TomTom's hidden all-terrain mode
Sometimes, I feel like a human GPS navigator. And there are probably many more of us out there. Ever get a call from your wife, asking you to direct her to some remote place she is trying to drive to? My solution was to get a TomTom 500 navigator for her birthday. It comes with the maps for Spain in full detail, and a basic map of Europe, with main roads and cities. It can also be used as a Bluetooth handsfree for your mobile phone, so it’s quite a convenient device.
We set about trying it during a trip to visit my mother – since I knew the way, it would be a good sanity check on the navigator’s ability to lower our phone bills. When I told it where we wanted to go, and it told us to turn west instead of east, I started imagining what would happen. After a few minutes of following the navigator’s instructions without even looking out the window, this is where we ended up:
Yes. It wanted us to go up a dirt path that only horses (and fit ones at that) can manage. Take a close look at the full-resolution picture, and judge by yourself.
After turning around, and following the route we always take, we had to turn off the sound for almost half the trip, as it kept insisting that we should “turn around as soon as possible” so we could take the easy-going dirt track.
GPS navigator manufacturers only make the devices, but not the data that’s in them. There are a few companies, such as Navtech and TeleAltlas, who take care of that, and license the use of the data. In this case, it seems that overzealous cartographers had simply taken anything that looked like a road in survey maps, and turned them into navigable paths. The result is my unfortunate experience. The collateral is that my wife doesn’t trust the device, unless it’s for navigating within city limits – thus limiting it’s usefulness, and not limiting my phone bill so much.
The map data in TomTom’s devices is provided by TeleAtlas.
Please go to their website at http://www.teleatlas.com | Support | PDA Navigation | Feedback Form and tell them about that unsuccessful routing!
Christian, thanks for your advice and the URL – I will tell them what I think, whether they like it is another matter!
Some help for your readers…….
Tom Tom 910 and 700 with Treo 650
How to do it
“First, I have upgraded the TomTom to the latest update, 5.42. This may work with earlier versions I just haven’t tried it. I have tried and successfully paired the treo with both the 1.15 and the new 1.17 firmware for the treo. I had to do it the same way both times so this ridiculously simply method method may work for other phone carriers as well. I just don’t have another phone to try it with.
First the logic behind my madness. Both of these gadgets want to initiate the pairing. The Treo wants to pair with a hands free device using its own routine. The TomTom wants to initiate the pairing but it can’t see the features of the Treo phone. UNLESS, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU GOT THEM BOTH TO LOOK FOR THE OTHER AT THE SAME TIME!!!!! It worked beautifully and now I have actually done this successfully three times. The only glitches I have had is where for some unknown reason the TomTom could not find the phone twice. Both times the issue was solved by powering the TomTom off and back on. Otherwise this works flawlessly and while I haven’t found a way to transfer the entire address book, any numbers you have stored in the 5 pages of quick call buttons will move to the phone and for myself that’s plenty. Any calls you initiate or answer from the phone itself automatically will be moved to the TomTom unless you use the cancel headset button on the display. One neat thing I have found is if you have the treo included wired earphone/mic plugged in, when hit answer on the TomTom, the call is still handled through the wired earphone/mic. So I am using that in the car when I have others with me I don’t want to potentially hear any conversations.
Now How to do it!!!!
1) First do a “soft” reset of the treo. May not be necessary but doesn’t hurt. Then soft reset the TomTom.
2) Open the Bluetooth display on the treo. Make sure dial up networking is OFF. Make sure discoverable is on. Then turn Bluetooth off, wait a few seconds and turn it back on.
3) Go to “Setup Devices”, then “Trusted Devices”. If your TomTom is already listed, go to Details and delete it.
4) Then work your way back using the “Done” button to the Setup Devices page. Choose “Hands-free Setup”. The next page tells us to get the hands free device ready to pair so get the TomTom ready.
5) On the TomTom, go to the “connect to phone” button and let it find the treo. DO NOT hit “Continue” when it says it is ready to start the pairing process!!!!
6) Back on the treo you may have had the phone turn off, if so work your way quickly back to the screen where it tells you to set up the handfree device to pair. The Button you want to hit here is “Next”. The treo will search and should find the TomTom. Highlight the TomTom on the list.
7) And this part is critical. Hit “Continue” on the TomTom and “OK” on the Treo at approximately the same time. You will get the enter the passcode for the TomTom on the Treo pretty quickly, enter 0000 (zeroes) and hit “OK” quickly.
During the first attempt at pairing the two the treo gives you the option setup as a headset or carkit. Choose CarKit. The TomTom will likely at this point refuse the connection and tell you no features are available. DON’T panic. Finish the Treo setup and then try the TomTom again. Now that the Treo is open to the TomTom, the Nav unit “sees” the treo and finishes the connection on its end.
Amazingly it works and you will see the TomTom will ask about internal and external microphones and transferring the phone book.”