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TomTom GO 510 4-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished)
See it at Amazon.com for $559.99Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + ShareMid range option at a mid range price
(3 out of 5) by Nathan Beauchamp on Jan 26, 2009 (Oak Park, IL USA)The Tom Tom Go 510 was a replacement for my very old Garmin that was stolen from my car. It is an improvement in some ways, but in others I actually prefer the older, smaller screened Garmin. This is really a pretty average GPS and has some issue that are very frustrating.
The Good:
Blue tooth functionality is great:
You can use this as a blue tooth speaker phone by syncing it with your phone. This is a handy feature if like me you don't like a blue tooth ear piece.
4 inch wide screen is reasonably good:
I disagree with the reviewer that described it as too dim. You can adjust the screen brightness and my guess is that his is just adjusted to a very low setting. I have no issues at all with seeing the maps clearly and brightly.
Routing is good:
I've only had a few occasions there the Tom Tom got confused, but those were resolved fairly quickly.
Interesting selection of voices for voice commands:
While I don't use the voice prompts much, there is a wide variety of voices (and even more that you can download from the Tom Tom web page) that are all pleasant and interesting. If you like voice prompts, you can choose between several different male and female voices, all of which are quality.
The Bad:
POI (Point of Interest) is really poor:
You can select from certain categories (state parks, restaurants, golf courses for example) and it will tell you what is either near you, near your destination, or along your route. However, unlike my much older and simpler Garmin, there is no ability to manually enter a restaurant name, or Home Depot, or what ever. Either the location you are looking for is a POI or it is not, and this makes finding a specific store or location by name a royal pain.
Bad windshield mount and support arm:
As other reviewers have mentioned, the wind shield mount is badly designed. It does not offer sufficient support for the device, and making adjustments is very hit-or-miss as there are not many ways to articulate the mounting bracket. Also, the suction cup design doesn't work very well and never stays stuck. I never had these problems with my old Garmin. Another issue is that the mechanics of locking the GPS to the support arm are badly designed. It is virtually impossible to attach the GPS to the mounting bracket using one hand. You have to press the small tab at the top of the GPS unit while perfectly aligning the GPS with the bracket, which is made even more cumbersome by the aforementioned support arm which will NOT STAY IN ONE PLACE while you attempt to lock the GPS in. This is the single most frustrating thing about this GPS.
Semi-frequent reboots:
For seemingly no reason, in the midst of certain routes, the device will reboot. This is devastating if you are in a sensitive portion of your trip when it happens, such as merging with several highways, or the last few turns before you reach your destination. These reboots occur at random, and are not tied to anything that I can detect. This is likely a software problem, as updating the maps doesn't seem to fix the issue.
Problematic GUI (Graphic User Interface):
The problems with the GUI are caused by a general lack of intuitiveness. For example the difficulty of clearing a route. It should be a one button option from the main navigation screen, but is instead buried two levels of menus deep, meaning if you decide to clear your route, it is virtually impossible to do while driving. Another glaring problem is the way that menus and locations are sorted. It is sometimes very difficult to find what you are looking for. I always have that "I know this is here, now why can't I find it," feeling using the GPS. I am a tech savvy person, and have no issues using most devices, but this one's layout was probably never tested in the real world before release, and it is simply hard to use.
Conclusions:
This is a mid range GPS from a feature and price standpoint. However, the finicky reboots, frustrating support arm and locking mechanism, and the lack of the ability to search by store or restaurant name make me wish for my much older and smaller Garmin which did all of these things better. They can and should do much better than this.
The Good:
Blue tooth functionality is great:
You can use this as a blue tooth speaker phone by syncing it with your phone. This is a handy feature if like me you don't like a blue tooth ear piece.
4 inch wide screen is reasonably good:
I disagree with the reviewer that described it as too dim. You can adjust the screen brightness and my guess is that his is just adjusted to a very low setting. I have no issues at all with seeing the maps clearly and brightly.
Routing is good:
I've only had a few occasions there the Tom Tom got confused, but those were resolved fairly quickly.
Interesting selection of voices for voice commands:
While I don't use the voice prompts much, there is a wide variety of voices (and even more that you can download from the Tom Tom web page) that are all pleasant and interesting. If you like voice prompts, you can choose between several different male and female voices, all of which are quality.
The Bad:
POI (Point of Interest) is really poor:
You can select from certain categories (state parks, restaurants, golf courses for example) and it will tell you what is either near you, near your destination, or along your route. However, unlike my much older and simpler Garmin, there is no ability to manually enter a restaurant name, or Home Depot, or what ever. Either the location you are looking for is a POI or it is not, and this makes finding a specific store or location by name a royal pain.
Bad windshield mount and support arm:
As other reviewers have mentioned, the wind shield mount is badly designed. It does not offer sufficient support for the device, and making adjustments is very hit-or-miss as there are not many ways to articulate the mounting bracket. Also, the suction cup design doesn't work very well and never stays stuck. I never had these problems with my old Garmin. Another issue is that the mechanics of locking the GPS to the support arm are badly designed. It is virtually impossible to attach the GPS to the mounting bracket using one hand. You have to press the small tab at the top of the GPS unit while perfectly aligning the GPS with the bracket, which is made even more cumbersome by the aforementioned support arm which will NOT STAY IN ONE PLACE while you attempt to lock the GPS in. This is the single most frustrating thing about this GPS.
Semi-frequent reboots:
For seemingly no reason, in the midst of certain routes, the device will reboot. This is devastating if you are in a sensitive portion of your trip when it happens, such as merging with several highways, or the last few turns before you reach your destination. These reboots occur at random, and are not tied to anything that I can detect. This is likely a software problem, as updating the maps doesn't seem to fix the issue.
Problematic GUI (Graphic User Interface):
The problems with the GUI are caused by a general lack of intuitiveness. For example the difficulty of clearing a route. It should be a one button option from the main navigation screen, but is instead buried two levels of menus deep, meaning if you decide to clear your route, it is virtually impossible to do while driving. Another glaring problem is the way that menus and locations are sorted. It is sometimes very difficult to find what you are looking for. I always have that "I know this is here, now why can't I find it," feeling using the GPS. I am a tech savvy person, and have no issues using most devices, but this one's layout was probably never tested in the real world before release, and it is simply hard to use.
Conclusions:
This is a mid range GPS from a feature and price standpoint. However, the finicky reboots, frustrating support arm and locking mechanism, and the lack of the ability to search by store or restaurant name make me wish for my much older and smaller Garmin which did all of these things better. They can and should do much better than this.
Good GPS
(5 out of 5) by A. Robinson on Dec 7, 2008 (Lubbock, TX)Product works good with no problems. Bluetooth capability is a nice added extra and speaker and mic are good quality. Happy with Tom Tom.
tom tom gets there
(4 out of 5) by J. STALLARD on Sep 15, 2008I got a tom tom 510 with a 4 inch screen with bluetooth head set features for my b-day this gps is excellent.It works great I am very pleased with this product it is very accurate gets me to my destination with no problem.Plus it is a refurbished tom tom from the factory with full year warranty.I have had several people at my work asking me where did I get my gps.I simply say amazon.com.
TomTom510
(5 out of 5) by S. Bean on Jul 22, 2008 (Oklahoma)I have purchased three units and am extremely satisfied. You will not get lost using this unit. If you get off track it recalculates immediately. Getting used to the options and controls takes a while to learn but still easy to use.
I recommend getting a remote for any gps unit purchased. No touching the screen jut use the remote.
I recommend getting a remote for any gps unit purchased. No touching the screen jut use the remote.
Tom Tom GPS
(4 out of 5) by R. Gray on Jul 19, 2008The item came quickly. It was well packed. And the setup instructions were cear and easy to understand. The functionality and installation are good. There is a learning curve to use all of the units capabilities. Good product.