Justification to purchase a GPS device as opposed to using Google Maps — TomTom Community

Justification to purchase a GPS device as opposed to using Google Maps

odelphiodelphi Posts: 1 [New Seeker]
I have an older ( ~5 years old) TomTom GPS Navigation device. I am thinking about getting a new one, but I am having a hard time justifying $300-400 when there is Google maps for free. Can someone give me 3 features of TomTom GPS devices that are useful features (not fluff features like different colors, or nite mode) that are not available on Google Maps that would justify spending $300+ for a GPS device?


  • dmulvdmulv Posts: 673
    1. It doesn't destroy your phone
      • The screen uses a technology that's happy with displaying the same image, and doesn't suffer from screen burn. Personally I don't particularly want to see elements from the navigation app permanently etched to the screen of my mobile phone.
      • Mobile devices aren't designed to be left on for extended periods of time, nor being operated for maybe hours at a time whilst connected to power. In doing so you're risking damage to the components through overheating, and drastically reducing the lifespan of the battery.
    2. Bigger screen
    3. Convenience of it always being in your car ready for action
    This is a comparison of the physical aspects of having a TomTom device vs. running the TomTom Go Mobile app on a phone.

    Comparing it with Google maps for me would revolve round superior routing and traffic detection, but I'll leave that for someone else :)
  • bigbig Posts: 1,656
    edited April 2019
    Might not matter in your area but where I drive there is a lot of area without adequate cellular coverage. Google maps would not be able to cope with that. (Yes, can pre-download maps to a degree but not large scale.)

    Also, there are data charges you may need to be concerned about. Maps on the phone use a substantial amount of data since they "drawn" live, each time.

    In general, I find having a dedicated device just works better. It's designed primarily for that one task and optimized for it. Now if the software only was updated more often to kill some bugs...
  • Ste7iosSte7ios Posts: 758
    IMHO the only way to answer that is to compare them feature by feature (by reading the user manuals) and ask yourself what you really need of those features.

    Surely a dedicated satnav offers much more features than a free solution like Google Maps.

    In my case I needed a device that can survive rain, heat (most consumer devices have a limited temperature range), to do some basic operations with gloves, design thoroughly my trip on the computer and then transfer it to the device, plus other small details...

    I tried a satnav software on my smartphone before but I had many problems that it wasn’t possible to address them easily or not at all.

    So TomTom Rider was the way to go.
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