GO 5000, GO 6000 or GO 1005 ??

[DawidP]

Hi. I am the cab driver and need a proper, reliable sat nav. I have GO 750 but it's now 3-4 years old and annoys me a bit as it's slow, looses gps signal from time to time and more and more often looses traffic info.

Despite reading quite a lot about what's worth buying I still haven't found some answers to my questions.

GO 5000 and GO 6000 - is the screen size the only difference between them two?

Is GO 1005 better or worse than GO 5000/6000 ? What are the differences?

Which is the top of the range one?

Are there any new models just about to hit the market?

Thanks for help.

 

[dhn]

The only difference is the screen size between the 5000 and the 6000, yes.

We don't have any of the models here in North America but one of our mods, Andy_P is UK based and I expect that when he responds in this thread, he'll say to go for the 1005 LIVE over the newer models concerning functionality. I do understand the 5000/6000 line come with lifetime maps and Live traffic. The 1005 comes with 1 year Live services, including traffic.

But wait for further input here by Andy or others.

 

[Andy_P]

The 5000/6000 are FAST, really fast and have SO much potential to be great sat-navs.

But they use a completely new "user interface" so if you are well-used to driving your old 750 you'll find it all very strange at first.
I have been using a 5000 for several months now and I hoped I would come to like the new way of doing things, but I'm afraid I still find the old software far quicker to use and more intuitive.

For example, on an old TomTom, to get it to 'take me home' just needs three quick taps in roughly the top left corner of the screen (one to bring up the menu, the next to "Navigate to" and the third to select "Home".
On the new models, you have to tap a very small icon in a particular part of the screen just to get to the main menu, then select "My Places" then select "Home" from a list of text and then let it draw you a map showing where your home is (I KNOW that, thanks!) before you can then try to tap an even smaller icon in a pop-up box to actually select it as a destination. That's boring enough when it's in your hand on the sofa, but horrible when it's at full stretch on the dashboard.

Now, onto the MAJOR problems with the 5000/6000 as I see it.
Along with the new software, they have removed a whole lot of very basic functions - the things that made TomToms great in the first place.
For example, you can't make itineraries with more then 3 stops (although that was removed earlier so it's also the case on the 1005), and you can't navigate to Lat/Long coordinates. You can't "avoid part of route" or "avoid roadblock" either.
Also it's really awkward to have a quick look at anywhere else on a 2D map while you're navigating (the old "Browse map" feature) because they have combined the navigation and map screens into one so it will ALWAYS default back to where you are now as soon as you go back to the normal driving screen.

But the biggest change is with POIs.... For a start, you cannot add your own POIs AT ALL, which is a complete disaster for me and the way I use my TomToms.
But worse even than that, there are no built-in POI categories at all! All there is is some sort of half-assed "Search" feature, which in my experience has failed to even find main-line railway stations let alone things like tourist attractions or nature reserves etc. It seems to be entirely based on some crappy business directory, so it just looks for company names,

 

[DawidP]

Thanks very much Andy. The problem is that you made my life even more difficult as now I'm not sure what to do. I don't really want to by a new sat nav if it isn't any better than the one I'm currently using.
Do you know if there are any new models planned in near future?

 

[canderson]

The problem is that you made my life even more difficult ...

Don't thank Andy for that --- thank the brilliant product managers at TomTom! It's driving us all a bit nuts.

 

[mvl]

You may want to consider Tomtom for Android.

Similar user interface, lightning fast if you have a modern phone, much better urban GPS signal acquisition, and much better traffic reception.

It also only allows 3 stops on an itinerary vs the go750's 48 stops, but otherwise is a very compelling option.

 

[canderson]

I'd agree with the speed and GPS functionality, but "Similar user interface"? It's always been my impression that the team that did the Android UI had never seen a TomTom before.

 

[DawidP]

It isn't good for me - my phone rings all the time.

 

[mvl]

It isn't good for me - my phone rings all the time.

You could always get a second android tablet purely for PND purposes. And share the phone dataplan via hotspot (usually additional monthly charge) with the tablet for traffic. The only reason I recommend Android is that it meets your 3 criteria (speed, gps reliability, and traffic reliability) better than any other Tomtom option I am aware of.

The UI is a bit different, but much closer to the GO750 than the GO6000. For example, it still has a menu.

 

[DawidP]

Thanks for all the info. I will consider using the android app, got to think about it.

Do you know if TomTom plans any new models in near future?

 

[- et -]

Thanks for all the info. I will consider using the android app, got to think about it.

Do you know if TomTom plans any new models in near future?

I haven't heard of anything new coming, but some of us speculate that the absence of the NAV4 devices from the North American market might mean that TomTom recognizes that they would not get a good reception here due to the absence of features provided on earlier models. From that assumption, we jump to the conclusion that unless they are willing to give up the North American market, they are developing new models. Pure speculation with no actual facts upon which to base this conclusion, and probably just wishful thinking.

- Tom -

 

[canderson]

Not sure how you made that jump, -et-. It could also be the case that Nav4 units are delayed for exactly the reason you say, but that they will be introduced once required features are finally included in the code ... meaning more complete Nav4 code as opposed to new models entirely.

 

[DawidP]

I will then keep my old GO750 for time being...and see what happens Thanks for your help!

 

[canderson]

Your GO 750 Live is about as good as you will do for the time being. Newer units with Live don't create any better Live experience just because they're new. I assume you are using the "Live" traffic feature on your 750 (not RDS)? Since we don't know all of the features that are important to you, it's hard to know for certain if there are any better choices available.

 

[DawidP]

Yes, I'm using live services. The only problems I have is that it's terribly slow and looses traffic info from time to time. On the top of it the maps are very old and there's not enough space on it to update them. I thought that it would make more sense to buy a new unit instead of getting a memory card + pay for map update + renew live services + get new holder as mine is broken. But I'm not sure of it any more

 

[canderson]

As the 750 arrangement IS causing you some issues, your next step (assuming you can live without itinerary planning) might be the GO Live 1005 >>> http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/product...ve-series/go-live-1005-hdt-m-europe/index.jsp

It comes with a lifetime map subscription and has a decent mount, too. £216.12 on Amazon >>> http://www.amazon.co.uk/TomTom-LIVE-1005-HDT-countries/dp/B009UVXS40

Worth a look, at least as it addresses your issues of mount, map updates, and future expansion (it has a uSD slot).

 

[DawidP]

What is better (if anything) about GO5000 compared to GO1005? Are they both the same in terms of speed?

 

[Andy_P]

I would say they are comparable in terms of speed for things like route calculation, but if you are used to any previous TomTom, you'll find the GO1005 faster to operate.

For example, to "navigate to home" is three quick taps in the top left corner on the GO1005, but involves a lot of faffing about on the GO5000 - You have to select the menu by tapping a particular icon (not just hitting anywhere on screen) then select "My places" then select "Home" from a list of places and then it insists on drawing a map to show you where you live, before letting you tap on a tiny icon on the map to select it to navigate to.

Maybe some people like it that way, I certainly don't!

 

[Jon Ryan]

Andy, thanks for your post. you have just saved me about £300. I am on my third 530T and its getting a bit long in the tooth. I am a pro driver doing about 120 thousand miles a year delivering insurance cars to accident victims. The 530T does what I need but it is showing its age, so the 6000 looked like the next purchase. I write my own POI's and use them several times a day, without them I am stuffed. All are very specific locations to my industry alone. I also use the MP3's I have on the SD card played through the FM transmitter. Sorry TomTom, you have just lost a lot of sales. Our company has 200 drivers, 93% use TT, and I advice, through the company web site, on Nav aids etc.

I am new to this Forum, glad I joined... JR

 

[Arno]

For example, to "navigate to home" is three quick taps in the top left corner on the GO1005, but involves a lot of faffing about on the GO5000 - You have to select the menu by tapping a particular icon (not just hitting anywhere on screen) then select "My places" then select "Home" from a list of places and then it insists on drawing a map to show you where you live, before letting you tap on a tiny icon on the map to select it to navigate to.

It is always annoying to to change to something less convenient.
I do not know either the GO 1005 or GO 5000 but presume that function to be the same as on a GO 600. If yes, it would only require a 4th tap, the 2nd of which must be looked at properly, the others are intuitive.