Tomtom released two official accessories for the iPhone and iPod Touch in order to improve the GPS signal and to provide it to the iPod.
Tomtom lent us a carkit and our analysis and unboxing could not be missed. They left us the Carkit for the iPhone 3G:
The packaging of the accessory is one of the weakest points of the accessory since, by courier, it arrived broken. It's a very weak box that certainly shouldn't come with such an expensive utility.
- Contents:
- Car kit
- Mini-usb power cable for car ashtray
- Adhesive car holder
- Manual
- Characteristics:
- SiRF star 3 GPS receiver
- Bluetooth
- EasyPort mount attachment with "vacuum creator"
- Built-in speaker: 300 to 15KHz / 2.0 Watt
- Microphone: - 44 + - 3 dBv
- Audio output Jack: 3,5 mm (that of the headphones)
- Built-in Apple Dock Connector
The first thing we notice when connecting the iPhone to the Carkit is how perfectly it fits and the good plastic that the accessory has. We see that on one side we have the 3.5 mm audio output and the mini-usb connector to charge it and make it work. On the other side we have a roulette to raise and lower the volume more easily and control the bluetooth to link it with the hands-free of our car or with the iPhone. At the bottom is the Apple 30-pin Dock connector and at the top a small pin to remove it without problems. We also have another lower pin that moves when we take out the iPhone so that we do not break the Dock connector.
In terms of clamping, it has a plastic suction cup and a 'vacuum creator'. Basically we place the Carkit on the windshield or on the circular plastic support previously glued on the dashboard of our car. Now we turn the wheel and a vacuum will be created that will make our iPhone and the Carkit perfectly attached. In addition, the support rotates, so we can have the iPhone vertically or horizontally without having to take it off and stick it again.
The loudspeaker can be matched to any of those included in Tomtom's GPS and also the difference with respect to the natural volume of the iPhone 3G is very noticeable. The mic looks pretty good as no one seems to have complained about it during our calls.
Bluetooth is very easy to configure and will allow us to use the Carkit as a hands-free (improving the one included in the iPhone 3G, which is very little powerful), and it also links very well to any hands-free that we have in the car.
The GPS accuracy of the iPhone 3G is not very good and with this accessory it improves very notably and it is great in sections of cities where we need a lot of details and precision. In addition, losses of GPS coverage or lane errors no longer happen with the accessory (since, without the Carkit, sometimes if you go on the highway and there is a nearby lane, you may come to believe that we are going that way). The strength of the TomTom accessory is undoubtedly the double GPS to improve the APP.
Despite all the advantages that the TomTom CarKit can offer, you have many disadvantages:
- The one that hurts the most is the € 99 it costs for the iPhone and the € 79 for the iPod Touch, which, by the way, I don't understand the abysmal difference.
- The support completely eliminates the iPhone Dock connector and if we have a compatible hands-free or a radio that supports the iPhone, this support will annoy the connection, having to connect the iPhone to the stereo with the 3.5 mm of the Carkit and not being able to control the volume, the pause, etc ... with this one.
- A € 99 accessory should be better presented and packaged than this one, whose box is made of the worst plastic that exists.
- The TomTom Iberia App costs € 59 + € 99 from the Carkit makes a total of € 158 which is the price of a TomTom GPS with a large screen and much faster than it can go on an iPhone 3G (I don't know how it will go on the 3GS or in 4).
For all this we DO NOT recommend buying the Carkit unless you need it a lot and you already have the App and you cannot afford a GPS. The price is excessive for an accessory that the only thing that is different with any support is the GPS receiver and the Bluetooth.
If you have radios compatible with iPhone, compatible Parrot Hands-free, we recommend purchasing a support from Belkin or Kingston that does not eliminate the Dock connector and that, in addition, some also have speakers.
As for the group that make up the App, the iPhone 3G and the Carkit, we will comment on it in the next post.
A review as poor as the plastic of the tomtom car kit ...
The car kit does not interfere at all with another possible Bluetooth hands-free, either parrot or integrated in the car, you simply link it to one or the other and that's it. Tomtom GPS navigation with the 3GS is just perfect, no lag, no outages, no hassle.
As for the price, if you have hands-free, you have a car charger, and you only have to buy the support, it is expensive and does not compensate, but if we take into account that a good car charger and a good support can already cost you a few peels, and that the volume of this car kit is very good, much better than that of the iPhone alone, it is a highly recommended option.
I do not share your opinion at all
how bad we read huh?
In the whole article and in the whole tomtom review it is talked about 3G not 3GS,
Obviously there is no interference between other handsfree what I say is that if you have a compatible stereo then with this support you lose the dock connector.
There is much cheaper support, with speakers and CHARGERS that are not worth 99 x having another gps, it does not seem like a good option far from it, taking into account the supports that I have seen and that are available, including the navigon officials or for Other phone numbers such as the htc hd2 whose official support is perfect, sure, it has everything that tomtom has and adds functions such as when you connect everything is bigger so that if you have to change something with the car running (although this It is illegal now) you can do it without difficulty or the battery or sms alerts are removed, which this support does not do, but I will talk about that in the next post
I am happy with the ki tom tom car kit, the only problem is that since it is summer in Seville, I have dropped the pot in the sun. The pacifier does not last 20 min. I have to adjust it every two by three. I do not know what to do with the xq it has fried me, I am golden to take it give it to buy it. Does anyone know any solution to make the pacifier last longer?
Sorry but I read perfectly, you say that you have used it with 3G and I use it with 3GS. Explain that support with charger leaves the connection for the iphone free, because you will tell me how. If you say that "if we have a hands-free or a compatible radio we will screw up the connection", maybe you have not explained yourself well, but check the article and you will see as if you said it. Does the HD2 stand have speakerphone, second GPS, built-in hands-free? Because the one I know only has a charger… And it's also worth a few peels.
There are opinions for all tastes, and it may be that it seems useful to me and you do not, but it seems to me to say so emphatically no to a support like that ... It seems too much.
I am also very happy with the accessory.
I recognize that it is expensive, but if you need a charger, a good support, a hands-free (normal) and others use the GPS I think it compensates, since the difference in navigation is brutal.
Regarding the version for iPod Touch, I suppose that the almost € 25 difference is due to the absence of hands-free (micro and bluetooth).
regards