TomTom XXL 550TM Review
When a 4.3 " display has become standard dimension for personal navigation devices, the improvement to a 5.0 in . screen will make a substantial difference. TomTom has two series of XXL products having 5.0 " displays, the XXL 540-TM and the XXL 550-TM reviewed below.
The "TM" versions contain both life time map updates and live traffic. The standard feature set of the XXL 550 series of products suits the features discussed in the previously reviewed XXL 540-S. All models consist of TomTom's IQRoutes technology, 7 million Points of Interest database, Text to Speech, and maps for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. And so what is the difference with the TomTom 550TM?
1st, you will find a somewhat revamped and simplified graphical user interface. The Options menu, previously known as Preferences, right now consists of simply three screens of options. The 540 series have 6 screens of preferences when you selected the advanced viewing option. Individual option choices group related configurable options together. For instance, the driving view preferences on the 550 products permit you to set status bar information and POI visibility. For the 540 products, all those were separate preference configurations.
The main menu on the 550 series has also been entirely revamped. A touch on the map view still starts up the main menu, however on the 550 products, you now have 2 huge icons: "Plan Route" plus "Browse Map." Plan route gives you the additional option of specifying your departure point besides when using the default, "current location." Your Navigate-to choices consist of Home, Favorite, Address, Recent Destination, POI, or Point on map. Individual symbols for City Center, Zip Code, and Intersection have been taken away on the 550s, but the functionality continues to be built-in. Just type in the zip code besides the city name, and it will discover the city for you. This fundamentally saves you a screen touch or two. One icon missing within the 550 which i loved on the 540 is the one that allows you to navigate instantly to a latitude/longitude.
Other changes to the interface also make several options more easily accessible. From the main menu, there is an icon to change to night colors, to mute the sound, also to access a more useful Help function. A single touch of the Help icon shows your position on a map and your latitude and longitude. Similar information is available on the 540 items, but it takes an extra tap to obtain the information.
The map view has also been changed somewhat. With out an active route, two centered symbols on the bottom on the display screen permit you to quickly switch among 2D and 3D views. Along with an active route, the status bar that occupies the lower portion of the display has been reorganized. The lower-left portion of the display displays the current time, speed, and also direction. The center of status bar shows distance to your next turn. The bottom right portion of the screen indicates user-configurable trip information.
A couple of functions found on the 540 products have been dropped on the 550 items. Gone is the Quick Menu that allows you to access up to 5 frequently used functions with a one tap. Also missing is ability to quickly add your present spot as being a favourite. Safety features are enabled by default, however you can't configure them on the XL 550-TM, as possible for the XL 540. Though I understand that tweaking the user interface involves compromises--especially when you are trying to simplify it. I am hoping that TomTom adds all these features back in a future release.
Certainly, the definitely big deal for the XXL 550TM is the included life time traffic and lifetime map updates. At just $50 greater than the base model that lacks live traffic and also map updates, purchasing the XXL 550-TM is a no-brainer. Those wanting to save a quite a bit of money may think about the XXL 540-S--it currently seems to have a great cost.
Click here to get the best price of TomTom XXL 550TM.
The "TM" versions contain both life time map updates and live traffic. The standard feature set of the XXL 550 series of products suits the features discussed in the previously reviewed XXL 540-S. All models consist of TomTom's IQRoutes technology, 7 million Points of Interest database, Text to Speech, and maps for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. And so what is the difference with the TomTom 550TM?
1st, you will find a somewhat revamped and simplified graphical user interface. The Options menu, previously known as Preferences, right now consists of simply three screens of options. The 540 series have 6 screens of preferences when you selected the advanced viewing option. Individual option choices group related configurable options together. For instance, the driving view preferences on the 550 products permit you to set status bar information and POI visibility. For the 540 products, all those were separate preference configurations.
The main menu on the 550 series has also been entirely revamped. A touch on the map view still starts up the main menu, however on the 550 products, you now have 2 huge icons: "Plan Route" plus "Browse Map." Plan route gives you the additional option of specifying your departure point besides when using the default, "current location." Your Navigate-to choices consist of Home, Favorite, Address, Recent Destination, POI, or Point on map. Individual symbols for City Center, Zip Code, and Intersection have been taken away on the 550s, but the functionality continues to be built-in. Just type in the zip code besides the city name, and it will discover the city for you. This fundamentally saves you a screen touch or two. One icon missing within the 550 which i loved on the 540 is the one that allows you to navigate instantly to a latitude/longitude.
Other changes to the interface also make several options more easily accessible. From the main menu, there is an icon to change to night colors, to mute the sound, also to access a more useful Help function. A single touch of the Help icon shows your position on a map and your latitude and longitude. Similar information is available on the 540 items, but it takes an extra tap to obtain the information.
The map view has also been changed somewhat. With out an active route, two centered symbols on the bottom on the display screen permit you to quickly switch among 2D and 3D views. Along with an active route, the status bar that occupies the lower portion of the display has been reorganized. The lower-left portion of the display displays the current time, speed, and also direction. The center of status bar shows distance to your next turn. The bottom right portion of the screen indicates user-configurable trip information.
A couple of functions found on the 540 products have been dropped on the 550 items. Gone is the Quick Menu that allows you to access up to 5 frequently used functions with a one tap. Also missing is ability to quickly add your present spot as being a favourite. Safety features are enabled by default, however you can't configure them on the XL 550-TM, as possible for the XL 540. Though I understand that tweaking the user interface involves compromises--especially when you are trying to simplify it. I am hoping that TomTom adds all these features back in a future release.
Certainly, the definitely big deal for the XXL 550TM is the included life time traffic and lifetime map updates. At just $50 greater than the base model that lacks live traffic and also map updates, purchasing the XXL 550-TM is a no-brainer. Those wanting to save a quite a bit of money may think about the XXL 540-S--it currently seems to have a great cost.
Click here to get the best price of TomTom XXL 550TM.
