TomTom XXL 540S 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator World Traveler Edition
| Overall rating: |
|
The TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler Edition is complete navigation in a XXL widescreen device. Switch on and go right out of the box. Spoken turn-by-turn instructions including street names will guide you to any address in the US, Canada, Mexico & Europe – including more than 9 million preloaded points of interest. IQ Routes Technology gives you the fastest route every time by using actual average speeds of travel on your route to calculate your trip rather than only posted speed limits, so you’ll always travel the smartest route. Advanced Lane Guidance uses photorealistic images to bring even more clarity to complex multi-lane exits so you can be more confident on the road. An extra-wide 5.0- Inch touchscreen helps you find your way, worry-free. TomTom has the most accurate maps and with TomTom Map Sharetechnology you can instantly modify street names, street direction, POIs, road speeds and turn restrictions on your own device. With the “Help Me!” menu, there are added safety features so you can easily access local emergency providers. The award-winning Fold & Go EasyPortmount folds flat against the device, making it easy to take it with you from car to car. The XXL 540S World Traveler Edition is complete, widescreen navigation.
Features
- Maps of USA, Canada, Mexico, and Europe
- IQ Routes Technology
- Extra Large 5.0- Inch screen size
- Spoken street names
- Advanced Lane Guidance
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 0 x 0 x 0 inches
- Weight: 2 pounds
Extreme slow, out of date POI
I used the TomTom Software on my smartphone for 7 years. My smartphone has 195MHz only and I liked the TomTom navigation on it.
When I ordered the TomTom XXL 540S WTE I expected something much better than my old smartphone. I was really disappointed about this device. I used it for 20 days in the Los Angeles / Orange County area and returned it because it was so bad.
While entering adress there are big delays. Sometimes it tells you to turn right after you passed the road already. When you left the route it takes up to 40 seconds until it tells you the new route.
The voice commands are bad. E.g. you drive on a road with three lanes, at the end of the road you have to turn left. The device tells you all the time to keep right and a few yards before you reached the end of the road is suddely tells you to turn left. Now get over three lanes in high traffic. This happened always when I drove this road!
The lane recognition is not as helpful as I expected.
The TomTom support was really bad. My first Map update failed, I wasn’t able to restart the update. I contacted TomTom support and it took them almost a week to answer. The answer wasn’t helpful. In the meanwhile I found a menue in the TomTom software where you see all downloaded data. From there I could restart the update to teh device.
You have to use the POI’s provided by TomTom. Most of them are out o date.
Furthermore TomTom should provide a case in their package as everybody needs it.
All in all I was highly disappointed about this device and returned to my old smartphone which I put in the cabinet for “retirement” already.
Don’t leave home without it!
Right out of the box we used the TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler to navigate us through 3,000 km of driving in Germany and the Czech Republic. The directions were flawless, the points of interest accurate and plentiful and the operation of the device was quick and easy. Even in the smallest towns we were able to get around twisting and narrow one-way and limited access streets without trouble. The speed limit monitoring feature was absolutely accurate and kept me out of trouble. Forget the paper maps – no one should attempt to drive around Europe without this outstanding GPS device. But wait, there is more! It also covers the US, Canada and Mexico! Have a great time and leave the directions to TomTom, you will never get lost.
Love TomTom
I own a TomTom Go 910 and a Go 930. I also purchased a few other TomTom models through the years as Christmas presents. I always was impressed with their accuracy.
This model works as well as all the others I have if not better. The 5″ screen is a plus. Having the North American and European maps preloaded is great. Since I travel to Europe, it will be useful. The last few times I went I’ve used my Go 930 and it works extremely well as it it does here in the states. Switch maps is a breeze. Since they are preloaded you just click and switch.
TomTom is the best on the market.
TomTom XXL 540S 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator World Traveler Edition
Works very well. Will be trying it in Ireland and Italy this summer. The only issue is when I get 3 blocks from my home constantly wants me to go home a longer and much more complicated route. Other than that works great.
Don’t really know much yet
The first one I got was defective. Replaced quickly, no problem.
The second one seems fine so far but haven’t used it enough to say much.
Very Good Navigator
very satisfied, little more brightness of the screen and a little faster processor would be better. Than the item would be excellent.
Good job and great product
I received exactly what I ordered and it performs as expected. The TOMTOM people honored their commitment to upgrade the European and North America maps online and the TomTom is current. The large screen is easy to use and the mount has a small footprint.
I have owned a Go 300 for over 5 years and found switching to the new device easy and painless.
XXL 540S World Traveler
The mounting system is terrible. It sets up easy enough, but as soon as you go to adjust the viewing angle, the GPS pulls right off the mount. I am returning the unit and will replace it with a Garmin.
TomTom more accurate than Garmin
I bought this unit because it had the 5″ screen at a good price. However, after using it for several months, I have found it is far better than the Garmin’s I have had in the past. Most particularly, the routing is much better … Garmin used to pick some very peculiar routes that I often had to ignore. AND the lane guidance is awesome. Finally, I really like having the additional information that is available on display during a trip that you can’t get from a Garmin (compass heading, trip duration, current time, etc.). Also, the windshield mount is very compact and works exceptionally well. Only thing I don’t like about it is that I haven’t found any way to have it come on automatically when the car starts.
Fantastic product!
Second Tomtom GPS now and couldn’t be happier. Easy to use however the mount is a bit tricky to click into place if your dashboard is quite deep like in my car. It had a bit of a freak out while driving in chicago, apparently we were driving in the middle of the river but withing a second or two it worked itself out and we were back on track. Probably the tall buildings blocking the satellite signal.
The problems being described by other users in reference to the update process, it’s probably the power settings on your PC. Disable sleep mode and the screensaver as well as the auto USB power saving feature and you should have no problems. I imagine it’s just a windows issue but it seems that Tomtom haven’t been very helpful to some people, I understand that it’s not fair to expect users to dig deep in their PCs settings just to get the device to update.
Back to the product, haven’t used the Europe maps yet but will soon for a vacation but don’t expect any problems.
A few minor niggles but overall a fantastic product.
Poor customer service and a long time to get the GPS working
It took me the better part of a Saturday to upload the updated maps. The internal memory is inadequate for the machine, and the map download takes hours during which time it often crashes. Not to mention that I had to call and speak with a non-friendly rep for an hour who insisted on having me upload my receipt before he would release the updated maps. Had I know this, I would have never purchased this GPS.
I bought it primarily for use in Europe so it will be a few months before I can report back on the quality of the maps.
I tried to sign up for the map update service but gave up after being unable to do so after several hours. I still do not understand why it took so much time to set up and use a simple $300 consumer electronics product. I have never purchased any product at any price that was so difficult to use out of the box.
Based upon my experience, TomTom has a very poor and un-friendly approach towards the consumers of its products. I cannot imagine this company being successful selling consumer electronic products with this approach, no matter how good its products.
Not for World Travel
This GPS does not have enough memory space to put in the updated maps and you have no option to expand the memory (SD card slot). If you are just using it for the US then it is okay. But if you are using this GPS for traveling abroad then you would be doing a lot of back up then downloading again when you need a map – too much work for when you are on a holiday. Get the Go 930T, which is what I bought last year but was stolen in the car.
XXL 540S World Traveler is a winner.
This is my second TomTom product. I have TomTom on my Palm TX and have just sold a Garmin Nuvi 780. For those TomTom users, the interface will be very much the same. Display- excellent at 5 inches and very bright. Almost all the info you could ask for is there on the bottom bar. Your speed starts blinking when more than 3 mph over the limit. Easy to touch the screen and change the volume without changing screens. Excellent. Sound is pretty clear, much better than my Nuvi 780. It works well out of the box but for some features, you will have to go online to read the user’s manual at the TomTom site. Touch screen works well, not too much pressure but also not too sensitive. Guidance is also excellent, especially driving an RV in heavy traffic on the freeway. Gives a 2 mile notice before the next turn so a big rig has plenty of time to move to the correct lane. My Garmin only gave the next turn 7/10 of a mile ahead. No big deal in a car but enough to be a little stressful if no one in the passenger’s seat to help. Next turn is indicated with a large arrow with the distance also displayed. The 3D freeway interchange maps work well and make it hard to make a wrong turn. The 740S plugs into a Mac or PC and works well to download the latest info, voices, etc. Navigation is good and is the only GPS I have found to get me home making all the turns that I normally take. The Garmin display is a little prettier with excellent street resolution but the XXL 740S’s street maps are quicker to read and you don’t have to take your eyes off the road for as long in my opinion.
Cons: GPS is moderately difficult to take on and off the mount. It is not a hot mount so the power cord must be plugged/unplugged each time. Garmin’s mount is much better with a positive, easy action and is powered so removing and replacing is far quicker. On the other side, the single, small cord on the TomTom is not very obtrusive while the bundled cord on the Garmin is very visible.
Almost but not everything costs when you go to the TomTom site to get the latest maps, etc. When your GPS arrives, you have to download the current map within 30 days or pay for it. I learned the hard way. I installed the latest firmware but did not get the latest map. Garmin’s support is a bit friendlier than TomTom’s. The fellow I spoke with was not rude but could have been a bit warmer. All GPSs are heavily discounted today and it may pay to just update the unit every couple of years rather than paying almost the same for new maps.
Bottom line is if you are a BMW, MBZ or Porsche type, you will love it. It just has so much info right on the screen and you can go online to download road changes other users have found…for free. On the other hand, if you drive a four door with idiot lights, another brand may be your cup of tea.
Mexico and Europe maps make it just about impossible to beat for the world tourist/traveler in a rental car.
Wishes: altitude on the screen and degrees to go with the compass.
Rating: 4.8 out of 5. Excellent. Love it!
Now for that European trip
This is my second TomTom gps unit, the last one was stolen from my suitcase at SFO! Don’t put attractive goodies in your checked baggage. The security folks are likely to open your suitcase without your knowledge ( they put a note in to tell you that its been opened).When you report the loss they say that it must have been stolen some other place.
The 5″ screen on this new TomTom is bright and visible, the sound is loud and clear. Improvements in the navigation commands compared to my previous TomTom.
Will try the European features next month, the previous unit worked well there.
wrong product described
I was looking for the Tom Tom 540S World Edition, which is how this
product was described. However, it is not the World Edition, i.e.
it did not have European maps as well as N. American maps. I was
shipped the 540S without the words “World Edition”.
To be fair, I was treated well and have had the money refunded.
The reason for the mistake is that Tom Tom calls both products the
XXL 540; they add the “World Edition” phrase to the one that has
both sets of maps. The 540S without the “World Edition” does not have
European maps.