Road testing TomTom One
Saturday 4th March, 2006 | 5:26 pmI was asked to order a satellite navigation system for work that would allow those going out on training courses to easily find where they were going. Seems like a good idea, certainly better than trawling through a road map. Even with modern maps, it’s still a chew on if you’re trying to drive and look at directions, especially since most of the time you’re trying to find your way through rush-hour traffic on a morning.
So, I gladly offered to test our TomTom One over the weekend in order to figure out how to use it and then give a brief overview to the staff next week. Really, I just wanted to play with it! Driving back from work last night, I just couldn’t fool the damn thing, and I was making sure I went a completely different way to what was being suggested 
But, each time within a few seconds it re-calculated the route and give me updated directions. The real test was handing it over to my mother this morning - she needed to navigate through Darlington, a fairly small city, but if my mother could use it, anyone could 
Now don’t get me wrong, my mother is no slouch when it comes to computers + gadgets anymore and happily sits e-mailing, scanning, and text messaging, but is someone that needs technology to just work. And it did - she loved it!
Haven’t had much of a chance to try out it’s features for finding alternative routes around roadworks or traffic jams, and haven’t download the latest maps to the SD card, but it seems a cracking little package. Although the entry level system, at £230 ex. VAT it is still very impressive, with crystal clear maps and instructions, and a good database of streets even in fairly rural areas. If I wasn’t moving to the US in less than 3 months, it would definatley be up on my list of toys to buy, even though I wouldn’t really use it!
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Iain Foulds, 25 years old. Originally from England, now living in Bethel, Alaska where I work as a systems analyst for the school district. I've been involved in a number of open source projects for many years and used to produce two major music podcasts.