To Zumo or Tomtom

James White

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GPS choices

I know this is old topic, but I’m going to buy a GPS and can’t decide
between the Zumo or Tomtom.

I can just about stretch to the Zumo but I believe it doesn’t come with a
Bluetooth headset and this would add more to the cost. Does anybody have any headset recommendations?

Although the Tomtom comes with a Bluetooth ear piece, are they any good. Does the volume adjust to the ambient increase in noise as you speed up?
Does the ear piece deafen you one minute and the next you can not hear a thing ?

Also I want to use the GPS predominantly in my car does anybody know if the Tomtom comes with a speaker or do you have to use an earpiece in the car ?

Regards

James
 
Hi James

I tried the TomTom bluetooth earpiece on the bike, and it was fine up until about 70mph. I do however have an intercom so run the GPS audio through that which is much better.

As for using it in the car, you would need to use the supplied earpiece which plugs into the TT bluetooth adaptor; not the most satisfactory of solutions.

Rumour has it that TT are doing a few modifications when the Tomtom rider Europe finally hits the street, so that may be worth waiting for.

Iain
 
Hi James

No experience of the Tom Tom, I've been using Garmin products since I bought my first GPS and have recently chaged to the Zumo 550.

I prefer having the GPS connected via an Autocom unit rather than Bluetooth as it's more reliable and copes perfectly with background noise levels no matter what speed is involved.

The Zumo 550 comes complete with a bike mount and a powered car mount with in built speaker, although I don't think this is the case with the Zumo 500.

I can highly recommend the Zumo as I use it regularly on the bike and in the car and it can be transfered in a matter of seconds thanks to having 2 dedicated mounts.

Hope this helps.
 
As i understand :confused: (those who have them tell me if this is wrong).... the TT has a fatal flaw .... you cant charge (ie connect to your bike supply) and use it (ie by plugging the mains lead in it shuts down:clap :nenau ). So you would have to carry a seperate mains lead to recharge ... also the internal battery may not last a whole days ride ... so your f****d if you dont know the way when it shuts down. :thumb
this would not suit me ... Garmin looks like the best ... but its pricey.

If you buy the UK version (Zumo 500) can you get a Europe mapping upgrage later?...does anyone knoww the cost???
 
James, let me save you from a fate worse than death! Give the TTR a wide berth, certainly at least until they have sorted out the cradle which is flawed in a major way. It does not hold the Rider securely, as a result it can fall out, and even more of a problem, arcing between the contacts will cause the Rider to fail. I have a TTR which is sitting in the garage unused because I lost all confidence in it, and I have bought the Zumo 550, top peice of kit:thumb TomTom's customer care is non existent, they deny all knowledge of any problems with the mount, and yet there are numerous accounts of complaints sent to them on this topic.

Save yer money mate, buy the Zumo.

John
 
Haytch said:
If you buy the UK version (Zumo 500) can you get a Europe mapping upgrage later?...does anyone knoww the cost???
Click to expand...

Iseem to rember that the 500 came with full European unlock but only UK and Ireland installed on the unit. You could install Europe but would need to add memory as the 550 comes with more than the 500.

It's seriously worth looking at the differences in specification for both units, when you add up the car mount and power lead, additional memory capacity and such the 550 is actually "cheaper" than the 500.

Just had a look on Garmins website and I notice the 500 is no longer listed with the introduction of the 450.
 
Haytch said:
As i understand :confused: (those who have them tell me if this is wrong).... the TT has a fatal flaw .... you cant charge (ie connect to your bike supply) and use it (ie by plugging the mains lead in it shuts down:clap :nenau ). So you would have to carry a seperate mains lead to recharge ... also the internal battery may not last a whole days ride ... so your f****d if you dont know the way when it shuts down. :thumb
this would not suit me ... Garmin looks like the best ... but its pricey.

If you buy the UK version (Zumo 500) can you get a Europe mapping upgrage later?...does anyone knoww the cost???
Click to expand...

The Rider itself can be charged and used from the bike supply when it is connected, it's the Bluetooth adaptor that can't be. This is obviously a limitation (although not too major), but at least means that you will still get the directions on screen. You would still have to carry a mains lead to charge the Bluetooth adaptor overnight.

Iain
 
JDH said:
James, let me save you from a fate worse than death! Give the TTR a wide berth, certainly at least until they have sorted out the cradle which is flawed in a major way. It does not hold the Rider securely, as a result it can fall out, and even more of a problem, arcing between the contacts will cause the Rider to fail. I have a TTR which is sitting in the garage unused because I lost all confidence in it, and I have bought the Zumo 550, top peice of kit:thumb TomTom's customer care is non existent, they deny all knowledge of any problems with the mount, and yet there are numerous accounts of complaints sent to them on this topic.

Save yer money mate, buy the Zumo.

John
Click to expand...

John,

Maybe you could offer to sell your Rider to James; save it sitting unused and unloved in your garage...:D :D :D
 
The same mains charger for the rider is used for both the unit itself and the bluetooth headset.

If you get the car kit, can't you simply use the cigarette lighter power lead to either power and/or recharge the bluetooth headset from the bike auxiliary socket ? (or does charging it cause it to stop working ?) (the rider is obviously bike-powered when in its cradle).
 
Zumo, every time.

In the car, the Tom Tom Rider needs to be used with the bluetooth headset - no built in speaker in the unit or the car mount.

I have a TomTom 710 for the car and it's intuitive and nicer to use in some ways.

But the Scala headset I bought for my Zumo 550 works just fine (£95.00) and I spent an extra £100 on a Motorradconcepts mount. The Zumo is waterproof - the TTR is showerproof - the Zumo seems more robust - I've read many reports of electrical failures with the TTR.

So the TTR is cheaper - you get what you pay for. Better still, there are some cracking deals on other Garmin units right now. But for me, it's the Zumo every time on the bike.

J
 
Does the Zumo use the same regional basemaps ie Atlantic / Pacific depending on region sold, or does it use a world basemap ?
 
European base map preloaded & on Mapsource

As to the choice of Tomtom or Zumo:
The Zumo works perfectly in the car, the Tomtom needs you to buy a windshield stickon thing because it is not supplied. On the bike, Tomtom falls off, the Zumo is rock solid mounted. With Tomtom your friends / internet share routes are worthless, or very elaborate to get into Tomtom. The Zumo is ready for your own route planning..

Shall I go on?? :bounce1
 
Did I mention the Rider is now £233 inc vat? How much for a new Zumo ??
 
JDH said:
James, £100 to you sir.

John
Click to expand...

BTW, that's with European maps, Ram Mounts for 12OO and one of Steve's retaining straps to stop the thing jumping out of the cradle. The Rider is working, happy for you to try it and refund if not happy. Bargain, despite what I think about the thing:mad:

John
 
Thanks John

Thanks to every one for the info & thanks to John for
the Tomtom offer. I think I'm going to go down the Garmin
route. I'm not sure I will buy the Zumo as its seems a bit expensive
once you have added a bluetooth headset.

I'm going to have a look at some of the other Garmin models, any more advice on a cheaper alternative to the Zumo ?

Thanks for all your advice.

James
 
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For what it's worth I've had the TTR for over a year now. Have done about 10,000Km across most European countries on the bike with it. No problems with the cradle at all, even tho it does look flimsy compared to other seemingly over-engineered structures. The Blue Tooth lasts for a long time between recharges - possibly 12 hours or more.
Have bought the car cradle also for car trips down thru Spain and recently to Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Works fine.
Have updated the sw but there are no map upgrades available and nothing for Baltic States or Southern Ireland. But, as I've mentioned elsewhere, if you can get a TTR for c £300 or so its a good deal.
 
John

What are your main concerns about your particular unit? I was going to offer to buy it if James was not interested but was discouraged after reading the TTR issues on another thread
 
You can get a TTR with full car kit for £259.65 inc vat and delivery from Handtec.

At that price, the Zumo sadly loses despite its obvious benefits over the rider.

I am a fan of Garmin as I own a BMW Navigator 2, but I bought a TTR because they are very easy to use for simple A to B navigation in 3D with bluetooth phone facility included.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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