Current model to replace a 530

[Mirez]

Hi all, I'm looking to replace my 530T which I thought would be a nice strait forward job however it seems TomTom have decided to downgrade the new models so the features I frequently use aren't there... genius! I do 50K miles a year and use these daily so a new unit must have them!

Old Requirements:
MP3 Player
FM Transmitter and/or Line-Out
SD Card

New requirements:
Inbuilt Live Services (esp the up to the minute money-making camera locations)

The traffic service of the 530T has never been very good so it'll be nice to have the Live version. I think I'm going to have to opt for a second-hand Go 940 unless anyone can advise me which current models meet all of these requirements? Budgets up to £400 and I'll consider other manufacturers if needs be.

Thanks!

 

[dhn]

None of the new models have a mp3 built in.

That settles that, eh?

 

[Andy_P]

If you can find a second-hand Go940 I'd jump on it.
I've got access to much newer TomTom models, but I'll be devastated when my 940 finally dies.

 

[Mirez]

Lol, I looked through all the specs and had come to that conclusion but it seemed rather unlikely - guess not! Is there a reason they have ditched it do we know?

 

[Mirez]

Thanks Andy, there is one on ebay at the moment for £110 which I *might* opt for - waiting on the answers for a couple of questions.

Is the 940 my only option for that list or are there other, older models I should consider?

 

[Andy_P]

As far as I know, they had a pretty high-up decision to remove all "non-core" functionality a couple of years ago.

As I see it they had so many issues getting the new "NAV3" models to work at all they simply didn't have the resources to sort out all the little issues with the "extras" so they just dumped them.

I even kept a bookmark to a previous topic that has a lovely quote from TomTom Customer services saying that they were ditching the music player (and just about every other additional feature)....

TomTom is the world's leading provider of location and navigation solutions that focuses on car navigation. As our maps become larger and more complex and involves more of the internal drives of our devices, it becomes necessary to update our software applications to accommodate these map complexities. Unfortunately, these software updates may change the familiar look and operation of our older devices. There may be some operations that will be removed altogether. As we move forward, our focus will be on navigation solutions and less on peripheral operations of the devices.

(my bold text)

Full quote and discussion here: Tom Tom 930 Go Stops playing music

Quite ironic now that they are plastering "social networking" garbage like Twitter all over the new models, but they can't even give us the compass back!

 

[Mirez]

Guys, will the 540/740 fit the bill? I've read a few posts that only the 940 has the MP3 player but they are all quite old and when my current unit (530) came out it didn't but then had an update!

I can buy the active dock to get the audio line-out so that's all good - I just need to know if it can play the mp3's from the SD card?

 

[Andy_P]

Sorry, only the Go940 has an mp3 player, the 540 and 740 don't.

 

[canderson]

AFAIK, the Mobilnova (3rd party) firmware can still be made to function under 9.340 on a GO940. Might be a little overkill since it provides both audio AND video, and not a freebie, but would server to get some MP3 functionality back and then some...

http://www.mobilnova.com/MobilNova/en/

 

[equlizer]

Hey Andy, Is there anyway we can get that compass back? Ive phoned and complained about it 5 times already and left email feedback a few times as well.

 

[canderson]

All you can do is to keep beating the TomTom drums and hope that someone hears you. The few here that I know who have some connection back to the NL office have certainly told them about what we've been hearing here and elsewhere. There's an entire laundry list of features that never rematerialized when the new models hit the market, and with the number of bugs they've been working on and the number of other new 'ancillary' bits and pieces they keep trying to tack on, it seems they never find time for the things we keep telling them the users want BACK.

 

[Andy_P]

Hey Andy, Is there anyway we can get that compass back? Ive phoned and complained about it 5 times already and left email feedback a few times as well.

I can only say the same thing.... What you've done already (i.e. customer pressure) is about the only thing they'll ever listen to.

Look at the reaction to the LIVE Traffic fiasco... They ignored everyone until there was a Facebook page created about it and that at least made them sit up and notice!

 

[mvl]

Old Requirements:
MP3 Player
FM Transmitter and/or Line-Out
SD Card

New requirements:
Inbuilt Live Services (esp the up to the minute money-making camera locations)

Another option for all the features you are referencing is the Sony XNV LIVE (note that only European models are LIVE).

All the features of the GO530, in a more convenient packaging with a bigger screen.

It's two years newer than the GO940, but a lot more expensive. But for the convenience, I'd buy an XNV LIVE in a heartbeat if the model was sold in the USA.