TomTom GO 540 Satellite Navigation System - LIVE UK & ROI

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Editorial reviews

Product Description
TomTom is back with a new and improved version of its popular Go 730 - the GPS Go 540 Live. This revolutionary "Live" version is set to bring a whole new dimension to in-car navigation. The GPS Go 540 has a built-in SIM card that can be linked up to local telephone networks to bring you road and traffic information updates in real time. It also gives you full access to TomTom IQ Routes technology, local searches via Google, the text-to-speech function and enhanced points of interest, as well as HD Traffic technology. HD Traffic is a real technological revolution, with detailed incident reports, estimated delay times, suggested diversions and even fuel prices - so you can find the cheapest petrol station in the area! The TomTom Go 540 Live now also has a weather information service with local 5-day forecasts, and there''s a new TomTom Friends function, which you can use to find other TomTom users on the map and share all your favourite places and points of interest. You can even send other users free messages! The new, easy-to-use Go 540 Live GPS also has a Bluetooth function and a voice recognition program, as well as an advanced guidance function to help you change lanes. What''s more, this TomTom boasts a MapShare function, which allows you to modify maps yourself. You can change street names, traffic flow directions and other such information, which you can then send to the whole TomTom community when you hook up your GPS to your computer. This means that each TomTom user can receive user-modified updates. The TomTom Go 540 Live GPS will take you exactly where you need to go in the quickest, safest way possible. Internal menu languages: German, English, Catalan, Danish, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Czech, Turkish

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Customer reviews

review by: Paul date: 2008-11-19 rating:
It should be great, but too many initial flaws get in the way.
I was very excited to take delivery of my new Tomtom 540 Live. On opening it up I found it to be a very good solid feeling device.

I used it for a couple of journeys in the afternoon and the mapping was good, more up to date than previous models and the traffic data seemed to be working though I didn't have any hold ups to test it with.

Anyway that was all fine until I connected it to the PC with the TomTom home software. This is required to update the maps (corrections are made daily), speed cameras or generally to change anything about the device.

The software told me that a newer software and map was available and recomended me to upgrade. So I allowed it to run its process, which was simply me pressing 'OK' and letting it go. Everything seemed to work fine, but in performing this update I effectively broke the Sat Nav on the first day!

This is apparently due to me previously owning a Tomtom and using the same computer before, nothing in the manual tells you this, nothing on the software told me this. It just went about its business corrupting the device.

TomTom support replied after 2 days asking for a large amount of technical information including taking a number of screenshots and attaching them to my reply. At no point did they appologise for the way their software destroyed my device within 1 day, and they expected me to wait another 2 working days for a follow up message (which may or may not solve the problem).

Having purchased from Amazon, I simply sent it back. Amazon's customer service is second to none and a new Tomtom arrived on the same day as the old one was collected by courier.

My new device is now working great having uninstalled the Tomtom software on my PC, however there are some bugs which I have not seen on a Tomtom before.

1) The volume seems to be all over the place. Disabling 'increase volume during high noise' setting helped, but its still not perfect.

2) The voice occasionally stutters - "turn left into ma..n..ch..est..errrrrrr road" quite annoying.

3) You cannot as of yet setup a PIN number, or operate your device from your PC, as they have not created the necessary software file to do this. No mention of this problem in the manual, so if you didn't google search for the problem you would keep trying forever.

4) The HD traffic information is a bit patchy - it doesn't seem to be working properly all the time and suffers from some periods where it doesn't connect at all.

All in all, I think it is a very good device, but it has too many early glitches which should have been fixed before they released it for sale. I think they rushed it out early in time for Christmas.

If I was you I would wait till January and see if these problems have been resolved before making a purchase - oh and buy from Amazon, any problems and they will come and collect it from you whilst delivering a new one.

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review by: date: 2008-11-17 rating:
Customer Support
I purchased 540 Live recently, not through Amazon, but would have been happy to have done so, firstly if you've ordered one whatever you do don't throw away any packaging or lose your receipt if you want the free fuel.

The box has an outer sleeve look inside the sleeve to see if there's a number, if it's not there it's elsewhere on the packaging, you will need this together with your receipt after 30 days to claim the fuel, TomTom claim you have to wait this time just to make sure it's what you want...

After three months you will be required to pay a subscription to maintain the live services so if you're not a regular driver it may not be for you, if you want the static safety cameras you will still need to purchase this facility the same as other devices, the live service only covers mobile cameras.

My first 540 was faulty and would not connect to the live services, on returning it to the shop TomTom was contacted to ask for advise, I've had one of the original devices since they first came out and never had any problems so never had any reason to be involved with TomTom customer support, I never knew how fortunate I'd been till then.

I didn't want the shop manager to contact them for advice he never asked just picked up the phone, all I wanted a replacement but went along as you do, after some considerable time it still would not connect and I was told it was probably my firewall that had an effect and they would rectify this when I next connected it to my computer. These should work out of the box so this may not have been totally true.

On return home I had an email waiting from TomTom stating

Thank you for contacting TomTom Customer Support..

I have escalated to our Services department regarding your issue with the LIVE services, they have asked for some more information before they can look into the issue.

Can you provide us with detailed information about your configuration, so that we can troubleshoot more effectively? Please connect your device to TomTom HOME, select Help > Configuration info (version 1) or System information (version 2). Copy and paste the information in reply to this.

Also can you provide the serial number of your unit, you will find this along the barcode on the base of the unit.

When we have received this we will be better able to look into the issue.
Date and time: 2008-11-12 12:40:14

I'm still waiting or would be had I not returned to the shop and insisted on a replacement.

My advce

Bye from a reputable outlet such as Amazon

Do not bye direct from TomTom as you will have no option but to deal with customer support

Only bye one of these if you drive every day or regularly at least as you'll be paying £7.99 pm.

If you bye one locally ask them for a demonstration on the actual device not the demo one before you leave the shop to make sure it works.

On a positive end and why I've given 4 stars is that the replacement works fine and has already saved me time waiting in motorway traffic and directed me to the cheapest fuel stations in the areas, no other device comes close at the moment. Customer Support on the other had NIL

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review by: date: 2008-11-16 rating:
Not yet ready for release....
Received my unit yesterday and am not too impressed so far.

The HD Traffic service seems to be down - it gives a strange error about coverage not being available in my area (Reading) Googling the error revealed that many other users are encountering the same problems and that availability of the HD traffic service is pretty intermittent. It's the weekend so maybe they are doing some upgrades ready for the monday morning rush - we'll see.....

The unit won't switch between day & night mode. I suspect that this is a software glitch but, unlike the other review that mentions this, it does annoy me when an advertised feature on a £250+ piece of equipment just doesn't work!

I've so far had the unit reboot itself on me about three times. This probably indicates that it's having to recover from some sort of internal error.

All in all, the 540 feels like a product that has been rushed to market before it's really ready. I have no doubt that TomTom will fix the issues and release new software in due course but it is frustrating that the company would release a product with faults in it just to get it on the market in time for Christmas

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review by: date: 2008-11-15 rating:
TomTom GO 540 Live
I have had the 'TomTom Go 540 Live' for one week now and have just been on holiday with it to Cornwall (I live in Kent) I will not list all the features as above, but will agree with all three reviews before me. The unit is brilliant.
I have had a few issues with my unit though, as mentioned already, syncing with a Mac can and does prove tricky. Also some well established speed cameras did not appear on the TomTom even after updating it online 5 times (which for me is not a huge issue but still a bit annoying) and finally "MY" 540 seems to have issues when trying to switch between night and day mode. Again, this is not a huge problem and is pure laziness to want it to change without having to press a button. One more issue, this is again only minor; I had my previous TomTom hard wired into my car and thought that the new one would be the same connection, which it is but its a different shape casing arounf the mini usb so it will not connect to the new dock. Only a small thing but worth noting!!
Otherwise all seems to work well. Traffic, re-routing, petrol prices etc all spot on. The hands free is also much better and you can now hear the caller when on a noisy motorway. BUY ONE!!


review by: date: 2008-11-15 rating:
TomTom Go Live - the ultimate Sat Nav
I held back from buying the new GO LIVE sat nav from TomTom thinking it might be full of gimmicks, but now I have one I am SO pleased. I travel a lot with my job, and it made an immediate difference to how I drive and plan my journeys. I bought the 540 version.

Local Search with Google: this is truly awesome and almost makes the previous POI redundant. It enables you to find just about any named place you want to go, local, or in any town or city. Just type in the name (Sainsbury,Odeon,Fitness First,Waterstones,anywhere) and lists appear showing location, address and contact no's so you can pick one and let TomTom take you there. It's truly fantastic.

HD Traffic. This has to be the best yet. It informs you of realtime traffic delays and enables you to decide whether you want to wait in a queue or take a different route. A 5 minute delay might be better than a 20 minute re-route so you might decide to stay in the queue. A 20 minute re-route might be better than a 1 hour queue, so you might choose to avoid the delay. It's not about 'never' sitting in traffic, it's about making your own decisions with the information presented to you. Very clever!

Fuel Prices: Excellent, with lots of choices and real pricing and of course TomTom will take you to the station of your choice.
IQ Routes: Made a noticeable difference to my journeys when compared to my basic TomTom model. This can only get better as TomTom collate more and more journeys each day to give you better routes from A to B.

Cameras: It's good to know that Road Angel are involved now giving information on portable speed cameras. MapShare allows you to update this information if you find one while you are driving and warn others in a matter of minutes.

In conclusion, the GO LIVE is truly impressive, leaving other brands like Garmin and Navman way behind and in the doldrums. Don't hold back..GO GET!

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