Sunday, March 18, 2012

Garmin StreetPilot c550 vs. TomTom GO 910

Streetpilot_c550T.D. Smyers submitted the following comparison of the Garmin StreetPilot c550 and TomTom GO 910 as a comment, but it’s just too good for that, and deserves its own post. So, with gratitude and with T.D.’s permission, here is a head-to-head face off between these two models…

"This review is provided as a public service.  It represents my own opinion and experience, so take it for what it’s worth to you.

Like many of you, I looked all over for some detailed comparisons of available GPS units before I bought one.  What I found on the web didn’t answer many of my questions, so I decided to share my own GPS adventure with those of you still in the market.  What follows is a comparison between the TomTom GO 910 and the Garmin c550.  There are other units out there, as well, but this review may help make you a more educated GPS consumer – whatever you buy.  Please, take advantage of my time without losing a lot of your own!

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):
After several days of side-by-side testing, I’m taking my TomTom GO
910 back to Best Buy this morning, and keeping my Garmin c550.  The 910 has enormous potential, but can’t yet deliver in the US; maybe in a few months or so it will.  The Garmin is less flashy, but gets the job done.Tomtom_go_910_2

Intro:
I was very excited about the TomTom GO 910 after doing some preliminary research and finding that it had enormous capability, customization and functional advantages over the competing Brand’s equivalent models.  My initial excitement was reinforced when I opened the box.  The 910 had the feel of quality equipment – it was solid and sleek; it had several “extras”, including an audio cable and a home computer dock; and the connecting hardware fit together firmly and securely with a sharp “click”.  I continued to be impressed with the many Text To Speech (TTS) options available (I chose a very nice British female to guide me around Northern Virginia); the wide, attractive display and the MANY ways available to customize my display and navigation.

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TomTom GO 510 review

Tomtom_go_510

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our TomTom comparison chart.

The TomTom GO 510 is an older unit with a four-inch wide touch-screen, iPod compatibility, the SiRFstar III chipset, a 1 GB SD card, and hands free calling (with a compatible Bluetooth cellphone).

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TomTom GO 910 review

Tomtom_go_910_1

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our TomTom comparison chart.

The TomTom GO 910, featuring multi-continental map coverage including the US, Canada and the whole of Europe, this all-in-one navigation device has a long list of features. The 910 has a 20 GB hard-drive and includes a remote control, an MP3 player,  iPod compatibility, a wide four-inch screen, and text-to-speech functionality. One especially nice feature is hands-free calling via a Bluetooth connection. To top it off, the TomTom GO 910 is equipped with the new SiRFstar III GPS chipset.

To see how the TomTom GO 910 stacks up against other units, check out our TomTom comparison chart.

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TomTom GO 300 review

Tomtom_go_300_review

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our TomTom comparison chart.

I’ve been playing with a TomTom GO 300 for the past couple of weeks and, for the most part, I have been pretty impressed with it. The menus are so intuitive that I barely glanced at the manual. In my opinion, the intuitive interface of the TomTom GO 300 rates as highly as those of Garmin products.

The unit locked onto satellites promptly, even in a new location all the way across the country. It topped my trusty Garmin on this score. And it was very fast to re-route — whenever I missed or ignored a turn, a new route was calculated quickly, generally within half a block.

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