Some 8 months ago I chose Navman over a TomTom GPS solution for Palm for several reasons that seemed valid at the time. Since then TomTom have released Navigator 5, and Navman have discontinued support for Palm. Curiosity got the better of me, and now that I've tried TomTom I've come to realise the true extent of the Navman's failings. I bought Navigator 5 and Great Britain maps (i.e. software only) on eBay, and used this with my existing Navman 4400 GPS Bluetooth receiver.
For Palm or Pocket PC—not both
Navigator 5 is not platform-specific: it will work out of the box on Palm and Pocket PC devices. According to TomTom:
This TomTom License Agreement ("License") permits you to use the TomTom computer program and the digital (map) data included in the accompanying package acquired with this License on any single computer, provided the Software is installed on only one computer at any time and provided the Software is combined only with one (1) navigation system. This License is non-exclusive and non-transferable.
To activate a map on a different device you must change the registered device code. However:
Please note that you can only change your device code once within 6 months. Please contact Customer Support if this results in any issues for you.
Install to Palm from a Mac
This isn't actually a well-supported option, but it can be done whereas Navman requires a Windows PC. I found this page very helpful. There are three steps:
- Download the TomTom setup Application for Mac OS X here, then right click on it to "Show Package Contents" and copy the conduit to your Conduits folder;
- Download the Navigator 5.12 update here and run the OS X setup application to install the updated Navigator application to your Palm (Hotsync required);
- (Optionally) Use an SD card reader (or desktop mounting if you have Missing Sync) to copy the map files from the 128 MB TomTom-supplied SD card to a larger one. Doing so may avoid your having to constantly swap cards since a larger one could hold your other files too, and additionally gives you room to install custom Points of Interest (see below).
Install POI from a Mac
Points of Interest, such as the PocketGPSWorld speed camera database, are very easy to install. For example, download the zip file in Safari and drag the files pocketgps_uk_sc.ov2 and pocketgps_uk_sc.bmp into the Great_Britain-Map folder on the SD card. That's it; no more messing about with a POI Editor on the PC as was required with the Navman software.
Ease of use
I do most of my navigating in one city. Using Navman's SmartST I would have to tap in most of the city name into the "Area" field each time (i.e. CHESTERF), and then do the same with the street name. SmartST was unforgiving when I made an error, forcing me to start over. On the other hand TomTom "remembers" recent cities making it very easy to select this, and upon doing so, offers a pick list of streets as you start typing that lets you easily delete an incorrect character without having to clear the field and start over. It just works better.
Stability
SmartST crashed relatively frequently, often without explanation or with a "General Error" and advice to contact support if the problem persisted. TomTom seems much more stable.
Support
TomTom have a much more useful website than Navman. It is easier to find the information you need, and e-mail support is in my experience more responsive.
Update 01.04.06: Although it doesn't work with PDA versions of TomTom, if you have a GO and need Mac compatibility, this freeware solution may be what you're looking for.
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