TomTom not up to scratch
Submitted: Friday, Feb 08, 2008 at 21:19
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Willem
OK... So the TomTom One only costs $340. Its not the upmarket version. However the navigation software is good, so far......
My query to the TomTom Support Team
Q:
I set the warning speed at 45km/h. Now the siren goes off at between 49 and 53km/h. It could be that the satellites take time to readjust to different speeds? I did this for a number of times on the highway testing the speeds. The TomTom siren is inconsistent though. When you drop below 45km/h and then speed up again it sometimes is quiet and other times it sounds off as you sit on a steady speed at 47-51km/h. This is with the setting at 45km/h.
A:
The speed accuracy of the TomTom device is far more accurate that of your speedometer.
This is because it is made manditory by law for car companies to show the cars speed as a few KMPH less.This is made manditory by the goverment.
My reply:
Thank you for your response BUT you obviously have no idea what I am talking about.
I set your TomTom speed at 45kmh and the alarm only goes off at 49kmh onwards AS INDICATED ON THE TOMTOM.
I do understand that there may be a small lag in satellite signal but the accuracy of the TomTom device is far from satisfactory. We bought the TomTom specifically so that a warning may be given when the vehicle exceeded the speed as set in the programme by the user.
The car speedometer has NOTHING to do with with what I am talking about.
Please rethink your reply.
Their reply:
The software is designed to warn you when you exceed aproximatley 5- 10km/h over the limit.
The speed will turn red(it doesn't) when you are just over the speed limit itself but you wont hear a siren.
The device is designed specifically not to offer this feature to be relied upon, but instead as an additional feature for Navigation.
It also stated in the license agreement you agreed to before using the device that you must always use your own judgement and not that of the device itself when navigating.
Therefore we would like to stress that this is just an added feature to our software and should not be relied upon.
As the Californians would say "Go figure".....LOL
Cheers
Reply By: Gramps (NSW) - Friday, Feb 08, 2008 at 22:05
Friday, Feb 08, 2008 at 22:05
"This is because it is made manditory by law for car companies to show the cars speed as a few KMPH less.This is made manditory by the goverment"
Errrrrr .... I think they have that arse about.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Willem - Friday, Feb 08, 2008 at 22:39
Friday, Feb 08, 2008 at 22:39
My next reply
"Thank you for your reply however flawed it might seem.
What you are quoting about mandatory government regulations is wrong. Also once the speed goes beyond that set by me on the device the colour does NOT change to red.
Your TomTom product is inferior. My Magellan GPS is accurate on speed to within .1(point one) of a kilometre per hour reading.
I am stuck with your product now but will not buy from your company again"
Cheers
FollowupID:
551591
Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 07:09
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 07:09
Willem their reply is crap, how can an electronic, logical device be set to alarm 5-10kmh above a set speed? Is there a random number generator in there that uses that algorithm to guess when to alarm,or is it a percentage over type algorithm, although your testing would suggest otherwise.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 08:30
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 08:30
Yes Bonz, I realise that. Trouble is we have paid for the device and SWMBO s quite happy with the Navigation side of it so ww will just have to live with the discrepancy.
Cheers
FollowupID:
551643
Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 08:33
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 08:33
hmmm Willem I think that we may both be on the same side of that, frustrated at stuff that doesn't do what it should and learn to live with it when the morrons (sic) who sell/support the stuff turn out to be dafter than the fish who tried to go jogging.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 08:57
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 08:57
Yes! When I bought my Magellan the screen froze within one month. I then had to send it to Magellan Office in
Perth. They were a tad miffed and could'nt explain why. I said that forking out $800 for such a small device I should have received some quality product.
The result was a new Magellan with a upmarket maps loaded. And this one I cannot fault and it is now 6 years of age.
But the hassle of..................................
Yerrr.....these are the times we live in....lol
Cheers
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:01
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:01
And the final insult...........................
"If you are showing the current speed on the status bar, when exceeding the limit, the speed will turn red when you exceed the limit.
This will ONLY happen however is speed limit data is available on the map.
In regards to the accuracy, the TomTom device is just as accurate as it works in the same way, it is just the additional feature that is designed to warn you only when you are aprox 10km/h over the limit.
As we mentioned previously, this feature is an added bonus in the software and should not be used as refference."
In other words, you have to dowload the speed data at a price, I might add, from their website, to get an accurate speed reading.
That is not what their software says!!!!
It's a cop-out.
Cheers
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:06
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:06
Willem, same deal with myGarmin. Just went phoot and stoipped working, wouldnt event turn on. Took it to em in Dandenong, they tried fresh batteries, no go, next qn was whats you address, we'll send you a new one from
Sydney as we dont have this one here in stock. 2 days later it was here.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Mike Harding - Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 20:15
Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 20:15
That's rubbish Bonz! You know full well Garmin GPS' are perfect!
FollowupID:
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Reply By: 96 GXL 80 series - Friday, Feb 08, 2008 at 22:34
Friday, Feb 08, 2008 at 22:34
They might mean, below Mach1 as they are in space those Satellites
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:03
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:03
LOL
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Reply By: PradOz - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:58
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:58
WILLEM
I have a tt ONE version 1 and recently had a problem so tried to return via place of purchase (harvey norman) As it was out of warranty by 2 weeks (because I was away on hols whenit went down + no store nearby to return it to) they wanted $80 to return it to TT for a quote. I promptly said I could send it myself for free. No assistance at all from Harvey Norman. Mine would not turn on or would freeze at logo but I did actually get it working again by reloading all the software onto a new SD card of my own. The TT one was corrupted by their update version maps somehow.
I am extremely happy with it though with all the added features which came with the updated version of the maps so I hope more come in future updates.
I have been told by MANY people that TT support/warranty will normally replace units that are under warranty rather than repair them. I would strongly suggest you send it in to warranty or take back to place of purchase for repair/replacement as it is obviously failing somewhere.
You are also entitled to a replacement or refund under law (in NSW anyway) from the seller if it does not perform or work as it was meant to. Try your "Dept of Fair Trading or similar if need be. The people that scream the loudest get the attention. The quiet bloke gets ignored so SCREAM until they help.
I have this as the
Sydney TT phone number is (02) 8875 1700
Have you got TomTom
Home downloaded on your computer? It is free and worthwile. It is available from their website. It may help you by reloading the software on it but you have to delete most of it first by following their instructions.
Good luck with it.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 10:18
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 10:18
PradOz
Thanks for you detailed
feedback.
I have TT downlaoded. Might go see if I get some joy there
I bought the unit through an EO mate who deals in these things and he got it from TT. I live in the country and everything has to be posted or sent by courier. The rest of TT works fine and so we have decided to live with it. Just set the speed to 40 and it goes off from 47 to 53....when it feels like it ...LOL
Cheers
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Yalgoo) - Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 19:51
Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 19:51
iwould have phoned you harvey norman they always keep everyone that ever made a purchase on file and told them. they seem pretty good mostly but of course it depends on who you are talking too
FollowupID:
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Reply By: PradOz - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 20:44
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 20:44
hi again
Sometime around xmas i did read on the TT website that the TT you have works in the fashion you describe. I think when they designed it they would not want it to be the primary source for speed in a vehicle as it would be very simple to go to court and challenge all speeding fines by saying the TT said my speed was ok and next thing TT is in court because they said it was accurate for that purpose. I think that the logic TT has as a manufacturer is fair and reasonable when you think about it. i think in your case you probably thought that it would be great for the reasons you described and obviously it has then failed to live up to your expectation. Same would apply to the speed cameras etc. We cannot blame the unit if one has changed or been moved etc. We can only use it as an aid to our driving.
I often have it on for no purpose other than to check my speed as I travel as we all know that the speedo is not perfect, especially after we have fiddled around with our cars with wheels,
tyres etc etc. But I do not rely on it as my primary source of checking.
Having said all that, if you spend some time checking out the TT unit you will find it has many functions you would not be aware of and can be of great assistance. I found that TT outrates most other GPS in peoples opinions after looking at sites like the following. But obviously its horses for courses as they say - as we all have our own opinions no matter how well informed any of us may be..
mtekk - gps and more
Good luck with it
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 21:18
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 21:18
Thanks for your
feedback but ye missed the point
My complaint is:
That when I set the speed to 50km/h the alarm is not activated when such a speed is reached on the screen. Most GPS are very accurate in measuring the speed
I have to set the speed to 40km/h so that the alarm can activate anywhere between 46 and 56km/h. It is very erratic.
As a rule of thumb there is a discrepancy of 3km/h between the TT and the car speedo. The car speedo reading higher.
BTW my TT does not have a removable SD card.
Today we did a country run and the TT Navigator was 98% accurate. It does ofcourse rely on the maps loaded. At one point it said "Turn left" when there was no left turn. Nevertheless.........
It will have to do for the time being. It lives in SWMBO's Xtrail. I have no need in my truck for such toys but rely on my Magellan when it is needed :-)
Cheers
FollowupID:
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Reply By: PradOz - Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 22:29
Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 at 22:29
as i said in previous post willem, if you have the receipt despite how you purchased it, and it is under warranty, send it back.
If it is
broke, they will more than likely replace it rather than fix it. That is the
feedback i have had from the people i have spoken with that have had TT issues under warranty.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 18:44
Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 18:44
Hi Willem,
I would like to give some "positive"
feedback for TomTom support.....well, sort of.
One of the reasons I bought TomTom Navigator to run on my PDA was because there was more overseas maps available than other competing products.
Well, I purchased a copy of the Map for Hong Kong, as we were heading there for a holiday.
After downloading and installing this map file, I discovered that all the street names were in "Chinese English" and could not be related to the English names shown on all tourist brochures.
So I reported this "problem" to TomTom who initially replied that they always give the street names in the local language.
This was crap as all street signs there are shown in both English and Chinese, but not the English translation of the Chinese name they had on their map product.
They did say that Hong Kong was "unique" and would forward my concerns raised to their Development Group.
So off we went to Hong Kong with a product that was basically useless to us.
A few weeks after returning, I happened to connect to the TomTom site and noticed another Hong Kong Map file was waiting for downloading and installing. This was a free upgrade for the Map file I had previously purchased.
Well after doing this, lo and behold, I now had a useful map for Hong Kong showing the street names in English.
The problem?
I will probably never set foot in Hong Kong again so an accurate map is now irreverent to me.
Also, I have since purchased a separate TomTom Go 720 and while I have no problem with this product, or the way it works, I cannot install the Hong Kong map on it as I purchased it for another piece of hardware and it's not transferable.
So, they kind of did listen to me and take my "complaint" on board, but the result is useless in practical terms.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 19:13
Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 19:13
Thanks Bill
Hahahaha...now the new map is bloody useless
We will live with TT and update to something more fancy in the future.
Cheers
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