I have an illness. I have to buy the latest gadgets, gizmos and things that make beepy noises. Because of this, Tom Tom Go has caught my eye.
Just one, simple question.
Is it worth £380?
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Adam
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If there were no other options such as PDA or Mobile phone based Sat Nav then I would probably say yes. As it is, the other options are not only cheaper, but also have far more functions than Go.
Tom Tom Go would probably be best suited to people who can't be bothered to faff about with loading maps and setting up GPS receivers, but as you have an addiction to beepy gadgets I don't think you fall into that category.
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Thanks for the reply Trancer.
I had an iPaq a few months ago and considered getting Tom Tom for it but my mate's Dad wanted one so I sold it to him (for less then half the price I'd paid just months before!)
In hindsight, this was a silly thing to do. At the time, I talked myself out of Sat Nav but after seeing my uncle's new system (a Navman something or other) I've decided I want one again!
I've been having a browse of pocketGPSworld.com but there are hundreds of options - I want opinions from people who know what they're on about (a.k.a. - you lot).
What other options are there then? Preferably I'd like a system where you can have the speed camera datab...I mean accident blackspot database on.
Cheers,
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Adam
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P.S. - No I wouldn't mind faffing about with maps and stuff - in fact - I think that'd be more enjoyable than using it!!!
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Adam
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" No I wouldn't mind faffing about with maps and stuff - in fact - I think that'd be more enjoyable than using it!!!"
You, sir, are a true gadget freak.
I also spend quite a bit of time on pocketGPS. I have/had an Ipaq 2215 with Tom Tom navigator on it and it works quite well. Don't tell No Wheels, but I also had the speed camera database loaded on it. The only downside was that it was too much to cart about and quite often I would just leave the PDA at home unless I was planning a trip to an unfamiliar area.
After reading good reviews on Tom Tom mobile I just bought myself a Nokia 6630 smartphone with the intentions of loading Tom Tom on it. I have been selling off bits of my PDA setup (the Ipaq is still in the for sale forum) while waiting for the release of Tom Tom Mobile 5.
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Forgot to add.
With Tom Tom Mobile (and PDA based Navigator), you can load that database which allows you to speed through sleepy villages at 100MPH without getting caught by cameras up a pole.
You know the one I mean.
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No knowledge of the kit itself, but seen a lot on eBay, so maybe a search on there to save a few quid?
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Thanks both for your replies.
I may give eBay a go. Believe it or not, I have never used it before - never found the need to.
I take it then Trancer that you think another iPaq is the way to go then?
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Adam
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Well, no. I am selling my Ipaq and intend to go with a Mobile phone based Satnav.
I suppose I should be telling you YES you should get another Ipaq while steering you to the one I have for sale, but I won't do that.
My mother always told me I would never be rich...now I know why.
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Lol.
I'll make it easy for you:
I'm looking for an iPaq. I don't suppose anyone has one for sale do they?
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Adam
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Would you believe it? There's one for sale here with a bloke who has the same name as you?
Small world eh?
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Adam
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Maybe a silly question, but it applies to either the PDA satnav or the Go.
Is there any way of mounting them that doesn't obscure lines of sight? All the ones I've seen fitted are v useful, but mounted on top of the dashboard, blocking part of the fwd vision. One of the nice things abt the expensive built-in-satnavs is that they don't block the view.
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All the pictures of TT Go I've seen have shown the unit mounted on the right of the instrument cluster next to the driver's heater.
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Adam
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Ive usually seen the Go mounted on the dash, but in theory you could mount it anywhere it can be seen by you and the satellites. The same goes for PDAs.
I didn't actually do it with my PDA, but I intend to get a dashmount designed for mobile phones as most of those allow viewing from driver's seat and still allow it to "look" up at satellites.
www.dashmount.co.uk/
That lot seem to do dashmounts for just about every car available, but if you drive a McLaren Mercedes (unlike Prince Nas) don't bother looking.
Important to remember that if you have an athermic coated screen then you won't get a good sat signal through it. Not sure if Ford heated screens suffer the same fate.
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I never thought of the heated screen.
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Adam
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Have you thought about an external antenna though?.
Most GPS receivers allow for the attachment of an external antenna which you can stick on the roof of your car. you could also stick it in the back window. I only mentioned the heated screen as it isn't "plain" glass. I don't know if it actually causes a problem.
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As long as you can stick external aerials on then that'll be fine.
I'm going up to my uncle's tomorrow. He said he paid £300 for his from Halfords after knocking them down 50 quid.
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Adam
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The tom tom go classic (the outgoing version) can be had for around £200 if you hunt about a bit, the new TTG 300 is 369.99.
And they are the best thing since sliced bread MP3 players
LP
LP
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Unfortunately a significant number of GPS receiver bits DONT allow connection of an external antenna. However dont despair, a re-radiating antenna works well. A small magnetic buble on the roof, and a small probe near your GPS device.
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Yeah, go with a Bluetooth version. The receiver is the size of a credit card. You can mount the PDA within 10 metres of the receiver. I'm waiting for the TomTom 5 to come out, which should be any day now.
The benefits I foresee are that you can set up your own point of interest files. There are many available online, such as service stations, supermarkets, beauty spots, fast food emporiums, speed cameras, etc etc. I've been preparing my own POI file for the location of all 980+ Air Cadet units in the country, in readiness.
I can recommend TotalPDA for a cheap PDA, and www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk will be selling the TomTom 5 at £199.99
I'll probably find that the above points have been mentioned further down the thread as I progress through it.
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It really depends on what you are going to use it for and how much of a tech freak you are.
If you want something to use every day that will get you from A to B without having to faf about then TTgo will be good for you. It is also easily transferable between vehicles.
I personally use an Ipaq 1910 (Old I know, But it's cheap and it works) with TT3 and a cradle that has an infra red sender on it to pass the gps data to the Ipaq (the 19** series is the budget range so early ones were without bluetooth, SDIO slots and the seriel connection could not receive data (only hotsync)), It works well for me as a tool of the trade, saves me having to lug lots of maps around with me. I choose my set up as I already had the Ipaq and it was esay to add TT to it. Another thing to look at is are you going to use it for UK only or will it be needed for Europe as well? TT is not the best for Europe, there are others that are better and go down to street level all over the EU.
Many professional drivers now use them because it is cheeper then buying lots of maps, saves space, saves time and is alot easier to use.
I also use mine to surf the web, play games or watch a film when I am on my breaks, so for me a PDA based sytem is far better, but it is really down to personal preference.
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I have a few different systems (three different ones in each of my three cars). In the QX I have an IPAQ2215 with a plug-in CF-card receiver and power lead down to the cigarette lighter. With the CF card it makes a nice compact single unit that can also be used on foot.
The cradle is a 'Brodit' and it fits to a 'SmartClip' that installs around one of the centre dash vents. It is really neat and sold and looks 'part of the car'. The cradle has a balljoint and sits at height just below the top of the dash, so not in my line of sight, but easy to see and angled just right.
Another system I have is the 'Medion' which I bought from Aldi. It comes with a windscreen suction mount - handy for taking abroad to use in hire cars. If you position it correctly it can be sited so that it obscures only part of the bonnet, rather than your view of the road (depending on car, of course).
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PS - Maplin were doing TT 'Go' for £339 a few weeks ago - the offer may still be running.
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If its anything like the PDA version, then yes, I would not be without it. I travel to different places daily and before I got it I was very stressed every morning.
Now, I just dial in the address, look at the eta and set off. Tomtom does the rest. If a road is closed, no problem, Tomtom re-routes.
My blood pressure is much lower since I got it.
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Thanks for all the help folks.
You'll never guess what - I've found someone selling TT Go 300 for £280 - a ton less than new which if it's in good condition I'm going to get.
However, the heating elements in my windscreen are concerning me. As trancer said - these could be a problem.
Does anyone use aftermarket Sat Nav in a later Ford?
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Adam
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I have a cheap Palm 31 with viamichelin and Kirrio set up. Used it in a hire Focus two weekends ago, and it worked perfectly. The unit said it was "seeing" up to 8 satellites, so no problem with the heated screen.
Tim{P}
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Cheers Tim. Looks like I'll have a new gadget to play with then. In exam week too!
Oh well - toys are toys after all.
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Adam
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Adam see my post further up about a rerediating antenna. Try it and see, if it dont work get one of the re rediators.
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I never saw that RF - thanks.
I'm trying to talk myself out of it but it just looks so colourful and flashy I'm finding it difficult.
It would be soooo cool...
and we all know how cool I am.
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Adam
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I use a Tom Tom in my Mondeo and have previously used it in my old Focus, both of which had heated screens.
The receivers will work anywhere through the heated screen, but it does disrupt the signal by a satelite or two - you'll only notice it in very poor signal areas. However, if you look at the edges of the screen there is about a 3" gap at the very side of the screen where there are no elements and if you position the GPS receiver there you'll get a perfect signal.
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Adam
I fancy one of TTG 300s. Where did you get yours for £280? Anywhere near west Manchester? If so, please e-mail me (via the Mods?)
Ta
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Sorry Espada - it was just one person getting rid of his. I've had a look at it and let's just say, it isn't worth £180.
The screen has loads of fine scratches on like he's cleaned it with a Brillo pad. It shimmers really bad just in indoor light - God knows what it would be like in the sunshine.
I'm still not deterred though.
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Adam
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>>is Tom Tom worth £380?>>
Depends whether it's being acquired for the purpose for which it is intended or merely for poser value.
If it's the former it can prove a priceless acquisition.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Poser definitely.
To be honest, if I couldn't put the speed camera database on it then I probably wouldn't be looking at it. Then I think to myself, why not get a dedicated "Road Safety Device" but Road Angel and all those aren't too cheap are they? At least this is useful on two counts.
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Adam
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If your going for the pose value then go for a decent PDA based system, it will cost about the same as a TTgo but will be much more useful, and there are more add on's avaliable for the PDA based systems.
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Of course you can always take the "evo" route.
Having used an iPaq 3970 with Kane Car Gear for 2 years, I recently upgraded my mobile to a QTek 9090 (aka Vodafone VPX, O2 XDA IIs, Orange SPV 2000, t-Mobile i-Mate).
This is a PDA phone running Windows Mobile PPC 2003. It can run Tom-Tom and accepts any iPaq satnav receiver, including bluetooth.
With this you can have a sat-nav enabled phone with car kit and pull it out of the cradle for normal phone duties. It's WiFi enabled as well, allowing you to access your broadband connection from anywhere in the house/garden if you have a wireless router.
£99 usual mobile contract.
It would be rude not to.
So that's your PDA sorted. Now if you look on ebay you may find DVDs containing, amongst other things, Tom-Tom software and speed camera overlays for about £4.00. I must warn you that these are not originals in their shop packaging, but if you were the unscrupulous type you may be tempted. Naturally I can't condone this, but I would be failing in my duty if I didn't "warn" you of the presence of such illicit items and the dreadful fate that would befall you if you mistakenly purchased one of these for £4 instead of the legitimate version for £139 . Fates such as having £135 in your pocket, for example.
Pocketgps.com will sell you the required receiver. If you opt for an SDIO one you have a stand-alone GPS system that will work in and out of the car.
Just my two penn'orth
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You can buy a book for a fraction of the price which lists speed cameras in the UK or just go here:
www.ukspeedcameras.co.uk/
or here:
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk/
or local police forces' websites to find out where speed traps will be operating over the next few days on a regular basis...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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"You can buy a book for a fraction of the price which lists speed cameras"
Your Honour. I am sorry I was reading a book as I was driving.
"or just go here:
" www.ukspeedcameras.co.uk/ "
Yes your Honour - I did appear before this bench acused of reading a book, and yes your Honour I am now accused of using a lap top while driving my car.
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If you can hang on, a company in Hungary is working on a similar system. I work closely with the lead developer, and it's showing a lot of promise and will be reasonable priced:
www.pdamill.com/navngo/
I'm trying to persuade him to include UK speed cameras etc as a default POI and speed limit warnings too, but it does depend on what source they get their maps from I suppose.
All voices etc will be recorded professionally in the UK too, or so I've been told.
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Jesse, do you know how long we have to hang on? And how much is reasonable?!? Without the speed camera info I think it would be a non-starter.
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Dunno whether or not its any good, I know nothing about these things, and don't care much either.
But whilst looking for something else I came across the following which I thought might be of interest;
DABS.COM
iPAQ RX1710 & TomTom Navigator 3 £238.63
and then...
Go 300 £314.68
Go 500 £399.99
Go 700 £468.08
And if you see this DABS, we're now quits on that discount you gave me.
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Regarding the screen - my Garmin Streetpilot III works with no probs in a colleagues Jag S type with a heated screen and it also worked in a Fiesta I had on hire.
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>DABS.COM
>
>iPAQ RX1710 & TomTom Navigator 3 £238.63
£280.39 inc vat - Nil stock
>and then...
>
>Go 300 £314.68
£369.74 inc vat - Nill stock
>Go 500 £399.99
£469.98 - Not yet available
>Go 700 £468.08
£549.99 - Not yet available
Calling dabs.com - try and reclaim that discount will you?
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"Dunno whether or not its any good, I know nothing about these things, and don't care much either. "
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Allthough I don't have a SatNav system, I have seen a 'Tom Tom' System fitted in a coach and thought it was better than most I've seen just displaying a Map of your route. With this Tom Tom system I saw it displayed the road ahead with its inclines and declines, bends etc and it spoke giving instructions which was accurate. But thought it would be best used at night on strange country roads, ie: if you approached a bend when its raining would not know how tight the bend would be etc, but with the Tom Tom you would.
If and when I could afford one this would probably get one.
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I bought a two-year old VDO Dayton on eBay, with TMC receiver, for £470 and installed it myself. In the same region as a new Tomtom -- depending on model -- but incomparably better for the money.
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Thanks for all of the help guys.
I'm going cold on the idea to be honest after I got myself a different gadget.
I will get one though....just not yet!
Thanks again.
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Adam
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What did you get? What did you get?
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yes
i have tomtomgo 300 with all overlays from pocketgpsworld.
excellent.
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Well - I bought a new phone at an extoritionate price with it being Pay as You Go, some Bluetooth - Computer doohickey for it and a sort of Freeview box for my computer so I can record straight to my hard drive!
I like toys.
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Adam
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If the new phone is a smartphone then you can load Tom Tom Mobile on it and not bother with the Go. The Bluetooth-computer doohickey is actually called a "Dongle". I know, the name is just as silly sounding as doohickey.
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I like toys.
Good man. Remember, he who dies with the most toys, wins.
I have a long list of friends, and an even longer one when I snuff it and time comes to divvy up the gadgets ;o)
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Personally I don't think it's worth even £3.80. Fortunately I already had a Toshiba E400 PDA so the Tomtom only cost £170 - even then quite enough for somethiong that has never worked. My Audi hasn't got a heated screen but there is a continuous message 'GPS disabled' which makes it useless despite following all the instructions including leaving it on over a long journey.
A waste of money for me, although I'm trying for a refund. Others of you have been luckier, I'm glad to see.
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It most likely needs to be properly set-up. PDA based sat-nav can be fiddly at first as you have to make sure the correct ports and baud rates etc are selected. It is by no means a simple plug and play like Navman or Go.
Check out Pocketgps.com where you *will* find the correct way to set up your system. If you don't want the hassle then thats fine, but you not wanting to be bothered is hardly TomTom's fault or an indicator of their software's value.
No offense intended, but are you sure you have the right system for your PDA?. More than a few PDA owners have bought Tom Tom bluetooth GPS receivers only to find that their PDA does not have Bluetooth or other similar oversights.
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Many thanks Trancer - you'erw probably right. I told the supplier (Handtec) the model number of my PDA (Toshiba E400) and naively supposed that they would send me the appropriate equipment. I should have known the IT industry better - nothing is ever simple.
I'll go back to my Navigator atlas which has served me well, plus Autoroute or Multimap for street maps.
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"Check out Pocketgps.com where you *will* find the correct way to set up your system"....
Even that didn't work, but before invoking a taxidermist's curse on all things IT, I tried pocketgps.co.uk which did.
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I have heard that there can be some trouble setting up one of those systems that NoDo$h has heard about - with BT GPS and an SPV. Just wondered, ND, whether you'd heard any tips for getting the two synched properly? In the event, potentially, of managing to attach the two by Bluetooth, but not managing to obtain a GPS fix.
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Sorry Mapmaker, I've only used hard-wired GPS receivers with my PDA and am going to use the same receiver with my SPV2000/VPx. This leaves the bluetooth channel free for my earpiece so I can combine satnav and phone whilst in the car. I'll let you know if I have any problems using this with the TomTom software I recently picked up. Cheaply.
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Ah.
I had another go at reinstalling earlier today, along with some extra instructions I found. So I deleted the files off my SD car. Reinstalled them. Now the phone doesn't seem to notice that they're on the SD card. Any ideas?
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Best place to find a solution to your problem would be here
pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums
Scroll down to the tom tom mobile forum. I believe you have to register to ask a question.
Appologies to Avant for making a mess of the URL earlier.
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Coool! (A very un-Mapmakerian word.)
Cannot wait to get on a bus to try this thing out! (Suppose I could go for a drive, but...)
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And if you need to replace your TT GPS device, these people are VERY helpful.
search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZinter...n
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Excellent prices for a bluetooth receiver, but I would still like to know who the manufacturer is co I can do a bit of reviewing/comparison shopping. I could ask them directly, but it is odd that they do not mention it anywhere in the auction details.
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Probably because the box doesn't have a name on it. Bizarre, but true. TBH, aren't they all made in the same factory in China whatever the name on the box?
It seems to work. (& comes with the files to make it work with TTM.)
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(I've just worked out that BT-GPS doesn't mean that the manufacturer is British Telecom.)
Apparently, ND, there is an application you can download to get two BT items running on your PDA.
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www.chinagps.com.cn/images/com/liqi/GPS-BT77.asp
It's called GPS-BT77 and full manufacturer's details come from here www.wondeproud.com/Products_Detail.asp?ProductID=2...c******=5&ClassName=GPS
Sorry for 3 posts in a row!
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Thanks, worth having that info.
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It's actually a good bit of cheap kit, I ordered one for my father to use with his XDA2 and it works with no problems, And you can buy it directly from the guys own website for less then the ebay price!!
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Anyone noticed that Adam seems to have disappeared since he got his new toy?
Probably having a heated argument with it somewhere in the wilds of Scotland.
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somewhere in the wilds of Scotland
And he was only trying to go to the Supermarket in it. Must have a bug...
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So, was it Mark or RF got it for him?
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Hellooo.
I've tired of my gadgets now. What's next on this list?
;-)
Thanks for all the help by the way - even if it never resulted in me getting one!
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Adam
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Thanks for the links Mapmaker, but I think I will pass on it. I have to admit though that I am very intrigued by the "Motional Jerk" specification they list. Maybe I should buy one just to find out what that is. 8-)
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Adksi - you never gave any proper warning that this "gadget buying illness" was contageous!
I've just got a GO300 for my 21st, and I'm sat in the car right now on the laptop's wireless connection having just set it all up...
Wow!! It's great :-)
Can't wait to figure out how to get the speed camera database installed on the unit, and I also need to find a suitably far away destination to drive to in an area that I'm unfamiliar with in order to test it's navigational abilities. :-)
Blue
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You're this close to making me jealous Blue!
So jealous in fact that I now want one again! Thanks!
;-)
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Adam
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Blue I would be delighted to read your consumer evaluation of the Tom Tom GO.
P.S. What happened to the job in Honda sales?
regards
Godfrey H
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