Price:	£198.58		Reviewed by:	Neil Brown
Supplied:	TomTom		Review date:	27/06/2005
Pros:	VGA display is very clear Mapping data is generally excellent Able to plot via POI, address, postcode, point on map, city centre location and recent destinations Very easy to setup for first time, and easy to run each time Plots and reroutes quickly Clear audio prompts TomTomPLUS services available (not tested) POI database reasonably comprehensive Makes driving safer- can pay more attention to road (GPS charging cable works with some PDAs also)		Cons:	Only maps of Great Britain included in bundle pack GPS receiver is too slippery to leave on your dashboard- place it in glove box  /  cubby hole instead Audio prompts sometimes a little late Core POI database not user-editable Strange choice of POI warning sound effects Postcode search feature may need tweaking for some users Seems to lock up my (un-supported) PDA after usage: fixed in update

Introduction I’ve had my eye on using my PDA for navigation since I had an SJ30, and contemplated purchasing a system to use with my T3, so when I recently heard that TomTom was releasing an update to their software, I jumped at the opportunity to review it for the site. TomTom were kind enough to allow me to spend two weeks using their TomTom 5 Navigator bundle, and, after having used it on an almost daily basis, over a wide variety of routes and distances, I felt sufficiently confident to be able to present my views and opinions on the package. The bundle works on both PalmOS and WindowsMobile units, and, where I noticed differences, I have commented on them here- otherwise, performance should be identical.     Inside the box The box from TomTom is about the same size as a PDA box, and, once opened, has a separate silver inner box marked “Open me first”. This box houses the SD card containing the mapping data and software, a small booklet of instructions, and your all-important registration card. These basic instructions are really all you need to get going with the system, and I was very impressed with the speed with which I was able to get going- within about 10 minutes of opening the box, I was able to plan my first route, so, if you are concerned about the level of skill needed to get it all going, worry no longer.   The rest of the main box contains a copy of the EULA, details of the GPS unit and of the TomTomPlus services, a printed Quick Start Guide, a CD, a charging cable and a tiny Bluetooth GPS unit. The Quick Start Guide is printed in full colour, and guides you through basic usage of your new system through until advanced route planning features. With so many companies solely supplying .pdf manuals on CD, it was refreshing to see that effort has clearly gone into the paper-based manual, which includes multiple screenshots on each page, to illustrate the descriptions. The CD contains information on the EULA, as well as an electronic copy of the manual- there are no maps or software on the CD.   Getting started Whether you are using PalmOS or WM, the process for getting started with the unit is incredibly simple, much to my delight. The hardest part for me was finding a place in my house where I could get sufficient satellite coverage without going outside – in the end, I perched the unit on a window sill, and waited for the green power LED to start flashing, indicating that it had a fix. Setting up the software works differently for PalmOS and WM. In PalmOS, inserting an SD card automatically shows the programs in the Palm/Lsauncher folder- here, it is the necessary TomTom software, so, tapping on it runs it. In WindowsMobile, the software should autorun, but, in my case, it did not. I am given to understand that this is related to the particular PDA I use, and, as it is not on TomTom’s compatibility list, I cannot complain. Installing the software in this situation was simple, though- I browsed to the directory 2577 on the SD card, and simply installed the .cab files by hand, starting with “ttn” (the navigation software), and then “gps” (the Bluetooth software). If you want to install Contact Navigation, you will need to also install “PIMAddIn”, and for the wizards, “wzd”.   Once you have the software up and running, you are asked to select your GPS unit (the default is the supplied unit, so just accept this), and then are taken on a brief tour of the software, showing how to use it. I found this tour invaluable- I have never really been one for reading manuals, and so being shown how to do most everything on my PDA was great- it left me in no doubt as to how routes will look, and how to plan them etc. You need to select which voice you want to use (although this can be changed later, should you wish)- you have the option of a young-sounding female, or an un-naturally deep male voice. I went for the female, as I found the male too grating, but, if neither of them appeal to you, TomTom offer a number of other voices for download (purchase).   You need to register the software before you can actually use it, and this is done in one of two ways, depending on your OS. If you are a PalmOS user, you will need to use a web browser, and enter the code on the credit card supplied in the “Open me first” box. If you use WM, then you are expected to register using a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, via GPRS. However, I decided to try using Wifi instead, and this worked without a hitch, so you are not completely restricted to a mobile phone. The registration process took no more than 5 or so seconds, and then software is unlocked for use. Do be aware that, whilst the EULA permits you to install the software on no more than one machine at a time (implying you can transfer the software when you sell the machine), I am not sure that the DRM will actually let you do this- once the map is registered to one machine, you do not seem to be able to use it on another.   Although most Bluetooth systems require the user to manually setup the connection, this is not the case here- TomTom handles the setup behind the scenes, so there is no need to worry about pairing the devices, entering codes etc.   In use             Plotting Once everything has been set up, you are able to start using the application. Bluetooth automatically starts once you run the application, so the first step I would suggest is to switch on the GPS unit (discussed below), and wait for the green LED to flash. If you are just planning a route, without intending to actually drive it there and then, you can used the “Advanced Route Planning” option, to define your starting and finishing points- otherwise, the software requires a valid GPS signal, to detect your current starting point. Once you’ve got a GPS fix, it really is as simple as hitting “Navigate to”, and choosing your destination – you can either enter an address (Town, then street name, then house number), a Point of Interest (POI), a point on the map, or a post code. Some users have commented that they were unable to get a proper postcode look-up to work out the box- for some reason, I have no problem, but, if you find that your search is limited to five characters, rather than the proper seven (for the UK at least), you might want to look at this thread on PocketGPS. On a more positive note, route calculation was far quicker than I expected- I plotted a route of just over one hour fifty minutes driving time, and it was calculated inside five seconds, making the software both easy and fast.               Driving With the route plotted and the GPS active, you follow a combination on on-screen directions and audio prompts. The audio prompts are clear and precise, and largely come at an appropriate time – if you are travelling faster, prompts give you more warning than if you were travelling at a slower speed. Occasionally, I noted this to be a bit off, although, I guess that when you are processing GPS satellite data, things like that are inevitable- I’ve received one or two warnings to turn as I was passing the very junction. This is where the on-screen mapping comes into its own- an occasional glance at the properly-mounted PDA will show you if you have an instruction coming up, and, if so, how far it is. I found the default colour scheme and zoom level to be fine for everyday driving- glancing at the LOOX once in a while has become second nature, and it only takes a fraction of second to register where you are on the map- vital when your attention is best focussed on the road as much as possible. I showed the TomTom5 software to a friend who has been using TomTom3 since it was released, and his first comment was how greatly improved the mapping looked. If you have a VGA PDA, then you will not be disappointed, as version 5 has VGA support- and this makes all the difference. I have to admit that I personally took the high quality for granted, and it never really crossed my mind that there had been a change- apparently, though, if you have used an older version of the software, you will notice a considerable difference.   You are able to choose what you want displayed in on the main screen, and I opted for as much as possible – distance to destination remaining, distance to next instruction, ETA, current time and speed. As with all the distance / speed measurements, you can decide whether you want them displayed in kilometres and metres, or miles and yards. As you can see from the screenshot below, I went for miles and yards, although, I guess if you are using the system in Europe, kilometres is more widely used. Somewhat disappointingly, you cannot specify your preferred speeds - for example, I prefer to drive at 65mph rather than 70mph  on a motorway, and would have liked routing times to take this into account.   On the whole, I was extremely impressed with the clarity of the navigation, and, with the odd exception, I was warned of turnings in good time, allowing me to change lanes where necessary. Certainly, the software gave me far more confidence in driving to places I would otherwise probably have avoided visiting- whilst I like driving, I don’t like going to places for which I do not know the route, and TomTom5 really does help with this- 99.9% of the time, I went the way TomTom intends me to go- and when I made mistakes, it was quick to correct me.   In fact, if you fail to follow the route prescribed by TomTom, recalculation is very fast- on average, less than 2 seconds, I’d estimate. When driving locally to test out this feature, I would set the machine to navigate me home, and then purposely take incorrect turnings – the recalculation was almost instantaneous, with the machine swiftly guiding me on another route back to my destination. As well as this form of automatic rerouting, there are options to allow you to “force” a reroute- notably for roadblocks and avoiding set parts of your journey. In terms of roadblocks, you are able to set distances – eg “Avoid roadblock in 100 yds” – of between 100 yards and 3 miles. Alternatively, you can tell the machine to avoid whole parts of your journey- if your plan includes a section of the M4, for example, and you hear that there is a problem, you can tell it to avoid the M4, causing it to navigate around the problem. There is an additional “Plus” service to monitor accidents via a GPRS signal through a phone, so that when an accident on the route ahead is discovered, the machine will route around it automatically- this is not something I tested.   Whilst I have headed this section as “driving”, it is worth nothing that there are dedicated options for walking and for cycling- the latter avoiding all motorways, and the former avoiding motorways, and ignoring one-way systems. TomTom remains a road navigation system, however, so, whilst country lanes and the like are mapped, do not expect it to be able to navigate you through forest paths – you would require third party software for this. I am not expert in cartography, but I was very impressed with the accuracy of the mapping data – whilst there are some roads which are not in it (which I know full well were completed after TomTom5 was released), some of the roads near where I live were new to me, and yet included in the database. I think that you have to accept that it will not be perfect, in the sense that roadworks are happening all the time, but is does not appear to be far off, in my opinion- in any case, it would be hard to blame TomTom for any discrepancies in the mapping data, as it is supplied by TeleAtlas. Certainly, it is no worse than using a paper map, and is far more convenient than trying to follow a tiny green trail across a sheet of paper.   When driving at night, the normal colours tend to be rather on the bright side of things, and for this reason, there is a “night mode” option – this is really a different colour scheme for the software, which you can enable through the preferences menu. The night scheme is based largely around blue and black, and so it is designed to prevent you losing your night vision, and to cause less distraction than having a brightly-glowing object in the corner of your eye when driving at night.   Once you’ve arrived at your route, you can shut down TomTom- navigating home is as simple as firing up the GPS, opening TomTom, and selecting “Home” as your destination- very quick and easy. The problem with exiting TomTom, however, is that I experienced freezing after journeys of more than a few minutes. After a trip of an hour or so, I’d expect my PDA to be locked up for as much as five minutes- after arrival, then, I would go for a soft reset, just to clear it. Having read various posts relating to TomTom5, it appears that this is related to the Bluetooth link, as users who have tested the software with other non-Bluetooth GPS units seem to be fine. However, I should point out that everyone I have spoken to has been using a LOOX – a machine not officially supported; and this may be the reason why. It’s the biggest problem I have noticed with TomTom, and it is a nuisance- but not really anything more. The navigation side of things works very well, and, as a soft reset normally takes a matter of seconds- it’s a shame that this happens, but is not enough to put me off using the application. Itineraries Thanks to Igalan for providing the following information, which I appear to have missed on my overview of TomTom5- much appreciated: "With itineraries you can plan routes to multiple destinations and add stop points. TomTom does not have an option to get the most optimum itinerary (like Destinator has), you manually add the stop points in a list and then TomTom will navigate you to them in the order that you specified. They can also help you when you want to go across certain roads to go to your destination. Sometimes you want to go by a certain road that TomTom doesn't use for whatever reason. In that case you can add a point in the route that goes across this particular road until you get the desired route. Itineraries are saved as single files, so you can share them with your friends, backup them, or whatever you wish. This is pretty cool, because allows you to share nice routes with your friends (of course if they have TTN5; TTN3 also had this but I don't know if TTN5 itineraries can be used in TTN3 -the other way is possible-)"   POI POI are Points of Interest- locations of general interest, which can aid navigation, ranging from petrol stations and cash points to airports, stations and restaurants. For the “major” POI (to my mind, petrol stations, cash points and railway stations), I was impressed- of course, there are more cash points in reality than on this database, but, I never had to go far at all to find one which was listed. I was less impressed with some of the more insignificant POI- for example, there are only two listed yacht basins in Great Britain, which I found strange. Of more concern, however, is the inability to edit the built-in POI databases. I enjoy spending a lot of time on the water, and so I would have appreciated the ability to add extra POI to the Yacht Basin option. As it is, the only way to add POI is to create your own category, and then add to these- so I have a custom Marina database, and it is possible to download additional TomTom POI overlays (as they are known) from the Web.   Although I have not used TomTom3, I believe that whilst it was able to display POI on the map, it did not warn audibly. Version 5 of the software does allow you, so you can choose which of the categories trigger audio alerts, and whether they need to be directly on the route, or whether “nearby” would be sufficient- for example, whether you had to find a cash point on the exact roads you had plotted as part of your route, or whether you could dive down a side road to get your money. The warning sounds struck me as somewhat strange, almost comedic in their nature. A couple of the “ping” effects seem to be the most suitable to me, although, I may be being a bit picky here- I just felt that for an otherwise highly professional piece of software, the POI warning sounds let it down a little.   A useful addition to the POI database is a series of contact numbers- as such, if you are looking for a place to stay, for example, you can find which hotel is nearest to you, and then tap “Call number”, to dial the hotel via a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone. It’s not something that everyone will use, but, I think it is a most useful touch.   Overall, the POI are a useful, and the ability to have an audio warning vitally important, and, despite some omissions and a weird choice of sound effect, they are something I was grateful for in the application – when testing the software, I decided to retrace a route Shaun used in his review of TomTomGo from a year or so back – from Bournemouth to Corfe Castle- and I was pleased that I did not have to go digging around for the Castle’s address. Instead, I brought up the POI database, chose “Tourist Attraction”, and then used the software keyboard to locate it- in a matter of seconds, I was heading down the winding road across Studland.   The GPS receiver As you can tell from the photograph, the receiver is incredibly small- smaller than my mobile phone. Battery life is good; I’d estimate that you use it for about five hours of travelling before it will need recharging, if you are using it without power. Time to first fix is roughly what I was expecting- a cold fix takes about three minutes, whilst a warm fix is a matter of seconds- so as long as I remember to switch it on as I leave the house, I should have a fix before I’ve reached the end of the road, which is perfectly acceptable to me.   The top and bottom appear to be a slightly rubberised compound, which I guess is to help make it non-slip. It is not. I placed it carefully in the middle of the dashboard, and discovered that breaking hard results in a small GPS unit flying towards you. I went for a couple of low-tech solutions – sticking it on the passenger seat, or, quite literally, sticking it to the dashboard with Bluetac. I am not sure what the best solution is – an attachment for the back of the rear-view mirror seems sensible, but, I could not advise simply leaving it on the dashboard as it is. I've been advised that the unit is a high-powered GPS system, and, as such, should not require a line of sight to be able to function- you should be able to pop it into the glove box, or other available cubby hole in the car. This is also useful if you plan on using the GPS unit whilst walking- you can put it in a bag, rather than having to have it out in the open the whole time.     Conclusion TomTom made a huge difference to my driving- I was able to test the system for two weeks, and used it on every major journey. The ability to see the road ahead for the shape of bends, coupled with the clear and generally accurate voice-guidance meant that I could focus my attention on getting to my destination safely – I didn’t need to keep an eye on a map on the passenger seat, or a list of instructions. The time to plot a route was very impressive, and, whilst the routes were not always the way I would have gone, I always arrived at the right destination- when travelling out of town, or to a location for the first time, I would most grateful for the assistance of this software.   For me, the highest points of this system are its size and ease of use. The GPS receiver is tiny, and can easily be slipped into a suit pocket, or into a bag. The mapping data comes on an SD card, again, easily tucked into a case. This means that there will be few occasions when you are unable to take the GPS system with you- if it were big and bulky, you wouldn’t bother, and hence it would lose a great deal of its functionality. The software is incredibly easy to use, and has been sensibly laid-out for tapping with a finger- if you are driving along and want to avoid a roadblock, you do not need to fiddle around with a stylus. As the system sensibly points out each time you use it, you do need to pay attention to the road, and obey all signs, rules and restrictions, and this would include not using an “interactive data device” whilst driving- so, if you do come to a roadblock, you should stop your vehicle and switch off the engine before tapping the screen for the preferences menu.   The GPS unit has a perfectly acceptable battery life, and, in any case, comes with a cigarette adapter charger – which happens to work with my PDA also. For £200, I think you are getting a good deal, if you need GPS-based navigation. If you want the GPS for walking off-road, then I suggest you look elsewhere, basically. The press kit has now gone back to TomTom, but, I will be purchasing this setup for myself- despite the freezing after use, and the fact that only Great Britain roads are included (I would have preferred the whole of Western Europe, as with the upgrade), overall I remain very impressed with this system.   Update:   TomTom have released a patch for TTN5, which is currently available from here. This patch is listed as solving some problems with 3rd party GPS units (not something I am qualified to comment on, as I have only ever used the software with TomTom’s own Mark III unit), and some VGA-based issues- it is these which interested me the most.   I tried out two main tests on the new update – running a route demonstration video, and actually using the software on a route. In terms on the demonstration, I plotted a route from where I live to Edinburgh, and then set the demo to run at 500% - I left this running / looping for about three hours, and had no problems whatsoever. Once I’d have enough of seeing a black arrow moving down a road, I stopped the demonstration, and exited the application – there was no seizure afterwards, and I was immediately able to launch and use other applications, which was very positive.   The actual route I tested was shorter – I plotted to Eastbourne, and then drove it, which took about two hours. During this time, the screen did not blank out, as some users had reported, even though the battery temperature warning kicked in after about 50 minutes. Once I had arrived, I was able to exit the application and launch another without experiencing any kind of freezing- there was no need to soft-reset or wait for a period of time. I ran the system again on the journey home, with identical results – no crashing, and no freezing after the event.   The major niggles from the original release appear to have been fixed with this update. The POI still make irritating noises, but, I can live with this – whilst I happily purchased TomTom5 before the freezing was solved, I am even happier now- kudos to TomTom for releasing a fix so quickly.