TomTom GO LIVE 1535M 5-Inch Portable Bluetooth GPS Navigator with HD Traffic and Lifetime Maps Reviews
Posted on: Monday, Nov 28, 2011
TomTom GO LIVE 1535M 5-Inch Portable Bluetooth GPS Navigator with HD Traffic and Lifetime Maps
- Shorten your commute with revolutionary TomTom HD Traffic, the most-accurate, real-time traffic solution available.
- Enhance your driving experience with connected travel apps including, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Twitter, Local Search powered by Google, and fuel prices.
- Drive safer with Intuitive Voice Recognition, Bluetooth Hands-free Calling and the integrated Fold & Go Mount.
- Navigate with ease using premium maps of the United States, Canada, and Mexico with Lifetime Map Updates.
- Benefit from unique TomTom features like the smart user interface on a bright 5-inch touchscreen, IQ Routes Technology, and Advanced Lane Guidance.
TomTom GO LIVE 1535M 5-Inch Portable Bluetooth GPS Navigator with HD Traffic and Lifetime Maps
TomTom HD Traffic
Experience the most accurate, comprehensive, up-to-date traffic solution available.
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TomTom GO LIVE
Enhance your driving experience with connected travel apps, so you’ll always be in the know while on the go. TomTom GO LIVE is equipped with the apps listed below, optimized to fulfill all of your travel needs. Access the apps by tapping on the services icon in the main menu. It’s that simple!
The TomTom GO LIVE 1535M
Stay in the know while on the go with TomTom GO LIVE. Experience the most accurate, real-time traffic coverage available with revolutionary TomTom HD Traffic Service. TomTom HD Traffic is more accurate, provides more road coverage and delivers updates every 2 minutes so you spend less time in traffic than ever before.
With LIVE services you can easily browse through apps – Yelp, TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Twitter – optimized to fulfill your travel needs. Additionally, you’ll have access to updated fuel prices, weather forecasts, and Local Search powered by Google.
Travel confidently with superior routing and the most accurate, dependable maps in the GPS industry. In fact, TomTom maps gives you one million more miles of mapped roads in the U.S.* The TomTom GO LIVE is also equipped with Lifetime Map Updates, Bluetooth Hands-free Calling and Intuitive Voice Recognition with one-step destination address entry.**
GO LIVE 1535M Features
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TomTom HD TrafficGet the most accurate, comprehensive and frequent traffic information available. TomTom HD Traffic is more accurate, provides more road coverage than any other traffic solution and delivers updates every 2 minutes to get you around traffic more effectively than ever before. |
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TomTom LIVE Services with Travel Apps
Enhance your driving experience TomTom LIVE Services including TomTom HD Traffic and connected travel apps – Yelp, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Twitter, Local Search powered by Google, fuel prices & more. |
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Intuitive Voice Recognition and Bluetooth Hands-free CallingDrive safer with Bluetooth hands-free calling. After pairing your compatible Bluetooth mobile phone to your TomTom GO LIVE, you’ll be able to see incoming call information, make and answer calls, and talk hands-free through your device. With access to intuitive voice recognition you can speak you destination address naturally, in one simple step. |
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Premium Maps of the US, Canada & MexicoNavigate with ease throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico using TomTom’s premium maps. Using TomTom maps, you’ll have access to one million more miles of mapped road in the US that you would using other GPS brand. |
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Free Lifetime Map Updates
This innovative navigator boasts a super slim design, crisp, sharp graphics & intuitive user menus. And, using gestures on the device’s sleek 5-inch glass touchscreen, you can easily swipe your finger to move from screen to screen, or pinch-to-zoom. |
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Integrated EasyPort Mount
With TomTom GO LIVE’s unique flip-screen technology, you can easily secure your device to your vehicle’s windshield or dashboard with the integrated EasyPort Mount. |
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Advanced Lane GuidanceAdvanced Lane Guidance show’s you exactly which road to take, when driving through complex intersections and multi-lane junctions. |
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7 Million Points of InterestEasily find millions of gas stations, restaurants,hotels and more on your route. Your device comes preloaded with more than 7 million points of interest in over 60 categories. |
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IQ RoutesAlways take the smartest, fastest route. This exclusive technology will recommend the fastest route based on the time of day and day of the week. |
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SpokenTurn-By-Turn Directions, Including Street NamesKeep your eyes on the road and listen while your TomTom announces turn-by-turn directions, including street and place names. |
Footnotes:
* Comparison of competitive map as of 7/2011
** LIVE Services are provided in the US only; one-year subscription included. Bluetooth Hands-free Calling requires compatible mobile phone. Lifetime Maps includes up to four non-transferable map data updates per year until the product’s useful life expires or TomTom no longer receives map updates from its suppliers; whichever is shorter. Details and terms at www.tomtom.com/legal.
What’s In the Box
GO LIVE 1535M, USB Cable, CLA Socket, Adhesive Disk, User Guide, LTM Voucher
List Price: $ 249.95
Price: $ 171.99
Replacement TomTom XXL GPS 5" LCD Screen 440A2Z000XN 535 540 550 IQ ROUTES WTE | US $47.49 End Date: Sunday May-20-2012 8:01:02 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $47.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
 | US $23.73 End Date: Sunday May-20-2012 8:01:10 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $23.73 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
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Richard C. Drew "Anaal Nathra/Uthe vas Bethod...
November 28th, 2011 at 8:40 am
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1
A plethora of features, fast boot, amazing clarity, lousy website.,
I’ve updated this several times: After unpacking, you’ll see that this is a cool looking GPS. It’s patterned to look like carbon fiber, and is all black and sleek. The suction-cup is attached and features TomTom’s locking wheel – this also doubles as a place to wind the USB cable (provided.)
So I opened the box while in the car and took it for a test drive. The 12v plug (what we older drivers still call a cigarette plug) has a standard USB outlet – so it can power other devices as well. The TomTom uses the smaller USB port common to cell phones and newer devices – so it will also charge and power my Droid. I plugged in the power, stuck the GPS to my windshield (It includes a dash mount, but I prefer windshield) – and was stuck. It would not turn on. Time to open the manual. Turns out the power button has to be held in for 10 seconds. That solved, I was ready to go.
The opening screen looked like a mini-hidef TV intro. After the opening screen closed I was given the option of taking a short intro/tutorial covering navigation. I took the tutorial. It only covers the very basics and takes about two minutes. I added my “home” location – took another couple of minutes and drove around. The GPS starts up and finds satellites blazingly fast – only a few seconds. While it discovers the satellites the GPS shows tips on using the GPS.
It’s highly accurate – more so than my previous TomTom or two year old Garmin. The large screen is gorgeous and crisp. It’s less cluttered than other GPS unit’s I’ve used. The new interface is akin to the minimized Google maps you see – smaller icons that expand when you touch them. There are no buttons except the power – everything else is touch-screen based.
The features list goes on and on and on. Voice commands, traffic avoidance (updates every 2 minutes), built-in Google places, Expedia, TripAdvisor and Yelp, instant twitter updates and more. The “live” services are included for one year (currently $60 a year.) One big reason to take a serious look at this GPS – FREE LIFETIME MAP UPDATES ($100 value! That’s worth the price of the GPS alone. If you keep it plugged in, the unit will turn on and off automatically. It also pairs with your phone via BlueTooth – it acts as an extension of your phone – displays caller ID and can even place calls. HOWEVER: The volume is terrible. Even at 100% the car would have to be parked to hear anyone.
Pretty much every feature can be customized, so you can tailor the GPS to your tastes and needs. You can mount the GPS right side up or upside down – the display flips automatically. There’s even an area where you can create a custom menu. Other settings include removing non-essential items from the display, selecting what is spoken (signs, text messages from phone, etc.), call answering options and more.
Pairing with my DroidX took moments (after I made the Droid discoverable.) The GPS supplied step by step instructions – nice. After pairing, the GPS had my phone book, calling history, etc. Great! Now I have a new hands-free device to try.
One thing to be aware of – the TomTom website is quirky. You can’t hook the GPS up to a hub (no idea why) – it has to be plugged directly into the computer. If the update hangs it WILL lock-up the GPS. The software does not provide this warning – but if you contact TomTom support, it’s the first thing they’ll tell you. Speaking of support – TomTom uses volunteers for the majority of their support (this is according to the couple of TomTom tech support people I have dealt with.) I went through this with my TomTom Ease. The software turned it into a paperweight and I had to do a factory reset (easy once tech support told me how.)
So when you hook it up to your computer, use a port ON the computer. Don’t use a hub!
This part I’m entering/editing while using the TomTom website, a work in progress…
The “My TomTom” website: Still needs a lot of work. I already had an account. It took a five (yes, five) logins to work. I would login, click a link and had to log in again. Every time I clicked a link, I had to log in again. The next thing I knew I had 6 browser tabs all open to the same page. This is the only way to update your GPS and add custom content.
Once I was finally logged-in, updates were detected. I downloaded the three updates and watched the status portion of the browser flash, change size, disappear, and finally stop with the blue status displaying only the top half, stating “Your navigation device is up to date. There are no updates waiting for installation.” All the while in the other part of the screen displaying pending updates.
The included instructions for activating the lifetime map updates did not work – again, website issues. There is no place to enter the code! Plus the help screens sometimes calls it an activation code and other times a promotion code. The…
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|M. Erb
November 28th, 2011 at 9:07 am
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2
Touchscreen isn’t as responsive as I’d like but there is plenty to like about the 1535M,
Customer Video Review Length:: 5:37 Mins
Since submitting my original video review and accompanying narrative, I discovered that I had a defective unit and have therefore removed much of my original narrative. I’ve added to what remained to reflect the current state of affairs.
The touch-screen was out of calibration on my first 1535M. By that I mean that if I tried to touch directly on an on-screen button or make an on-screen selection, the screen registered my touch as if I were touching the item above what I wanted. The unit was also very sluggish in responding to on-screen touches. The replacement 1535M which I received after waiting for almost a month has none of the calibration issues but is still not as responsive to touch as I am accustomed to on my iPhone 4 or my Garmin GPS. You have to really make a deliberate jab at the screen for it to register your touches. It’s aggravating and made all the more aggravating since trying to touch the screen deliberately when it is mounted on your windshield is next to impossible. You really need to remove the mount from the windshield each time you need to program in a route and that is my next issue with the 1535M.
At first I thought the integrated windshield mount was good but now that I’ve used it I can say that I dislike it greatly. It is not convenient to remove from the windshield once it’s attached. Since the touchscreen requires such a deliberate touch, you need to remove the device from the windshield each time you need to enter in route information which is frequently for me. And usually my navigator (my wife) is the one who has to enter route info while I’m driving with her. Needless to say, the inconvenience and hassle of trying to release the mount every time you need to enter info into the device is a great nuisance. My Garmin Nuvi had a simple clip that easily allowed the GPS to be removed from the mount, leaving the rest of the mount stuck on the windshielf. Not so with the TomTom mount. I also find it very difficult to remove and remount the windshield mount on my windshield. It’s extremely awkward. I’ll be looking for a beanbag dashboard mount in the near future.
Prior to this TomTom, I have used Garmin devices. Consequently the TomTom menu system and the entire way the TomTom is designed and the way it works is quite different from what I’m accustomed. In other words, if you are coming from the Garmin world, you’ve got some adapting to do… in a big way. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but be forewarned that they way you used to do things will be much different with the TomTom.
Upon unboxing, I was immediately struck with how elegantly designed the TomTom 1535M was. Surprisingly thin, nice rounded edges and and gently flowing curvature on the back side. The USB port is recessed which is nice and the GPS has what I consider to be a somewhat novel mounting arrangement. The swivel and suction cup is integrated with the GPS itself. You can swivel the GPS 360 degrees and as you do so the display auto-rotates. That was not expected but was pretty cool. It’s similar to how an iPod touch or iPhone display rotates when you turn the device to a different orientation. However even though the screen re-orients itself, it is only doing so at 180 degrees (it’s always going to be in landscape mode.)
The on/off button on the back is a nice size, not too small, not too large and is also recessed so that it flush with the back panel. Aesthetically it was very pleasing. To turn the unit on, you depress the button and hold it for a few seconds. The manual says 10 seconds but I never hold it that long, usually only about 3 seconds. Startup is quick speedy especially compared to my Garmin Nuvi which takes much much longer to start up. The TomTom also seems to acquire satellites much faster than the Garmin.
I think the way that TomTom displays routing and maps in general is superb. It is such an improvement in the way that my Garmin Nuvi displays maps. TomTom has a really cool 3D look and arrows to indicate turns are huge, well-positioned and make it so much easier to read on-screen.
The manner in which spoken routing cues are delivered is also way different that the way that Garmin does it. And I much prefer the TomTom method.
Bluetooth connectivity was difficult with my iPhone. It took me several pairing attempts before I was able to successfully pair my iPhone with the GPS. And then once they saw each other, it took several attempts for the TomTom to accept the pairing code. Once paired, the TomTom quickly retrieved the phone book from my iPhone. I have continual difficulty actually trying to place calls though. TomTom will say that the line is in use when in fact it is not in use. When trying to receive a call, the TomTom had difficulty recognizing my touch on the screen and I was not able to easily answer an incoming call. Once a call was answered via the TomTom. the caller told…
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|Jerry Saperstein
November 28th, 2011 at 9:32 am
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3
Of necessity, this review is about TomTom customer support,
I haven’t used any TomTom products for several years owing to an unfortunate incident with their customer support, which – several years back – could be described in one word: awful.
Here we are years later and I am offered the opportunity to review a TomTom GO LIVE 1535M which actually excites me. Hey, all that new technological goodness TomTom claims to have incorporated.
The unit arrives today, I unpack it and read the simple illustrated instruction sheet, bring up their website as instructed, turn the unit on and – oh, oh – the touchscreen doesn’t work. Fiddle with it for a while, try connecting it to the computer through a direct USB port, the unit is recognized, but communication quickly fails. Try it on another computer. Nada. Read the TomTom tech support pages on the web, looking for a way to reset the unit. Find Soft-reset instructions, which don’t remedy the condition. Can’t find hard-reset instructions.
So I called TomTom support. The first woman is clueless, keeps asking me the same basic questions over and over, keeps putting me on hold and simply can’t seem to understand that the touchscreen is inoperative. Touching the “Next” button does nothing. She seemed incapable of comprehending that simple fact. She didn’t have any troubleshooting steps. She refused my request to escalate the call. She tells me I can return the unit at my expense – and then wait 10 days or more for a replacement. Wow! TomTom really cares about customer relations, don’t they? Bizarre.
So bizarre, in fact, that I called back in and spoke with another customer support representative. Again, I spoke with a polite, well-mannered woman who spoke English reasonably well without a difficult accent. But it was obvious that if she couldn’t quickly find an answer on a script, she would put me on hold for a minute or two – and then recite a canned, usually inappropriate, response. Once again, I was asked the same question over and over.
After refusing my earlier request to be escalated, she now told me that I could be escalated for further troubleshooting. I should expect to receive a call within 24 to 72 hours.
Talk about abysmal customer support. I’m sitting here with a unit I had been excitedly waiting for. It doesn’t work out of the box. Okay, not a big deal and such things do happen. I tried self-help without success (because there appears to be no way to hard-rest the GO LIVE 1535M without being able to reach the main menu, which I couldn’t do because the touch response was inoperative). I patiently answered the same elementary questions over and over, dealing with well-mannered women who clearly knew nothing at all about the device and were merely reading from a script or asking other personnel for answers.
Then they want me to return a brand-spanking new unit to them at my expense for a replacement that may take 10 days or more – and that is after waiting another 24 to 72 hours for a hope-for return call, which may or may not come.
This is TomTom support. It remains what it was several years ago when I last had a TomTom product: awful.
If this were an ordinary transaction, I would simply return the product for replacement or refund. But consider this: I spent an hour -wasted an hour – trying to get helpful information from their website and then with two women who are entirely unknowledgeable about the product or how to resolve the problems. And now I am waiting 24 to 72 hours for a call from TomTom customer support that may or may not come.
Given that, would I be interested in getting another TomTom product – considering that someday I might need customer support again?
If and when I get a working replacement, I will amend my review to include product performance (if indeed, the replacement works). But anyone considering TomTom should be wary of TomTom’ just plain awful customer support.
Jerry
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