Review: TomTom US & Canada App for Android

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

In the age of free mapping and navigation apps from the likes of Google, Nokia, Microsoft and Apple, paying good money for a standalone GPS or even a GPS app may seem unnecessary but an App like Tom Tom US & Canada for Android does have its merits, I check it out.

I have pretty much stopped using standalone GPS devices in my cars. I've had generally good success with the built-in mapping and navigation apps offered on the iOS, Android and Windows phone devices I've owned and tested. While some connected app, like Google Maps, seem to be pushing out new features and improving their reliability, others like Nokia's HERE navigation apps have the added advantage of not requiring a constant (and potentially expensive) data connection.

I had the opportunity to test the TomTom's US & Canada App on a Nexus 5 smartphone during a recent road trip to various towns in Ontario. TomTom has been a pioneer in standalone GPS devices and mapping technologies and have since branched out to smarpthone apps.

Their US & Canada app, which costs $65.00 is touted as a best of both world's solution that can work with or without a data plan which can save a lot of money if you're in the US. TomTom has similar apps for specific countries.

The reason for this is that you need to purchase and download the latest maps for the country you need. In the case of US & Canada, I needed to download a 3.5GB file containing the maps. This could be a issue for users with limited storage, although you can save your app in an expansion card.

After downloading the maps, which took roughly 40 minutes in my home Internet connection, I was good to go.

The first leg of my trip was to navigate to Lindsay, ON to pick up some ice cream from the famed Kawartha Dairy Company (Mocha Almond Fudge and Maple Walnut are to die for!). While the app does take around 40 seconds to start up (that's a lot of mapping information, after all).

Latency is one of the biggest issues I've experienced with native and free GPS apps. The turn-by-turn directions sometimes tell you to move, or turn right when you're at the fork, which leaves very little time to react, specially when you're barreling down a busy highway at 120 km/h. While these apps use GPS, data from the cloud, the sometimes aren't always fast enough to give the directions on time.

This was one of the first things that impressed me about the TomTom Android app, it prepared me well ahead of time as to any moves I would have to make. The Advanced Lane guidance feature alone, which figures out more complex navigation maneuvers, is for me worth the app's price since sometimes missing one exit can result in frustrating 30-minute detour that will dampen any road tripper's spirit and mood.

The 2D and 3D mapping on the TomTom app is also quite quick to render and re-orient as one is driving. Some users might find it a bit plain and boring, but c'mon you're supposed to be looking at the road and not at the pretty GPS imagery.

It isn't too cluttered with information and seemed to be updated and accurate. Free maps for life are part of the TomTom package so updates are pushed when necessary. This already beats my standalone GPS device which is five years old and has outdated maps.

Other key features that stand out include speed alerts for users with lead feet or who tend to speed ahead. I also liked the spoken street names which is helpful when you are in an unfamiliar area. 

After Lindsay, Ontario, I made my way to the Lakeside village of Cobourg, Ontario and was impressed at the richness of the detail given by the app for the various points on interest along the way. Neatly categorized and available in terms of distance, the app fluidly brought up information on the fly while continuing to navigate us effortlessly through our drive. I believe these points of interest are similarly updated and refreshed for free with each succeeding update.

It is hard to think about going back to Google Navigation as a main means of getting around once I spent enough time with the TomTom Android app. There's a lot of merit to having most of the critical information loaded on your device in the event of spotty GPS or cellular data and TomTom just does navigation more elegantly and accurately than what free apps can offer today. If you spend a considerable time on the road and take a lot of road trips, I'd say it is worth the money, provided it is compatible with your device and you have enough storage space for the maps.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5