TomTom GO 500 review

Key Features: 5-inch widescreen; Maps for 45 European countries with lifetime updates; Lifetime TomTom Traffic via smartphone tethering; Radically redesigned menu system; Unified address and points of interest keyword search
Manufacturer: TomTom
What is the TomTom GO 500?

The TomTom GO 500 is a fully featured 5-inch widescreen sat nav with lifetime traffic and map updates. The last time TomTom made a major upgrade to its range was the introduction of the GO 1000 LIVE around 18 months ago. But the GO 500 is potentially an even larger leap. Not only does the GO 500's body mark a change in physical design, but it also has a completely redesigned menu system and reappraisal of interactive features.

TomTom GO 500 - New Menu System

TomTom's menus have evolved over the years, and although the GO 1000 LIVE included some significant – and welcome – improvements, the overall look and feel was familiar after previous models. With the GO 500, however, the menu is almost unrecognisable, and works in a rather different way.

No longer can you call up the menu by simply pressing the map. Instead, a circle containing four dots on the bottom left-hand side of the screen is used. The menu itself is completely different from previous TomTom generations, with the traditional division between addresses and Points of Interest erased.

Instead, a single Search option leads to a two-paned results screen with addresses on the left and POIs on the right. You can enter an address or POI by keyword, without needing to know which town either is in, although you can also enter a full seven-digit UK postcode.

You will even see results from other countries, so you don't need to switch between them, and these appear dynamically as you type in letters. Navman's Spirit interface has used a system like this for some years, and once you get used to it we consider a unified keyword search the most friendly way of finding a destination, so we're pleased to see it on the GO 500.

Overall, the menu system is very easy to use. There's a My Places option where you can navigate to a Home location, favourite or recent destination. There are also menu entries to find Parking and Petrol Stations in the area, although we couldn't find other categories of POI.

The menu feels sparse, but the interface is uncluttered. There are icons where previously you would have found text, but once you figure out what the icons do, all the necessary functions are available. The new menu system is an audacious step, and in our opinion a genuinely clever progressive step in user-focused design.

TomTom GO 500 - Features

Aside from the completely redesigned menu, the other surprising change is that the GO 500 is a live-enabled device, despite not having a model name with LIVE in it. This means you get live traffic updates and traffic updates, but not the more advanced features of LIVE TomToms. TomTom has adjusted its policy, in part presumably because other manufacturers are offering live-enabled services at this price, for example the Garmin nuvi 2598 LMT-D.

For the TomTom GO 500, LIVE services are delivered via your smartphone's data link through a Bluetooth connection. It uses the Personal Hotspot function on iOS or Bluetooth Tethering on Android. TomTom specifies iOS 6, Android 4.0 or Blackberry 10 as a minimum, but we had no trouble connecting to services via an iPhone running iOS 5.1.3.

Once you have hooked up to a smartphone, the two LIVE services available are traffic and speed cameras. The traffic service is for the lifetime of the device, but speed camera updates require a paid-for subscription, although the first three months are free.

These are the services most travellers will want to use. TomTom doesn't call its traffic service HD Traffic anymore, but the TomTom Traffic service is the same thing. Our experience is that this is still the most detailed and frequently updated traffic service available, and we found the GO 500 was just as good through a smartphone.

However, it's worth noting that although TomTom claims the data consumption is minimal – just 7MB per month for an hour's usage a day during peak traffic times – you will need to ensure your smartphone has enough power to maintain the connection for your entire journey, or you will lose the service. The LIVE services also don't include extras like local search, weather or travel digests.

TomTom GO 500 - Features, Design, Performance and Verdict

TomTom Go 500

DesignThe redesign of the device itself is more of an indication of the changes underneath, rather than significant in itself. The 5-inch widescreen is encased in a chassis with rounded edges, but otherwise uses similar materials to previous premium TomToms.

The mount works in a similar fashion to premium TomToms since the GO 1000 LIVE, too, with a multi-pin connector at the bottom and a magnetic system securing the device. However, the connector is now fixed, and the power cable uses micro USB to connect to the mount. The same cable is used for updating the device software as connecting in a car, with the GO 500 also including a micro USB connector.

The GO 500 has an unspecified amount of storage on board, but the unit comes with European maps pre-installed and lifetime updates, plus there's a Micro SD slot for adding maps as well. TomTom has even changed the look and feel of its navigational map view. The background map is subtly shaded, with the route in blue. The map screens also feel a lot faster to redraw and more responsive than previous TomToms.

The next turning and its distance are found at the top, with your current speed and the limit at the bottom. The estimated arrival time and distance to destination (although you can change this) are now on the top right above what TomTom is now calling the Route Bar, rather than in a strip at the bottom.

The Route Bar is a development of the traffic bar of previous models, but now shows you speed cameras as you close in on them as well as jams. The full-screen Advanced Lane Guidance graphic that pops up at complex junctions has been redesigned, too, and adds to the generally clearer design. These now also include 3D landmarks, although as with every other version of this we have seen only a few of the most notable landmarks are included – for example, Wembley Stadium and Neasden Hindu Temple in London.

Should I buy the TomTom GO 500?

Yes. If you drive enough to justify buying a dedicated sat nav and need live traffic, it's the best sat nav at this price around and a big leap forward over previous TomToms. The new menu design will be an acquired taste for some, but we think it's a bold and successful move and the lifetime traffic updates are a massive plus.

Its most obvious competitor, the Garmin nuvi 2598 LMT-D, is an excellent sat nav but the TomTom's superior live traffic and great new design edges it. The Garmin only supports Bluetooth links with Android phones, too, which means the TomTom wins by default if you want traffic updates and own an iPhone.

Verdict

After a few years of riding on the laurels of GO 1000 LIVE and its derivatives, TomTom has delivered another ground-breaking sat-nav. If you have £200 or so to spend on decent sat nav, spend your money here.

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