It is also just as up to date; I therefore keet it synched out of preference.
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"Only one: If the iPAQ is moved a great distance"
Thats not an IPAQ/PDA thing, that is normal GPS behaviour.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Many thanks to all for your comments. I have just ordered the Tomtom software for my XDA together with a mount from EBay. I am hoping that the set up will be problem free, I can live with a certain amount of pairing challenge, in order to enjoy the benefit of having all the technology in one box.
Thanks MGs
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