Customer Reviews
(21 customer reviews)
Absolutely awesome!, 2010-08-24
I bought this for a trip through Northern Italy, where the driving in, around, and in between these little Piemonte hilltowns is pretty much impossible. There is just a million small convoluted poorly laid-out roads that no map can accurately capture. The Tomtom performed almost flawlessly. It absolutely saved hours (if not days) of getting horribly lost, and allowed us to truly navigate through areas where there simply are no maps. The vacation would not have been the same without it. It honestly made the trip by allowing us to go places we simply wouldn't have been able to find. There were one or two occasions where it was slightly off (saying we reached our destination when it was in fact 1/4 mile ahead, etc), or hotels it didn't have in the database, but really nothing serious to complain about. I was continually amazed at how well it worked. Alleys that were for mules were identified. The lane feature is great. My very favorite thing is how it re-plans the map witin seconds when you screw up to get you back on track.
The only possible negative is the mounting apparatus (which sort of sucks), but I got used to it. I would buy this product again in a hot second. It is one of the few times in the last decade I have thought, "wow, technology has really improved my life!".
Anyone planning on a European trip with lots of driving would be a fool not to stick this in your suitcase.
Gift for my daughter, 2010-08-16
I got this for my daughter who lives in Italy. She said it is wonderful and gets her everywhere with ease. So if she likes it there it must be great.
The TomTom XXL 540S WTE is a decent but not stellar GPS..., 2010-08-11
The TomTom XXL 540S World Traveller Edition is a decent but far from stellar GPS unit.
THE GOOD
The screen is a good big size, the details on the display are nice, the sound is clear. I also like the lane guidance feature and the customizable POIs on the screen. Those are the good things....
THE BAD
However the guidance and mapping on this unit is weak. Travelling in upstate NY over a two week period this unit often guided us to locations that were clearly wrong and several times took us to gas stations that didnt exist although listed in the POIs. Battery life is very weak, maybe a two hours tops.
THE UGLY
Worse yet when I went to update the maps the TomTom Home software deleted by maps of entire Western Europe and replaced them with only one region in full mapping.
CONCLUSION: CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
I can only advise this unit if found for cheap like close to a hundred bucks. But even for the 169 that I paid I could not feel that it was a good value. Its a shame but basically this is TomTom's fault for going half way to making what could have been an excellent GPS.
Good GPS, but bad map, 2010-07-21
This is my first Tomtom. I own a Garmin GPS which I bought a few years ago.
What I like about this device:
1. Good GPS reception. The device shows 4 or 5 satellites even inside my home. My old Garmin would lose satellite reception when driving on side roads with a lot of trees.
2. Large screen. I like the large screen so that I don't have to deal with small buttons.
What I don't like about this device:
1. Low map quality. When I typed in my home address into this device, the location shown on the device is 400 ft away from my home. On my first driving test with this device, a side street that is on the west side of a main road is shown on the east side of the main road on the GPS map. Fortunately I ignored the GPS and followed the street sign. It seems that the map quality is worse than the map quality on my old Garmin.
2. Lack of documentation. The package comes with a very brief user's guide. A more detailed reference document would be helpful in understanding all the features available in this device.
Great Product; maybe unfair pricing, 2010-07-06
TomTom say they'd sell this for $239, with lifetime maps, but it is out of stock. So, how did Amazon get any? And why does Amazon charge $40 more?
Now, to the product. It is Large, it is bright, it is intuitive. I'm replacing a TomTom 910 World GPS, and this one is easier to use. I've used it in the USA, but will go to Europe in a few weeks. I'm sure it will be great there, because the 910 was, too.
The window mount is OK, simpler than the 910's but not much easier. I'll try a dash mounted or beanbag mounting, next.
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