Tomtom GO 300 GPS: A Great Idea, but Worthy of Your Money?
Written: Nov 25 '05 (Updated Nov 26 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use, portable, clear and understandable screens and voices, not too expensive
Cons: Mediocre maps, battery is ok
The Bottom Line: A good GPS receiver that could be very good if the maps were a little better.
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| hwz1's Full Review: TomTom GO 300 Car GPS Receiver |
I have turned down the GPS option on our last two cars. The reason being that I just did not think we would use it enough to make it worthwhile. I drive a lot for work, but usually to the same places. My wife has a few different routes in her daily routine, but nothing so far out that she cannot mapquest where she is going and then figure it out if she gets lost.
However, I was surprised to see a GPS option that cost significantly ($1500 or so) less than what we were offred with out cars. I thought about it and decided that it made sense. Not so much for me, but for her. More of a just in case should she end up in an area where she should not be and not around someone who she could ask for directions. There are enough crazy people in this world that you can never be too careful and that was the main reason I made the purchase.
I decided on the Tomtom GO 300 GPS Receiver because it did a decent enough job, but also because it was not overly expensive. After about six months of use I pleased with the purchase even though we rarely use it.
WHAT I LIKE:
1. The price. The GO 300 will run you a little less than $700. Expensive, but a lot less than the $2000 or so that auto manufacturers want to install a GPS in your car.
2. The simplicity. This is a big deal. My wife is not the best when it comes to technology so I had to find something that was easy to use. The GO 300 is a breeze. There is nothing to download or anything of the like. You simply plug it in and turn it on. Most of the time you are following touch screen instructions and utilizing the screen to get where you are going. There are not a hundred different buttons or controls that you need to learn before using the receiver. It really is as simple as plugging it in and GOing.
3. The portability is also a big plus. This is not a mini iPod sized receiver, but it is easily portable from car to car. This comes in handy when you are going on a trip and want to remove it from one car to another. We do it all the time and it helps us out from time to time when we need an alternate route or get lost.
4. Speaking of which, you are offered the shortest or quickest routes. You also can look to avoid toll roads. This is helpful since you may know a certain road and know that you want to avoid it all costs. However, the GPS does not know that this road is a nightmare. So, you have a second option that can get you to the same place. You have a compass that provides even more directional help. You can also check out millions of "points of interest" along the way. Yes, it is a little like the AAA trip tiks that were popular before the internet took over. A lot of the "points of interest" are not well known. Sure, it will tell you the Grand Canyon is on your right, but it will also tell you if a president was born and lived in the house to the right of the road. A neat feature.
5. Safety features. Ok, so all the GPS receivers "speak" to you, but it is nice to know that they do so. This one also has a speed controlled volume. In other words, the faster the car is going, the louder the voice will speak the directions. The voice is very clear and easy to understand. A safety feature that is quite helpful. There is also an anti-glare feature that works quite well and can be a big help in the early morning.
6. You can key in where you are going ahead of time in order to become familiar with the route. Not a huge benefit, but something that is nice to know you have the ability to do.
7. Very easy to use. I mentioned this above, but there is also a touch screen tutorial that will walk you through everything that the GO 300 has to offer. This where you really get to know the receiver. I have yet to use this function, but my wife has and she tells me it is easy to use and makes sense.
8. The ability to get traffic and weather conditions at the blink of an eye. Perfect example: We were driving down the interstate this afternoon and saw a backup in front of us. Thought about getting off and following an alternate route. Thought better of it when we checked the traffic and found that the problem in front of us was nothing too bad and that the traffic on the alternate route was horrible from people changing their route do to what was in front of us. A valuable feature that will save you a number of headaches.
WHAT I DO NOT LIKE:
1. The maps are decent, but they could be better. The maps come pre-loaded and that, to me, is a problem. For one, roads change all the time. For two, you are limited as to what you can use. In other words, you do not have enough memory to see Canada and the US. They have decent detail, but I would rather have a little more coverage. Granted, your coverage does include the continental USA, but if you live in Buffalo or somewhere near the Canadian border, this is a problem.
2. The battery is decent, at best. I would guess it works for less than four hours. Not a huge problem since you will usually use it in a car, but a problem if you want to throw it in a backpack. You do have the cigarette lighter option and that works fine in any car.
3. Mapping errors. Ok, these happen all the time with every GPS service. I have had mapquest and yahoo maps get me lost more than than I would like to recall. More than a few times I have had turns that do not exist or street names that are not the same. I did, however, find a few more errors than I expected with the GO 300. Where I notice it most frequently is when I put in a street address that suddenly does not exist. Heck, my own does not exist and we have lived in this new development for two years. It makes you wonder how new the maps are and if you live in a city where there is a lot of new construction this can be a problem.
4. The GO 300 comes with a cradle that mounts to your windshield. This makes is very easy to see and find, but also means that there is a safety problem. The cradle and contents become projectiles if you are in an accident. The cradle is also decent at best. It can rattle around a little bit.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
I like the GO 300. It is not perfect, but I doubt any GPS devices are. It has flaws, but I would rather my wife have something to rely on that does not involve looking at printed directions on mapquest that may also be wrong. At least this way she has a backup plan. I recommend it, but not as highly as I would like.
SPECIFICS:
200 Mhz ARM920T processor
32 MB RAM
SD Card for map storage
320 x 240 x 4096 colors 3.5” TFT screen
Internal Li-Ion battery
4.5" x 3.6" x 2.3", 11 oz.
12 channel ‘All-in-View’ integrated GPS receiver
Internal antenna and support for (not in package) active external antenna
COMPATIBILITY:
T Mobile: Nokia 3660, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Sony Ericsson T610
Cingular: Sony Ericsson T637, Nokia 6620, Nokia 7610, Nokia 6230, Nokia 7610, Nokia 6600, Motorola RAZR 3, Motorola V551, Motorola MPX220
AT & T: Audiovox SMT 5600, Imate SP3, Imate SP3i
Verizon: Audiovox XV6600
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hwz1
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 845
Trusted by: 923 members
About Me:
Just got a big promotion that will move my new wife and I to Atlanta.
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