Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Begins Shipping TomTom Car Kit in U.S.

EDH667 said:
I found this on the Magellan website. It appears that their Bluetooth is set up differently than the TomTom kit:

Can I undock the iPhone from the Premium Car Kit and keep my Bluetooth® connection?

Yes. After initially connecting your iPhone to the Premium Car Kit, you can easily undock the iPhone without losing your Bluetooth® connection.
Click to expand...


That makes sense ... thanks for sharing!

If Magellan handles bluetooth a bit more logical, and Magellan supports all Apple devices (iPhone & iPod Touch) and Magellan can handle covers/skins ... it's worth the $10 more ... too bad they (or Apples approval process) missed the Xmas rush ... TomTom may see some exchanges in early Jan for Magellan.
 
andersonGPS said:
That makes sense ... thanks for sharing!

If Magellan handles bluetooth a bit more logical, and Magellan supports all Apple devices (iPhone & iPod Touch) and Magellan can handle covers/skins ... it's worth the $10 more ... too bad they (or Apples approval process) missed the Xmas rush ... TomTom may see some exchanges in early Jan for Magellan.
Click to expand...

I agree! I'm on my second TomTom car kit and continue to have problems with the Bluetooth speaker phone cutting in and out so you cannot hear the other person's conversation. I raised the issue with TomTom support and their reply was;

"I have forwarded the information that you provided to our product development team for review. We often use customer feedback as initiative to add or change the features of our products. Thank you for your feedback relating to this issue. We hope to have this issue resolved with a future update to the TomTom application."

I have a Magellan Premium car kit on order and will take my second TomTom car kit back to Apple for a refund!
 
EDH667 said:
Thank you for your feedback relating to this issue. We hope to have this issue resolved with a future update to the TomTom application."QUOTE]

that's curious ... it's an 'application' problem?? i would have thought it was a typical bluetooth h/w issue ... wonder if the other navigation apps have similar issue w/ TomTom car kit?

thanks for sharing
Click to expand...
 
wclyffe said:
Just got a notice from BLT that their expected ETA on the TomTom Car Kit is now 12/16. We'll see, but I wouldn't count on it.
Click to expand...


Did they randomly send you this email, or did u request an update. I haven't received an e-mail regarding the kit in a while. If this goes on for any longer I will take m business to magellan:mad:
 
Almost bought the kit, but when I went to the Apple store and actually saw it in person I couldn't justify paying $120+tax for a piece of plastic. Yeah, yeah yeah, it has bluetooth, charges the phone, and has a gps chip. Its ridiculous to have to pay $100 for an app and $120 for a piece of plastic.
 
Jape said:
Did they randomly send you this email, or did u request an update. I haven't received an e-mail regarding the kit in a while. If this goes on for any longer I will take m business to magellan:mad:
Click to expand...

I received an email with the link in it, and then clicked on my order to see the new date.
 
wclyffe said:
I received an email with the link in it, and then clicked on my order to see the new date.
Click to expand...

Ic, yea I just checked an email with the link for it and it said past due... Sigh. So I sent them an email for some updated information, ill post back when they respond.
 
Hey well my girlfriend just got me a kit for Christmas, and it works great. I've be on a trip with a total drive time of 18 to 20
hours, and I haven't had a problem, and it actually improves my iPhone 3g function since it doesn't have to use the native gps chip. So I think it is a good product. Good luck with BLT!!!
 
Jape said:
Hey well my girlfriend just got me a kit for Christmas, and it works great. I've be on a trip with a total drive time of 18 to 20
hours, and I haven't had a problem, and it actually improves my iPhone 3g function since it doesn't have to use the native gps chip. So I think it is a good product. Good luck with BLT!!!
Click to expand...

Glad to hear, and congrats! I just saw BLT has them in stock so mine will likely be shipping out tomorrow!
 
Glad everyone is starting to get their TT kit. We should move this discussion to the iPhone Accessories forum.
 
Been using the TomTom car kit since Xmas ... very useful ... and i have no problems with rotation when hiting bumps :)

question:

when window mount, there is a small slightly domed section that looks like it houses the GPS antennae (total guess); however, when i dash mount this section of mount faces down into the dash ... does anyone know where the antennae is? and whether dash mount negatively impacts the receiving signal?

thanks!
 
andersonGPS said:
Been using the TomTom car kit since Xmas ... very useful ... and i have no problems with rotation when hiting bumps :)

question:

when window mount, there is a small slightly domed section that looks like it houses the GPS antennae (total guess); however, when i dash mount this section of mount faces down into the dash ... does anyone know where the antennae is? and whether dash mount negatively impacts the receiving signal?

thanks!
Click to expand...

There are numerous Youtube videos using the car kit, some that are dash mounted, and it seems to make no difference. I understand its more of a "line of sight" issue so as long as the mount is visible to the sky you're fine. I get mine by Fedex today and I'm mounting it to the dash so I'll let you know how it all works for me.
 
wclyffe said:
There are numerous Youtube videos using the car kit, some that are dash mounted, and it seems to make no difference. I understand its more of a "line of sight" issue so as long as the mount is visible to the sky you're fine. I get mine by Fedex today and I'm mounting it to the dash so I'll let you know how it all works for me.
Click to expand...

thanks for the feedback. that would be great.

some of the behavior of the mount that i'm noticing (by using the TomTom car kit free app) is that from a cold start, the mount takes about 20-30 seconds to achieve a satellite fix ... seems longer than the 3GS which makes sense because the mount doesn't have assisted GPS (cellular triangulation help) ...

BUT i'm curious whether the satnav apps are waiting on the mount's fix or taking first availalble? ... i would hope they'd wait on mount since ultimately it should have more precision since it's called 'enhanced' GPS, but how can you tell for sure?

one thing i've tried is to remove the iPhone from the mount after navigating and see if it disrupts the GPS signal w/in the satnav app ... i would expect there to be a switch over to internal GPS and see a small disruption ... but i'm not getting a disrupted signal ... can't be sure one way or the other
 
andersonGPS said:
BUT i'm curious whether the satnav apps are waiting on the mount's fix or taking first availalble? ... i would hope they'd wait on mount since ultimately it should have more precision since it's called 'enhanced' GPS, but how can you tell for sure?

one thing i've tried is to remove the iPhone from the mount after navigating and see if it disrupts the GPS signal w/in the satnav app ... i would expect there to be a switch over to internal GPS and see a small disruption ... but i'm not getting a disrupted signal ... can't be sure one way or the other
Click to expand...

Here's what I've noticed in just one day of use. I'm using Navigon and I did download the TomTom Free App to stop the message from appearing each time. With my 3Gs docked in the car kit, I get the my directions locked in about 5 seconds from when I hit the "Start Navigation" button. I also tried an experiment in my garage, where my phone was unable to get the GPS signal, but docked I had a route in motion in under 5 seconds. Still experimenting.....
 
So I've played with the TomTom iPhone Car Kit for a couple of days and here's my initial observations.

* It mounted to my dash really well and the adhesive worked better than I thought it would. I like how the phone pops in and out of the mount with one hand.

* The internal chip definitely adds speed and connectivity in more difficult areas. In LA, I get a lock on my directions in about 5 seconds most of the time.

* I'm using an FM transmitter to broadcast my music through my speakers...seems to work pretty good, but the input is a little strong so I have to back my volume down on the iphone.

* I do not like the bluetooth speaker phone built-in for phone calls. It is far inferior to my BluAnt, but luckily it seems I can have both connected and easily switch back and forth.

* Lastly, this is the thing that may make me return it...it rattles, as it is not built very well!! Where the car kit spins to landscape, it is just a little too loose of a setup. Does everyone else have this problem or do I have a defective unit? Would love to know if its worth bothering to exchange it. Thanks!
 
Mine didn't rattle... but the audio output was dropping out, so I had to return mine. It took ~ 3 weeks to get the replacement.
 
wacky4alanis said:
Mine didn't rattle... but the audio output was dropping out, so I had to return mine. It took ~ 3 weeks to get the replacement.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I seem to have a bit of play in the part of the dock that rotates. Just holding the car kit in my hands there is play in this part of the mechanism so when I'm on the road its rattling all the time. You don't have this issue? Everything else seems to work so I'm hesitant to send it back as I might get one that's worse!
 
wclyffe said:
So I've played with the TomTom iPhone Car Kit for a couple of days and here's my initial observations.

* I do not like the bluetooth speaker phone built-in for phone calls. It is far inferior to my BluAnt, but luckily it seems I can have both connected and easily switch back and forth.

* Lastly, this is the thing that may make me return it...it rattles, as it is not built very well!! Where the car kit spins to landscape, it is just a little too loose of a setup. Does everyone else have this problem or do I have a defective unit? Would love to know if its worth bothering to exchange it. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I had two different TomTom iPhone Car Kits that I returned because of the bluetooth speaker phone. It would keep breaking up and I was unable to hear all of the other party's conversation. I had mine in the vertical position so I did not notice any rattle. I have ordered the Magellan Premium car kit which from early indications performs better for the bluetooth and positioning.
 
wclyffe said:
Thanks for the info. I seem to have a bit of play in the part of the dock that rotates. Just holding the car kit in my hands there is play in this part of the mechanism so when I'm on the road its rattling all the time. You don't have this issue? Everything else seems to work so I'm hesitant to send it back as I might get one that's worse!
Click to expand...

I've had mine since November, generally use it in the horizontal position, and haven't had problems with it rattling (and I've got a car with a not-very-smooth-ride). That would suggest that the mechanism is not always loose. I am nervous about it wearing loose over time, because it is surprisingly easy to move by hand, and seems kind of delicate.

I find the speakerphone fine when driving around town, but at freeway speeds my car's pretty loud, particularly with snow tires, so then I find phone calls hard to hear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back