It’s called “my precious”. And it is.

At first, I thought it was just the coolest gadget I had ever been given. Lynn gave me a TomTom GO 910 for Christmas. I had just seen one in the car that picked me up in Scotland when I came to see her there for New Year’s and thought it was awesome. But mine was awesomer.

Lynn says she got it for a few reasons: 1) She was tired of my crappy yellow map book and getting lost all the time (which happens a lot when I drive), 2) it could do wireless telephony so I would stop driving and talking with my mobile phone at my ear, and 3) it has a 12GB memory for storing and playing MP3 files.

Good. Good. Good.

And then I used it, and I was AMAZED. The thing is so cool. It talks, it plots routes, it shows maps, it does 3D, you can customize the voice it uses, you can tell it to go via a particular route, it beeps when the speed cameras are coming up, it automatically re-calculates the route if you miss a turn (which I have done on occasion, even with the helpful “after 50 meters, turn left”).

Unlike most gadgets, this one lives up to the hype. It’s technology is really cool and it provides a REAL value. I can’t describe the rage that getting lost would instill in me. Ann could probably tell some colorful stories, but really there was nothing fun about it. I HATED getting lost. And now I just punch in an address, or just tap the map where you want to go, and follow the directions. The map zooms in and out at the right times, the directions are clear, the routes that it plans are almost always not just correct but actually the best of many options (I tested this in the warren of streets that is the Hague and in driving to Lynn’s place in Amsterdam).

It’s a great great gift and I would like to thank Lynn again and again for bringing me together with the precious.

Categories: General

6 Comments

mark · January 30, 2007 at 5:00 pm

Little bit o’ info that might affect you then!

http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1276.html

Harry · February 5, 2007 at 10:07 am

Now all you need is a decent car…

Brian · February 5, 2007 at 11:05 pm

Tell me about it. The Tom Tom is the nicest thing in the car by far (excepting Lynn), and becauuse of the persistent suckiness of my transmission (which gives demon-like screeches and grinding noises when changing gears), I am forced to look for a replacement for the Justy.

I have been looking on Marktplaats.nl, which is as close as the Dutch can come to eBay, it’s like the discount version of eBay, without all the features and business model that make for a really good auction site, but there seems to be an ample supply of “automaats” on the market. True, I may have to pay a premium to drive a ‘car for dummies’, but that doesn’t bother me. I view it as fair payment for being able to eat and talk on the phone while driving which all you stick-shifters can’t do.

😉

Lynn · February 5, 2007 at 11:07 pm

You don’t drive the car Brian, you just move the steering wheel around. The car drives itself….(badly, I might add).

Jasmine · February 9, 2007 at 9:39 pm

I tried to get a hold of you this way once before. Brian- how the hell are you? Please send me an email- I can’t remmember your email address at work. Jasmine (jasbee03@hotmail.com).

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