back to article TomTom ships Go x40 satnav series

The TomTom Go x40 Live range consisting of the Go 540, 740 and the flagship 940 - first seen at IFA in August - has been officially launched in the UK. All three models have a 4.3in, 480 x 272 pixel display, but while the 540 and 740 only have 1GB and 2GB, respectively, of on-board storage, the 940 has a meatier 4GB memory. …

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  1. jake Silver badge

    Who is this junk targeted at, anyway?

    For a LOT less money, I have AAA+, which includes free road assistance (including towing, gas(petrol) if I'm stupid enough to run out, discounts on hotels, and other bits & pieces). ... and free maps!

    Remember maps? Foldie-paperish thingies with lines on.

    The EXACT SAME lines that are displayed on TomTom et al ... Yes, I know about the GPS/SatNav/whatever, but if you're so lost that you can't figure out where you are with a paper map, chances are pretty good that relying on electronics is going to get you into even more trouble ... Gotta know where you are to know where you aint.

    Reminds me of an old koan:

    A novice was trying to fix a broken Lisp machine by turning the power off and on.

    Knight, seeing what the student was doing, spoke sternly: "You cannot fix a machine by just power-cycling it with no understanding of what is going wrong."

    Knight turned the machine off and on.

    The machine worked.

  2. David Gosnell

    Fuel card

    Is that to reimburse for wasted petrol used on inappropriate routing? Recalling when a friend of ours recently "followed us home" with his TomTom and was taken in completely the wrong direction and led down roads not much better than farm tracks, eventually arriving about half an hour after us for what should have been a ten mile journey.

  3. James Pickett (Jp)
    Flame

    Am I the only the one who likes SatNav??

    Given that they sell so well, I find it strange that no one has a good thing to say about them!

    I like to have a paper map handy before I go on a longer trip just to make sure the satnav hasn't come up with anything silly, but that aside, a satnav is far better! I can't look at a paper map whilst I'm driving, I can't route off to a nearby petrol station when the tank is running low and I can't have POI's like the 'Good Pub Guide' always ready so I can avoid eating at motorway services!

    They're not perfect I know, but I wouldn't be without mine.

  4. Dr Patrick J R Harkin

    Well, I like my TomTom

    I've got to the age where I can wear my distance glasses and read signs or wear my reading glasses to read maps - but not both. And if I'm driving alone, stopping every few miles to check the might is a pain. I used to use the AA map service - but it's nowhere near as good as my TomTom. Miss a turn if you're using the AA directions - and now you're on a road for which you have no directions at all.

    The resolution of paper maps (which I do still have in the car) is fine to get me from Leeds to Bristol - but not to a particular street in Bristol.

    No satnav will ever beat a local who knows that 8:30 on Thursday is when the farmers market closes three streets- so I don't use it within a few miles of home. But if you're trying to find an address in a new city, it's invaluable.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why complain about something your not interested in?

    What is it with some people.....if you dont like using a Sat Nav why comment on it. If you believe that paper maps are the future perhaps you might want to speak to the AA, Ordnance Survey or A-Z Maps and tell then how to revieve their paper maps business because those that matter (us people with money in our pockets - or not as the case may be) are voting with our wallets and buying Sat NAv's by the bucket. It's a great skill to be able to read a map, I wouldn't go out for a decent walk without one, I also wouldn't go without my Garmin Colarado too. Like wise when I'm driving.

    These devices offer updated traffic information, will soon help us drive more effecently and also offer a solution to illegally driving whilst on a mobile phone.

    Get over it, they are a convenient add to navigation and the majority of us are lazy drivers

  6. Steve Sutton
    Dead Vulture

    @jake - I used to say the same thing

    Jake, I used to say the same thing, but then I decided to take the plunge and buy one anyway. SatNavs are fantastic, and a worthwhile buy if you do a bit of travelling, to places you have never been to before, or visit infrequently.

    It takes a bit of time to properly work out a route with a map, and remebering every last turn on your route and getting it right is difficult - you can't exactly read your map/directions while you're driving, and the added advantage of satnav being able to deal with missed turns, closed roads, and the real selling point of the x40 range traffic, is sooo much more convenienet that a satnav is one of those "why oh why did i struggle to do it the hard way when I could have bought this" kind of devices.

    Agree with comments about about lack of perfection, they don't completely replace your brain, but like much modern technology, they do make things quite a lot easier.

    "Bye bye Reg", because they aren't available anywhere that I can see yet, and because this so called "launched" item is still not shown on TomTom's own website - no press release there either!

  7. Scott Mckenzie

    I love Sat Nav!

    Is far easier than planning a very lengthy trip on a map, the first comment suggest an American, where to be honest the roads are quite straight and boring and easy to drive so I'm not hugely surprised...

    However here it's a godsend!

    Personally i prefer the quality of mapping and route guidance from Garmin than TomTom and the price is impressive too.... comparable to the 940 is the Garmin 765T and that's a lot cheaper at £285! Less than the cheapest TomTom and with the features of the top one (ok less onboard memory but what's that really used for???)

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001EYTW82?ie=UTF8&tag=spoavetstu-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B001EYTW82

  8. Paul Stockwell
    Stop

    Program the Satnav Properly

    The first comment is yet another one from somebody who doesn't know how to program a satnav. If you select the shortest route option that is exactly what you will get! Being a computer the satnav will ignore a motorway for a single track road that is 3 miles shorter, or route you up a farm track to save 100 yards.

    If you select fastest route it will select motorways as highest priority, dual carriageway & A roads next down, then B roads and only go single track if that is physically the only way to cover the last 100 yards to the destination. Pretty much how many of us plan journeys I suspect. In local areas local knowledge will triumph every time, though it is amusing to use it anyway and listen to it get cross as you ignore its directions. Its also useful practice on how it will operate when the motorway is closed and you have to detour (when they can really come into their own)

    Its also worth bearing in mind that most satnav maps are based on ordnance survey maps, as the name suggests these are intended for the military. They do not discriminate between metalled and unmetalled roads (for practical purposes neither do tanks & military 4WDs) Hence if you are in a area unknown to you using an Ordnance survey map it is perfectly possible to end up on a farm track without any electronics!

    As Andy Parsons said 'Satnav is a gadget, you are supposed to use your brain'

    Reading the manual can be pretty useful as well...

  9. jake Silver badge

    @Paul Stockwell

    'The first comment is yet another one from somebody who doesn't know how to program a satnav."

    Oh, come on, give me a break. It's just a bit of electronics kit, of course I can program it. My VCR doesn't even blink 12:00 constantly!

    I've used four of these things. I've TRIED to like 'em. I just find maps easier.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cheap TomTom SAT NAV

    Ive seen the new range here http://www.mynewcheap.co.uk but with no prices does anyone know a cheap place to buy ?

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