TomTom XXL 530S 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator $279.95

Good unit We chose this unit because it has expandable memory and announces street names. It's been very good for us. Rating: 4 (James M. Conroy, 2010-01-22) Product reviewed: TomTom XXL 530S 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

5" GPS screen is a must.... I got this Tomtom 530s for Christmas, but I exchanged it. NOT because its a bad product, Its a great product. The 5" screen on the 530s is great/ I don't know how anyone could use one of those crappy 3-3.5" GPS units. I have an old Tomtom 4.3", still works fine, but its nice to have a bigger screen and more updated features. I returned the 530s and got the 540s for just a bit more. The units are the same except for two addition features. 1) Mexico maps - I have no plans to go to Mexico, definately not to drive. 2) Lane Guidance - great for LA freeways. If you don't need Mexico map or Lane guidance(only needed for tricky highways), then get the 530s. THe money you save can go for a good case(highly recommended) and you'll get a fair amount of Megabytes free for new voices, other small maps, POI, etc. 530s and 540s are both great. Rating: 4 (E. Mutch, 2010-01-19) Product reviewed: TomTom XXL 530S 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

XXL 530 pronounces 0 as "west" on any street name - TOMTOM DOCUMENTED The 530 picks up satellites very quickly, especially if you download gps fixes. It's satellite sensitivity is also great. The iq routes are a godsend. The only bad thing is that it's sound quality of the computer voices is horrible. It also constantly mispronounces English street names. It also as a very big defect, it mispronounces the 0 (I.e. the 105 freeway) to "west". For example it will say merge left onto the one west five east freeway instead of one o five east or four hundred five east. You can see how this would be confusing. Tom Tom senior tech support says this is a bug that affects all their models. They will not replaced the unit for this reason. They are working on the problem and are not able to give ANY estimate on when this will be resolved. If you choose two voices, one computer voice and bart simpson for example. It will not speak any street signs in the computer voice. So you have to make a choice between text to speech and the celebrity voices. When you choose a non computer voice, it will also ask you to choose a computer voice. NO computer voice will be heard at this point. Rating: 3 (Lord Marshal the 1st, 2010-01-17) Product reviewed: TomTom XXL 530S 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Amazingly Dumb Design The TomTom 530s is a deceptively dumb super high tech GPS. Once it sets a course its that way only no matter what, unless you force it to select an alternate route. So, if you are driving in dense traffic and notice a traffic standstill ahead and you turn off to take an alternate route, to get GPS help you have to tap the screen to get back to the main menu to select the alternate route and then confirm the alternate selection before it will display anything useful. I'm accustomed to the auto recalculation provided by Garmin and Magellan, so despite its 5" screen, the usefulness of the technology is inconvenient in circumstances where you least want to pay attention to programming the unit. After using this product several days, I'm returning it to the seller and buying out a Magellan 1700 (7" display) instead. Rating: 3 (T. Bouis, 2009-12-21) Product reviewed: TomTom XXL 530S 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

5 Star for unit -- 1 Star for adhesive mount that comes with unit I purchased the TOMTOM XXL 530-S at Staples on Black Friday after Thanksgiving for $134.00 including tax. I feel the unit is a great deal for the price. I tried to use the adhesive disk TOMTOM provides with the unit. The adhesive disk provided with the unit did not stick well. I then did research on monting devices. I first was told by TOMTOM to look into the [...], the Proclip init is not a good choice unless you want to spend an excessive amount of money to mount your device. The ProClip is also specific to your car model which is another joke. You get a different model car you need a new Proclip. I decided to purchase the Gilsson Universal Beanbag mount for $[...] from Amazon. I noticed it had a five star rating and the price was right. The center of the BeanBag mount has a shiney plexglass so the suction cup of your GPS will grip. The BeanBag can be placed on your dash, your seat, or in any open area in the car. The Bean Bag does not move on the dash or whereever you place it. Also, you are not sticking anything on your car. Also the Bean Bag is easily transportable, so your GPS can be used in all your cars. I placed mine in front of the gear shift where there is a recess storage area. Works Great. Obviously where you place the bean bag in a location that is best for your use is subjective. The TOMTOM XXL530-S works great. The unit comes with a nice wide screen. The program reads out streets, interesections when needed, and has mulitple views. The unit will tell you how far you are from your destination when you are approaching and has a countdown on the unit. Therefore, it will announce you are 100 yards from your destination, then if you look at the display you can see the countdown meter. You do not have to look at your odometer. The unit also has a feature that can detect redlights that take pictures. I do not need this download option, but it is available. The unit has multiple sounds. You can download many voices free and comes preprogrammed with three voices. The loudness of the voice can be regulated. Most of the street names are clear, a few have been slightly distorted due to enunciation, although they are recognizable. The unit gives you advance notice of what lane to be in for an upcoming turn or exit and gives you ample warning to make the turn. The unit also gives you a digital display of your speed. If you have a speedometer I guess you do not really need this feature. The unit also will tell you aloud your projected arrival time if for whatever reason there is a delay and the trip is longer than projected. You have the option of purchasing the software which will also notify you when there may be trafic jams and give you altermate routes. I have not used any of the extra features such as the alternate route program, but it is available. I would recommend you download the software that allows you to upload your unit from the company's website as soon as you get the unit so you can download the latest map updates. You have to dowload the latest map software within the first 30 days of buying the unit. You also have the option of downloading different voices and additional features you may need. Some of the additonal voices are free of charge, and some there are a fee. If you want to download revised maps after your first 30 days I beleive there is a nominal fee. Overall the unit works great. The display is a very good size. There is some breaking in time to entering in data to the unit however, the learning curve is fast. After you program the unit a couple of times you will master putting the information into the unit. The unit memorizes your previous trips which makes entering in repeat information a breeze. Also, the unit recognizes the first several letters of a city, state, or street. Therefore, one does not have to spell out every single word. The screen is big enough to easily touch the screen and program the unit. The screen is has just the right amount of sensitivity to the touch. I read the one negative review for this unit and I could understand his concern about mounting the unit with the adhesive disk they provide, but I could not understand the negative review on the unit itself. For the money and the quality I feel it is a good unit. Prices for these units are going down. You may want to wait afer Christmas since I was able to get a better deal after a holiday. Rating: 5 (Dr. Albert Alba, 2009-12-10) Product reviewed: TomTom XXL 530S 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator