TomTom Rider Motorcycle GPS Review
Filed Under Motorcycle GPS |
The TomTom Rider is one of two GPS units that have been designed and built for use on motorcycles. It was the original GPS device launched on the market and was a hybrid of TomTom’s successful car GPS units.
One of the most mooted features of the TomTom is the cell phone hands free capability. Using the Bluetooth headset for your helmet, you can receive and deliver calls on your cell phone with the telephone number and name of the caller coming up on the TomTom’s screen.
While the display is a LCD touch screen, if you wear thick motorcycle gloves you may have some difficulty in using the TomTom’s motorcycle GPS devices more detailed screens. Screens affected by this include the one where you input the address you wish to travel to. The solution in this case would be to input the information before you begin your trip with bare hands and then put your gloves on before you take off.
The Rider ships with the following: a screen wipe cloth, wired headset, a SD card, an AC adapter, USB cable, mounting kit, 12 volt-power cable, carrying pouch, Bluetooth headset and required reference material.
Using the mounting kit, the TomTom rider can be mounted on to your motorcycle’s handlebar, mirror and an flat service that you can find using the adhesive mount. The mount is secure enough to keep your GPS unit attached even off the most bumpy of rides. The 12 volt-power cable can be attached via the mount and enables you to have constant power to your unit without having to recharge it.
The TomTom rider’s downsides? The Bluetooth headset has poor sound quality and could be improved. The screen could have been a little bigger with larger icons and the hooded sun protection case could have been a little longer to shade more of the screen. The POI database is out of date and can give the wrong street address or street names at times.
The TomTom Rider can sustain five hours of battery life, and that’s possible on a single charge. If you let it sit for a week without powering up, it will still have a half-charge left the next time you turn it on. The Rider feels like it can surpass knocks and bumps that it is inevitably expected to experience due to daily use.
While the TomTom rider does have some issues, it is a very tough, hardy and capable navigation unit for use on a motorcycle. The Bluetooth integration is a nice touch that will probably be soon picked up by other brands. Its just a pity that the Bluetooth headset is of average quality. But all in all, the TomTom rider is very much worth it and you should do some investigating for yourself.
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