TomTom GO 510 4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Other products by TomTom

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3 x 4 x 3 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000F007JY
• Item model number: 1V00.580
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,225 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 15, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description The TomTom GO 510 Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator improves upon TomTom's line of all-in-one portable navigation solutions that work straight out of the box. The 510 features a new cutting-edge design that includes a high-quality, extra-wide, four-inch LCD touch screen that offers the ultimate in readability and ease of use.

The Go 510's wide array of functions ranges from detailed maps of the U.S. and Canada--all pre-installed on a 1 GB SD card--to clear spoken turn-by-turn directions to a handy Bluetooth hands-free car kit that lets you make and receive cell phone calls simply by touching the screen. All this in a compact, lightweight body that measures a mere 4.2 by 3.1 by 2.5 inches (W x H x D)--the perfect size for moving from car to car, or even storing in a backpack.

The GO 510 has a bright 4-inch widescreen and comes complete with MP3 playback, a docking station, and a complete points- of-interest database.

The TomTom interface has set the standard for navigation with complete 3D navigation tools.

Bright and intuitive icons make navigating the menus a snap.

Linguists can't help but admire the Go 510's versatility, as it not only speaks some 36 languages in more than 50 different voices. To determine a location, simply enter a street and house number, a postal code, a city center, or an intersection, and the Go 510 determines the quickest or shortest route to get you there. Should you want your trip to follow specific parameters--such as avoiding freeways or toll roads--the Go 510 follows along by recommending an alternative route. Users can even preview and test TomTom's proposed route before setting foot in the car.

Of course, not all trips go from point A to B, which is why the Go 510 allows you to plan an entire itinerary before leaving the house. Need to make 15 stops while driving to your sister's? No problem. And should you miss a turn or instruction, the TomTom instantly recalculates the route and provides all-new directions. Plus, it's possible to access millions of points of interest, including restaurants, parking garages, movie theaters, amusement parks, and more. If you're running low on gas on a long drive, don't fret, as the Go 510 can locate the nearest gas station in seconds.

The Go 510's unique touchscreen activation eliminates the hassle of dealing with extra buttons or unnecessary hardware when calculating a route. And thanks to the high-quality 4-inch LCD screen--which delivers crystal-clear 3-D graphics, a 480 x 272 pixel resolution, and 64,000 colors--you'll feel in control wherever you are. Users will also dig the screen's anti-glare coating, which ensures an optimal view at all times, even in direct sunlight.

Even with the touchscreen, GPS navigators can be tricky to figure out. That's why TomTom included an extensive guided tour that explains how to get the most from your purchase, along with a batch of useful onscreen tips. And if you're not crazy about the default onscreen interface, you can customize the status bar to show only the information you need.

The Bluetooth connection is another user favorite. Not only can you connect the Go 510 to your mobile phone or headset for hands-free calling, but you'll enjoy such features as echo cancellation and noise reduction to ensure topnotch communications. And answering calls couldn't be easier--just touch the screen when a call comes through. The external microphone, meanwhile, optimizes the quality of your voice, ensuring the people on the other end have no trouble understanding you.

As if that weren't enough, the TomTom Go 510 is also compatible with a wide range of TomTom Plus services and downloads (subscription required), including real-time traffic info and weather reports, access to a host of city and regional maps, downloadable audiobooks for long drives, thousands of extra points of interest, and much more.

Other features include a speeding alert that tells you when you're going too fast, an iPod connection for 3rd generation and later iPods (except the iPod shuffle), and a home dock that cradles your Go 510 while you download info from a PC or Mac. The device also carries a two-year warranty.

What's in the Box
TomTom Go 510 GPS navigator, SD card, carrying case, home dock, car charger, windshield dock, external microphone, product code card, documentation pack (with quick-start guide, accessory leaflet, and CD), user's manual.

Product Description

TomTom is the smart, easy-to-use, portable navigation solution. Switch it on and GO. The crystal-clear widescreen display, 3D graphics, and clear, accurate turn-by-turn voice instructions help you find your way to any address in the United States and Canada. A few taps of the screen get you going. Pick a destination, choose the type of route, and it guides you door-to-door. The built-in Bluetooth connection lets you easily make or receive calls hands-free. And with TomTom PLUS the GO can re-route you around traffic jams and alert you to bad weather. You can control your iPod directly from your TomTom GO. Just tap the GO's wide screen to see and select your favorite iPod tunes. The home dock lets you connect to your PC for itinerary planning and downloading maps, voices, and more. The portable, widescreen TomTom GO is the smart and easy choice for every car, every trip, every day.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really remarkable accomplishment; but ...., August 30, 2006

By	William T. Plummer (Concord, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been using my TT 510 for more than a month, with over 2000 miles of local and cross-country travel, mostly without the need for a map. Our family now has three of them, all working properly right out of the box, and we love them.

But the manual is sparse and not indexed. Some of the data entry procedures are peculiar and require experimenting to get right. (If in doubt, or you can't find a particular icon, back up a couple of steps.) There are some amusing program quirks: a "Main Street" address may throw you into a nearby town, rather than the one you have specified! That happened to us in two different locations in Massachusetts, once from Concord (to Acton) and once from Reading (to Tewksbury).

The data base entry for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel must have been a little wrong, because the display showed us moving along in the water parallel to the bridges, despite good signals! The unit repeatedly recalculated the route while trying to deal with that problem. A similar thing happened on the Wright Bridge, eastbound on Rt 158 to the Outer Banks of NC. Amazingly, the TT projected our motion through the tunnels without receiving any signal, plotted out "progress" on the display, and instantly found our location again as we emerged!

The TT does not always respect numbered routes, and sometimes put us on local roads through residential neighborhoods when the path seemed to be a little straighter than the official highway. In local traffic there were a couple of inexplicable times when it directed us into the wrong lane for an approaching turn. The projected arrival times are sometimes quite accurate, but in some cases have been very wrong for no apparent reason.

On a couple of occasions when a unit did hang up, we reset it, but had to use a sharp pin or a thin needle because a paper clip doesn't fit into the tiny (and well hidden) reset hole. My wife once borrowed an earring from someone nearby to reset hers, and now keeps a safety pin stuck in the cloth case!

The windshield mount works well when you remember to retract the clamping ring when setting the suction cup, and then to tighten the clamping ring fully, and the TT is easy to fit to the mount once you learn to thrust it deep enough onto the stem.

Those minor nuisances aside, we love the TomTom. The display is easy to use and brilliantly arranged for driver convenience. I give this amazing product 5 stars because I would not hesitate to get another one, and most of what it does is just fantastic! It has been especially valuable for finding unfamiliar local addresses and for getting onto and off of Interstate Routes in unfamiliar places, normally a special pain for cross-country travel. When you deliberately depart from your planned route for a detour or a different plan, the TT quickly recalculates a route for you without really cursing, so we have had no difficulty that way.

One remarkable feature of the display is the way it shows nearby streets and roads that are hidden behind trees, as along the Jersey Turnpike and some of the other highways that are landscaped to appear isolated.

We found telephone support available and very helpful when we needed it once. We picked this GPS unit partly because it is compatible with our Mac computers, but haven't yet had occasion to hook it to one.

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great feature bundle for the price, but a bit temperamental..., July 17, 2006

By	Triet M. Nguyen "yieldmaster" (Southborough, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I've had this unit for about a month now, took it from New England to CA and it performed perfectly. Bluetooth and IPod connectivity are great. The custom voices (from John Cleese to Mr T) are a hoot. The unit does crash sometimes (i.e. fails to turn on) but a quick reset is usually all that's needed. In the rare cases the unit has trouble locking onto a GPS signal, I'd recommend downloading the QuickGPSFix software through the Bluetooth wireless data link. That usually helps the 510 locate the GPS signal. The other thing to keep in mind too is that Tom Tom is a UK company, so tech support is a bit hard to reach and the services are somewhat Euro-centric. For example, they still don't have the real time traffic service for North America. Otherwise, this a a fine unit. I have heard of some quality control problems when this unit was first released, hopefully this has been resolved with the latest batch.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nearly OK, but..., August 5, 2006

By	droopy drawers "droopy-drawers" (Beavercreek, OH USA) - See all my reviews

I have had my TomTom GO 510 for about 10 weeks now. What a fantastic system! Two weeks after I got it, I took a trip to a very distant large city that I had never been to. Not once during that trip did I have to look at a map! Every time I went somewhere, I just put in the destination address and the TomTom took me right there - without fail. When roads were blocked, it helped me find alternate routes. When I needed to find a place to eat, or a gas station, it found something very well for me. I have enormous praise for this system. Of course, I wasn't always sure that I was taking the most direct or desirable route, but the system sure got me to where I wanted to be. There are some features that haven't tried, such as PLUS services, weather, and traffic. They require cell phone services that cost extra that I'm not willing to pay for. That said, I am still very high on this system and I have numerous friends that have borrowed it or are waiting to.

Although I love this system, there are some real disappointments with it that I'll try to highlight. Maybe the most bizarre flaw with the system is that the time display is almost always wrong. Granted, it has to be able to get a valid satellite signal to synch the clock, but even when the system is getting valid locations, the clock seldom synchs. When it does synch, it's almost always to the wrong time zone. It's a GPS system for heaven's sake - how can it not know what time zone I'm in?

I have been in some very rural areas and the system always knows where I am once I'm there, even on the roughest, unpaved, remote roads. However, I've had a hard time finding my way to those remote locations. To navigate there, the system requires that you put in the city and state. However, for some locations, there is no city, and when I put in the closest city, it couldn't find the location I was looking for. Once I was there, it knew where I was.

In my travel, I wanted to go to Pike's Peak. It wasn't identified as a Point of Interest. Odd.

The display could be better. In bright sunlight, it could be difficult to see. A brighter display would help under those conditions, or maybe a hood or shade of some kind. Otherwise, the display brightness was just fine. It would be nice to have a larger display. Us baby-boomers' eyesight may not be what it was in the past and some of the lettering was quite small. We could well use a larger display and many have the buying power TomTom should consider.

The most irritating thing about the TomTom GO 510 was the mounting mechanism. There's a button on the front of the system that's supposed to release the system for engaging or disengaging the system from the windshield mount or the computer dock. However, the button seems to have little or no effect, and the system snaps onto both in a way that feels like you're forcing it and it's going to break easily. It's very unsettling.

The documentation for the system is lousy. There's very little detailed technical information about how to use it. The documentation for mounting the windshield mount and for attaching the system to the windshield mount is all pictures - not one word - and the pictures aren't intuitively obvious what they mean. There's no explanation of the colors on the display. Sometimes roads are red, sometimes white. Land features are different colors, with no explanation. I could find no information on how maps are updated, if at all. That's a big disappointment. There's no system registration process so we can be notified when updated maps are available.

Apparently, maps are contained on the SD card. The SD card easily pops in and out with just a touch. However, when installing or removing the system from the mounts, it's way too easy to accidentally touch the SD card and pop it out. It could be easily lost. Seems like there should be some kind of safety catch or door to prevent accidentally losing it.

Finally, the system didn't work well with my cell phone - a Motorola V710. My contacts wouldn't synch and text messages wouldn't work. However, TomTom does caution that all cell phones are not compatible.

Notwithstanding these flaws, I'm still very high on this system. I like that it can be easily moved from car to car. It generally works well and gets me where I want to be. I'm satisfied with that.