.
Does this mean you're gonna drive straight through your garden-shed when you start the bike up next ? :dance:

 

Does this mean you're gonna drive straight through your garden-shed when you start the bike up next ?

It was on demo :-D

 

Speaking of which...Anyone know what's happening to the TomTom Rider? Seems as if the release date keeps moving. Perhaps one of these marketing ploys to see how much interest can be generated before they'll comit to it's production...(?)

 

Anyone know what's happening to the TomTom Rider?

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/7493.htm

 

How much! :think: what a complete rip off! I have the tomtom on my Ipaq and good as it is I dont think it warrants ?579! ......

 

The rumour that's doing the rounds at the moment is that Tom Tom are short of chips and that as the market for standard units is far greater than that for bikes, they've directed the stock to standard units.

Don't know if this is true or not.

I also heard ages ago that supplies of the Rider weren't expected until late September?

 

Ive done the same thing using an SPV E200 smartphone I got from Ebay and a fusion bluetooth sat nav unit, works great.

tomtom is just a software package so will run on any compatable windows embeded system IE Orange SPV range and the Nokia 6600, if you look on the tomtom web site it gives a list of compatable PDA's and phones

 

I'm meeting the designer of the TomTom kit next weekend and should get an update on when the Rider is likely to hit the shops.
PB

 

call me old fashioned but i think this technology thing is getting a bit out of hand. What next, a unit that lets you send your bike on its own via remote control to do a few laps round europe while you log on the net at home to view its progress via webcam? I enjoy the fun of leafing through maps on windy days by the side of the road, and dare i say it, occasionally getting lost and discovering new roads just makes the biking adventures even more enjoyable. each to there own though.

 

yeh i know what you mean...
i have missed the turning for Clapham on the A3 twice now!
problem is i go towards vauxhall and found a new road that goes straight to a bmw show room and parts shop.
v.

 

TomTom Riders released now ...

http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~105155~WW~/index.htm

 

I'd go for a Garmin Quest. ?200 or more cheaper and capeable enough. Remember that these GPS's use the American system which will be out of date in Europe in a few years when the Galileo system is introduced. The U.S. system will still work but I'd rather save my money now. You still can't beat paper navigating though. :dance:

 

Any news yet? Pondboy, what happened with your meet with the designers? Any news on how they intend to justify the price tag? Or for that matter, any news on alternative products that are worth a look.

 

What GPS Bluetooth do you buy to work with the TomTom please?...Ive been offered a Nokia 6630 for ?60 so thinking about getting the tomtom running on it..Just need a compatible GPS bluetooth

 

Had a TomTom Rider for a weekend

Sean et al,

Here are my first impressions

Disclaimer: All of the following information is my subjective opinion and I have only had a very short time to play with the unit. I have had no contact with TomTom and am not aware of any of their plans. The following could therefore be no better than Elephant wind.

Well after all the wait it was worth it. Just picked up one of the beta units from the London based designers.

It has a great screen and very fast processor. Screen redrawns are very smooth. The colours are bright and the has a good number of pixels, giving a smooth image with no jaggies.

It is designed for idiot usage. Very good menus, and simple layout.

The GPS unit seems pretty powerful as it is doing a good job of finding satallites even when I am at the computer.

I haven't had a chance to test the mapping, but the map of our area is exeptionally good. Much better than the Garmin v6 map. I have seen later Garmin versions so cannot compare with them.

The 3D view is cute and works well with the fast screen redraws.

Whats in the box.

The TTR unit
A clip on/off clamp with a swivel ball joint and two sizes of bar clamps.
A bluetooth receiver
A single earpiece and microphone with a wire that plugs into the bluetooth receiver. The plug is 2.5mm with 4 connectors. (presumably for the earpice and mike)
A charger which charges the TTR and the bluetooth receiver.

If there was anything else, it fell off the bike on the way home

All the routing is done on the unit. You do not get any PC based mapping software, although the SD memory card is removable and there is a mini USB connector on the TTR, so you can get updates and stuff of the TomTom site. Whether they will do online route creation for downloading, I do not know. Lets hope so.


More impressions.

As far as I can find out all the mapping routing is meant to be done on the unit. TomTom may provide an online mapping/routing service, but that is only a guess (my wish). As far as I know, the software/map release is stable and the only issues are with the physical units shock protection and waterproofness.

The unit is very easy to use, and will allow multiple waypoints in the route, but you cannot drag your route from one road onto your preferred road like you can in Mapsource on the PC. It is easy to find adresses using postcodes although I think it is only looking at the first 4 digits of the postcode. Once they are in it starts asking you for more address info using a variety of criteria.

The most impressive features are the quality of the screen and the processor speed. The mapping information does seem very good as well.

Images of the TTR I borrowed are here. http://www.thewatermargin.com/html/F650GS/TomTomRider.htm

Is it worth the money? Hmmm If you are a power user, I think you will want the PC mapping facilities available in Mapsource. If you are a basic user, maybe, but there are other much cheaper options.

Any questions?
:howdy: PB