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Tomtom Via 1505m

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129 of 137 people found the following review helpful.
What I Wish I'd Known Before I Bought This: It's Still In Beta
By A. McDuff
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.

72 of 77 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent price makes up for some inadequacies
By J. York
My wife has been harping me for a GPS in her car for some time. After a recent stint in a loaner car equipped with a factory GPS, I began searching in earnest for a good GPS to fill the need. I originally was looking at the Garmin Nuvi line but some of reviews commented on 'commercials' appearing when the driver is stopped and I was totally unwilling to pay top dollar for a GPS just for the privilege of stairing at advertisements. When I saw the new GO and VIA lines from TomTom I decided to take a closer look.
I ended up picking up both a GO2535TM and a VIA1505. The GO model is more of a 'top of the line' model compared to the mid-grade VIA1505. I'll talk about some of the differences below but first let me give a brief summary of my findings with the 1505:
Pros:
Very affordable.
Very fast re-routing.
Very large screen.
Very thin/svelte.
Really helpful intersection detail screens pop up when going through a route.
No problem with polarized sunglasses.
Cons:
Screen washes out badly in the Texas sun.
Battery life is less than 90 minutes.
Suction cup mount is permanently attached.
Speed limit data is often inaccurate.
User interface is kind of slow.
MyTomTom service is barely beta quality.
Very slow acquisition of GPS signal (> 90 seconds)
FORM FACTOR
The VIA1505 is a very svelte GPS with a large screen. It's so thin and light (with such a big screen) that you can't help but recognize it features the very latest technologies. The price of the VIA1505 is low enough that I am willing to forgive many of the flaws I'm about to describe.
MYTOMTOM SOFTWARE
The first thing I will comment about is the MyTomTom application that one uses to perform all firmware and map updates. TomTom is kind enough to provide an initial free map update for the VIA1505 through the MyTomTom application. I installed the MyTomTom app on both a Macintosh and a Windows 7 system. The UI was similar on both computers and I didn't detect any difference in the quality or features. The application had an annoying tendancy to keep launching even though I had changed the setting to tell it not to launch each time I turned on my computer. That is the first of many bugs.
I initially activated my TomTom GO2535TM. This went smoothly however it did not find any map updates. I then tried to add the VIA1505 to my account but I received a very cryptic error 'something has gone wrong'. I'm serious, that was the error message. I googled but could not find anything. I tried about a dozen times and continued to get this error. I tried on both the Mac and Windows and continued to get the error. Finally I thought 'maybe I need to create a separate login on MyTomTom for the second GPS?'. Upon creating a second login on the TomTom website, the VIA1505 linked without error and proceeded to download firmware and map updates. Of course, this leads me to wonder why my GO2535TM is not seeing map updates!
SCREEN
I took the GPS out to my car to go for a spin. I was immediately pleased to see that my polarized sunglasses did not interfere with screen visibility. Unfortunately, when I stepped outside of my house, the Texas sun so badly washed out the display that I thought something was wrong. I stepped into my dark garage and suddenly the screen was clearly visible again. I went into the settings to make sure there weren't any power saving options or screen brightness settings that needing adjustment- there were not.
Once I mounted the GPS in my car and started driving around, I continued to find the screen (on battery power) to be barely visible. On a hunch, I plugged in the (included) 12volt adapter cord and suddenly the screen became noticeably brighter. It still wasn't great, but it was at least visible even in the bright sunlight. I later learned that the battery life on this unit is so bad that I have to leave it plugged in all the time anyway.
VEHICLE MOUNT
The suction cup mount for this unit is permanently affixed to the GPS screen. This means you have to re-stick it to your windshield each time you get in your car. This unit is inexpensive enough that you might be tempted to leave it mounted in the car all the time but I talk to SO many people that have had their car broken into for GPS units- it seems like it's not worth the risk of broken windows/doorlocks to leave it mounted. Because of the design, unmounting and mounting each time is definitely a lot harder than you'd expect. My GO2535TM has a magnetic removable mount that is much nicer.
USER INTERFACE
I entered a few destinations using the built in search feature. It was reasonably easy to find restaurants and other points of interest near my house. I was a bit perplexed by how slow the interface was- when I pushed a key on the virtual keyboard there was usually a noticeable delay. The delay was so long that sometimes I ended up pushing the same key multiple times before the letter showed up on the screen. This took some getting used to and seems like it could be fixed with better tuned firmware in the future. I'm crossing my fingers!
BATTERY
With a full charge, I've been getting less than 90 minutes of battery life. I haven't actually used the unit until the battery totally expires but I have seen the low battery warning come on well before the 90 minute mark. This is a bit annoying as it means you realistically have to leave it plugged in most of the time. Due to the screen brightness issue, I'm having to leave it plugged in anyway.
GPS SIGNAL ACQUISITION
The first time I left my house, I was puzzled because the GPS wasn't showing any movement. I drove out of my neighborhood and to a nearby stoplight. This is about a 90 second drive. During this time the GPS said it was 'acquiring GPS signal'. Finally, while sitting at the stoplight, the GPS updated and correctly showed my location for the remainder of my drive. This initial acquisition was a lot slower than I expected. Sometimes when I'm downtown at a baseball game I want to quickly figure out how to get home. If I have to wait 90 seconds to get a GPS signal, I'll be driving blind for quite some time before I get any guidance as to which one-way street is going to take me to the desired interstate. If I sit in my car for 90 seconds, tons of fans pour into the streets and cause endless backups. I'm pretty disappointed with this and am hoping it improves with firmware updates.
SPEED LIMIT DISPLAY
One feature of the VIA1505 is that it displays posted speed limits on major roads. Unfortunately, I estimate that 25% of the speed limits in the VIA1505 are inaccurate. In many cases the posted speeds are slower than what the GPS displays. This is a recipe for a speeding ticket! In the end, I find that I can't trust and have to ignore these speed limits. I wish there was a way to hide them altogether since they can't be depended on. Both my VIA1505 and GO2535TM have this issue so it seems to be something in TomTom's data feed.
POINTS OF INTEREST
I configured my VIA1505 to display restaurants and gas stations along my route. I found that it was a bit spotty. There were several gas stations (Citgo, Valero and even some Shell stations) that I drove by that did not appear on my map. Several Chevrons did show up. Likewise with restaurants, the TomTom was missing a Burger King, Jack in the Box and Chick-fil-a however it showed me several McDonalds and Sonics. I did not notice any 'small' restaurants showing up on the GPS. Good luck finding a hole-in-the-wall gem with the TomTom. I'm not surprised or disappointed by that- just reporting the facts.
NAVIGATION GUIDES
Where this unit really shines is in the most basic feature of taking you to a destination. First, I love the custom intersection and highway exit screens that come up to tell you which direction each lane can go. At one point I was on a 7-lane stretch of freeway and the TomTom dutifully drew all 7 lanes with arrows showing where they were headed (veering right, going straight, etc...). Very cool and very confidence inspiring! I love this feature.
REROUTING
Also, this unit is very fast at recalculating routes. Even on a 60 minute drive, any slight change in my route resulted in a reroute in just a matter of seconds. I've read other GPS units taking 60-90 seconds to calculate a new route. Clearly this is not an issue for the VIA1505. My wife also commented on how quickly the unit rerouted when she altered her route. This is a very important feature and one at which the VIA1505 excels.
IQ ROUTES
Another feature that seems to work as advertised is the 'IQ Routes' that allow the VIA1505 to route you around predicted traffic jams. If I leave work at lunch time, it will take me home via one route. If I leave at 5:30, it takes me another route that completely bypasses a huge backup with the first route. This is a great feature to have given that this product does not have any traffic updates.
SUMMARY
All told, I love my GO2535TM and am fairly neutral on the VIA1505. The lousy screen and lousy mounting options really detract from this otherwise fine product. For 70% more (about $100), the TomTom GO2535TM has a beautiful glass screen that shines brightly and a nifty magnetic mount that allows for easy snap-in/out. If the VIA1505 wasn't so cheap, I'd probably return it for another GO2535TM. As it is, it's just cheap and good enough that it will likely earn a permanent spot in my car.
If any meaningful updates occur, I'll modify my review.

Tomtom Via 1505m Manual

55 of 60 people found the following review helpful.
Great All in One package GPS Unit
By W. Ma
I bought this GPS right before my trip around the south western United States that encompasses Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colarado, New Mexico, Arizona (where I got a freakin speeding ticket by the cameras for doing 77!), and finally LA back to northern California. I planned my trip with the TomTom by setting the destinations as the state capitols.
Before the trip, I set up all the settings such as color and car icon (which I switched to Micky mouse) and the welcome and goodbye screens. The personalization is limitless with the Tomtom Home application you install on your computer, there you can update the firmware and maps (lifetime maps), also you can choose from thousands of screens and car icons, a very big plus. I changed the voice to a Indian accent, which cost a dollar or two but was hilarious.
Performance wise, I'd say is very on par with TomTom's reputation. Recalculations do not take more than 7-9 seconds, also satellite signal lock, while not instant, was much faster than any of my other friends GPS units. My only gripe is, whenever you exit the freeway or dont exit the freeway when you are supposed to, the unit can't sense it until the exit or stretch of freeway goes beyond the circle of triangulation. This problem I have seen on every single GPS unit I have seen or owned, even on the Lexus I used to drive that senses wheel turn. It's not a very big deal, but be aware that this is a very pervasive problem among GPS units.
The menu is very simple, with large icons that relate to its function. Typing is very easy, like texting on a smart phone that does not have physical keys, although if you have big fingers, you might mistype sometimes, not a deal breaker by any means, just type steady. Know that the 5 inch screen is comparatively big. The 1505 also comes with Voice recognition so you can just speak your destination.
The resolution is 480 by 272 pixel resolution. Its dimensions are 4.7 inches long by 3.1 inches wide 1 inch deep, and it weighs 6.5 ounces, not very large and can fit any pocket, cubby or glovebox.
You get two extra gigabytes of memory than the cheaper models: 4 GB. But, it doesn't have a SD card slot which really really sucks, but I guess 4GB will suffice.
Battery life, averaged, is about 2 hours, i found if you switch off voice guidance and lower the brightness, you get a little more. Thats not bad, as most trips i take are less than 2 hours, i really do not like having to plug in the cigarette adapter.
The 1505 comes with an integrated mounting feature like most TomToms, which is a really nice feature. Basically, your mount is connected to the back of your device, and you simply pull it out when you want to set up your TomTom on your dashboard.
You also receive a variety of other applications, including Map Share, IQ Routes and Advanced Lane Guidance. Map Share allows you to update your TomTom map as often as you like for free. This ensures that you always have the latest road information for free.
The IQ Routes application ensures you never get stuck in traffic. This feature actually downloads the latest traffic information to provide you with the shortest route to your destination. It doesn't just go by the posted speed limit of a road; it actually pulls up how fast cars are actually moving which is a real lifesaver, especially when I was going through LA. LA traffic especially along 101 is notorious and I was very very grateful that the 1505 actually sensed the traffic speed and gave me a short cut to ahead of where the traffic was. Like the Maps, the traffic feature is lifetime too, and it doesn't have ads like I have seen on some Garmin GPS units.
The Advanced Lane Guidance feature is for anyone who's ever missed a turn because they were in the wrong lane. This feature will visually show you how many lanes lead to which exit so you can be sure if your lane will work.
If you want a big screen and a pack of features, then the TomTom VIA 1505 is for you. The 1505 with the lifetime maps and traffic is pretty much standard fare, all you need in a GPS unit with lifetime road and map info, TomTom menu simplicity, and a huge screen; all for just 200. However the deal breaker for some might be that the 1505 doesn't have hands free, but that was fine for me, I have a bluetooth device on my stereo.
in the box:
- TomTom 1505TM
- Suction mount (to mount to window or dashboard pad)
- Dashboard pad (blastic circle that provides a stable surface for the suction mount)
- USB cable
- Cigarette adapter
- Set Up Guide
- 1 code, valid for Lifetime Map/Traffic updates
When i bought this 1505 model, i purchased the 1535 VIA as well for a friend who's birthday is coming up. It is basically the same exact thing as the 1505 but it has bluetooth handsfree for only like 20 bucks more. I didn't need that feature because my car already has bluetooth. We switched our units for like a week, and honestly, i could not tell it was hers except for the fact that she didn't download the Indian accent voice package on hers.
Side note, i recently clarified with my friend, she says the 1535 does have a SD card slot, so thats one more extra feature of the 1535