FRANKENSTEIN TomTom Needed

[eglideic]

I getting driven nuts trying to find a good usable Tomtom that suits my needs.
I have been using a Via 1605 4EN62 for a good year or more. I love the manner that it operates and gets you where you are going, BUT I HATE, HATE, HATE the way it plugs in with that angled plug and shaky connector, and how it mounts with that globe with the smile cut into it. I drilled a hole in the base and screwed it to my dash, so rotating the unit out of the globe is the only way to remove the unit and put it away.
I just got a GO 60S and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way it mounts with that popsicle mounting stick and the plug, that plugs straight into the machine. But I HATE, HATE, HATE the display and operating system. It stinks.
Anyone know a TomTom machine that has the best of both worlds and still gets Lifetime Maps???
Or should I be looking at Garmin ( which I have never seen operating before)?

I've never ever used the traffic feature and don't plan to. And would never use the unit it with a smart phone.

 

[canderson]

Sounds like any of the recent higher end 6" models (capacitive screen) that have the new OS and super slick mounting system might be of interest. What have you looked at so far? I'm partial to the GO 620.

 

[eglideic]

I am only interested in inexpensive ones. I don't know what a capacitive screen is. Tell me a couple model numbers of possibly the less costly, of these high end models. As for the new OS, I hope it's better than the terrible OS of the GO 60S model I have. THANKS.

 

[canderson]

Your Via 1605 was a 'resistive' screen. It allows the screen to be touched by any object since pressure on the touch screen is used to indicate the position of the touch. That device is what we call a "Nav3" device. It was designed on the older "Nav3 platform" which provides the user interface that you like. If your GO 60S serial number starts with the letters "VD", it is also a resistive screen design. A 'capacitive' screen is the kind used on smart phones where it takes more than a poke with a pen to get the touch to be sensed. Your finger or stylus or some other similar object is needed to get the device to detect the touch. Higher end models use this style of screen.

The GO 60S is built on the newer "Nav4" platform which provides the user interface you see there. All current models use that same interface. It's quite a change from your old "Nav3" device, that's for sure. There are things I don't like about it, but it does have the advantage of centering around the use of the map for many of its functions, which wasn't the case in the old days. I'd say that's its one saving grace. It also allows you to select whether you want to enter addresses in the 'old way' (starting from big area and down to address numbers) or the 'new way' (starting with address numbers and street together). It's a shame that other features from prior generations weren't carried forward at the same time.

Anyway, there's nothing at all in the current lineup that will operate the way your older device did. Everything new now is "Nav4" for some years.

At full retail, the GO 620 is about $70 more expensive than the 60S. The 60S has the 'EasyPort' mount (which I agree, I don't like nearly as much as the 620 mount), but it's OK. The 'Active Magnetic Mount' for the 620 is about as sweet as it gets. Snaps in and out with no buttons or toggles or wires and stays put.