|
23 August 2009
Posted in
News -
Other
The kind folk at TomTom provided me with a review copy of TomTom New Zealand (am I allowed to admit I was kinda of excited?!!) and it was a perfect opportunity for a non GPS-using geek like me to finally have a back-seat driver I'd listen to in the front seat. As mentioned in NZMac.com's Podcast 29, GPS systems have never really appealed to me (despite my uncanny ability to get lost) until I heard that TomTom was bringing something out for my iPhone (for my phone...amazing), so I consider myself a target market for this application. So from start to finish (well, Russell Street to Chilton Grove), here's my TomTom New Zealand experience from a GPS newbie, with a video included.
Dim lights Embed Embed this video on your site
The first thing to appreciate with this application is that it really is designed for the outdoors. Installing it and trying to use it inside at first will mean that the phone is unlikely to get a good GPS signal, so go outside or out to your car. Once you start up, you'll be prompted the first time to accept some legal notices and to allow the phone to use your location (unlike other apps this appears to only happen once and not every time you launch it). You may even find (as I did) that holding it near the window produced a better result, and it's interesting that the car kit (discussed later) will include enhanced GPS integration.
You see this message when the unit is having trouble picking up a signal from a GPS satellite
Once into the app, you're met with around 11 major menu options. It might seem daunting (ands was at first for me) but have a play ...they're all very easy to understand and the app is very iPhone like (and an impressive 86Mb for a tiny country like ours). I decided with my first test, to set my car park spot at Massey University as a favourite (heck, I drive there 4 days a week so it needs to be in there) and went to enter it in. Prompted that it wasn't in favourites (Yay, New Zealand spelling of favourites too!) it was easy to navigate onto the map, zoom in, add that point and name it. It was also very easy to set my home location. From there I decided to set the voice to use. New Zealand Paul sounded too much like a Kiwi, so I went for New Zealand Katrina, who sounds quite British ...although I'm liking Irish Kathy quite a bit...but wonder what will happen if I pick her given that she's meant for another country? Playing all the voices to colleagues at work, we agreed that not all of them sounded like the country they were representing when they talked.
Just some of the settings you get access to, including which voice talks to you
An alternative for me would be (if and when it becomes available) to buy the John Cleese voice. Cleese once described our city as the only place he'd like to kill himself in. I described Cleese a few days before he said this as the most disappointing and slightly expensive performance I'd seen in quite some time.....so at least I could yell at him a bit and say things "you promised new material and all you delivered were your old skits...I'll tell you where to go!!"...but venting and road rage isn't a good thing.
There are then various settings related to how the TomTom app will work, such as whether you want it to use "IQ Routes" that uses historical data to improve the directions given to you and the path taken. I would say leave this switched on as it makes an improvement in the directions to a destination that TomTom recommends. It also seems that you are able to exert more control over the route planned by making alterations to the trip and setting numerous preferences, but how to do this is lacking and why I feel the TomTom site needs to include some iPhone-related support material or possibly a PDF manual. As it is, the site appears to have iPhone related material, but it appears to be copied from advice for other systems and is hidden amongst other PDA information. Not to sound too pretentious, but the iPhone is not just another mobile or PDA! OK, that was pretentious ;-)
The interface isn't complex. These images just show you some of the menu options available to you
Before hitting the road though, here's a question I wanted to know the answer to...how much do you need to know about where it is that you are going to? In other words, it was easy to put the car park at Massey into my favourites, because I know where that is on a map of Palmerston North. But when it's a location perhaps in a city or town you don't know, is it easy to enter that location into the GPS? Really the answer is Yes to that, but you also have to keep in mind that TomTom wants you to be accurate. So, it's easy to work through the menus to search a given town or city and find the street you are after...but TomTom is going to want to ask for a street number also. Otherwise, how will it really know that you've got to where you want to go?
The other nice feature for those feeling a bit unsure about their trip is the ability to see the trip that you are going to take, by using the "Route Demo" button. This then simulates the trip that you will go on...very handy for those wanting to understand more about what TomTom is going to suggest....although I couldn't seem to get that demo to play in anything but real time for city cruising. I hope somewhere there is an option to play the demo at high speed, but I couldn't see it.
Finally, it's time to report on the field (or road) test. Obviously, the iPhone was going to need to sit in the car as I was driving, and the TomTom car kit is not yet available. Therefore the NZiPhone.com R&D team (me with some sellotape and a cardboard box) used its extensive expertise to create the (patent pending) "In-Car-dboard Box" navigation holder, that took and extensive 5 minutes to make. There are rumours that TomTom are considering buying the rights to this eco-friendly design...but well, that's just rumours that I'm spreading.
The eco-friendly, patent pending NZiPhone.com In-Car-dboard Car Kit...be afraid...be very afraid! What you can't see is the back of the unit has some cardboard prongs to hold it in the air vent of the car and double-sided sellotape to hold the iPhone horizontal!
Once you've selected your destination, you can then start driving and the GPS will pick up the direction you are heading. This was interesting to see it reorganise itself, because I pulled out of my drive and immediately turned in the opposite direction that it was suggesting. It then reorganised itself and started suggesting an approach based on the direction I was travelling. I liked the fact that the software gives you an advanced warning of what you'll need to do (for example, "In 200 metres go straight ahead through the roundabout, taking the second exit") and then as you get to that point, it instructs you, "go straight ahead through the roundabout, taking the second exit".
Learning how to drive - Perfect and imperfect
One of the harder things to do with TomTom is trust it. Strangely I found myself reacting to it at first in the same way that friends react to me giving driving instructions...I say nothing when all you have to do is keep heading stright....only saying when a turn is coming up. TomTom and I had to go down a straight road that featured 2 sets of traffic lights and 2 sets of roundabouts within a short distance of each other. It ignore the traffic lights (which I knew I had to go straight through) but always commented on the roundabouts, even though I was travelling straight through. It takes a few minutes to get used to, but you just need to understand that when it says little, you're doing well because it doesn't have anything to say.
Driving out on the main road to Massey (Fitzherbet Avenue) I was also pleased to hear warning beeps sound for a well-known and permanent speed camera system, although TomTom can't of course tell me if it is operational at the moment, which it wasn't. I didn't get a beep when coming back into town later, which surprised me a little as I'm fairly sure the camera picks up cars travelling in the opposite direction?
Continuing on to work, I was very impressed at a tricky point going up the hill to the University, where there is a turn-off into the University and then moments later, the correct entrance (near Maori Studies for those that know Palmerston North's campus). This entrance is actually a road, but few would realise it as it looks like a driveway or emergency entrance...but TomTom had it listed and correctly told me to turn into it. But interestingly, on the way home later that day, it tried to send me back out that road, which is in fact one way at that end (it's a bit hard to describe, but it is a one-way exit more than a road) so I guess there is potential there for a disaster?
Driving home I was amazed that it indicated to me to stay in the left lane of a two-lane part of the road (which runs past the main entrance of the University) and then change into the right-hand lane for a right-hand turn about 1 Km up the road. This was not only spot on, but very good advice for driving in that area.
An explanation of what you see on the display as you drive
I have to say that there are still some glitches in the software. I found notably that it appeared to have difficulty at times as you got close to your location. You would find it say (as you were turning on to the final street) "Turn right, then...", with nothing said after that. Other examples were "Proceed 200 metres and....", making it a little confusing. In one instance, I went through a roundabout after being told to go through the roundabout and that there was a "Left turn ahead". In fact, about 50 metres after that roundabout is a set of traffic lights that I knew I had to go straight ahead at, and I could have easily thought to turn there....so you have to appreciate to not turn until reminded to, and (of course) looking at the display of your phone if you're really unsure. Another example was when I tuned onto a busy road with the instructions "Left turn and then right turn ahead"...when it fact it was two sets of traffic lights and about 1Km before that right turn was to happen....so again (and not a criticism), don't take instructions as warnings and vice versa...travel straight until the unit really starts to explain that you need to turn.
One thing that did surprise me was how it deals with abject failure. I'm very impressed with how it recalibrated your trip if you went the wrong direction, but when things go very bad, it's not so sure at times and struggles to give up or warn you. I decided to tell the software I was driving out to work again, but in fact (once I got near the turn-off to Aokautere) travelled in the opposite direction, with no hope of getting to work that way. On two occasions on that journey in the complete opposite direction, I was told to "Turn back"....but at other times it tried to do very strange things like get me to turn onto the Pahiatua Track Road. Where it was going to lead me I don't know, but I don't think it would have managed to get me to the programmed destination.
Is that a criticism of the unit...well, probably no...because if I had of spent time reviewing the screen input (which will be much easier to see with a proper car unit) then I would never have ended up where I did. I was playing with it, and it was just trying to be helpful...but perhaps the warnings sometimes need to be a bit stronger?
Settings to determine how TomTom evaluates the best route, including whether to exclude unpaved roads and more
Interacting with the phone
The software also features something called POI (Points of Interest) that you can decide you do or don't want to be told about on the screen. I was staggered by the amount of POI's available to me, but I'm unsure as to where this data comes from, how up to date it is and how flexible it is. I'm not going to know the answer to that until I use POI's in an unknown environment, but I can see it as being very handy. There are a huge range of settings that you can change, including changing between a 2D and 3D (my favourite) map display, as well as day time and night time colours on the map. At the same time, there are a variety of night-time colours. For someone with colour blindness (in that I have difficulties with some shades of colours, mostly red/green) it was brilliant, as I had difficulty viewing some maps at night.
Points of Interest (and there's a lot of them to choose from) and how they are displayed on a map whilst driving
Night colours when driving and the the same location shown as 2D and 3D (the two red map, top left and bottom left)
Of course the thing I couldn't test is something that I want as much as the software...the TomTom Car Kit for the iPhone. There's no denying that this additional piece of equipment is needed with this phone (or some sort of proper car holder), so that the phone can sit comfortably in your car. Given that the use of the app and GPS is likely to drain some of the charge of your phone, and that you also have an iPod and phone in this unit, such an accessory needs to cater for all uses....and it's great to see that TomTom have done exactly that. The car kit not only charges the phone, but allows for hands-free calling, playing music to your car stereo system and more...most impressive. Unfortunately, we have to wait at this stage to find out how much it will cost, but I am hopeful it won't be too much.
Dim lights Embed Embed this video on your site
Summing up
This article is a look at some of my first experiences with the TomTom and the way in which I tested it. You can also read a brief review here on the NZiPhone.com website.
Overall, I'm amazed at the TomTom software. Just when I had calmed down about the iPhone being a revolutionary device, TomTom cranked up the amazement another notch. Given that non-iPhone owning friends have seen the software in the past few days and realised they can get all these things together in a Phone, shows just what a perfect fit the iPhone, TomTom New Zealand and the Car Kit are.
Thanks to...
- Cameraman Will - superb job again!
- TomTom - for the review copy of the application, received via JML Communications
- iTomTom.info - A superb website specifically about the iPhone and TomTom that I will keep looking at in the future
EDIT: There's been another article on this article written, click here to have a read through.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Cuby
said:
 |
Great review! Really interesting and informative review! Thanks Phil. Was great to read, and I love your In Car-dboard Car Kit! Very inovative.  Cheers Cuby |
yoongfook
said:
|
Error in the tomtom maps from massey to town Have you try routing from massey (university ave) to town(the square). I think the tomtom maps are the old ones.. it failed to recognize that you can actually take a right turn on main drive into tennant drive. It gives me the instruction to turn left into tennant drive and drive all the way up and make a u turn somewhere. Also if i start routing from the halls of residence (matai halls) it routes the way from behind massey (summerhill ave) to town, which is the longer way instead of taking the route of unniversity ave > main drive > tennant drive. Please try to chk this and confirm that i am not the only one having this problem ! thanks !! |
Philip Roy
said:
|
Boy you really needed to know the answer to this, huh? You sent me 3 different emails! I'm probably not going to have time to test for a couple of weeks sorry as I'm off overseas....I also don't take that turn off at all, but go straight past the main entrance. Don't forget, if you don't like what TomTom is telling you, you can always edit it to the way you like...and have you got it set to "fastest" route or shortest? During some times of the day, being sent out the back and then into town could possibly be faster?? That said, you'll see in the review it's not pefect...it tried to send me out an entrance that is one way. Phil |
Philip Roy
said:
|
Just a note, TomTom have put some additional work into their site and now have some quite iPhone-specific content on their at iphone.tomtom.com |
Philip Roy
said:
|
This worries me.... http://iphone.tomtom.com/en-us/faq.html 12. Will the map updates be free or do I need to pay for them? See that part.... It’s TomTom’s policy to always make the latest maps available to its users, in both an easy and affordable way. I hope that doesn't mean that updates of the map contained in the app will require a fee??!! Phil |
Philip Roy
said:
|
TomTom have released a free app that is specifically for their car kit.... http://itunes.apple.com/WebObj...22860&mt=8 |
Philip Roy
said:
|
yoongfook, sorry I know this post is very very late. I was out at Massey today studying in my office and for the first time in ages, I fired up TomTom to have a play and drive home. You're right. As I got up to turn out of Massey, it did indeed tell me that that I needed to turn left and then do a 'U' turn. It looks like the map hasn't got the quite complicated details that make up the entrance to Massey University. Cheers, Phil |
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|