TomTom 1530TM for ~110 at Costco for black friday

wow thats very cheap

That's a good price. I can't find a better deal, including ebay.

But how good is the gps?

I'm not planning on buying any TT unit that has come out since Sept of last year.

I hope they have that deal in the DFW area, the maps on my GO930 are getting old.

It came to around 125 with taxes I think. I bought some other stuff as well so I don't know the exact price of the unit. I'm a bit disappointed by it currently, but I'm going to let it update to the latest software and then make my decision if I'll keep it.

What specifically makes you disappointed?

Shooter, here's a summary of what I don't like:

1. The brightness of the unit is lacking and I have issues seeing it in direct sunlight.

2. The voice command feature doesn't work for me consistently. I find myself having to repeat multiple times and often just giving up and navigating through the screens.

3. The menu selections are unfamiliar and seem to be longer to navigate through than the Garmin that I was coming from.

4. I wasn't able to transfer my Favorites to the Favorites on the TomTom and instead added them as POIs and I'm not all that keen on having separate POIs favorites and then new Favorites as I add them to the Favorites menu. I can see ending up having to go to two different places for my favorites over time.

That's about it off the top of my head for the moment.

Thanks for asking and letting me vent.

In case it helps, you should be able to copy Points of Interest to and from your Favorites on your TomTom. On my GO 720...

To copy a POI to the Favorites list:

[Main menu] > Add Favorite > Point of Interest

To copy a Favorites location to a POI:

[Main menu] > Change preferences > Manage POIs > Add POI > [select the POI group] > Favorite

Thanks for your comment VersatileGuy.

That does help. I'll try it out.

thanks for the input guys

Glad to be of service.

I agree with you on the first two points, although I have been able to work around them myself. The menus are different, but once you get used to them, they are OK. Now that you are able to add your Favorites, you should be good to go.

I think you'll like the IQ Routing, that is the one aspect I really miss when I'm using my BMW built-in or my Android.

Shooter

I really haven't seen IQ Routing in effect just yet. Most of my routes are either rural (some parts on country gravel roads) or on major highways (driving to Chicago to visit the parents).

When my wife bought her BMW, I convinced her to opt out for the navigation package. Although we got the smaller screen, I'm still glad that we didn't pay out the nose for a navigation package that can be had for so much less and can be updated more readily.

For example, I just used Google Maps on my Kindle Fire with cached map data and a gps signal (sent from my phone via TetherGPS app) for my 3 hour drive to St. Louis. It worked flawlessly albeit I don't have a holder for a 7" screen ... other than my wife in the seat next to me.

My daughter bought a used Toyota with the in-dash navigation package. She lives in a area with a lot of growth and changes to the streets, and works in a sales job where she visits prospective customers, so up-to-date maps are important to her. The price of an annual map update for the Toyota nav system is more than it would cost her to buy a new TomTom GPS unit with lifetime map updates.
.

FWIW, our son uses a Kindle Fire to entertain his 3 year-old on car trips, so we did some looking for holders for the Fire. For obvious reasons, we ended up with one that attaches to the back of a headrest and is usable only in the back seat, but I recall that when I was looking, I saw some holders for the Fire that could be used in the front seat. I *think* that this was when I was searching Amazon with the search terms, "Kindle Fire mount".

It's been a while for me being on here so if I missed something regarding TomTom units excuse my ignorance.

With the above disclaimer posted: TENDRIVER what's wrong/what don't you like with/about the newer units? Just lost a XXL 540 so I'm in the market for a new device...the VIA 1505 looks promising or even a new XXL 540.

ML

Nice to see you checking in. Hope all is going well for you.

[tendriver] was referring to newer TomTom units that use the "MyTomTom" utility for connecting to the computer. A patent lawsuit by Microsoft forced TomTom to stop using their "TomTom HOME" application and create the "MyTomTom" utility as a replacement. It seems that "MyTomTom" development was a rush job; the early releases were missing a lot of features and it is still considered by many to be a work in progress.

VersatileGuy provided most of what I would have said. The main thing that I might be able to add is that there have been some really good deals on the XXL540TM in recent days, with Amazon selling it for $89.

Personally, I would be tempted to get that unit if I were in the market, as I have been very satisfied with my own XXL540, and consider the above price to be a real bargain, *especially* when the lifetime maps and traffic are taken into consideration.

Of course, if the capability for a Bluetooth phone connection is important, one of the VIA units might be more attractive to you.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

The 1535TM is $129.99 @ Amazon.com w/ free S&H & no sales tax. (The VIA 1530TM is the wholesale club equivalent of the VIA 1535TM.)

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I just got confirmation that my NEW XXL 540S was shipped today. I bought it for $95 US from O.com and got an accessory kit with it which includes an AC charger, screen protector kit and pouch. It's an after-Christmas gift from good ol' mom!

Now to reload all my POIs and assorted sound files. Kept the old model's files backed up on my c: drive so I'll be able to scavenge a little.

ML

PS...last week I bought the TomTom APP for my iPhone 4s just as a precaution. I know, :-O-VERKILL!

I can't add POI folders like my Garmen did.
"My TomTom" doesnt even allow an option for it.
So I enter everything manually.
Maybe I'm missing something?

Make sure you have the latest version of the MyTomTom application. Check the following link for details:

http://us.support.tomtom.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13151

I ran into similar issues ... you can copy over your your poi information, but you have to convert it into a format that the tomtom recognizes.

With the more recent TomTom units, adding POI files is done with the "MyTomTom" utility. In an attempt to thoroughly confuse the user, there are two different "MyTomTom" programs. One is accessed via the web, and the other is a standalone utility that will be found in the "tray" if you are using Windows and allow the program to run at start-up. (If you do not allow it to be set to run at start-up, you will have to manually run the "MyTomTom" utility.)

When you pop up the "MyTomTom" utility in the bottom right corner of the screen, one of the options on its menu will be "Community Content". When you select that action, it will open a menu that allows you to add POI files, custom icons, custom sounds, etc. Once you have reached that point, you will see a fairly standard interface that allows you to browse for the file(s) on your computer that you want to transfer to your GPS.

Earlier versions of "MyTomTom" lacked many of these functions, so make sure that you have a current version.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

I was able to load ALL of my old POI files (.ov2 format) onto my new XXL 540S without any problem what-so-ever, albeit I loaded all of them manually because I'm not familiar with doing it any other way on the TomTom. I even reloaded a car icon that I had created for my original 540S.

ML

Did you d/l & install the `MyTomTom' utility? If so when you are connected it will recognize your TomTom and then you will be able to click on the personal content MyTomTom icon (usually hidden) and it will open a webpage allowing access to a number of functions and updates. Give it a try (if you haven't already)...

When I hook up the unit the 'old' TomTom Home opens and it's business as usual. Must be for the newer/latest model TomToms because I'm not asked to update/upgrade to any new utilities.

ML

"HOME" is the correct utility for your model. The XXL540 models still used the TomTom "HOME" utility, which is relatively intuitive and straightforward to use. The newer models of TomTom GPS units require the use of the "MyTomTom" utility - which is much less intuitive, IMO - to accomplish the same things.

"MyTomTom" seems to be a work in progress. When first introduced, it lacked a lot of capability that was promised for the future. They have slowly been adding those functions, so anyone who needs to use "MyTomTom" should make sure that they have the latest version.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

And who says 'old timers' should hang it up?

Glad I opted for an 'old' 540S instead of one of the newer TT models.

ML

IMO, if the XXL540 has the features you want, it is an excellent choice and is also currently a better value than the newer models. I have been very pleased with my XXL540TM.

Of course, if there is a feature that the XXL540 lacks that is important to you and is found in a newer model, the decision is not as cut-and-dried.

With best wishes,
- Tom -