TomTom VIA 1505M 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps
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Product Description
Edition: Lifetime Maps
Amazon.com Product Description
The VIA Story
Hit the road street-smart and style-savvy. The new, super-slim TomTom VIA series holds the latest navigation technology, in a fresh, sleek design including an integrated Fold ; Go EasyPort Mount. Travel confidently with superior routing and the most accurate, dependable maps in the GPS industry. In fact, TomTom gives you one million more miles of mapped roads in the US. The VIA range offers a large array of unique features--like Lifetime Traffic and Map Updates, Bluetooth hands-free calling and natural voice recognition with one-shot destination address entry--all at affordable prices.
The TomTom VIA 1505M
Introducing the TomTom VIA 1505M, equipped with superior driving intelligence.
Travel with ease and style throughout the US, Canada ; Mexico. This innovative navigator boasts a super-slim design, classic finish, new, intuitive user interface and a 5-inch touchscreen.
Using TomTom maps, you have access to one million more miles of mapped road in the US than you would using any other GPS brand. With TomTom VIA's Free Lifetime Map Updates, you can download the latest map edition every few months. And, with TomTom Map Share On-Demand Updates, you can easily make instant changes and download verified updates from other TomTom users to your map.
Outsmart delays using IQ Routes. The exclusive technology directs you to your destination using the smartest, fastest route possible. TomTom knows to avoid certain roads during rush hour, streets inundated with traffic light changes and pedestrian traffic, and more, so that you always take the fastest way to get anywhere, at any time.
TomTom VIA 1505M Features
Free Lifetime Map Updates
Outsmart road changes. Free Lifetime Map Updates guarantee you receive four new editions of your TomTom map each year to ensure that you are always navigating with the industry's most up-to-date map.
Premium maps of the US, Canada ; Mexico
Navigate with ease throughout the US, Canada ; 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.
Integrated EasyPort Mount
With TomTom VIA's unique flip-screen technology, you can easily secure your device to your vehicle's windshield or dashboard with the integrated EasyPort Mount.
Refreshed User Interface, New Design ; Contemporary Finish
Travel in style. TomTom VIA boasts a super-slim design, classic finish and a bright, 5-inch touchscreen. And, the new user interface allows for easy route planning and menu browsing.
Advanced Lane Guidance
Advanced Lane Guidance show's you exactly which road to take, when driving through complex intersections and multi-lane junctions.
7 Million Points of Interest
Easily 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.
IQ Routes
Always take the smartest, fastest route. This exclusive technology will recommend the fastest route based on the time of day and day of the week.
Spoken Turn-By-Turn Directions, Including Street Names
Keep your eyes on the road and listen while your TomTom announces turn-by-turn directions, including street and place names.
Travel With Peace of Mind With Help Me! Emergency Menu
Travel with peace of mind. Easily access local emergency providers such as police, fire stations, and hospitals.
Footnotes Feature available in the US and Canada only Based on info available as of 1/11You receive non-transferable traffic data per year until the product�s useful life expires or TomTom no longer receives traffic updates from its suppliers, whichever is shorter. Lifetime Traffic available in US and CAN only. Details and terms at www.tomtom.com/legal.
All TomToms Feature:
Easy to Use
Plug ; Go Right Out of the Box
All TomToms are easy to use, and work right out of the box. TomTom's intuitive, award-winning user interface features large icons and sharp, full-color 3D graphics.
Reduce Driver Stress
30-Day Latest Map Guarantee
When you start using your TomTom, if a newer map release is available you can download one complimentary update to your map within 30 days from the time you first start using your TomTom device. Latest Map Guarantee is available via TomTom HOME.
Preloaded Maps and Points of Interest
Easily find millions of gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and more on your route with millions of points of interest in over 60 categories.
Save Time ; Money
TomTom Home Content Manager
Personalize your device in the TomTom HOME Content Manger, where you can subscribe to advanced TomTom services, download new points of interest, voices, and even share your own content with the rest of the TomTom community.
Enhance Safety
Help Me! Emergency Menu
Travel with peace of mind. Easily access local emergency providers such as police, fire stations, and hospitals.
Announces Street and Place Names
Keep your eyes on the road while your TomTom GPS announces turn-by-turn directions, including street and place names.
What's In the Box
VIA 1505M, USB Cable, CLA Socket, Adhesive Disk, User Guide, LTM Voucher
TomTom VIA 1505M 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps
Product Details
- Product Dimensions: 1.3 x 5.3 x 3.7 inches ; 7.7 ounces
- Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
- ASIN: B004MYFTEW
- Item model number: 1EN5.019.01
Technical Details
- Get over 1 million more miles of mapped roads in the US
- Stay up-to-date on road changes with Free Lifetime Map Updates
- Navigate with ease using premium maps of the US, Canada ; Mexico
- Travel in style with the new, slim design and integrated Fold and Go EasyPort Mount
- Plan routes easily with smarter user interface on a bright 5-inch touchscreen
TomTom VIA 1505M 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps
Customer Reviews
Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT vs. TomTom Via 1535TM
I purchased both units to compare them and in the end pick the unit that best suits my needs and preferences. I wanted to get a new GPS unit because the built in unit I have in my SUV is outdated. The portability, being able to use on another vehicle, and the free lifetime maps are really what I'm after but decided that lifetime traffic alerts is not a bad option either. I would like to point out that whatever you chose between the two, the decision will not be a mistake as they are both good GPS units, they both have their own strengths and weaknesses, but it will come down to what you really prefer or your comfort level.
I tested both units driving around where I live and when we went on vacation in Las Vegas. I had them mounted next to each other most of the time.
TomTom Via 1535TM
PROS:
- By default, provides more info (speed, distance, time etc) on the status bar, located on bottom of screen, compared to the Nuvi. And just above the Via's status bar, it shows the street name that you are currently on (I find this very helpful), the Nuvi does not have this feature while navigating. The Nuvi will give you the option to display the same info on its status bar, but it will place the status bar vertically on the right side of the display that makes the main screen smaller (like an old 3.5" GPS screen) I really really like this feature and how it's displayed on the screen, it's really cool to have all this info ready at all times. Something you might say, "Honey, I'm about 65 miles away and will be home in about 50 minutes, by 2:30pm, I should be pulling up by the driveway." All this info is displayed on the unit at all times, you don't have to calculate in your head.
- Consistently finds POIs faster than the Nuvi. It's almost instant whereas the Nuvi could take seconds, sometimes even several minutes to find its first POI (this really sucks when you are so ready to go, even a minute feels like an eternity!). But this also depends on how popular the POI is, if you're looking for McDonalds or something well known, then both units will give you an instant list.
- The voice command feature is great when it works and it works most of the time. I really like this feature especially when driving to a new address; it is so much easier saying where you are going instead of manually inputting everything onto the unit. It's also great for looking for a certain POI while driving, I love how you can just say "Go to the nearest Starbucks" and it will get you there with just a single button input! The voice command feature is not perfect though, as some POI names, no matter how your pronounce it, just won't get recognized by the unit. I tried IKEA and 7-ELEVEN numerous times with no success. I was driving on the freeway one time and my low fuel indicator flashed and in a city I'm not familiar with and all I have to say was "Go to the nearest gas station" and within minutes I'm filling up my gas tank! This is so cool! I didn't have to fiddle with the unit to input and chose where I needed to go, keeping my attention on the road - where it should be. Even with the feature's shortcomings, I found this feature to be a deal breaker!
- I also like the fact that you can still access the device while connected to the computer. This is helpful if you wanted to change settings or play around with the unit. The Nuvi locks you out the minute you plug in the USB cord.
- The voice on the unit sounds a lot better than the Garmin Nuvi. The voice sounds more human, better to the ears while the Nuvi's voice sounds too robotic. The volume on the Nuvi is much louder than the Via though.
- Preloaded speed traps/traffic camera POIs. The unit will beep to alert you of incoming traffic cameras! It'll make you rethink about running that red light The Nuvi does not have any traffic camera POIs preloaded, although you can download these from online.
CONS:
- The Via takes a long time to acquire a satellite signal! It takes anywhere from 1 to 4 minutes just to get a lock on a signal! You're probably saying, what's 1-4 minutes?! Well, I had the Nuvi next to it turned on the same and it acquired a signal in less than 30 seconds! The 4 minutes of waiting feels like forever! And this is not sometimes... this is all the time
- Like a lot of people say, the LCD screen of the TomTom Via is inferior to that of the Garmin Nuvi's. And I have to agree! The display gets easily washed up under the sun! There are times when you have to really focus on the screen just to read what is on there. It also doesn't help that the letters and graphics on the screen are smaller and the colors are not that vivid! The icons look flat as well. I was shocked when one day I was driving (almost sunset) when the sun's rays coming from the rear window hit the Via's screen and I totally couldn't see it, while the Nuvi sitting next to it was still visible!
- The unit is not very responsive, very sluggish... You press an icon and it almost takes a full second to respond! There are also no beeps when you click on something, unlike the Nuvi that responds faster and gives you an audio cue every time you touch something on the screen.
- Although the unit generates a POI list very fast, the list it provides shows very little info. It will only list found POIs and the distance in miles away from your location... Drilling down further will only provide a phone number and a mini map of its location. I found this very annoying as I always like to know the address of where I'm going, what city, what street it's on etc. I live in the Bay Area (California) and would always like to know the city of my destination since I would rather travel more miles than to cross one of the bridges, deal with the traffic and pay toll! I find it uncomfortable to just drive to a location xx miles away and with no other info... The Nuvi provides the full address, phone number and more info of all its POIs.
- Voice Command when making calls is almost useless. If you have an iPhone, use its Voice Control feature to make calls instead - it will give you better results. The Via has a hard time recognizing names, so when you say "Call (insert name here)", it'll give you a list of your contact info, and you have to scroll down to get to the person you want to call then say the number of the contact before it'll dial. And given how the unit is very unresponsive to inputs, this little call could become very annoying fast!
- There is also a bug that they need to fix. After updating the maps, all your favorites get deleted! This can get frustrating if you end up doing these four times a year (number of times they issue map updates in a year). MyTomTom, their online support, is still not fully functional. The only thing that it really does is update maps; you can't download extra voices, extra POIs and other things.
Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT
PROS:
- The LCD Screen on the Nuvi shows very well under the sun. The colors pop and you won't get the washed up colors you get with the Via. The display is not cluttered with unnecessary info, very easy to read with big letters, better contrast and vivid colors. This is one of the main selling points of the Garmins, they are very easy to understand and use! You glance at the screen instead of "focusing" because of how easy it is to digest. The Garmin just has a better GUI (in my opinion) compared to the Via. I find the icons on the Nuvis looking better compared to the Via's flat look. The Nuvi just displays everything better, it's "prettier" and easier to look at than the Via. The Via is like reading a book where the Nuvi is like reading a book with pictures. The presentation is just better with the Nuvi.
- Detailed POIs. The Nuvi generates POIs with complete addresses, phone numbers and how far it is from your location. I really like that Garmin included the complete address instead of just the distance. It gives you a better sense of direction and the comfort of knowing where you're going. The downside is that the Nuvi takes longer than the Via when looking for POIs that are not very common. It is also very convenient when saving these POIs to your favorites as you don't have to enter/edit too much info.
- Acquires satellite signals very quickly compared to the Via, which usually takes 1-4 minutes. The Nuvi usually takes less than 30 seconds to lock on a signal, a minute at the longest. The GPS start up is also very quick. The unit is also very responsive to your commands; it gives you audio cues when inputting commands. It seems that the Nuvi just does everything a tad quicker than the Via.
- I actually like the fact that Nuvi will say "Recalculating" when you miss a turn. I like to know when I make a mistake, so for example, when I come back to the same place without the GPS, I'm not taking the "wrong turn" and thinking that it's the correct way... The Nuvi recalculates fairly quickly and usually gets you on the right track right away. The Via will not give you an audio cue if you miss a turn, it'll just instantly recalculate and show you the next correct turn as if you were on the correct path all along. Some people actually prefer this as they are sick of hearing "recalculating".
- When you put an entry in your Favorites, the Nuvi will actually pronounce the name you give it. (BTW, the Nuvi does this for all destinations) For example, if I name my friends address as "Fat Joe's House", the Nuvi will actually say "Arriving at Fat Joe's House in .5 miles" or "You have arrived at Fat Joe's House on the right". Just imagine the possibilities... hahaha! It's surprising how many words and names the Nuvi can pronounce! The... Read more›
I just got my Tomtom VIA 1505TM yesterday, and having just got off the phone with the (easy to reach ; very friendly ; helpful) customer service here is what I wish I'd known before I bough this: it's still in Beta and isn't supported by a lot of Tomtom's infrastructure yet. For example, as of today (April 5th 2011) you aren't going to find it on most of the drop down menus on Tomtom's website or as an option on the phone menu when you call customer service. More seriously, it can't connect to Tomtom Home which is the software that allows you to do the fun things Tomtom offer like downloading voices or other doodads to your device. I was really looking forward to customizing my GPS with various voices and I'm sad I can't do that. I am assured that over the course of this year Tomtom will send updates to the VIA GPSes that will eventually allow them to join the party but for now there is very little support for this product. I think it's kind of weird to release a beta that has less functionality than the models it supersedes without clearly warning potential purchasers so I'm writing this review today. I also can't buy a carry case sized just to fit my VIA - which is a different shape to previous models because it attaches to my car using a different system. I'm told its a better system but since this is my first GPS I wouldn't know.
Hopefully by the end of the year (as I said, I'm writing this on April 5th 2011) this review will be obsolete but right now, if you purchase this GPS today, you will not be getting a fully supported device. I'm not happy at having been lured into Beta testing Tomtom's new product line, this is my first GPS and I paid $200 for it, I wanted a great experience right out of the box. As it is I'm just feeling a bit sad about the whole thing, and even the charming customer service hasn't made that go away.
The thing is, this is a really nice piece of engineering. It is super easy to set up and use. It works in a fundamentally different way to previous Tomtoms, and you can use it while it is plugged into your computer. A friend of mine has an earlier Tomtom and I know she gets frustrated at not being able to access her Tomtom while it is attached to her computer so that is a definite plus. I'm not complaining about the device itself, it is very cool. I'm told that this model is the future of Tomtom, and that in time it will do everything the other models do and more, but the fact is that it doesn't do that now, today, April 5th 2011.
So. Early adopters and devoted beta testers rejoice! This is definitely the Tomtom for you. Buy one and enjoy yourselves. But those of you who, like me, just want to get where you are going with a bit of fun along the way, and the least amount of hassle, might want to pick something else.
Update, June 17th 2011: After using this device for a few months, I still feel that anyone looking for a drama-free GPS should go and buy something else. The TomTom VIA series is still a rich source of drama - it isn't compatible with TomTom Home, and the MyTomTom software it is compatible with is just AWFUL and hugely frustrating. I've owned this thing for months and tonight was the first time I have ever successfully managed to update it, and that has taken me two hours and much nailbiting (At one point it managed to wipe itself clean of all maps ; I had to completely reinstall everything. Fun.) On the other hand, it does seem to have finally installed the extra voice I bought for it the day I got it, (before I knew that it didn't at that time support adding extra voices) so it will be interesting to see how that will work out. And the TomTom website does now acknowledge the existence of the VIA models, though it still doesn't offer much for them. Progress is being made by TomTom to bring the VIA series out into the general community of TomTom products but this is very much still a beta device and I do still wish I'd bought a different GPS system.
On the other hand it is a nifty little thing, and I do enjoy using it. It has a completely intuitive interface, and it gives excellent directions both spoken and on the screen. It recalculates directions incredibly fast. It sticks on my windscreen very well. The traffic feature is excellent, and has helped me stay out of many traffic jams, though sometimes the traffic feature just won't load, which is a shame. As many other people have pointed out it does take quite a few minutes for the device to locate the satellites (I had thought this was just because I live out in the sticks, in the middle of a forest with no cell phone reception even, but if other people are having a problem it must be something to do with the unit.) All in all, I've enjoyed using it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd bought something that was a fully functioning product and not just a poorly supported beta.
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