GO520 and Lifetime Maps - for how long is a TT model supported?

[dj123]

GO520 is on offer in Australia at the moment for a good price, with lifetime traffic and world maps. I am tempted. However "lifetime" means for as long as TT provides updates etc for that model. Can anyone give me a rough idea of for how many years TT continues to provide support for an average TT model (ie an "average lifetime")?

Also I am unclear about lifetime traffic (which I have never had before). I have heard about various forms of this service. The GO520 doco says "via smartphone". Does the traffic service require some sort of subscription to TT traffic? Does using the traffic service mean your mobile phone needs mobile data as part of its plan? The mobile data is ok when I am home in Australia, as my mobile ph plan has data. However mobile data could be a problem when I am overseas, due to data roaming charges. But I could buy a local SIM to get local voice/SMS/data, if I thought the traffic service was important. Is it in fact useful/accurate?

Thanks for any input from more experienced TTers (especially on the traffic issues).

 

[dhn]

We are not privy to what TomTom has in mind vis-à-vis the life of their products. Recently, they have decreed a bunch of models as End of Life, usually for models about 10 years old. See here:
https://uk.support.tomtom.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22600 (set the page to Australia for local reference).

Regarding the traffic service, especially abroad, best you clarify with support:

Australia
1300 135 604
Monday-Friday:9:00 am to 5:30 pm AEST