UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For a list of current TomTom models and their features, please see our TomTom comparison chart.
The TomTom ONE 140-S
Archives for 2009
TomTom ONE 140-S review
July 20, 2009 By 4 Comments
The end of GPS Tracklog?
July 8, 2009 By 17 Comments
A labor of love for four years, GPS Tracklog may be going away. What began as a spare time hobby morphed into something much larger. It takes a huge amount of time and, up till now, it’s been worthwhile thanks to sales from Amazon and other advertisers. We’re not exactly living large, but at least we’ve been surviving.
The State of North Carolina may force us to close
We dutifully pay income tax on all revenue associated with the site, but that’s not enough for the state of NC, which wants to tax Internet sales. Normally you don’t pay sales tax on Internet purchases unless a company has a physical presence in your state, right? Well, the NC legislature is going to define website owners running ads as a physical presence for Amazon and others, just like they would if they had a warehouse or storefront here. Creative, huh?
This would allow the state to tax all Amazon purchases made by NC consumers, regardless of how they got to Amazon. You might imagine that these e-commerce companies are none too happy about this. As a matter of fact, many (including Amazon) have already ended their relationship with all NC websites to avoid it.
Which leaves us with few and unpalatable options — to move again, sell the site, completely revise our model or shut it down completely. Our GPS Deals site may be shuttered as well.
Changing the very nature of the Web
My wife made an interesting comment. If you’ve ever researched a product online, you’ve likely come across websites like ours. As the sites grow, most people turn to advertising to justify the time spent. Imagine them all going away.
How to help
One thing you can do is sign this petition. If you are a North Carolina resident, please consider calling your legislators and tell them you are opposed to the Internet tax provisions in S202. And if you think this is just an NC issue, rest assured, this is an early salvo in an attempt to tax all Internet purchases nationwide.
Thanks to everyone for four years of fun. It’s been a blast being able to test the latest gear and bring you all the news from the world of GPS. Here’s hoping we can stick around.
Geomate.jr review
June 30, 2009 By 13 Comments
UPDATE: This product has been discontinued. Here are my current geocaching GPS recommendations.
The Geomate.jr
Garmin Dakota 10 and 20
June 26, 2009 By 5 Comments
UPDATE: Read my hands on Garmin Dakota 20 review. I also have a dedicated Garmin Dakota 10 page.
Rumors have been showing up online for awhile now about a new handheld series, and today it’s official – the touch-screen Garmin Dakota 10 and Dakota 20 have been announced.
The Dakota series seems to be filling the eTrex niche. They are rated as having a 20 hour battery life (vs. 16 for the Oregon series) and they will not come with pre-loaded detailed maps – only a basemap. Screen size is 2.6” (diagonal) vs. 3” for the Oregon series. Both Dakota models support paperless geocaching, but not Wherigo cartridges. One interesting thing – they both will store up to 200 tracks compared to the Oregon’s 20!
Garmin nuvi 1490T review
June 16, 2009 By 221 Comments
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide.
Hands on review of the Garmin nuvi 1490T
The Garmin nüvi 1490T
UPDATE: Now available bundled with lifetime map updates as the Garmin nuvi 1490LMT
Garmin Foretrex 301 and 401
June 16, 2009 By 6 Comments
UPDATE: I’ve posted a Garmin Foretrex 401 resource page with links to hands on reviews
Apparently there is still money to be made in the entry-level handheld GPS market – the Garmin Foretrex 301 and 401 are being announced this morning. These two wrist-mounted units update the Foretrex 201, adding a high-sensitivity receiver and USB interface.
Magellan RoadMate 1475T with lifetime traffic
June 8, 2009 By 268 Comments
Magellan has announced the RoadMate 1475T, their first product with lifetime traffic. The 1475T is identical to the RoadMate 1470 I recently (and favorably) reviewed, with the addition of the traffic receiver. It carries a suggested retail price of $299 and will be available immediately.
Garmin CityXplorer review
June 3, 2009 By 35 Comments
I went to Atlanta this past weekend, armed with a nuvi 1490T and the Atlanta edition of Garmin’s new CityXplorer maps. And I have to say, I was quite impressed. I’m blessed with a good sense of direction (though I find it much easier to lose N, S, E and W in the city), but I’m not a real urbanite. I can probably count the number of times I’ve ridden a subway / light rail on one hand. So I had some nervousness about leaving my car behind and venturing into the city via MARTA, with only a nuvi to guide me. It turns out that my fears were misplaced. Quite simply, CityXplorer rocks. Read on for the details…
Magellan RoadMate 1470 review
June 1, 2009 By 246 Comments
The Magellan RoadMate 1470
TwoNav Aventura is a lust-worthy GPS
May 27, 2009 By 15 Comments
I don’t often write about GPS receivers that aren’t available in the U.S., but I’m making an exception today with the TwoNav Aventura. For one thing, the company is on the lookout for a stateside distributor, so we may see it here yet. Another reason is it will accept just about any kind of map – more on that in a moment. The Aventura is a dual-use device, but it’s the handheld possibilities that excite me, so if you’re an outdoor type, I encourage you to read on.
