Tomtom go live - the ultimate sat nav. I held back from buying the new go live sat nav from tomtom thinking it might be full of gimmicks, but now i have one i am so pleased. I travel a lot with my job, and it made an immediate difference to how i drive and plan my journeys. Local search with google: this is truly awesome and almost makes the previous poi redundant.
It enables you to find just about any named place you want to go, local, or in any town or city. Just type in the name (sainsbury,odeon,fitness first,waterstones,anywhere) and lists appear showing location, address and contact no's so you can pick one and let tomtom take you there. This has to be the best yet.
There is one big reason to purchase the *50 tomtom range, over any other tomtom or sat nav, and that's it's hd traffic service. Hd traffic gives coverage of almost all roads, as opposed to just trunk roads and motorways supported by other traffic systems. Whilst not perfect i have found the more detailed traffic info useful, and it is the best traffic management on the market today without a doubt. However, if you are thinking of upgrading from your *40 tomtom then, although the new version of software is better, it's not a huge leap and may not justify the expense.
Hd traffic is a subscription service, and although press releases for this *50 range mentioned the option of free tmc traffic, mine certainly didn't have this facility. Annoyingly, my 550 also doesn't have an auto-dimming display, although it does have auto night mode. Maybe a software update will remedy. In my experience tomtom easily beats the competiton, and if you don't mind paying for hd traffic then it's a great product.
Pros
- It should be great, but too many initial flaws get in the way.
- Excellent product
- Works great. No update problems
- Next gen navigation
- TomTom Go Live - the ultimate Sat Nav
- TomTom 550 safety camera bug
Cons
- GO x40 Series offers far better value, TomTom 'advice' unreliable
- DO NOT BUY A TOMTOM 950
- Don't Buy a TomTom GO 950 Live
- Good hardware let down by terrible Ugrades and unstable software
- Riddled with problems - avoid buying
- Not yet ready for release.
Negative Review of TomTom GO 540 Satellite Navigation System - LIVE UK & ROI
Not yet ready for release. . Received my unit yesterday and am not too impressed so far. The hd traffic service seems to be down - it gives a strange error about coverage not being available in my area (reading) googling the error revealed that many other users are encountering the same problems and that availability of the hd traffic service is pretty intermittent. It's the weekend so maybe they are doing some upgrades ready for the monday morning rush - we'll see. The unit won't switch between day & night mode.
I suspect that this is a software glitch but, unlike the other review that mentions this, it does annoy me when an advertised feature on a �250+ piece of equipment just doesn't worki've so far had the unit reboot itself on me about three times. This probably indicates that it's having to recover from some sort of internal error. All in all, the 540 feels like a product that has been rushed to market before it's really ready. I have no doubt that tomtom will fix the issues and release new software in due course but it is frustrating that the company would release a product with faults in it just to get it on the market in time for christmas.
Features of TomTom GO 540 Satellite Navigation System - LIVE UK & ROI
- TomTom LIVE Services
- IQ Routes the smartest route any time of the day
- Advanced Lane Guidance for navigating difficult junctions
- Maps of UK & ROI
The latest innovation from TomTom helps you drive smarter with a live connection to the most up-to-date real time route information. With TomTom LIVE services you are always connected to real time information, with premium services such as High Definition Traffic, up-to-date mobile safety cameras locations, local search with Google and Live fuel prices. This means you will always have access to the latest information on route. This service is available as a FREE trial for the first 3 months, with the choice to continue on as a subscription at £7.99 per month.
TomTom Go 540 Live satellite navigation system Active dock Car charger Docking station CD ROM Documentation
Tomtom Live 750. I think this is a really good product. Taken with a slight pinch of salt, which should be standard for any satnav. The live service works with a sim that is in the phone. It is on the vodaphone network. It works in the areas it says it does in europe for the same price. It apparently works by monitoring where other tomtom live units and vodaphone phones are and works out how fast they are travelling, so i presume the more units the more information. Live services are generally good, just knowing how long a traffic jam is, has changed my thoughts of 'must find a different route' to well 10mins i can sit through it. Usually the traffic jam isn't there which is a bonus. I drive in london and it picks up all the jams. It can take me through from south east london to west london and the arrival timing is impeccable. And think, one day when you hit a road/ motorway that is closed you're gonna thank that live service no end and blag to all your mates about how well it did. Local google search is really cool. Just tap in the shop/ garage/ whatever name and it finds it then asks if you want to select it and hey presto your on your way. This also worked in france recently. Some times it doesn't log onto to the live services, but will do within 5-10mins. Did an eco route back from the alps the other day, not sure what that means, but it took us on a spectacular (yet really slow) route through mountains hugging switzerland and germany. I can't see how this was fuel efficient. The routes taken by this tomtom are generally very good, but local knowledge always wins. The new screen attachment was weird at first but good in hindsight. Bluetooth is good with blackberry bold 9000. Sound is very loud and clear. Speed camera warnings are very good. But then i don't speed, yeah that's right. The speedo on the tomtom is excellent, it gives you the speed limit, this was especially good in europe as the car i drove did not have kms on the speedo, so everything was on the tomtom. I always go by the speed on the tomtom as i think it is way more accurate than the car speedo. Again this information is never 100% so keep you eyes peeled. When inputting words the screen sometimes double clicks a word, so not as good as the older machines. One thing i'm really missing on this tomtom is the little compass in the top corner :-(i liked this machine so much that i am purchasing another one for my employees as i believe it will cut driving time enough to justify the expense of the subscription, which you can buy a year long package on here for 60 odd quid. .
Works Great. No Update Problems. I read many of the posts where people had problems updating the maps due to lack of internal memory space at did consider the 550 because of this. I decided to go for the 750 and also get a 2gb memory card also. I waited until i had the memory card before updating the map and then started the update. Everything worked great. I followed the steps prompted in the tomtom software and it looked to me like the memory card was not used or needed. Yes, the internal memory is nearly full from the start but as far as i can see, as long as you use the tomtom software to update everything, all downloads are stored to your pc hard drive before any update happens. It is also advised to perform a back-up before doing an update which again is a couple of mouse clicks on the tomtom software. I would say, do not let any or the update problem posts put you off getting this fantastic piece of equipment. Use the tomtom software which can be downloaded from their website and i am sure everything will work fine. .
Next Gen Navigation. There is one big reason to purchase the *50 tomtom range, over any other tomtom or sat nav, and that's it's hd traffic service. Hd traffic gives coverage of almost all roads, as opposed to just trunk roads and motorways supported by other traffic systems. Whilst not perfect i have found the more detailed traffic info useful, and it is the best traffic management on the market today without a doubt. However, if you are thinking of upgrading from your *40 tomtom then, although the new version of software is better, it's not a huge leap and may not justify the expense. Hd traffic is a subscription service, and although press releases for this *50 range mentioned the option of free tmc traffic, mine certainly didn't have this facility. Annoyingly, my 550 also doesn't have an auto-dimming display, although it does have auto night mode. Maybe a software update will remedy. In my experience tomtom easily beats the competiton, and if you don't mind paying for hd traffic then it's a great product. .
Product Info
- Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 8.5 x 2.3 cm ; 222 g
- Boxed-product Weight: 839 g
- Batteries 1 Lithium ion batteries required.
- Item model number: GO 540 LIVE UK & RoI
- ASIN: B001F0Q91S
Conclusion of TomTom GO 540 Satellite Navigation System
I was very excited to take delivery of my new tomtom 540 live. I used it for a couple of journeys in the afternoon and the mapping was good, more up to date than previous models and the traffic data seemed to be working though i didn't have any hold ups to test it with. Anyway that was all fine until i connected it to the pc with the tomtom home software. This is required to update the maps (corrections are made daily), speed cameras or generally to change anything about the device. Everything seemed to work fine, but in performing this update i effectively broke the sat nav on the first daythis is apparently due to me previously owning a tomtom and using the same computer before, nothing in the manual tells you this, nothing on the software told me this.
Tomtom support replied after 2 days asking for a large amount of technical information including taking a number of screenshots and attaching them to my reply. Amazon's customer service is second to none and a new tomtom arrived on the same day as the old one was collected by courier. My new device is now working great having uninstalled the tomtom software on my pc, however there are some bugs which i have not seen on a tomtom before. 4) the hd traffic information is a bit patchy - it doesn't seem to be working properly all the time and suffers from some periods where it doesn't connect at all. I've owned a tomtom before (albeit one of the very early models) and have been very happy with the overall ease of use, accessories, customer service etc.
I was also keen to upgrade to a model which has traffic information available and was puzzled that the tomtom costs approx. The garmin uses an fm receiver and uses traffic master which as i understand it gets it's information from traffic cameras on the main roads. The tomtom has a sim card and gets real time information from mobile phone users all over the country. Lots of the other tomtom models don't have an sd card slot. Tomtom offers a 30 day free map upgrade.
The live service works with a sim that is in the phone. It apparently works by monitoring where other tomtom live units and vodaphone phones are and works out how fast they are travelling, so i presume the more units the more information. Live services are generally good, just knowing how long a traffic jam is, has changed my thoughts of 'must find a different route' to well 10mins i can sit through it. Some times it doesn't log onto to the live services, but will do within 5-10mins. The routes taken by this tomtom are generally very good, but local knowledge always wins.
The speedo on the tomtom is excellent, it gives you the speed limit, this was especially good in europe as the car i drove did not have kms on the speedo, so everything was on the tomtom. I always go by the speed on the tomtom as i think it is way more accurate than the car speedo. One thing i'm really missing on this tomtom is the little compass in the top corner :-(i liked this machine so much that i am purchasing another one for my employees as i believe it will cut driving time enough to justify the expense of the subscription, which you can buy a year long package on here for 60 odd quid. I read many of the posts where people had problems updating the maps due to lack of internal memory space at did consider the 550 because of this. I waited until i had the memory card before updating the map and then started the update.
I followed the steps prompted in the tomtom software and it looked to me like the memory card was not used or needed. Yes, the internal memory is nearly full from the start but as far as i can see, as long as you use the tomtom software to update everything, all downloads are stored to your pc hard drive before any update happens. It is also advised to perform a back-up before doing an update which again is a couple of mouse clicks on the tomtom software. Use the tomtom software which can be downloaded from their website and i am sure everything will work fine. There is one big reason to purchase the *50 tomtom range, over any other tomtom or sat nav, and that's it's hd traffic service.
However, if you are thinking of upgrading from your *40 tomtom then, although the new version of software is better, it's not a huge leap and may not justify the expense. Hd traffic is a subscription service, and although press releases for this *50 range mentioned the option of free tmc traffic, mine certainly didn't have this facility. In my experience tomtom easily beats the competiton, and if you don't mind paying for hd traffic then it's a great product. I held back from buying the new go live sat nav from tomtom thinking it might be full of gimmicks, but now i have one i am so pleased. Just type in the name (sainsbury,odeon,fitness first,waterstones,anywhere) and lists appear showing location, address and contact no's so you can pick one and let tomtom take you there.
Very cleverfuel prices: excellent, with lots of choices and real pricing and of course tomtom will take you to the station of your choice. Iq routes: made a noticeable difference to my journeys when compared to my basic tomtom model. This can only get better as tomtom collate more and more journeys each day to give you better routes from a to b. I've used tomtoms for years and find them to be the best satnavs around. Tomtom have only just (5 january 2010) released a sofware update to remedy the fault.
This is my third tomtom and a replacement for my go 910 model. My eldest son is still using my first tomtom and is looking forward to having the 910. Reviews on amazon have also held me back from the 940 but as time has gone on and my maps have got more and more out of date the temptation to upgrade has increased. Why fork out for the map upgrade service when i can put the cost towards a new machine. Everything works as it should including the live services.
As soon as i turn the tomtom on it automatically links to the iphone, which is more than the apple earpiece does. It would have been neat if there had been a way to transfer my favourites from one tomtom to the other. I would recommend buying the tomtom hard case to protect the 950. It does not add too much to the size and provides good protection to the tomtom. For the past five years i've been happily using my tomtom go 300 on a fairly old map but with so many advances in technology and the high price of maps, there comes a time (usually just after some birthday money comes your way) that you make the excuse to update and start searching for the best option. Someone had told me that the features available on this range had been reduced and that there isn't an sd card slot anymore, they do however sport a 4gb internal memory which is more than enough to take the latest maps and all those little extra's like voices and map colours, however the cost alone made me continue my research. 23gb i started visiting various online tomtom forums where people, like me, were asking why this product was still being retailed with such a small internal memory and why they had 'penny pinched' by removing the card slot. The next thing i did was to visit the tomtom outlet store on their website. I notice that the go 50 range have a micro sd card slot which could get me out of problems in the future but only the 750 live has 2gb of internal memory (the 550 and 530 having 1gb onboard and a micro sd slot).
Tomtom 750. Hi, like many people i have just been through the mill with regard to buying a new satnav. For the past five years i've been happily using my tomtom go 300 on a fairly old map but with so many advances in technology and the high price of maps, there comes a time (usually just after some birthday money comes your way) that you make the excuse to update and start searching for the best option. It was april of 2011 when i started my search, the new go live range was in the shops but much to expensive for my pocket, ranging from £250 for the 1000 regional to £300 for the top of the range 1005 europe. Someone had told me that the features available on this range had been reduced and that there isn't an sd card slot anymore, they do however sport a 4gb internal memory which is more than enough to take the latest maps and all those little extra's like voices and map colours, however the cost alone made me continue my research. My wife had recently bought an xl live iq routes so i had a look at the spec and was surprised to find that it only has a 2gb internal memory and no sd slot. Knowing that the latest map size is 2. 23gb i started visiting various online tomtom forums where people, like me, were asking why this product was still being retailed with such a small internal memory and why they had "penny pinched" by removing the card slot. The next thing i did was to visit the tomtom outlet store on their website. Here you're presented with a list refurbished satnav's at reduced prices and as i'm interested in driving down to the med, i need something with europe on it. I notice that the go 50 range have a micro sd card slot which could get me out of problems in the future but only the 750 live has 2gb of internal memory (the 550 and 530 having 1gb onboard and a micro sd slot). At this point i start investigating the tomtom go 750 live and read everything i can on it. Its features are quite remarkable with live services, voice control, hands free kit, hd traffic, speed camera's, map-share and an active dock which is sadly missing from the xl range. Every forum i go to say's it's a good buy but it comes with a warning. When you first connect it to tomtom home always perform a "backup" first. I will go into this later. I make my decision avoiding the live range because of cost and the xl range because of no sd card slot and small internal memory. The start range (and others) don't offer me what the 750 can so i place my order and count the days until it turns up. The post van arrived quite quickly and i had to temper my enthusiasm in my rush to check it out. After connecting it to my laptop and selecting don't connect to computer ( because it charges faster ), i left it to charge for a couple of hours. Once fully charged the orange light next to the on/off button turns green and i install it into my car for it's first test drive. Everything about this device impresses me. Firstly the active docking system is so easy and my treasured new arrival clicked firmly into place. The verbal instructions are better, in that it reads out the road names (if they have any) and the onboard speaker is good and clear. You do have the option to use your hifi via a radio link or a hard wire but i prefer the onboard speaker , live services work flawlessly giving me fuel prices, weather reports, hd traffic, safety alerts and the google search found all my little test questions. Fish and chips, cinema, supermarket. And so on. Then you can set these as favourites and request to navigate to them verbally. In order to use the voice command, you first have to touch the microphone icon on the screen. This means that you need to mount the thing close to you, my windscreen is quite far forward so i need to mount it on the dash. Unfortunately it starts making errors when the radio's on but with my hifi volume control on the steering wheel, it's no effort to turn the sound down first. One nice little touch is that you can choose your own start up preferences, which, when switching on, will give you a screen of those destinations you go to frequently. One would think that you already know the way to work and to your daughters house but hey-ho. Maybe you're approaching from another direction. I'm lucky in that my car has it's own bluetooth hands free system however the one in the 750 enables my wife to also speak hands free and we no longer have to keep swapping who's phone is connected to the car, depending on who's driving. Ok. Now comes the tricky bit. Updating the map and initiating the micro sd card. You cannot write to any old card and there is a procedure that you have to follow to enable it. For reasons of speed, the maximum size that this device will look at is 4gb. I am using an 8gb class 6transcend sdhc micro card (because it was recommended) but only the first 4gb are looked at. You are now going to connect to tomtom home and you must first select "backup" this is vital as if anything goes wrong you will lose your map and tomtom will say that it's software and therefore is not covered by the guarantee. Before and i repeat. Before inserting any micro sd cards, you must back up your tomtom using the "back up and restore" function on the second page of tomtom home. To initiate the micro sd card, you must then disconnect the tomtom (i also powered down) insert the micro sd card into the slot in the base of the 750, switch on and reconnect to tomtom home. A box will appear asking which drive to use and although they are both indicated as internal drives you should be able to identify which one by available memory (another good reason for using an 8gb card). Select the sd card to accept the download. This box then disappears and you must then initiate the micro sd card by pressing "restore". The map is then restored to the card and once done, your micro sd card is fully functional. You would think that the instructions above would be on the first page of the manual. But you would be wrong and although i was pre-warned with regard to backing it up (thank god), i blindly inserted the micro sd card and searched for how to download my free map update. Eventually i clicked on [tools] and [use latest map guarantee] i had selected the sd card for the target and after an hour long download i disconnected from the computer, rebooted and found that it locked up on the first screen. I looked at my 750 as a drive on my computer, to find that it had not downloaded to the card, the onboard memory was full and it had written something to the card but it might as well be empty as no amount of rebooting would solve the situation. By this time my mood could be described as " somewhat stressed" and after a large brandy, i reconnected to tomtom home and performed a backup which got things working again, i then discovered that i still had problems as some functions would lock up so i did a factory reset which finally got things back to normal. Several days went by before i had plucked up the nerve to try another map update but in the interim i discovered that i had not lost my free update as it was stored on my pc in :documents\tomtom\home\download. Now. I find a link in tomtom home which takes me to a page describing how to initiate the micro sd card. Anyway i follow these instructions as given above in the paragraph that starts "ok now comes the tricky bit" and all is well. I am now using the latest map. Two weeks have passed and i am delighted with my 750 so i try to import my phone book to discover that this function is not available on my lg viewty. The only way to do this is to once again connect to tomtom home and, using your browser, [start] [computer][tomtom] and click on the fifth file down "contacts". This will open the folder and you should look for a text file also called "contacts". If there isn't one (and there wasn't on mine), right click on an empty part of the page and select [new] [text document] and name it " contacts". Clicking on this will open a notepad and your phone numbers can be entered in the following format. "tony","07736632691",m,"default""jane","0292460312",h,"default""boss","0123456789",w,"default"m = mobile, h = home and w = work. Don't forget to save at the end. Now when you select your [mobile phone] [call][phonebook entry] icons on your 750 you will be presented with your phone book. You can also touch the "microphone" icon on the screen and simply say "call" this will again show your phone book and you can initiate the call by either saying the persons name or their list number. Apart from touching the screen once it is totally hands free. This is a brilliant product but with poor documentation. If only tomtom would spend a little money and produce a comprehensive hand book. However once you have mastered the above, i think you will agree that it's worth every penny. Regards and safe drivingrapscallion. .
Tomtom Ticks the Boxes Again.. This is my third tomtom and a replacement for my go 910 model. My eldest son is still using my first tomtom and is looking forward to having the 910. I have delayed upgrading because the only complaint i have about the 910 is its size. Reviews on amazon have also held me back from the 940 but as time has gone on and my maps have got more and more out of date the temptation to upgrade has increased. Then the go 950 live was released and i went for it. I travel a lot with work and rent cars abroad. Put simply i got tired of lumping the 910 around and the maps (uk and usa) were beginning to show their age. Why fork out for the map upgrade service when i can put the cost towards a new machine. I am really pleased with the 950. I have used it in the uk and ireland so far and it has been excellent. A significant improvement on the 910. Everything works as it should including the live services. The 950 has paired with my iphone and now acts as a car kit for the iphone allowing me to ditch the headset/earpiece. As soon as i turn the tomtom on it automatically links to the iphone, which is more than the apple earpiece does. There are a few changes i have had to get used too. I had the 910 set up for the screen to change to blue if my speed crept over 70mph. I cannot seem to do that on the 950 but i have set the speed warnings anyway. I would like to be able to reposition some of the information readouts on the bottom of the screen. It would have been neat if there had been a way to transfer my favourites from one tomtom to the other. Perhaps there is. Who cares because i really really like the new machine. I would recommend buying the tomtom hard case to protect the 950. It does not add too much to the size and provides good protection to the tomtom. Since posting this review i have now tested the live features in traffic. I ignored the first re-route as i was on home territory and was prepared to take the risk that my route was better. Then leaving cardiff i got a traffic warning and a re-route option. I was about to ignore this too when i saw the brake lights ahead, so left the road as recommended and was taken around the traffic to join the m4 one junction earlier than planned. I could have found the re-route myself but would never have thought of using it. Cannot fault the tomtom. I accept that it is only one incident but it saved a significant amount of time. I am now seriously considering taking the subscription to live services when the free month expires. And. The great thing about the size compared with the 910 is that it fits in my wife's handbag much better. .
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