Dear TomTom

As much as I love and adore you, your website is giving me grey hairs! I have been trying for most of the afternoon to install an update and I have been going round in circles with your site.

I have already created an account and set my location to South Africa. I did the first set of updates when I first got the device and all was Hunky Dory. Until now…

So I received the notification about this update and promptly plugged my TomTom into my laptop to install. I opened MyTomTom and clicked on “Details” to take me through to the updates page.

But when I tried to download the update, it kept asking me to sign in when I was already signed in.

I had thought that it was perhaps just an extra security measure so I logged in again. But then I was back at square one, and it had signed me out completely! When I logged in again and tried to attempt my update again, I discovered that the online Gremlins had changed my destination to United Kingdom. *big sad face*

I gave up on this quite quickly and then tried to sort out my 1 Year Free Live Services. I discovered that my subscription was finished and needed to be renewed. But I only got the device a few weeks ago! *bigger sad face*

I’m hoping that the Gremlins will fix themselves and all will be well in my world again. Fingers crossed and all that…

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

Any excuse

As you know I received my New Best Friend last Friday to test out for the next little while and I have been looking for ANY excuse to use it. And I mean ANY excuse!

You see…although I have driven the same route to work for the last two and a half years, and I know all the back routes and short cuts and and and… I now get my TomTom to get me to work each morning and home each afternoon. I’m proud to say that I have been choosing the shortest and quickest route to work each day. The only quicker or shorter route would be to get a bicycle and ride through the park.

I suppose it’s wishful thinking but the only thing I wish my TomTom would be able to do is advise me of what time I would need to leave based on the traffic in order to get to work on time, and then work backwards and ensure I wake up on time. Surely this will be possible one day!

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

Me & #MoreTomTom

Before you think that this post is about Tom Cruise or some other schleb named Tom, take a closer look! This post is all about a new gadget in my life…a new friend…someone I can rely on when my husband hasn’t give me the right directions…

I was contacted a week or so ago about reviewing the TomTom Go Live 820. Without hesitation I yelled YES! Who in their right mind would say no to having some time with a TomTom?!

I received my little guy today and I’m totally thrilled to have it and be able to use it while driving over the weekend and the weeks to come. Apparently I am going to be WOWed by the Live Traffic functionality, which based on my previous experiences with a TomTom (take a look over here), will definitely be a selling point! Also excited to try out the Spoken Navigation functionality as this will save some time in actually getting me to my destination rather than me having to type every detail in first.

Here’s to me and my TomTom!

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

Girl Guides: How to make the most of your TomTom – Part 2

If you read Part 1 then you will already have downloaded MyTomTom and TomTom Home, and you’ll be ready to customise your TomTom further. Here’s a quick look…

Take a look here for the full How To…

Girl Guides: Review of the TomTom GO LIVE 1000

QUICK LOOK
- 11cm capacitive touchscreen
- Magnetic mount to windscreen docking station
- 2-hour battery life
- Bluetooth hands free calling
- 220 grams
- 4GB internal flash memory

If playing a “spot the car without a GPS” game is anything to go by, you’ll notice that a GPS has become a necessary accessory for most drivers as they make their way from Point A to Point B. I like to think of myself as a lady with fun taste, but I have yet to find a GPS with pink diamante design to go with this quirky taste… However the TomTom GO LIVE 1000 makes up for it’s plain design by impressing the spark plugs off of Bullet (my car) and me with its amazingness.

Take a look here for the in-depth review…

TomTom Year End & New Product Launch

Last night I attended the TomTom Year End and New Product Launch in Newtown. It was a Shebeen themed event and it was a ton of fun. I was there as a representative of Girl Guides and thoroughly enjoyed finding my name under “Press” at registration (being in events I’m normally the one handing out nametags).

After getting my name tag, I walked into the alleyway which transported me to a whole other world. I was handed a milktart martini (which was absolutely divine) and I made my way down the alley to where I could hear a band playing…

I took in my surroundings – Soweto inspired street names on poles, traditional South African canapés being served out of beer boxes, corrugated-iron kiosks that acted as bar and food servers. I even had my hand “henna-ed”…

And then I went off to explore the little nooks and rooms. One room held a few TomTom’s to play with. One room held a bar and food stations as well as a photo booth

And then we went through to the presentation room…

Daan Hendriks, country manager for TomTom, started the presentation off by welcoming everyone and mentioning stats of how the audience was made up. Joost Jedden was then introduced who told us that Tomtom’s goal is to put a TomTom in every car. We were then taken through their innovations – in-dash mounting systems keeping all cords and wires behind the dash – and their new products that will be hitting the shelves just in time to fill Christmas stockings – an entry-level PND (personal navigation device) to suit all pockets, a PND to navigate you from Marrakesh to Cape Town… It’s all very exciting!

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

Girl Guides: How to make the most of your TomTom – Part 1

Your TomTom will operate at its best if it is continually updated with the new maps and elements as provided by TomTom. It’s a simple step of logging onto the TomTom website and downloading an application to keep you up to date. Here’s how…

Take a look here for the full How To…

Girl Guides: Snapshot of the TomTom Go Live 1000

YAY for toys that you can play with in your car! And another bigger YAY for toys that actually help you get where you’re going faster and safer.

As the owner of an older TomTom GPS, I already love the TomTom Go LIVE 1000 as it has a twist-to-suction windscreen port instead of the lick-and-stick version I have. And it has a cigarette battery charger with USB port which means I’ll be able to charge my iPhone’s battery when the GPS is not in use. Multi-functionality…I like!

Like what you see? Go here to read the full snapshot review…