Tom Tom Traffic

marco_79

Hi,

I thinking of getting of traffic updates through my phone for my Tom Tom and I'm wondering how much it will add to my mobile bill. It is £35 for the yearly subscription to TOM TOM but I dont know how the many minutes it would cost to get the updates. For example say on an hour drive and I have the tom tom connected to my phone for that hour would it cost me 60 mins WAP or is it just the cost when you actually get an update. Anybody got this service??

Thanks in Advance

Marco

Conor_3

Most mobiles show the cost in the amount of data transferred, not the time.

TBH, it's a complete and utter waste of time. Sure you'll know the route is blocked but then so will all the alternatives in a very short space of time.

amcluesent

TomTom services use the data link (GPRS) on the phone, so it's billable by your provider on a data volume tariff. Traffic will request, on average, 50Kb of data for every hour of travel (IIRC it connects every 10 to 15 minutes)

If your tariff has no built-in data element, it would be expensive! If you have a 2Mb monthly allowance, you could get about 40 hours of Traffic use without paying a premium on your phone bill.

unrich

Not sure on a contract but.

I have TomTom One V2, Traffic option. Motorola L6 on PAYG.

With £10 topup you get £1=1MB of World (GPRS) access and 300 free txt msgs.
They sell £16=16MB of GPRS for £4.

I use mine about 2 hours a day and have the updates set every 15 minutes.

I have never got through the full £16=16MB of World access GPRS in a month.

Month one top up by £10, use the free GPRS then buy an extra for £4. (£6 left)
Month two buy extra for £4. (£2 left)
three top up £10 buy extra £4 (£8 left)
four buy extra £4 (£4 left)
five buy extra (£0 left)
six top up £10 ...
.... etc etc

So I reckon I would spend about £50 a year. (if I didn't make any calls home). Plus every other month I get free txts which I never completely use.

Just buy a phone to keep in the car.

Also the Motorola mini USB charger fits the TomTom and works (so far so good). You can leave just one charger in the car.

Also some networks are not compatible, also some phones are not compatible. TomTom have a list of compatible phones and pocketGPSworld has some info in the forums on traffic .

(p.s. recon L6 phones are £24 delivered from orange accessories shop at the mo).

jmc160

I'm quite interested in this too, as I'm fed up of getting stuck in traffic jams in my new job (it involves lots of driving).

Would this service be any better than, say, the traffic announcements on the radio, or does it use the same info? Cos the radio announcements are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

unrich

Hmmmm, any use? I live well off the beaten track and day to day it is slightly helpful on longer journeys. Over the weekend I did a 750 mile trip up and down the M6 and M5 and the information was helpful. (but not essential).

As I've seen pointed out.
You set your update to every 15 mins. Maybe TomTom's information centre updates every 15 minutes. You could be working on info thats up to 29 minutes old. Not much help in M25 rush hour.

Still since TT1v2 is my only sat nav its the best I can get without buying another system.

I do about 25k a year with my car.

Lets say 35 for the traffic sub, 25 for phone, 50 for call charges. 110 a year in total(tops)! Its probably useful once a fortnight for me. over four quid an incident (ish) isn't that great( I do like gadgets though). If you crawl round the M25 and other black spots it may economically divert you.

I think I'll let my subscription lapse when it runs out. If work paid then I'd keep it.

I notice that the new TT version 3 does NOT have bluetooth or traffic options I guess not enough people subscribe and use them on the entry level TomTom. Though it has a natty new feature where you can update your own maps(yet to be seen working).

As for radio announcements. Near me everbody seems to crash on a roundabout. I never know the roundabout names and hence never seem to avoid the jams.

sco0ter

Have you checked to see if the TomTom RDS-TMC module is compatible with your version of TOMTOM. This can be purchased for as little as £55 and gives a lifetime subscription to traffic updates.