TomTom Satnav & Maps

Zascar

I bought a TomTom in the US for a road trip, and I brought it back with me. Does anyone know how you can get the maps for UK & Ireland / Europe - and how you get them on etc?

Redderneck

Zascar wrote: »

I bought a TomTom in the US for a road trip, and I brought it back with me. Does anyone know how you can get the maps for UK & Ireland / Europe - and how you get them on etc?

Go onto their website & click through to purchase them. Download to your PCs hard drive (you used to be able to order a hardcopy CD if you prefer that option, not sure if still can). Hook your device up via USB and update system.

You may need to delete the US maps, depending on memory capacity of device, before you upload European.

From memory, I think that's about it. Their website will run you through it.

unkel

I wouldn't bother. Tom Tom uses Teleatlas for their maps and they do not have detailed maps for Ireland. It's a pity cause Tom Tom is one of the best navigation packages out there...

unkel

You should have taken my advice here

Zascar

Thanks.

Cheers Unkle but I actually did not buy the Satnav, someone else did, I just got to keep it!

Redderneck

unkel wrote: »

I wouldn't bother. Tom Tom uses Teleatlas for their maps and they do not have detailed maps for Ireland. It's a pity cause Tom Tom is one of the best navigation packages out there...

True enough; Garmin's mapping is better for Ireland. Shame, as in every other respect, I prefer the Tom-Tom user experience - but let's face it, it's all about the mapping. Loving the GUI as it takes you down another dead end is not going to help the blood pressure.

Zascar

Yeah I do really like the TomTom, fairly intuative and once you get used to it its a sinch

I have not used a Garmin but I hear they are great. I used my dads Mio Navman and it was awful.

Just how bad are the tomtom maps exactly and why?

biko

I've had Tomtom here and not a bother except it got me lost in the midlands once when it suggested I would take a new motorway that was still closed then, lol.

unkel

Zascar wrote: »

Just how bad are the tomtom maps exactly and why?

I'm no expert, but Teleatlas coverage of Ireland is not complete. Probably ok if you just use it in the Dublin area or if you just use it for main roads. Someone else will give you the details

Teleatlas have no plans to complete Ireland coverage in the future. Why? Because it is very expensive to complete mapping and keep it updated. They reckon the market is too small to make it commercially viable. Unlike Navteq who have all the details and keep it updated. BTW Teleatlas is owned by Tom Tom and Navteq is owned by Nokia.

Redderneck

I ue Tom-Tom. They did a deal a number of years ago to exclusively use TeleAtlas for their mapping (may even have bough the company, I'm not certain). Until then they had used both TeleAtlas & NavTeq, the other big mapping player. Garmin use predominately NavTeq as far as I know.

It's just that the NavTeq mapping for Ireland seems more up to date.

I've had little or no issues with TomTom & TeleAtlas on mainland Europe FWIW, or in the UK.

In Ireland, little things like the TomTom trying to get you to use strecthes of motorway between Dublin & Limerick which aren;t even open yet; are annoying. Mind you - if you need SatNav for main road driving, you're in enough trouble as it is already I guess. Some new developments/estates not mapped etc. Hard for anyone to keep pace with Celtic Tiger builders & developers. Garmin did it better.

If I were going again, from scratch, I'd either look at the smartphone option, or go Garmin. The only bell & whistle worth having in a stand-alone box for me would be the lane guidance feature, which is knacky if you do a lot of urban driving in different big cities. Like any gadget, depends what you need to use it for. Most of the specs are wasted on most of us. People tend to 'over-buy'. TomTom's fine for me, as I tend to use it whan I'm on de continent, where I do a fair bit of driving.

L1011

Tom Tom bought Tele-Atlas
Nokia bought Navteq, Garmin have a multi-year licence to Navteq they signed up for after losing the bidding war.

Blazer

Zascar wrote: »

I bought a TomTom in the US for a road trip, and I brought it back with me. Does anyone know how you can get the maps for UK & Ireland / Europe - and how you get them on etc?

if you weren't a mod I'm show you how to do it

bmw535d

Garmin's are the **** to be fair even the RNLI use them, mines shoes roads about the width of a car and my uncles tom tom didn't shoe the port road in Letterkenny, just the main roads really.