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Product Specifications
Display Size5 inches
Battery Life3 hours
Technical Details
- Get over 1 million more miles of mapped roads in the US
- Experience the most-accurate real-time traffic coverage available with revolutionary TomTom HD Traffic Service
- Stay connected with TomTom's LIVE Services, including TomTom HD Traffic, Local Search Powered by Google, Fuel Prices, and Weather Forecasts
- Make hands-free phone calls with dedicated Bluetooth wireless connectivity
- Drive safely with intuitive voice recognition, including one-step address input
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description
TomTom HD Traffic
Experience the most accurate, comprehensive, up-to-date traffic solution available. |  |  |
The GO Story
TomTom's new GO 2000 series offers superior GPS routing and premium maps of US, Canada & Mexico. Plus, get Bluetooth hands-free calling & voice recognition--all in a new, slim design with an interactive glass touchscreen and magnetic click & lock mount.
The TomTom GO LIVE 2535M
Introducing the TomTom GO LIVE 2535M, the ultimate in driving intelligence with new, revolutionary TomTom HD Traffic*.
Travel with ease and style throughout the US, Canada & Mexico with the TomTom GO. This innovative navigator boasts a slim design, crisp, sharp graphics & intuitive user menus. And, using gestures on the device's sleek 5-inch glass touchscreen, you can easily swipe your finger to move from screen to screen or pinch-to-zoom for easy map viewing.
The GO LIVE 2535M delivers TomTom's LIVE real-time information to save you time, money and stress. TomTom HD Traffic delivers the most accurate, comprehensive and frequent traffic information available. TomTom HD Traffic is more accurate, provides more road coverage than any other traffic solution and delivers updates every 2 minutes to get you around traffic more effectively than ever before. As soon as an accident or other delay is found on your route, TomTom alerts you and can re-route you to an alternative, faster route.
With LIVE services you can easily browse through apps – Yelp, TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Twitter - optimized to fulfill your travel needs. Additionally, you’ll have access to updated fuel prices, weather forecasts, and Local Search powered by Google.
Using TomTom maps, you have access to one million more miles of mapped road in the US than you would using other GPS brands***. With Lifetime Map Updates, you can download the latest map edition every few months and rest-assured your map is always up-to-date***. TomTom even has you covered in between map releases. With TomTom Map Share On-Demand Updates, you can easily make instant changes and download verified updates from other TomTom users to your map.
Outsmart delays using IQ Routes**** on your TomTom GO. The exclusive IQ Routes technology directs you to your destination using the smartest, fastest route possible. While other GPS devices calculate routes based on posted speed limits, TomTom accounts for historical traffic patterns based on the time of day and day of the week you're traveling. Always take the fastest way to get anywhere, at any time.
TomTom GO is also enhanced with a suite of features designed to help you drive more safely, including intuitive voice recognition and Bluetooth hands-free calling. Using voice commands speak your destination details verbally in one simple step. And, after pairing your compatible Bluetooth mobile phone to your TomTom GO, you'll be able to see incoming call information, make and answer calls, access your mobile phone book, and talk hands-free through your device.
GO LIVE 2535M Features
 | TomTom HD TrafficTomTom HD Traffic is more accurate, provides more road coverage than any other traffic solution, and delivers updates every 2 minutes to get you around traffic more effectively than ever before. |
TomTom LIVE Services with Travel Apps
Enhance your driving experience TomTom LIVE Services including TomTom HD Traffic and connected travel apps - Yelp, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Twitter, Local Search powered by Google, fuel prices & more.
Voice Recognition and Bluetooth Hands-free Calling
With access to voice commands, you can speak your destination details verbally in one simple step. And, after pairing your compatible Bluetooth mobile phone to your TomTom GO, you'll be able to see, make and answer calls, talk hands-free through your device, and more. Compatible mobile phone required.
Premium Maps of the US, Canada & Mexico
Navigate with ease throughout the US, Canada & Mexico using TomTom's premium maps. Using TomTom maps, you'll have access to one million more miles of mapped road in the US that you would using other GPS brand.
Refreshed User Interface & Slim Design
This innovative navigator boasts a super slim design, crisp, sharp graphics & intuitive user menus. And, using gestures on the device's sleek 5-inch glass touchscreen, you can easily swipe your finger to move from screen to screen, or pinch-to-zoom.
Click & Lock Magnetic Mount
Keep your device securely mounted to your windshield or dashboard with the new, click & lock magnetic mount.
Advanced Lane Guidance
Advanced Lane Guidance show's you exactly which road to take, when driving through complex intersections and multi-lane junctions.
7 Million Points of Interest
Easily find millions of gas stations, restaurants,hotels and more on your route. Your device comes preloaded with more than 7 million points of interest in over 60 categories.
IQ Routes
Always take the smartest, fastest route. This exclusive technology will recommend the fastest route based on the time of day and day of the week.
SpokenTurn-By-Turn Directions, Including Street Names
Keep your eyes on the road and listen while your TomTom announces turn-by-turn directions, including street and place names.
Footnotes:
* Based on info available as of 1/11
** Compatible mobile phone required
*** You receive non-transferable traffic data and up to four non-transferable map data updates per year until the product's useful life expires or TomTom no longer receives map or traffic updates from its suppliers, whichever is shorter. Lifetime Maps available for US, CAN and MEX only. Lifetime Traffic available in US and CAN. Details and terms at www.tomtom.com/legal.
**** Feature available in the US and Canada only
What's In the Box
GO LIVE 2535M, USB Cable, CLA Socket, Adhesive Disk, User Guide, LTM Voucher, It includes a microSD card and an SD card adapter.
Product Description
TomTom GO LIVE 2535M 5-Inch Portable Bluetooth GPS Navigator with HD Traffic and Lifetime Maps
Available Warranties for This Item
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
182 of 187 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
UPD(Nov 2011): I thought I will update this review a little bit. Everything below still remains true. The only major change is that now the major competitor seems to be the new Nuvi series. Garmin finally made dramatic progress with their TrafficTrends and the routing on Nuvi 3490 is very similar to what IQRoutes on TomTom would give. I say below that if you live in a big city, you need TomTom. This is no longer a rock-solid statement. Garmin has created a viable alternative.
If you want a connected device, the choice is easy. At the moment 2535 is the only decent device on the market.
If you don't care if the device is connected or not, it's a tough call between 2535 and Garmin 3490. 2535 is still faster and a bit better and more stable in routing , but the gap is not as huge as it used to be. Given that Garmin 3490 has a better UI, it's a hard choice and boils down to your personal preferences. Personally, I will keep both for some time. I trust TomTom a bit more. Garmin is more usable.
The worst single thing about TomTom remains their "myTomTom" website and plug-in. This is the most ridiculous piece of software I have to use which has more bugs than features.
Besides LIVE functions, TomTom's main advantage remains "Map Corrections" feature. Even though map quality is lower than the maps that come with Garmins, you can make corrections like disabling roads, changing turn restrictions, etc. On Garmin you are effectively stuck with whatever Navteq provides them and map updates are painfully slow (custom avoidances don't help). As I say below, on top of map corrections there is also map share, i.e. ability to use corrections submitted by other users. It will work on older TomTom models, but is not available on new ones because of myTomTom...
I also had battery issues and after 6 months of usage TomTom replaced it with a new device with no questions asked. My respect for that.
That's all for the update. The rest is the review as of April.
Overall, a nice device. I'll mostly concentrate on comparing it to Garmin Nulink 1695 as these are the best connected devices on the market. You can check my feedback on 1695 for additional details. Significant part of this review will be generic to any Garmin vs TomTom comparison, so I'll start with LIVE services to knock down the essentials.
Both units do a good job, both offer 1 yr of free services, traffic, google local search and weather.Garmin seemed to be a bit faster but TomTom is ok.
Local search: same functionality on both. TomTom's presentation of results is a bit friendlier.
Weather: TomTom offers weather "near you", "near destination" and "near other point" that can be your POI or a recent destination. Garmin only gives "near you" or near a pre-defined city. TomTom gives more details, Garmin gives sunrise and sunset times. Garmin also offers weather radar for $30 a year. I like TomTom's version more. Miss the radar, but I can get it for free from Intellicast app anyway.
Gas prices: TomTom allows to search prices nearby, cheapest in area, of cheapest on route. This is much better than what Garmin has to offer. Garmin gives "as of" date for each gas station which helps to eliminate stale information. Overall, TomTom is better.
Speed cameras: allows you to view speed cameras and report on-the-fly. It comes for free on TomTom and costs ~$40/year on Garmin. Garmin's reporting is a bit easier.
Traffic: a big plus is that traffic information is received almost immediately and you don't have to wait for FM traffic information to get to your device. Other than that, I haven't seen much advantage of Live trafic compared to ClearChannel FM subscription. Even though traffic acquisition is almost instantaneous on a connected device, the quality of FM data is sometimes better. At one instance FM traffic on my older Garmin warned me about a traffic on NJ turnpike while I was 60 miles away. It took took more than an hour for this incident to be reported through HD traffic on TomTom. The info came too late for the detour to be optimal and incorrect location of the traffic jam made suggested detour useless. On the other hand, when I approached NYC 40 minutes later, HD traffic worked flawlessly, while FM traffic for NYC area was not acquired until I was 10 minutes away from home and successful avoided the traffic using TomTom HD data. This is just to illustrate that there is no "best" traffic at the moment. Both FM and HD can be right or wrong. As I've said before, the only obvious advantage of HD traffic is no delay for available data to get to your device.
Other than using traffic data for navigation, Garmin offers two excellent ways to see traffic in your area or in different cities: you can view color-coded traffic map or list all traffic incidence by distance. TomTom kind of has the same options but compared to Garmin they are too painful to use to be useful. It's a matter of representation only. As for using traffic data for optimal route planning, TomTom is very good.
Other things: Garmin offers local event search for art, music and sport events + movie times + flight status. I actually thought that searching movie times on Garmin was faster than on a smartphone and I liked the flight status option.
Live services summary: TomTom has a bit smaller set of Live features, but those that are available are more user friendly and offer more options. Connection seems to be reliable, delays acceptable.
Now some generic comparison. As I've said, most of it should apply to all new units from TomTom and should be similar to what you might read in reviews for other units.
Screen: bright and clear 5''. Initially I was in favor of smaller screen sizes, but after using Nulink for a while became a big fun of bigger screens. This unit has pretty much the same form factor as 1695, but looks and feels better.
Same cable (with removable connector) is used to connect the unit to USB port or to an in-vehicle DC outlet. In contrast, Garmin requires a separate proprietary USB cable to connect the unit to a PC and requires dashboard mount to connect the unit to the charger. TomTom's dashboard mount is a bit more reliable, while Garmin's is somewhat easier to detach.
Touchscreen is good, but typing is sometimes painful. Garmin and Go 930 are a bit easier to use. It could be my personal thing as other users tend to like the touchscreen a lot, but I tend to make way more typos on TomTom 2535 than on any other touchscreen device I've ever used in my life.
Navigation and route planning: this is where TomTom rocks and Garmin so far was not able to catch up. Thanks to IQ routes the ETA is very accurate. On busy streets you need TomTom if you want to get an accurate estimate of the arrival time. On highways Garmin performs equally well or better.
I have my favorite test routes in NYC that include different boroughs and road types. Here is a sample result of TomTom vs Garmin comparison.
Route 1: Estimated TomTom 22 min, Garmin 20 min, Actual driving time 30 min all due to traffic lights)
Route 2: Estimated TomTom 15 min, Garmin 9 min, Actual driving time 16 min
Route 3: Estimated TomTom 31 min, Garmin 27 min, Actual driving time 50 min 12 minute of bridge traffic that both units didn't know about + 7 traffic lights.)
Route 4: Estimated TomTom 38 min, Garmin 28 min, Actual driving time 39 min
Route 5: Estimated TomTom 16 min, Garmin 12 min, Actual driving time 15 min
I care a lot about accurate estimated travel time because it is necessary to calculate an optimal route. This becomes critical in densely populated areas where there are multiple ways to get between two points. For example, looking at travel time estimates for route 3, one might decide to take Garmin's route because it's estimated to be 4 minutes faster. In fact, following Garmin's directions would make it a 60, rather than 50 minute journey since it underestimates the travel time.
Overall, as you can see, TomTom's time estimate is not perfect either, but in many cases it comes pretty close to perfection.
Route calculation is quite fast, but not quite the immediate recalculation TomTom initially promised. Recalculation is reasonably fast but by no means immediate. Can take 30 seconds or more on a 30-mile route if you missed a turn and keep driving in the wrong direction. This is usually not an issue and recalculation takes just a few seconds if you're not far away from home or if there are not too many roads in the neighborhood. This is still much better than what Garmin used to have with their version of IQroutes.
Map display in browse map mode - I would say on par, meaning equally bad. If you own an older Garmin unit, like 2xx or 7xx series, you will have to suffer for a few weeks before you give up and accept the new look.
Map display in 3D mode (navigation) - Garmin has more clear indication of the next turn. TomTom often shows a more realistic curvature so that you can use the map on the screen to anticipate a sharp curve at night or in law visibility.
Overall, I think I like Garmin's representation more, except when I'm on mountain roads.
Voice prompts - a bit better on Garmin. Always right on time. You can't miss a turn if you listed to Garmin's voice prompts.
Voice recognition - works quite well on 2535. Not available on Nulink. The only problems I have with TomTom's voice recognition is that I can't make it understand 4-digit house numbers and that response time is a bit slow and it usually takes a few seconds for it to prepare for voice recognition. One just has to acknowledge that user interface is slow on this unit and one needs to be patient. Read more ›
If you want a connected device, the choice is easy. At the moment 2535 is the only decent device on the market.
If you don't care if the device is connected or not, it's a tough call between 2535 and Garmin 3490. 2535 is still faster and a bit better and more stable in routing , but the gap is not as huge as it used to be. Given that Garmin 3490 has a better UI, it's a hard choice and boils down to your personal preferences. Personally, I will keep both for some time. I trust TomTom a bit more. Garmin is more usable.
The worst single thing about TomTom remains their "myTomTom" website and plug-in. This is the most ridiculous piece of software I have to use which has more bugs than features.
Besides LIVE functions, TomTom's main advantage remains "Map Corrections" feature. Even though map quality is lower than the maps that come with Garmins, you can make corrections like disabling roads, changing turn restrictions, etc. On Garmin you are effectively stuck with whatever Navteq provides them and map updates are painfully slow (custom avoidances don't help). As I say below, on top of map corrections there is also map share, i.e. ability to use corrections submitted by other users. It will work on older TomTom models, but is not available on new ones because of myTomTom...
I also had battery issues and after 6 months of usage TomTom replaced it with a new device with no questions asked. My respect for that.
That's all for the update. The rest is the review as of April.
Overall, a nice device. I'll mostly concentrate on comparing it to Garmin Nulink 1695 as these are the best connected devices on the market. You can check my feedback on 1695 for additional details. Significant part of this review will be generic to any Garmin vs TomTom comparison, so I'll start with LIVE services to knock down the essentials.
Both units do a good job, both offer 1 yr of free services, traffic, google local search and weather.Garmin seemed to be a bit faster but TomTom is ok.
Local search: same functionality on both. TomTom's presentation of results is a bit friendlier.
Weather: TomTom offers weather "near you", "near destination" and "near other point" that can be your POI or a recent destination. Garmin only gives "near you" or near a pre-defined city. TomTom gives more details, Garmin gives sunrise and sunset times. Garmin also offers weather radar for $30 a year. I like TomTom's version more. Miss the radar, but I can get it for free from Intellicast app anyway.
Gas prices: TomTom allows to search prices nearby, cheapest in area, of cheapest on route. This is much better than what Garmin has to offer. Garmin gives "as of" date for each gas station which helps to eliminate stale information. Overall, TomTom is better.
Speed cameras: allows you to view speed cameras and report on-the-fly. It comes for free on TomTom and costs ~$40/year on Garmin. Garmin's reporting is a bit easier.
Traffic: a big plus is that traffic information is received almost immediately and you don't have to wait for FM traffic information to get to your device. Other than that, I haven't seen much advantage of Live trafic compared to ClearChannel FM subscription. Even though traffic acquisition is almost instantaneous on a connected device, the quality of FM data is sometimes better. At one instance FM traffic on my older Garmin warned me about a traffic on NJ turnpike while I was 60 miles away. It took took more than an hour for this incident to be reported through HD traffic on TomTom. The info came too late for the detour to be optimal and incorrect location of the traffic jam made suggested detour useless. On the other hand, when I approached NYC 40 minutes later, HD traffic worked flawlessly, while FM traffic for NYC area was not acquired until I was 10 minutes away from home and successful avoided the traffic using TomTom HD data. This is just to illustrate that there is no "best" traffic at the moment. Both FM and HD can be right or wrong. As I've said before, the only obvious advantage of HD traffic is no delay for available data to get to your device.
Other than using traffic data for navigation, Garmin offers two excellent ways to see traffic in your area or in different cities: you can view color-coded traffic map or list all traffic incidence by distance. TomTom kind of has the same options but compared to Garmin they are too painful to use to be useful. It's a matter of representation only. As for using traffic data for optimal route planning, TomTom is very good.
Other things: Garmin offers local event search for art, music and sport events + movie times + flight status. I actually thought that searching movie times on Garmin was faster than on a smartphone and I liked the flight status option.
Live services summary: TomTom has a bit smaller set of Live features, but those that are available are more user friendly and offer more options. Connection seems to be reliable, delays acceptable.
Now some generic comparison. As I've said, most of it should apply to all new units from TomTom and should be similar to what you might read in reviews for other units.
Screen: bright and clear 5''. Initially I was in favor of smaller screen sizes, but after using Nulink for a while became a big fun of bigger screens. This unit has pretty much the same form factor as 1695, but looks and feels better.
Same cable (with removable connector) is used to connect the unit to USB port or to an in-vehicle DC outlet. In contrast, Garmin requires a separate proprietary USB cable to connect the unit to a PC and requires dashboard mount to connect the unit to the charger. TomTom's dashboard mount is a bit more reliable, while Garmin's is somewhat easier to detach.
Touchscreen is good, but typing is sometimes painful. Garmin and Go 930 are a bit easier to use. It could be my personal thing as other users tend to like the touchscreen a lot, but I tend to make way more typos on TomTom 2535 than on any other touchscreen device I've ever used in my life.
Navigation and route planning: this is where TomTom rocks and Garmin so far was not able to catch up. Thanks to IQ routes the ETA is very accurate. On busy streets you need TomTom if you want to get an accurate estimate of the arrival time. On highways Garmin performs equally well or better.
I have my favorite test routes in NYC that include different boroughs and road types. Here is a sample result of TomTom vs Garmin comparison.
Route 1: Estimated TomTom 22 min, Garmin 20 min, Actual driving time 30 min all due to traffic lights)
Route 2: Estimated TomTom 15 min, Garmin 9 min, Actual driving time 16 min
Route 3: Estimated TomTom 31 min, Garmin 27 min, Actual driving time 50 min 12 minute of bridge traffic that both units didn't know about + 7 traffic lights.)
Route 4: Estimated TomTom 38 min, Garmin 28 min, Actual driving time 39 min
Route 5: Estimated TomTom 16 min, Garmin 12 min, Actual driving time 15 min
I care a lot about accurate estimated travel time because it is necessary to calculate an optimal route. This becomes critical in densely populated areas where there are multiple ways to get between two points. For example, looking at travel time estimates for route 3, one might decide to take Garmin's route because it's estimated to be 4 minutes faster. In fact, following Garmin's directions would make it a 60, rather than 50 minute journey since it underestimates the travel time.
Overall, as you can see, TomTom's time estimate is not perfect either, but in many cases it comes pretty close to perfection.
Route calculation is quite fast, but not quite the immediate recalculation TomTom initially promised. Recalculation is reasonably fast but by no means immediate. Can take 30 seconds or more on a 30-mile route if you missed a turn and keep driving in the wrong direction. This is usually not an issue and recalculation takes just a few seconds if you're not far away from home or if there are not too many roads in the neighborhood. This is still much better than what Garmin used to have with their version of IQroutes.
Map display in browse map mode - I would say on par, meaning equally bad. If you own an older Garmin unit, like 2xx or 7xx series, you will have to suffer for a few weeks before you give up and accept the new look.
Map display in 3D mode (navigation) - Garmin has more clear indication of the next turn. TomTom often shows a more realistic curvature so that you can use the map on the screen to anticipate a sharp curve at night or in law visibility.
Overall, I think I like Garmin's representation more, except when I'm on mountain roads.
Voice prompts - a bit better on Garmin. Always right on time. You can't miss a turn if you listed to Garmin's voice prompts.
Voice recognition - works quite well on 2535. Not available on Nulink. The only problems I have with TomTom's voice recognition is that I can't make it understand 4-digit house numbers and that response time is a bit slow and it usually takes a few seconds for it to prepare for voice recognition. One just has to acknowledge that user interface is slow on this unit and one needs to be patient. Read more ›
The manufacturer commented on the review below
61 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The TomTom GO 2535M Live has a lot of useful features that my older and more moderately priced Garmin Nüvi 255W and Garmin Nüvi 260W does not have.
The voice recognition is quite useful as it allows you to enter commands and addresses using your voice (after pressing the little microphone button). This makes it safe to change destinations and settings as you are driving. If you suddenly find yourself low on gas (my gas gauge is unreliable) you just say "Navigate to nearest gas station". On the other hand I have an accent and I have problems getting the TomTom to understand addresses I state. On the other hand I have the same problem whenever I call any customer support system using voice recognition. A tip: you have to make sure that it says "listening" at the top of the screen before you start speaking. It takes a few seconds for "listening" to show up.
I found the Google based local search feature to be nifty. Neither the TomTom nor the Garmins could find a Greek restaurant I was looking for. However, as the restaurant was on internet I found it that way. I should say that I like the Points of Interest feature on the Garmin better. This particular feature is harder to use on the TomTom.
Live Services featuring weather reports (local and elsewhere), local fuel prices (list cheapest first), up to date traffic, safety/speed cameras, and Google based local search, etc, are terrific services that makes the TomTom shine in comparison so my cheaper Garmins. I have gotten speed camera tickets in the past so that feature is useful. I think speed camera tickets will sooner or later be a common thing on our highways. The TomTom GO 2535M Live also has other functionality that makes it safer and more useful than my cheaper Garmins. You can also allegedly turn it into a car phone via blue tooth, which is a feature I have not tried.
Unlike my Garmins it also asks me whether I want to go on the toll road, use the hover lane, etc. You can easily configure it to always take the specific actions or never if you don't like these questions. However, I like the fact that it always considers toll roads, hover-lanes, traffic, accidents, etc, when creating the route and allow me to select.
I think it is nice that you get the Live Services for free for one year and that map updates are free. I believe this is not true for Garmins in general (old or modern). To download the latest and greatest you have to go to their web site and create an account and download software. This was pretty straight forward and it worked. However, sometimes the software crashes (exception error). I liked browsing their web site. I could see if there were any accidents in my old home town in my native country Sweden, and there was (last time I looked).
The TomTom GO 2535M Live has a fairly large screen (5.6 inch) and is a little heavier. The fact that it is larger is both good and bad. It takes up a little bit more of the windshield real estate (but not too much) but it is also easier to see that way. I liked the fact that it is easy to zoom in and out using the slider and that you can just drag the map in any direction using your finger. Otherwise, I found the TomTom GO 2535M Live to be slightly less intuitive than my Garmins but I did not feel it was a big deal.
One thing that annoyed me a little was that the TomTom GO 2535M Live had a tendency to turn my taps into double taps (more so than my Garmins). Instead of "Main Street" I get "Maiinn Street". Backspacing too often makes it slower to get an address in. However, unless you are driving, typing in the address is easier than using voice recognition. Sometimes the TomTom GO 2535M Live takes longer to find the satellite signal than my Garmins and search functions (for example points of interest) seem to be somewhat slower too.
Overall I am quite happy with the TomTom GO 2535M Live but I have no experience with the modern top of the line Garmins. I am just comparing with what I have. $350.00 is a little steep, and I am not entirely sure I would buy it (I got it for free). However, overall I think this is a good product that I can recommend.
The voice recognition is quite useful as it allows you to enter commands and addresses using your voice (after pressing the little microphone button). This makes it safe to change destinations and settings as you are driving. If you suddenly find yourself low on gas (my gas gauge is unreliable) you just say "Navigate to nearest gas station". On the other hand I have an accent and I have problems getting the TomTom to understand addresses I state. On the other hand I have the same problem whenever I call any customer support system using voice recognition. A tip: you have to make sure that it says "listening" at the top of the screen before you start speaking. It takes a few seconds for "listening" to show up.
I found the Google based local search feature to be nifty. Neither the TomTom nor the Garmins could find a Greek restaurant I was looking for. However, as the restaurant was on internet I found it that way. I should say that I like the Points of Interest feature on the Garmin better. This particular feature is harder to use on the TomTom.
Live Services featuring weather reports (local and elsewhere), local fuel prices (list cheapest first), up to date traffic, safety/speed cameras, and Google based local search, etc, are terrific services that makes the TomTom shine in comparison so my cheaper Garmins. I have gotten speed camera tickets in the past so that feature is useful. I think speed camera tickets will sooner or later be a common thing on our highways. The TomTom GO 2535M Live also has other functionality that makes it safer and more useful than my cheaper Garmins. You can also allegedly turn it into a car phone via blue tooth, which is a feature I have not tried.
Unlike my Garmins it also asks me whether I want to go on the toll road, use the hover lane, etc. You can easily configure it to always take the specific actions or never if you don't like these questions. However, I like the fact that it always considers toll roads, hover-lanes, traffic, accidents, etc, when creating the route and allow me to select.
I think it is nice that you get the Live Services for free for one year and that map updates are free. I believe this is not true for Garmins in general (old or modern). To download the latest and greatest you have to go to their web site and create an account and download software. This was pretty straight forward and it worked. However, sometimes the software crashes (exception error). I liked browsing their web site. I could see if there were any accidents in my old home town in my native country Sweden, and there was (last time I looked).
The TomTom GO 2535M Live has a fairly large screen (5.6 inch) and is a little heavier. The fact that it is larger is both good and bad. It takes up a little bit more of the windshield real estate (but not too much) but it is also easier to see that way. I liked the fact that it is easy to zoom in and out using the slider and that you can just drag the map in any direction using your finger. Otherwise, I found the TomTom GO 2535M Live to be slightly less intuitive than my Garmins but I did not feel it was a big deal.
One thing that annoyed me a little was that the TomTom GO 2535M Live had a tendency to turn my taps into double taps (more so than my Garmins). Instead of "Main Street" I get "Maiinn Street". Backspacing too often makes it slower to get an address in. However, unless you are driving, typing in the address is easier than using voice recognition. Sometimes the TomTom GO 2535M Live takes longer to find the satellite signal than my Garmins and search functions (for example points of interest) seem to be somewhat slower too.
Overall I am quite happy with the TomTom GO 2535M Live but I have no experience with the modern top of the line Garmins. I am just comparing with what I have. $350.00 is a little steep, and I am not entirely sure I would buy it (I got it for free). However, overall I think this is a good product that I can recommend.
The manufacturer commented on this review
(What's this?)
Thank you for the review Thomas, we appreciate the detailed analysis. We value opinions related to our products and you are welcome to share any further feedback on our discussion forum (discussions.tomtom.com).
We hope you continue enjoying our products.
We hope you continue enjoying our products.
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The TomTom Go 2535M is a good GPS enhanced by the Live Services feature which includes HD Traffic, Weather, Lowest Gas Price search, Google search of local businesses. I've bought 2 GPS units (Garmin Nuvi 765T and TomTom XL-S) in the past and this is best one that I have used. My review is based on using this GPS for 3 weeks on my 30 minute commute which is roughly the average commuting time in the US and a good mix of highways and local roads.
My review below is broken into a few sections that critique the basic functions and the special features. In short, I found the basic functions worked nicely and the Live Services (HD traffic, local search, etc) add a lot of great features but at a cost after the included 1-year term expires.
BASIC FUNCTIONS
===============
All of the features found in a typical GPS are handled nicely for the most part.
NAVIGATION
- Quick Start-up: When you turn on the TomTom Go 2535M, your location is quickly determined (less than 30 seconds on average).
- Quick Re-calculations: Within seconds, if you deviate from the pre-planned route, this GPS will quickly find your current location and re-plan your route. (My old Garmin Nuvi had a habit of announcing it was "recalculating" after I deviate from a route. You really won't notice it here).
- Lane Guidance : When there are multiple lanes, this GPS will direct you which lane to drive by highlighting the recommended one on the screen.
- Free Life Time Maps : No new maps were available at the time of testing, but the website looks very clear and the process looks simple. Built-in maps cover the US, Canada, and Mexico.
SCREEN
Large, crisp 5" screen that is bigger than an iPhone's or iPod Touch's 3.5" screen. The touch screen is accurate and responsive to your fingers. Unlike some GPS units that frustratingly misread your input, this GPS really responds to your touch (It's basically like an iPhone's conductive touch screen instead of a pressure sensitive one like the old Nintendo DS). The only drawback is the processor sometimes shows a slight lag between your touch of a key on the virtual keyboard to seeing the input on the screen. Not as fast as an iPhone but not a big deal.
DESIGN
- The dock attaches nicely to your windshield. I haven't had the dock fall off while driving. There is a twisting mechanism by the suction cup that forces out more air, making it more secure. This is much better than my old TomTom XL-S which fell off all of the time. (No more licking suction cups). A magnet in the dock provides a secure connection to the GPS.
- The design of the TomTom Go 2535M is stylish. The back has a metal finish instead of the generic black you see on most GPS designs.
- One minor gripe here is the power button is always lit red when the power is on. It's on the top of the GPS so your windshield catches a bit of this light in the dark. It won't affect your driving... more of a slight nuisance.
BLUETOOTH (Hands-free Calling)
The Bluetooth connection provides hands-free dialing with your cellphone. Search results are integrated to allow you to call a business you've found by touching a button on the TomTom Go 2535M screen.
PROBLEMS WITH BASIC FUNCTIONS
=============================
I encountered problems with the basic functions.
NAVIGATION
- The included Text-to-Speech voice (which announces streets by their full names) has some issues with pronunciation. It reads "Crossing" as "Creek" and "Bridge" as "Branch"". So this can cause significant confusion when you are traveling to unfamiliar areas. My guess is that in the GPS database, "Crossing" and "Bridge" are saved as "Cr" and "Br" respectively and the TomTom Go 2535M is misinterpreting them. I am hoping a firmware update will fix this problem but cannot find one so far.
MENUS
There are lots of sub-menus. If you're thinking of buying this for a person who is not tech savvy, you may want to look elsewhere. Even though there are built-in tutorials, the menu hierarchy is unintuitive at times. Finding how to do simple functions like adding another stop on your route can take some getting used to. The many tutorials that are built-in seem like a band-aid (and unless you turn them off, some of them can pop up while you are driving).
BLUETOOTH
It took over an hour of trying, but I finally was able to pair my 2 year old (non-smart) Samsung Alias 2 phone. I have had no problems pairing the same phone to Bluetooth headphones (Jabra and Plantronics), a Bluetooth Speaker (Motorola T325), and my other GPS (Garmin Nuvi 765T). In my case, the discovery mode for my phone timed out too quickly and I had to force it to STAY in discovery mode in order to properly pair with the TomTom Go 2535M. This information was not in the instructions of TomTom website. It should not be a problem for most people since I didn't see other complaints online. *** UPDATE 5/26/11: After I turned the GPS off, it remembers my phone but won't connect with it. I'll contact tech support and see if they can help me here.
SPECIAL FEATURES
================
The Live Services is a convenient bundle of features that include HD Traffic, Google Local Search, Weather, and Fuel Prices. Twelve months of these services are included. After that expires, it will cost you $9.95/month (or $5/month if you pay for a whole year in advance). The TomTom Go 2535M keeps a record of when you first activate it to start calculating the 12 months. (Note that other TomTom models may only include 3 months of these services).
Live Services work right out of the box. After the 12 months is finished, you will need to connect it to your computer and enter credit card information to renew your subscription. If you are buying this GPS for your non-tech savvy relative, expect to provide some tech support at that point. It should be relatively easy (you connect your GPS to your PC or Mac after installing the TomTom Home software on your computer) but some people may have problems using basic computer accessories like USB flashdrives.
Important Note: As of 5/26/11, the coverage of Live Services is limited to the US. There is no coverage in Canada.
HD TRAFFIC
-----------
Having used the FM powered traffic feature in my Garmin Nuvi 765T which had very slow updates, I love the improved speed and accuracy of the cellular powered HD Traffic in the TomTom Go 2535M. As soon as you plan your route, this GPS will search for traffic updates on your route and will update you in less than 2 minutes. It then informs you of the distance to the nearest traffic jam on your route and how long the delay will be. This information is also summarized on a vertical bar on the screen. If there are other traffic jams on your route, it will also display that information. Additional traffic updates occur every 2 minutes. If a quicker route is found than your planned one, the GPS will ask you if you want to take that other route. (Slight word of caution: I did take an alternate route one time suggested by the GPS which directed me to go perpendicular through 4 lanes of congested traffic. I wasn't able to take the short cut without significant risk).
I was impressed that the HD traffic system was aware of traffic on some secondary roads as well. The accuracy on busy highways is good. Sometimes it matches the realtime estimated travel times down to the minute.
The improved accuracy over other GPS units is due to the quicker cellular network connection instead of the FM connection found in other GPS units (like the garmin Nuvi 765T). It's not perfect though. Sometimes I did come across a few short traffic jams on bridges and highways without any warning from the GPS. When traffic jams last for several minutes, you can expect that the HD traffic system will kick in and update you.
Note that another model (TomTom Go 2525TM) has lifetime traffic reports whereas the model being reviewed here only includes 1 year of traffic reports. But models that offer lifetime traffic use the slower FM traffic network mentioned above. (Some lifetime traffic GPS units such as the Garmin Nuvi 765T include pop-up banners ads the size of fortune cookie fortunes).
GOOGLE LOCAL SEARCH
--------------------
This is a handy feature if you don't have an iPhone or other smartphone. You can use Google to search for businesses nearby you (such as the nearest pharmacy). Some GPS units already do that with pre-programmed information. The bonus here is you can also search by a business name. So you can ask it to direct you to the nearest Starbucks. Search results include a convenient button on the screen to call that business if you've paired your cellphone to the TomTom Go 2535M for hands-free calling.
Search results work overall but are not fool-proof. When asked to search within a certain part of the city, results outside the intended area are included and sometimes even put those at the top of the list. Adding to this confusion is addresses are not immediately shown in the results so clicking on the top search result could take you away from your intended search area. Don't expect to use this feature while driving.
FUEL PRICES
-------------
This is a great feature for looking for the lowest gas prices nearby you or on your route. It can help you pay for the $5/month needed to continue Live Services after the included 12 months expire. One handy implementation of Fuel Prices is when you have your route planned, tapping on the Live Services tab will list your cheapest gas price on your route. The type of gas station is also listed in case you are particular about which brand of gas you use. Read more ›
My review below is broken into a few sections that critique the basic functions and the special features. In short, I found the basic functions worked nicely and the Live Services (HD traffic, local search, etc) add a lot of great features but at a cost after the included 1-year term expires.
BASIC FUNCTIONS
===============
All of the features found in a typical GPS are handled nicely for the most part.
NAVIGATION
- Quick Start-up: When you turn on the TomTom Go 2535M, your location is quickly determined (less than 30 seconds on average).
- Quick Re-calculations: Within seconds, if you deviate from the pre-planned route, this GPS will quickly find your current location and re-plan your route. (My old Garmin Nuvi had a habit of announcing it was "recalculating" after I deviate from a route. You really won't notice it here).
- Lane Guidance : When there are multiple lanes, this GPS will direct you which lane to drive by highlighting the recommended one on the screen.
- Free Life Time Maps : No new maps were available at the time of testing, but the website looks very clear and the process looks simple. Built-in maps cover the US, Canada, and Mexico.
SCREEN
Large, crisp 5" screen that is bigger than an iPhone's or iPod Touch's 3.5" screen. The touch screen is accurate and responsive to your fingers. Unlike some GPS units that frustratingly misread your input, this GPS really responds to your touch (It's basically like an iPhone's conductive touch screen instead of a pressure sensitive one like the old Nintendo DS). The only drawback is the processor sometimes shows a slight lag between your touch of a key on the virtual keyboard to seeing the input on the screen. Not as fast as an iPhone but not a big deal.
DESIGN
- The dock attaches nicely to your windshield. I haven't had the dock fall off while driving. There is a twisting mechanism by the suction cup that forces out more air, making it more secure. This is much better than my old TomTom XL-S which fell off all of the time. (No more licking suction cups). A magnet in the dock provides a secure connection to the GPS.
- The design of the TomTom Go 2535M is stylish. The back has a metal finish instead of the generic black you see on most GPS designs.
- One minor gripe here is the power button is always lit red when the power is on. It's on the top of the GPS so your windshield catches a bit of this light in the dark. It won't affect your driving... more of a slight nuisance.
BLUETOOTH (Hands-free Calling)
The Bluetooth connection provides hands-free dialing with your cellphone. Search results are integrated to allow you to call a business you've found by touching a button on the TomTom Go 2535M screen.
PROBLEMS WITH BASIC FUNCTIONS
=============================
I encountered problems with the basic functions.
NAVIGATION
- The included Text-to-Speech voice (which announces streets by their full names) has some issues with pronunciation. It reads "Crossing" as "Creek" and "Bridge" as "Branch"". So this can cause significant confusion when you are traveling to unfamiliar areas. My guess is that in the GPS database, "Crossing" and "Bridge" are saved as "Cr" and "Br" respectively and the TomTom Go 2535M is misinterpreting them. I am hoping a firmware update will fix this problem but cannot find one so far.
MENUS
There are lots of sub-menus. If you're thinking of buying this for a person who is not tech savvy, you may want to look elsewhere. Even though there are built-in tutorials, the menu hierarchy is unintuitive at times. Finding how to do simple functions like adding another stop on your route can take some getting used to. The many tutorials that are built-in seem like a band-aid (and unless you turn them off, some of them can pop up while you are driving).
BLUETOOTH
It took over an hour of trying, but I finally was able to pair my 2 year old (non-smart) Samsung Alias 2 phone. I have had no problems pairing the same phone to Bluetooth headphones (Jabra and Plantronics), a Bluetooth Speaker (Motorola T325), and my other GPS (Garmin Nuvi 765T). In my case, the discovery mode for my phone timed out too quickly and I had to force it to STAY in discovery mode in order to properly pair with the TomTom Go 2535M. This information was not in the instructions of TomTom website. It should not be a problem for most people since I didn't see other complaints online. *** UPDATE 5/26/11: After I turned the GPS off, it remembers my phone but won't connect with it. I'll contact tech support and see if they can help me here.
SPECIAL FEATURES
================
The Live Services is a convenient bundle of features that include HD Traffic, Google Local Search, Weather, and Fuel Prices. Twelve months of these services are included. After that expires, it will cost you $9.95/month (or $5/month if you pay for a whole year in advance). The TomTom Go 2535M keeps a record of when you first activate it to start calculating the 12 months. (Note that other TomTom models may only include 3 months of these services).
Live Services work right out of the box. After the 12 months is finished, you will need to connect it to your computer and enter credit card information to renew your subscription. If you are buying this GPS for your non-tech savvy relative, expect to provide some tech support at that point. It should be relatively easy (you connect your GPS to your PC or Mac after installing the TomTom Home software on your computer) but some people may have problems using basic computer accessories like USB flashdrives.
Important Note: As of 5/26/11, the coverage of Live Services is limited to the US. There is no coverage in Canada.
HD TRAFFIC
-----------
Having used the FM powered traffic feature in my Garmin Nuvi 765T which had very slow updates, I love the improved speed and accuracy of the cellular powered HD Traffic in the TomTom Go 2535M. As soon as you plan your route, this GPS will search for traffic updates on your route and will update you in less than 2 minutes. It then informs you of the distance to the nearest traffic jam on your route and how long the delay will be. This information is also summarized on a vertical bar on the screen. If there are other traffic jams on your route, it will also display that information. Additional traffic updates occur every 2 minutes. If a quicker route is found than your planned one, the GPS will ask you if you want to take that other route. (Slight word of caution: I did take an alternate route one time suggested by the GPS which directed me to go perpendicular through 4 lanes of congested traffic. I wasn't able to take the short cut without significant risk).
I was impressed that the HD traffic system was aware of traffic on some secondary roads as well. The accuracy on busy highways is good. Sometimes it matches the realtime estimated travel times down to the minute.
The improved accuracy over other GPS units is due to the quicker cellular network connection instead of the FM connection found in other GPS units (like the garmin Nuvi 765T). It's not perfect though. Sometimes I did come across a few short traffic jams on bridges and highways without any warning from the GPS. When traffic jams last for several minutes, you can expect that the HD traffic system will kick in and update you.
Note that another model (TomTom Go 2525TM) has lifetime traffic reports whereas the model being reviewed here only includes 1 year of traffic reports. But models that offer lifetime traffic use the slower FM traffic network mentioned above. (Some lifetime traffic GPS units such as the Garmin Nuvi 765T include pop-up banners ads the size of fortune cookie fortunes).
GOOGLE LOCAL SEARCH
--------------------
This is a handy feature if you don't have an iPhone or other smartphone. You can use Google to search for businesses nearby you (such as the nearest pharmacy). Some GPS units already do that with pre-programmed information. The bonus here is you can also search by a business name. So you can ask it to direct you to the nearest Starbucks. Search results include a convenient button on the screen to call that business if you've paired your cellphone to the TomTom Go 2535M for hands-free calling.
Search results work overall but are not fool-proof. When asked to search within a certain part of the city, results outside the intended area are included and sometimes even put those at the top of the list. Adding to this confusion is addresses are not immediately shown in the results so clicking on the top search result could take you away from your intended search area. Don't expect to use this feature while driving.
FUEL PRICES
-------------
This is a great feature for looking for the lowest gas prices nearby you or on your route. It can help you pay for the $5/month needed to continue Live Services after the included 12 months expire. One handy implementation of Fuel Prices is when you have your route planned, tapping on the Live Services tab will list your cheapest gas price on your route. The type of gas station is also listed in case you are particular about which brand of gas you use. Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Battery problem after 5 month
I like the external design of this GPS navigator. Magnet attach is really good.
However it suddenly stop receiving GPS signal and showed a message "Mandatory Update". Read more
However it suddenly stop receiving GPS signal and showed a message "Mandatory Update". Read more
Published 1 hour ago by Hugh
Defective right out of the box
Did not have this item for more then a few hours, basically setting up preferences and exploring the device when the voice stopped working, also voice commands option stopped... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Tech Guy 6696
This is my last Tomtom GPS. Period.
Long story short. I have purchased this unit September 2011. In February it stopped responding. Tech support issued RMA. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Janusz
The GPS stopped working after only a few times of use
I purchased this GPS because of its advertised HD Traffic function. But the GPS stopped working after only a few times of use. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Q. Brenda Ye
Disappointed
I purchased this unit to take advantage of the HD traffic. In the AM unit works great. Traffic updates within seconds. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Michal Klim
Don't update it when you get it.......
I will update this review as I find out more information
1. Got the unit today and it looked great. Big 5" screen and I just love TomTom's
2. Read more
1. Got the unit today and it looked great. Big 5" screen and I just love TomTom's
2. Read more
Published 8 days ago by tim
TomTom compared to Garmin
It was a tough decision, Garmin Nuvi 2595 vs TomTom 2535, but in the end I went TomTom. Big mistake, product lost satellite due to "leap year" glitch. Read more
Published 17 days ago by MST
G0 2535 MT
I have had this gps for about a year. There have been some automatic upgrades that helped alot. I can go about anywhere in the US with no problems. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Raymond Fowler
Best GPS On the Market, When it Works
I travel in high-traffic areas, and also travel quite a bit in unfamiliar cities. I need a GPS to guide me through traffic, and to serve as a Bluetooth speakerphone for my rental... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Robbo the Commuter
WARNING! You won't see this in the demo...
On display and out of the box, I felt this was one high quality GPS system. Huge screen, solid build/materials, heavy, etc. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Robert Chapman
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