I am looking at getting a gps with free lifetime traffic and map updates. From what I've gathered tomtom has the best traffic based routing. I narrowed the list down to two models the tomtom xl340tm and xl350tm. I am trying to figure out the difference between the two.. anybody over here used any one of these?

1/2/2011 10:27:41 AM

Just buy an iPod and buy the Tom Tom app

1/2/2011 3:01:30 PM

Just buy an Android device and use Google Maps.

1/2/2011 3:19:02 PM

^^You should really stick to recommending Microsoft products. At least then you probably wouldn't be recommending a device without GPS capabilities to a guy who is looking for a GPS.

1/2/2011 3:19:35 PM

I got the wife and father a TomTom XL340TM for Christmas. They really enjoy them, and after a jaunt from eastern NC to Raleigh, Creedmoor, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough yesterday, I can say it did really well.

The only complaint I had was at one point it tried to direct us on 440 saying there was a delay of one minute. When I hit the on-ramp it was stopped completely, and everybody that was getting on crossed to the exit ramp and got out of there. I had to manually tell it to re-direct us, but it was under the impression that the stop would take us a minute, which seemed to be a very optimistic guess.

1/2/2011 4:15:14 PM

It was my understanding that the actual GPS unit had little to do with traffic information. It just received estimated travel times and then updated the route times and chose the shortest route. Thus, between the different units, there isn't much of a difference in terms of traffic rerouting. The units get the travel times from local/state reports. So if your TomTom said 1 minute, I'm certain other models/brands would say the same - unless there are some data checking interval differences/issues.

1/2/2011 4:35:29 PM

^I realize that ClearChannel broadcasts the traffic updates. What gets me is that the GPS didn't reroute to avoid the problem altogether. That was my only minor "issue" if you want to call it that.

1/2/2011 5:13:21 PM

Nothing is going to re-route you for a 1-minute delay. Further, it's only going to re-route you if the delay is longer than the new route. If going down 440 is 20 minutes faster than going through town then it's going to send you down 440 unless the delay is greater than 20 minutes.

1/2/2011 6:27:44 PM

^yeh, that's what I was getting at, but didn't state. the gps still routes by shortest time. travel delays are a function of the reporting service, not the gps unit. so in the end, this is not a tomtom issue at all.

1/2/2011 6:42:10 PM

^I realize that. If Clear Channel had more accurately reported the delay as 10-15 minutes, then the TomTom would have probably re-routed me. As it was, it was working on incorrect information.

I still recommend the unit. I was just stating my usage with them to date.

1/2/2011 7:00:08 PM

i picked up the XL 340TM before christmas for $80 during one of amazon's lightning deals and sold my XL 325SE on CL for $90 the next day

i much prefer the 340 if for no other reason than it has 2gb instead of 1gb, but since they're both hackable, the lifetime maps isn't as big a deal for me (i downloaded maps for switzerland and italy for my honeymoon back in september, since i was driving)...the 340 seems a bit more sluggish than the 325, but i don't know why

i've also put tttracklog on them so that i could log my trips and match them up with photos i take on the way...i've yet to use the traffic feature

what does this have to do with the OP's question? not much

the only difference between the 350 and the 340 (from what i understand) is that the 350 has the "dumb" menu (which looks a lot like garmin units)...it's supposed to be a bonus, but from what i gather from the forums, most users don't like it (then again, the people posting in the forums are more advanced users and they find the "easymenu" to be a reduction in features)...both should come with the canada/usa/mexico maps

i'd go for the 340

1/2/2011 7:03:39 PM

Quote :

"^^You should really stick to recommending Microsoft products. At least then you probably wouldn't be recommending a device without GPS capabilities to a guy who is looking for a GPS."

My bad, I thought it did

Replace my recommendation with an iPhone 3GS. Or what wdprice said (Android device). Just dont see how anyone is still buying standalone GPS units with all of the other options out there now for a small price premium.

1/2/2011 7:10:30 PM

Quote :

"Replace my recommendation with an iPhone 3GS. Or what wdprice said (Android device). Just dont see how anyone is still buying standalone GPS units with all of the other options out there now for a small price premium."

assuming a person is even eligible for an upgrade or new account on a GSM network, what's the out-of-pocket expense for an iphone 3GS? i would assume it's more than $80 and it comes tied to an account and monthly expense...additionally, the screen on the iphone is smaller

i, for one, prefer the hackability and customization options of a standalone, not to mention the fact that it's easier to use...oh, and it costs less

[Edited on January 2, 2011 at 7:16 PM. Reason : also, the shitastic GSM network leaves something to be desired if you're looking at an iphone]

1/2/2011 7:15:47 PM

Quote :

"Just dont see how anyone is still buying standalone GPS units with all of the other options out there now for a small price premium."

The iphone fucking blows as a GPS navigation device, even with the tomtom app. Dedicated nav units are more accurate, lock on faster, etc etc.

1/2/2011 8:02:03 PM

I have an HTC Evo with google maps.. the problem is that sometimes when I'm driving long distance I lose network, and I'm pretty much screwed.. I know I could probably install tomtom or garmin on my smartphone but its always nice to have a dedicated gps..

1/2/2011 8:21:45 PM

I have used iPhone as gps for 2.6 years, got a Tom Tom for Christmas and am convinced that standalone is 100x better. Faster, more accurate, no reliance on data connection, eta calculation, etc. Some of these features are probably available on phone nav systems but I haven't found any as clean as the Tom Tom I have now.

1/2/2011 8:31:20 PM

The 350tm is cheaper than the 340tm

1/2/2011 10:56:37 PM

according to amazon user reviews it looks like the 350TM sports the new TomTom interface which is much more "streamlined" (ie. less features to tweak). the 340TM has the older interface which has lots of little tweaks.

note: I don't own either device so I can't say which is better/easier to use. that looks like the only difference though.

info from: http://www.amazon.com/review/RR8P1EZXFDB22/ref=cm_cr_dp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B003FSTAGO&nodeID=172282&tag=&linkCode=

1/2/2011 10:59:17 PM

I stand corrected

1/3/2011 2:21:33 AM

IIRC, the 9.150 navcore ditches the craptastic easymenu garbage...the 350 doesn't ship with it, but you can update the navcore easily (ie. no hacking necessary)

this would make the 350 identical to the 340

also, learn to love gps underground: http://gpsunderground.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?6-TomTom-GPS-Systems

[Edited on January 3, 2011 at 6:38 AM. Reason : link]

1/3/2011 6:33:46 AM

I've just never liked the UI for Tom Tom, always perferred Garmin.

1/3/2011 2:02:04 PM

to each their own, i suppose...i dislike garmin for the same reason i (and everyone else, so much that they've done away with it) dislike(d) the tomtom "easymenu": it's TOO simplistic

i recall garmins being harder to hack than tomtoms, and there weren't (at the time when i was researching them) any good plugins for garmins compared to the tomtom equivalents

1/3/2011 2:32:56 PM

tomtom xl 340tm for $99 with free shipping: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003B3P2C4

1/4/2011 9:43:39 PM

^ Bought it ! Thanks

1/5/2011 10:27:12 PM