Does anyone know what software version this has? What I really want to know is if it supports upgradeable voices. Who wouldn't want to drive with Han Solo?

http://www.tomtom.com/page/TomTomVoices

At the bottom it says version 5.0 is required, just wondered if it comes with that or if it can be upgraded to 5.0

Now I won't have to repair that basket case of a GPS my poor non-technical associate handed me some months ago. No more stalling either. And I think this cost less than the replacement batteries his old crap unit needed. Best of all, I will spend time watching the game instead of re-assembling a POS that should have been trashed in the first place. Woot, you serve man! And I am not referring to the cookbook!

$30 for a street nav GPS.. wow!

Warning: No window mount. You have to glue a disk to your dash.

Non-Warning... the text says you can get one free map update at purchase. Consider this thing disposable and use it for a year.

personally, no-want.. we just use our phones now, and have a Garmin w/lifetime for trips.

mbmanaus wrote:I would never buy another TomTom after mine took me down 50 miles of insanely dangerous old mining roads in northern Idaho when there were two perfectly good freeways that would have taken me to my destination two hours faster. If this had happened in the winter I likely would not have survived to tell the tale.

Sounds kind of like the (very probably apocryphal) story of someone driving into a river, instead of the ferry that was supposed to be waiting dockside. Time to use the old noggin.

The comments about buying this as a 'second' or 'back up' GPS cracked me up.

I'm a poor college student and can't justify buying anything over $40, so this will be my first GPS purchase. Nice n' cheap, yet by the sounds of it will still accomplish everything I need it to.

askefise wrote:The comments about buying this as a 'second' or 'back up' GPS cracked me up.

I'm a poor college student and can't justify buying anything over $40, so this will be my first GPS purchase. Nice n' cheap, yet by the sounds of it will still accomplish everything I need it to.

That's how I like my men too!!!

Anyone know if this comes with maps for Canada? By the video on Amazon and the page at TomTom (which sells the refurb for $90) it does, but I only see U.S. mentioned on woot!

rmeden wrote:Warning: No window mount. You have to glue a disk to your dash.

Are you sure about that? The photos seem to suggest otherwise...?

Edit: I mean, why can't I just stick that big suction cup on my windshield?

Edit 2: TomTom's manual says that you can just stick that big suction cup on the windshield...

Mikeymadness wrote:Anyone know if this comes with maps for Canada? By the video on Amazon and the page at TomTom (which sells the refurb for $90) it does, but I only see U.S. mentioned on woot!

TomTom's website indicates that there are two versions of the Ease, one with and one without our beaver-loving neighbors. I'm going to assume that this is the one without. (The references to Canada at Amazon are probably referring to the other variant of the Ease...)

kliu0x52 wrote:Are you sure about that? The photos seem to suggest otherwise...?

Edit: I mean, why can't I just stick that big suction cup on my windshield?

Edit 2: TomTom's manual says that you can just stick that big suction cup on the windshield...

That's not a suction cup in the photo, it is an adhesive disk you essentially glue to your dashboard.

From the item description:
"Includes Easyport™ mount, Adhesive Disk (for dashboard mounting) and USB Car Charger and USB cable"

What kind of car GPS doesn't come with a windshield mount?? I wa about to jump on this one, but that's a deal killer for me.

ireyes21 wrote:Does the device give you live traffic reports? Does it give estimated travel times on different routes?

Has anyone answered this question yet. It comes with IQ. Does it come with LIVE TRAFFIC?

stanlam wrote:Wow, the price is cheaper then my first Thomas Guide map. DOES ANYBODY EVEN KNOW WHAT A THOMAS GUIDE MAP IS ANYMORE?

Sure, I have one for the area I used to live at in Orange County.

It's from 1970 though, and I can't find any of the orange groves that it shows...

TomTom site shows this model and it does have the suction cup mount. It is called the EasyPort mount, and it includes an adhesive disc to use this same mount on a dashboard if you like.

bradleync wrote:TomTom site shows this model and it does have the suction cup mount. It is called the EasyPort mount, and it includes an adhesive disc to use this same mount on a dashboard if you like.

Here is the description right from the specs-

"The semi-fixed EasyPort™ lets you attach your device to your windscreen or your dashboard and folds neatly onto the back of your device, making the whole navigation package fit into your pocket, bag or glove compartment."

rustybender wrote:That's not a suction cup in the photo, it is an adhesive disk you essentially glue to your dashboard.

I was referring to a photo on Amazon.com. Anyway, the dash adhesive appears to be in addition to the windshield mount. If you do an image search for the "easyport mount", it looks like that is the windshield mount...

is this good to buy or not finally.......

This is about a million times better than the GPS unit I bought for almost 800 dollars ten or so years ago.

kliu0x52 wrote:TomTom's website indicates that there are two versions of the Ease, one with and one without our beaver-loving neighbors. I'm going to assume that this is the one without. (The references to Canada at Amazon are probably referring to the other variant of the Ease...)

A Ding Dang Do.

Thanks for that.

It's very basic but still a tom tom, screen smallish and best used with a navigator and MUST be plugged in battery is pathetic and refurbs have a rep for slow or poor signal aquisition. That said it's $35 and beats the hell outta options like iPhones so why the hell not!

dougtaylor1 wrote:Has anyone answered this question yet. It comes with IQ. Does it come with LIVE TRAFFIC?

It does NOT have Live Traffic.

Quote - IQ Routes is a smart system for calculating the duration of your trip, taking into account the actual drive times of other TomTom users. Both the time of day and day of the week factor into the trip duration, so even though the Ease doesn't have live traffic information, you'll get an idea of how long it takes.

anyone ever get a confirmation order number and e-mail and it doesn't show up on "My account" page? My order isn't showing up and it's been 9 days.??? Labor day have anything to do with it? Stupid luck.

dmand wrote:Does anyone know what software version this has? What I really want to know is if it supports upgradeable voices. Who wouldn't want to drive with Han Solo?

http://www.tomtom.com/page/TomTomVoices

At the bottom it says version 5.0 is required, just wondered if it comes with that or if it can be upgraded to 5.0

You can use the add on voices, but most won't give you street name text-to-speech capability. So for full functionality you have only 3 or 4 voice choices

dougtaylor1 wrote:Has anyone answered this question yet. It comes with IQ. Does it come with LIVE TRAFFIC?

Folks are so demanding these days. But does it have live traffic!? But does it have bluetooth!? Gosh the screen isn't big enough!!

It's a $30.00 GPS that will help you find your way to your destination and your way back home. For a practically functional device, the cost is less than you may spend on a single dinner for two. Set your expectations accordingly.

In for three at this price. For the parents and my younger sibling.

Nyehh...I'm of a mixed mind over GPS units now I've owned a few.

Not that anyone is interested :D But here I go anyway...

Gone are the days where they seemed almost magical in their ability to not only find you to your destination, but do it for free after you bought them...

Then they seemed to remain unaltered for the best part of 10 years. They all seemed to stay almost the same. I checked out a newer version of a nuvi (one of the ones I owned) and the software and layout was identical to my 6 year old version only with a slightly larger screen.
They charge less and less and offer more and more free things when before a map update could cost as much as 100 dollars and traffic updates were paid monthly (Surely a sign that they're struggling).

The last I tried was the GPS on my droid X. it's been better in every respect and it was absolutely free.
I certainly didn't buy it for it's GPS functionality or lack thereof but it was just so much better that instead of getting an update for my last GPS unit, I bought a car dock for the droid and took down the GPS unit.

I would look back at the GPS units again if they offered more varied programming and a better user interface. All of the ones I tried were horribly flawed and didn't allow for very much customization or veering from a set path.

Thanks all for the clarification on the suction cup mount. Now that I know it has one, I'm in for one.

This is perfect timing. I've already got a Garmin with lifetime maps in my wifes car, but have been wanting a basic GPS for my car.
I actually just spent $100 on another Garmin Nuvi two days ago. Thankfully it is still in the package and will be going back to the store tomorrow.

DaoudaW wrote:Can I use this for geo-caching? It's small enough and a two hour battery could allow me to walk/search for awhile. My question is does it have an appropriate display for use while walking/mapping in unknown terrain.

I can't comment on this particular model, but in general geocaching with a car GPS is not ideal. They'll get you parked close enough but usually fail at getting you where you need to go because of lack of features.

Personally, we'll use our car GPS to get us as close as we can then use my husband's Droid running C:geo. With smart phones these days, who has time to muck about trying to make car GPS work?

stanlam wrote:Wow, the price is cheaper then my first Thomas Guide map. DOES ANYBODY EVEN KNOW WHAT A THOMAS GUIDE MAP IS ANYMORE?

Not living on the west coast, I'd never heard of them until now. I had heard of Rand McNally though.

Large assortment of mounts, skins, and chargers available on ebay.

The way the update policy reads, you get ONE free update within 30days of the first _USE_ of the GPS unit.

So, buy three. Activate one now get a free map update. A year later, use #2 for the first time, get a free map update for that one. Another year goes by, use #3 for the first time, get another free map update.

So, that's three free map updates for less than TomTom is trying to extort from me for the "one-time upgrade + mandatory subscription for a year of more updates" on my current One. No wonder they're going out of business.

Oh, that reminds me... who here thinks TomTom will be in business in 3 years to get those map updates?

There's an after-market mount for motorcycles at RAM, which will make this a good gift for the boyfriend. He likes his tech items very uncomplicated, which this seems to fit the bill (he only got his first cell phone a couple of years ago, and is still very happy with his hand-me-down Motorola V360). If he figures out he's not into GPS units I'm not out a chunk of change.

rustybender wrote:Thanks all for the clarification on the suction cup mount. Now that I know it has one, I'm in for one.

This is perfect timing. I've already got a Garmin with lifetime maps in my wifes car, but have been wanting a basic GPS for my car.
I actually just spent $100 on another Garmin Nuvi two days ago. Thankfully it is still in the package and will be going back to the store tomorrow.

Just to further confirm re: the suction cup does come with it....
Check the photos on wOOt, there are 3. The first one called "usb port" shows the curling up edges of the suction cup. The hinge is also shown.
The suction cup sticks to the windshield then you turn the knurled ring to tighten it.
This "easyport mount" that TomTom claims is award winning works pretty well. I have it on a TomTom 130S and I'm in for this model for my brother, and one for me because their map update is $49.95 for one update. My 130S has saved me time and $$ and if I miss an exit it recalcs automatically.

How can you kvetch at $35 to the door?

This one I'm sure can live a quiet life of dedicated competency in the '96 Cherokee.

Looks like a cute, little unit, but for $30, I'd only get one if you can't afford a $150 unit.

Newer TomTom units have the following in the $150 price:

1. Lifetime map updates at no cost
2. Traffic
3. Hands free mobile

The cost of updating maps negates any savings.

A GPS is one of those "I want one - do I need one" head discussions I've had for years. At 29.99 I'm getting THREE and giving 2 to the kids. At the least, we'll all know if some fancy-smancy one is wanted/needed in the future and we can recycle these to other neo-phytes. 29.99!!! Yes - I have been researching GPS units online, at Sam's, Cosco's, Best Buy... 3.5" or whatever other considerations have been mentioned can't get me past I can buy THREE GPS units for less than cost of one more modern one. Also - no one has really said anything bad about this Tom-Tom yet.

How well does the TomTom software work with Mac tech?

I'm a fisherwoman sometimes in the dark in strange waters. So this dealio isn't going to help me? Or is it? Maybe?

I'll check back after my strawberry pop tart and caffeine infusion.

rustybender wrote:That's not a suction cup in the photo, it is an adhesive disk you essentially glue to your dashboard.

From the item description:
"Includes Easyport™ mount, Adhesive Disk (for dashboard mounting) and USB Car Charger and USB cable"

What kind of car GPS doesn't come with a windshield mount?? I wa about to jump on this one, but that's a deal killer for me.

I'm sorry, but yes, you can attach it temporarily, you don't have to glue it to anything. That's what the Easyport mount is. It's a different thing than the adhesive disk.

stanlam wrote:Wow, the price is cheaper then my first Thomas Guide map. DOES ANYBODY EVEN KNOW WHAT A THOMAS GUIDE MAP IS ANYMORE?

The Gideons put those in rental cars, right?

toddinfl wrote:Will this help me finally find Waldo?

I'm still lookin' for Carmen San Diego.

dougtaylor1 wrote:So you have to update your maps for the freeways that have been there all along. That makes absolutely no sense.

You would be surprised how old "new" maps actually are. They usually lag behind a couple of years. For example, your GPS maps are 2 years old; if you're going to someone's house that is in a development which is only 4 years old, there is a good chance it's not even in there. You would also be surprised the little changes in highways will mess these things up too. Sometimes they change on-ramps and exits a little on highways (which can be very crucial if you're not familiar with the area and the roads split a bunch of times). My tom-tom is about 3 years old and it gets messed up quite a bit around NYC. Not to mention they often fix errors with newer map updates. There's a good reason why everyone wants the latest maps.