TomTom 520 go- dont go without it (TomTom Go 520)

Member Name: divegal

Product:	TomTom Go 520
Date:	04/11/08 (213 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: can be used as bluetooth for your mobile

Disadvantages: suction cup to windscreen is not very good

I bought the TomTom 520 sat nav recently. I have never had sat nav before and I really don't know why! I am the type of person who can get lost going home so really don't know how this one passed me by.

I love my go520!! One of the main reasons I bought this particular model was the fact that I can also use it as a blue tooth so once I have paired my phone with it if its switched on I can talk through it to answer my phone which I find great!

Once I had charged it up I found it fairly easy after the first time to use it and its certainly paid for itself in unused petrol with me not getting lost!

I guess most sat navs have fairly standard things. This one has UK maps as standard but you can buy others if you are going on a driving holiday. You can set it up to warn you of approaching speed cameras to sound with various noises (I have a cow!) and also to warn you when you are driving over the speed limit. With the speed camera one you have the option to set t to so many seconds before the camera it warns you. I guess this can vary depending on your speed but I find that it always gives me plenty of time to slow down safely if I need to . Most of the safety cameras I have come across are showing but I do know of two on the same stretch of road which do not show up so its not infallible! I was going to enter this one myself but it proved too difficult for me to enter so have not bothered.

There is a choice of voices which are pre loaded and there is the option to download others. I did try this but got really fed up so have gone back to the standard voice, It does have the facility to record your own voice commands but this looks fairly intense so have not even bothered to look at it.

Entering your destination address is easy if it's a house say but I have found problems with entering things such as IKEA even if I enter the postcode. With a shop as big as this its easy to find but it may also happen with smaller places too but on the whole its not a problem. If I enter a post code for IKEA say it will find the road then ask me what number on the road it is which I haven't a clue so I just enter anything!

You can enter your home address to show as your home destination with just one touch which is good. A policeman did tell me though to enter an address a few doors up just in case it ever got stolen and they know where to go to rob!

The satnav itself is a touch screen unit which is simple to use. You can either charge it via the pc or by plugging it into the cigarette lighter while you are driving. If there is charge in it, it can also be used as a hand held device. It attaches to the screen with a suction cup which attaches to the rear of the unit and in my opinion this is not very good. A few times it has just fallen off as I have been driving along and as I caught it pressed a button inadvertently and changed the destination. My mate has an older version and the suction thing on his was far superior.

The screen itself is big and easy to read and you can vary the colours and some of the things it shows you. It gives you an estimated time of arrival or you can switch this bit off. It also gives you your speed and again you can turn this facility off. The way is marked clearly and instructions are clear and precise and given in plenty of time.

All in all I love my satnav and have no problem with recommending this particular model as it has no real drawbacks.

Summary: Easy and fun to use