TomTom Navigator 5 sat nav receiver review
The unnerving feeling of being lost in a strange town is becoming a thing of the past. It’s an emotion we’ve all encountered; that moment of bafflement when you realise you haven’t a clue where you are. Once upon a time you had three choices. Stop a passer-by and ask for help and hope you remember their directions, splash out on a streetmap that you’ll only need once or simply wander around aimlessly with your fingers crossed, hoping to strike it lucky. Now there’s a fourth possibility, a gizmo in the guise of a mobile phone that will make getting lost an anecdote for the grandkids. And possibly consign the trusty A to Z to the dustbin. The TomTom mobile 5 is a satellite navigation gadget made for pedestrians. Now there's nothing that says you can't use it in your cars but it's so portable we think it makes perfect sense that the TomTom 5 was made for walking. Design |
| What you get is a SIM card that fits snugly into the back of a mobile phone and a receiver that sets you up to become the supreme urban explorer. At the moment, it is only compatible with a handful of devices, but this will change in time. The SIM card looks like any SIM card and fits in a special compartment in the back of your phone or your PDA. Where as the receiver is the size of your two middle fingers stuck together and comes in a matt grey finish and weighs next to nothing. |
| Setup/Installation |
| Like any new gadget, it does take a while to understand all the intricacies and functions. But if you’re used to playing with mobile phones it should be fairly easy to get your head around it. |
| Features |
| The TomTom 5 is for PDA’s or mobile phones. You get an SD memory card that goes in to your device and is activated through the internet. With it comes a small, lightweight GPS receiver that fits perfectly into your shirt pocket or your handbag. It works through simple touch screen operations and shows clear maps as well as giving you handy tips on screen. The multilingual TomTom speaks 30 languages in male and female voices so you could vary who gives you orders on a daily basis. It works on Postcode navigation as well as address and also has thousands of points of interest such as hotels, restaurants, petrol stations, car parking facilities. There’s even a little compass at the top of the screen which can show you which direction you’re travelling in. And there’s updates available online with the TomTom Plus service which gives you traffic and weather information as well as telling you were speed cameras. |
| Performance |
| Once connected, your phone can perform more tricks than Cristiano Ronaldo. You select which mode of transport you need, so a pedestrian gets the quickest route on foot and a cyclist is warned of one way streets. It also has options to give you direct routes, let you avoid certain streets, and give you distances to your final point. There are addresses for nearby attractions, restaurants, bars and points of interest. And it’s all easy to use. The direction are either shown on the map in front of you, or you have a voice telling you where to go. Because there are so many languages if English isn’t your native language you can swap to something else. And better than that, if you get lost abroad you can swap to the local language and people around will be able to help you out. If you do take a wrong turn, the voice is very quick to instruct you to turn back again straight away or alternatively redirects you. You might be a stranger to a city’s streets, but you’ll soon be striding around like born-and-bred Chisits. While the TomTom is fantastic, it’s not without its flaws. It can sometimes send you a convoluted way and misses out shortcuts you pick up as a local. The GPS receiver can also take a while sometimes to pick up a signal. |
| What's In The Box? |
| SIM card, GPS receiver, car adaptor. |
| Overall Opinion |
| With the TomTom 5 SatNav device you could want to find any place and you’ll be able to locate it, we reckon, even Martians could find their way around the UK with this device. Your only problem with this satellite navigation system will be remembering there’s traffic around when you’re following the map. |
By Babita Wakelin
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Pros + Totally portable + Easy to use + Good map for a phone screen |
Cons - Doesn’t show shortcuts - Takes a while to get used to. |
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Overall Rating 
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20/7/2006 at 2:43:50pm
