TomTom - VIA 1515M 5" GPS with Lifetime Map Updates - Black/Gray

It is a good GPS but it's not as good as my last one. I had a later model Tomtom. This one is a earlier model,but it does what I need it to do. It just don't have all the bells and whistles like blue tooth for hands free calling or traffic updates. Tomtom is an excellent product though and if I ever have to buy another one in the future it will be a Tomtom, just a newer one. They are worth the money.

This device is easy to set up and use. The routing screen is sleek and intuitive. The ability to save Favorites and remember recent addresses is very useful. Many options can be found in the Settings screens. Negative points include a fairly rudimentary search system. For example one can only find a street in one form. If you are searching for East Aurora street and the device has it listed as E Aurora street you will not find it. To make matters worse, the schema is inconsistent such that some are listed as "East <name>", other streets as "E <name>" and still others as <name> East". Searching by "points of interest" is also nearly useless. When searching for a hospital nearby - a function that could literally be a lifesaver - you will be presented with a list of several hospitals that are merely clinics, outpatient offices, or mental health clinics that just happen to be in the same hospital system. Imagine furiously driving to what you believe to be a hospital and ending up at a dental clinic. Yes, this function is literally that useless.

1. Bought to replace a broken Garmin. This is not the product I went to Best Buy to get, they were out and this was the next choice. There overall availability of products was abysmal to say the least. Just used it on a trip. I will say it programs well, better than the Garmin. The voice is identical to the Garmin so they must use or share the same software. On the trip going out it worked flawlessly once we got it to find the correct state to search. Our bad on that. The reason it worked is this leg of the trip was to my daughters with very little small town travel, mostly freeway. Didn't need this really but I love the eta on these. It was on the way back I noticed problems. The biggest, in small towns it would NOT ANNOUNCE the street name in advance. Ex, turn 1/2 mile ahead on Smith Street. It says turn 1/2 mile ahead. OK, I'm not sure when in traffic and there are three places ahead to turn left which one is the correct one. I have a car to drive, can't be reading maps and watching the screen. Like the Garmin it would show the street name but in a small box on the right with small letters. Great for the passenger to read but the driver needs superman vision to read it. My Garmin presented a display across the entire screen at the top showing the street name. For this reason alone, when you need it the most in unfamiliar towns, this is where it lets you down. Funny, on major highways it says clearly; exit 1/2 ahead on the right, exit 257.

I chose to pick this up for the UHaul in my recent move across the US. Quite honestly, I couldn't have been happier. I think this even does a fraction of a bit better than the nav setups in my cars because it even tells you what lane to be in for many of the more complicated intersections. I don't recall a single instance of issues with this unit, and it far exceeded my expectations. The UHaul, on the other hand...

Bought this for my wife, who is reluctant to use the GPS option on her phone for her job, which requires extensive travel locally. Some of the options I would have liked were live traffic updates and voice recognition for navigation, but at this price point the device is packed with everything else you would want and expect. The initial map/software update was over 3GB in size, and took about 90 minutes to download and install. The user interface is very intuitive, and the maps are current (there is a major interchange that is currently under modification near me, and the map actually displays both the current and future exit ramps, with the future ones showing as closed). The only drawback I have, and it is minor, is the suction cup window mount needs to click when rotating the attachment ring. It's a bit stiff, which may loosen up with use, but if you don't get the click it will fall after a short time.

TomTom makes great products. They are easy to use. I find the lane navigation helpful. The screen is big enough, so personally I don't think the bigger version is necessary. I gave this one back though and got the TomTom Start 50M instead. I realized that would be good enough and I don't need the maps for Canada etc. The VIA 1515M has a crisper screen, the cable is located in a more convenient spot and it was quicker to attach and reattach. Also, it showed the speed limit more frequently, so it seemed as if there is more data available for the software. If I had the extra money, I would go for this but because the functions are very similar, I ultimately decided that the START 50M is good enough.

Good product over all. But I hate that I have to update it. I wish it could connect to wifi and update itself. I doubt I will ever take it out of the car. It is hard to use at first because you have to enter the address backwards with state, city, street, number.. It makes it harder. The buttons are a little challenging since its touch screen and sometimes doesn't want to recognize which thing was pushed. It would be awesome to have a voice activated one.. "ok Tomtom" But overall great product for price. The representative even gave me a discount in store, since I found it cheaper online.

This is my 3rd GPS - a Garmin in 2007 (map updates were too expensive), a Magellan in 2011 that crashed twice (free updates, but worst customer service ever), and now this unit. I don't use a GPS often - most of the places I go are familiar. But when I do I want accuracy and clear instructions. This unit has a nice big screen, very good graphics, and great instructions with a clear display of the turns and lanes. It's not expensive, but offers a lot for the money with lifetime maps. One plus - of my three units this one seems to work the best when it's not attached to the windshield, both in my house to program my next trip, and in the car if I put it on the console.it has no problem finding the satellites. But one big minus - the suction cup mount is attached to the unit, and my sports car has a steeply-sloped windshield which forces me to be a contortionist getting it in place in the lower left corner of my windshield and then turning the knob to lock it. It's so difficult that I just ordered TomToms vent mount for it. But overall it's a good unit for the price and easy to use.