Tom Tom One XL-S

[sarlen]

Looking at buying one of these http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigat ... 35424.html The local Wal Mart has it on clearance for $119.99. Feature wise it looks pretty good but being a total GPS nub was hoping for a little bit of advise from anyone that has used one of the Tomtoms for a period of time.

[Fairweather Pure]

I never understood why anyone would want a dedicated GPS when pretty much every phone made in the last 2 years has it built in. Care to shed some light on that? Is there a reason I am unaware of?

[miir]

Because GPS on phones are shit.

[Fairweather Pure]

Gps is gps. My wife's Honda has it built in. My iphone's gps is just as good, except it also fits in my pocket, makes phone calls, and does all the other things that iphones do.

Do you have anything to back up your opinion, or are you just trolling?

[sarlen]

Well screen size, resolution, brightness in sunlight would be a major concern. All the "one" touch functionality from any GPS beats the crap out of any software I have tried on my phone including the tomtom mobile app. I drive all over the country for my job and a dedicated device makes more sense. The only phone that could come close to meeting those requirements is the iphone and in my area its a partner network so coverage sucks, a guy at work has one, he cant use it with in a few miles of our office building. The only viable option to have my phone work 100% of the time is to use Us Cellular so using my phone as a GPS is out on many levels.

[Zaelath]

Gps is gps. My wife's Honda has it built in. My iphone's gps is just as good, except it also fits in my pocket, makes phone calls, and does all the other things that iphones do.

Do you have anything to back up your opinion, or are you just trolling?

As I understand it; phone GPS works off cell towers, real GPS works off satellites. I'm not sure if there's anywhere in the US not within range of 2+ cell towers, but there's a hell of a lot of Australia that isn't in range of one

[Fairweather Pure]

GPS
iPhone 3G offers real GPS hardware, replacing its predecessor's simulated GPS, which was based on cell tower triangulation. Like many mobile handsets, iPhone 3G uses "Assisted GPS", in which it gets certain information, such as time and satellite orbital geometry, from the earth-bound network. Helped by this data, the device can more quickly locate and lock onto GPS satellites, resulting in better performance and less power usage.

Traditional GPS's can take up to two minutes to "cold boot" and acquire satellites, while many newer GPS devices can find their position in under 30 seconds. We were startled to discover that the iPhone 3G's GPS could approximately locate our position in under ten seconds on Google maps, then refine it to within a few yards in less than 20 seconds. It was also fun to watch as Google Maps drew a locator circle and zoomed in while iPhone refined its position, ending with a blue location dot within a margin-of-error circle.

The new iPhone software provides location services to applications (more on this below). The Camera application "geotags" photos with your GPS location (with your permission — it asks first!), and Google Maps can provide driving directions. Third-party apps are already using location services, including quite a few social networking applications. Apple has placed some restrictions on third party developers, however, and specifically prohibits live navigation software. It's not clear why this is, but even the Apple-blessed Google Maps application is limited. You still must tap to skip to each route point, even though you can watch your location marker move on the map as you walk or drive!

That was from random iphone review site. I had to check and make sure I wasn't going crazy, since it's been a month or so since I had to use the GPS ability on my phone. I was in the middle of fucking nowhere thanks to some messy construction on my way to Traverse City. I couldn't connect to a damn thing with my phone, but my GPS worked fine the entire time. Perhaps it was because my maps were cached?

[Aslanna]

A dedicated device is always better than something that just can do something else. For example many phones come with a camera... Which yeah will get you by. But it's no substitute for something specifically made for the purpose you are using it.

[miir]

My GPS fits in my pocket.
My GPS doesn't take 2 minutes to boot and acquire a satellite signal.
It comes with a mounting bracket that attaches to my winshield in a matter seconds. It's got a large clear screen that's viewable even in direct sunlight.
It also has bluetooth for hands-free calling so I don't have to use a headset in the car.

[Aabidano]

As I understand it; phone GPS works off cell towers, real GPS works off satellites. I'm not sure if there's anywhere in the US not within range of 2+ cell towers, but there's a hell of a lot of Australia that isn't in range of one

Outside of the highway corridors & metro areas it's not hard at all to have no signal. In most of rural FL you'll have no signal for instance, not to mention the western US. There's lots of nothing between the populated areas of the US, Oz beats us in that respect though.

A single purpose GPS beats a phone GPS in every respect except fitting in your back pocket. I've got a waterproof, handheld garmin I use when fishing in the mangroves and a Nuvo in the wife's car. Neither situation would be all that good for a phone based GPS.

[Sylvus]

I would think that the biggest advantage of a dedicated, automobile GPS system would be the safety. If you mount it up at the bottom of your windshield, you can keep your eyes on the road while glancing at the map.

I use my Blackberry for GPS, and it's as bad or worse than texting while driving.

[Aevian Dreaklear]

This may be too late, but woot.com has a Tomtom for sale. I think it's basically a refurbed later model for slightly cheaper. I also have GPS on my phone, but don't regret buying my Garmin.

[Funkmasterr]

I would think that the biggest advantage of a dedicated, automobile GPS system would be the safety. If you mount it up at the bottom of your windshield, you can keep your eyes on the road while glancing at the map.

I use my Blackberry for GPS, and it's as bad or worse than texting while driving.

Not only that but most GPS units tell you when to turn (like, verbally), so you technically don't have to look at it at all. The GPS on my phone works really well too but I'd much rather have one built into the car.

[Siji]

Dedicated GPS > Phone GPS
Garmin > TomTom

[Winnow]

GPS is gay.

Use the stars to navigate! Only travel at night.

[Aabidano]

Use the stars to navigate! Only travel at night.

I've got a sextant and can use it quite well, daytime shots are easier to take than night.

Sights at 9:00 12:00 and 15:00 can get you a position within a mile or so. Would take a long time to get to WalMart that way unfortunately

[Spang]

Dedicated GPS > Phone GPS
Garmin > TomTom

Siji speaks the truth.

[sarlen]

Bought it, used it on my trip to Amarillo and it was worth every penny. The turn by turn audible directions while working your way through heavy traffic in areas I had never been was invaluable.