TomTom Via 1535
Manufacturer: TomTom Part number: VIA1535
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The TomTom Via 1535 TM offers many features and services to increase driver safety and routing efficiency.
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CNET editors' review
TomTom Via 1535 price range: $219.99
- Reviewed by: Antuan Goodwin
- Reviewed on: 08/11/2011
The good: The thin-bodied TomTom Via 1535 has a more secure EasyPort connection than previous generations. Bluetooth hands-free calling and voice command enhance driver safety. Traffic data and IQ Routes technology actually helped us to avoid traffic jams.
The bad: While much easier to use than in earlier versions, TomTom's interface can still be a bit confusing to learn your way around for the first time. Traffic info doesn't cover surface and secondary roads.
The bottom line: The TomTom Via 1535 TM offers many features and services to increase driver safety and routing efficiency.
TomTom's entry-level Via line is looking a lot like last year's top of the line. The Via 1535 TM that arrived for testing featured a large screen, Bluetooth, and voice command to go with its lifetime of map and traffic updates.
Design
The Via 1535 TM is built around a 5-inch color touch screen. The unit's thin-profile chassis has a metallic bezel with a brushed aluminum finish. The only physical control on the entire unit is a power button located on the back of the unit. The back of the Via is also where you'll find the unit's speaker, the Micro-USB port for charging and syncing, and a microSD card slot for expanding the unit's internal memory to accommodate more map data.
TomTom's EasyPort mount has been redesigned and now attaches to the unit with a ball joint. This new connection is more solid and less prone to wearing out or popping off than the old rotating ring mount. Because the EasyPort mount no longer swivels around a central point for dashboard and windshield mounts, TomTom has added an internal accelerometer that detects the unit's orientation and rotates the onscreen interface 180 degrees to accommodate.
Speaking of the interface, the new Via series features the updated WebKit-based OS that debuted last year with the upper-tier TomTom units. The Home screen features two large icons dominating the top two-thirds of the screen for "Navigate to..." and "View map." Of TomTom's two destination selection methods, the former is menu- and search-based, while the latter is visual and map-based. The lower third is home to a collection of smaller icons for Plan route, Services, Settings, Help, and Done. Plan route is where you can save future and complex multistop trip information. Services is where information about the traffic, safety camera, and map correction services can be found. Settings is home to the settings. The Help icon leads to options for navigating to emergency services, relaying your current position, and an electronic product manual. Finally, Done returns you to the live map.
Speaking of map screens, the TomTom Via has two of them. The live map is the main screen used during navigation that updates in real time with the position of the vehicle and displays turn-by-turn directions. Touching anywhere on the live map takes you to the main menu, so it's not very interactive. The second map is the browsing map, accessed from the main menu's "View map" icon. The browsing map is used for searching for destinations and points of interest and can be used to initialize a new trip or modify the current trip. This map can also be scrolled and zoomed by swiping and pinching, and features user-selectable POI icons.
At first we found the dual map setup a bit confusing. TomTom tells us that the live map is a low-distraction interface for use while the vehicle is in motion, whereas the browsing map is a more flexible, interactive screen that comes into play when the vehicle is stopped and drivers can devote their full attention to the unit. It makes some amount of sense and, after spending time with the unit on the road, we've gotten the hang of the maps and their respective functions and limitations. However, we couldn't help but think that other manufacturers somehow manage this juggling act with only one unified map screen.
Voice features
Once upon a time, so-called advanced features like Bluetooth connectivity and voice command were the domain of top-of-the-line portable navigation devices. So it's interesting to see these features begin to trickle down to the entry-level Via series.
An internal microphone can be spotted by examining the Via 1535's metallic bezel for the pinhole opening. You can take control of the device with the touch of a button and a few spoken words. Tapping the voice control button, located on the left edge of the navigating map interface, brings up the voice command prompt, which displays a selection of available spoken commands and verbally asks the user to speak a command.
Available voice commands include muting the volume, navigating to an address or point of interest (POI), routing a detour, reporting map inaccuracies, and initiating phone calls. The system is programmed with enough alternate commands that it can understand that "Drive to an address" and "Navigate to an address" mean the same thing, taking away the pressure of memorizing a list of commands.
TomTom has also removed nearly all of the prompts for city, street, and number when entering an address. Instead you can just blurt out an address in its entirety--for example, "123 Main Street, Anytown, CA"--and let the system parse it itself. If the system doesn't understand exactly what you're saying, it may prompt you to choose from a list of close matches, but we never ran into a situation during testing where we had to repeat ourselves more than once. Of course, accuracy of voice recognition depends on the amount of background noise, so don't expect it to work perfectly if you like to ride around with your windows down. A minor annoyance is that the system requires you to speak the city and state every time. We'd like to see some sort of location awareness in a system that is built around navigation.
We mentioned earlier that the Via 1535 is equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, which it uses in conjunction with a paired phone to make hands-free calls. In addition to supporting the Hands-Free Profile (HFP), the 1535 also supports the Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP), so it can sync with a supported phone's address book to initiate calls from its touch-screen menu or via voice command. You can also initiate calls while browsing POIs for locations that have a phone number stored in TomTom's database, or manually dial a call with an onscreen numeric keypad.
Traffic and maps services
The TM at the end of the model name stands for Traffic and Maps, as in lifetime traffic data and map updates.
Traffic data comes over the RDS-TMC band through a traffic receiver built into the 12-volt power adapter. Interestingly, TomTom has made the jump to a Micro-USB connection for the Via series' combo traffic receiver and power adapter, so in a pinch you could power the PND with most smartphone chargers and vice versa. Traffic data arrives in the form of incident icons and flow overlays on the map screens, in the trip overview screen, and in the Traffic submenu under the Services menu.
Unlike TomTom's own HD Traffic service that comes as part of its Live Services suite, the basic traffic service that is delivered to the 1535 TM usually only includes flow data for highways and major surface roads. To fill in the blanks in this coverage the Via series can take advantage of TomTom's IQ Routes algorithms, which take historical, time-sensitive flow data into account when routing. This data is harvested anonymously from TomTom users who opt in for this feature.
Map updates are downloaded quarterly to a desktop via the MyTomTom software and synced with the unit via the included Micro-USB cable.
Between the year's four major map updates, you can download smaller map updates from TomTom's Map Share, which pushes user-generated minor corrections for smaller tweaks to street names, traffic direction, closed streets, turn restrictions, speed limits, or missing or new POIs. You can also make and submit your own map corrections for upload to TomTom's servers and to other users upon approval.
Routing and navigation
On the road, the TomTom performed well. We noticed that traffic data actually seemed to have an effect on the routes chosen by the Via 1535's routing algorithms. For example, routing a trip to our favorite burger joint in the next town in the afternoon had us exiting the interstate much later in the trip than the same route planned at lunchtime the next day, when we were prompted to exit the highway early and make the last leg of the trip on surface roads.
Turn-by-turn instructions were clear and voice prompts were given enough in advance that we were able to make the turns without rushing. Particularly useful was the advanced lane guidance feature that graphically marked the lanes of major highways that were valid for our chosen route, which kept us from unnecessarily moving over two or three lanes when one would do.
Satellite reception was also good with accurate positioning, even among downtown San Francisco's tall buildings.
Conclusions
At this point, we've tried out a few devices with TomTom's new interface. We're over the learning curve for the most part, but we still find ourselves fumbling with the dual maps. That's not to say that the interface is bad, because it's not, and it represents a huge improvement over TomTom's older interface. It is still a bit more complex than we're comfortable fiddling with at highway speeds, but if you stick with the basic and voice command functions while in motion and leave the more advanced features alone until parked, we think you'll probably like it.
Overall, the TomTom Via 1535 TM proved to be an exceedingly competent GPS navigator, and with the added value of lifetime maps and traffic updates, we think that it will continue to be useful long after purchase. Also, Bluetooth hands-free calling and voice command enhance driver safety, making it easier to keep hands and eyes on the road.
User reviews
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Works perfectly...blame user error, not TomTom
by thebrettbear on August 20, 2011
Pros: Large screen, bluetooth, lifetime traffic and map updates, easy to mount and remove for easy storage
Cons: OS is a bit slow at times, but gets the job done
Summary: Im not sure why everyone else is rating this unit so bad. Ive had no issues at all. I downloaded the desktop software, registered my account with MyTomTom and have ...
Summary: Im not sure why everyone else is rating this unit so bad. Ive had no issues at all. I downloaded the desktop software, registered my account with MyTomTom and have updated with no issues at all. You cant install the cool celeb voices just yet, but its coming in an update. My nephew would love to hear Spongebob navigating with us, lol. Works well, locks on to sat quick, and hasnt steered me wrong yet.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A fantastic GPS
by Flammino on December 26, 2011
Pros: Great POI's, easy to use voice control, IQ routes save hours on long trips.
Cons: The reception for traffic is a little spotty, and for some reason it has a bunch of buildings that are clearly not hospitals listed as hospitals in Brooklyn.
Summary: Overall this is an amazing unit- I travel from NJ to MD and southern VA pretty often and this managed to shave an hour off the time from the route ...
Summary: Overall this is an amazing unit- I travel from NJ to MD and southern VA pretty often and this managed to shave an hour off the time from the route recommended by google maps. I wanted to stop at a beach and it somehow directed me to the only abandoned spot on a long stretch of privately-owned beachfront.
The only downside I've run into so far besides the somewhat unreliable traffic signal (not really the fault of the unit) is the fact that it has a bunch of buildings that are not hospitals listed as hospitals in brooklyn. That made an already very stressful time even worse. -
Takes me wherever I want to go!
by OneArizonan on December 12, 2011
Pros: Lane guidance; lots of point of interests; guidance away from traffic; life time map updates and traffic.
Cons: does not learn travel patterns; sometimes behaves stubbornly in guiding routes; cannot plan alternate routes to our liking.
Summary: I am very satisfied with this GPS after I returned the Magellen GPS which did not perform upto my satisfaction. I have done two map updates so far and I ...
Summary: I am very satisfied with this GPS after I returned the Magellen GPS which did not perform upto my satisfaction. I have done two map updates so far and I see improvements every time. I also like the alternate route planning based on traffic information. It also takes into account car pool lanes; it helps if we travel with family and can use car pool lanes.
Some people have written that life time update does not work. It is not correct. I have done two map updates so far and it works ok. I think those users need to check their computers' settings while downloading the updates. It takes longer time, of course.
However, the GPS does not lend itself to trip planning very well. Although it gives alternatives, it would be better if we can avoid as well as chose certain freeways/road while taking a long trip. I hope they add those functions.
In addition, if they include 'mark location' feature, it would be fantastic. My old Magellan GPS (bought several years back) used to have this feature.
Updated on Dec 12, 2011 -
This is a great product. The bluetooth came in great.
by RakeRunner on December 8, 2011
Pros: Speakerphone
Bluetooth
Great directionsCons: Speaker volume doing bluetooth call is not very loud and clear.
Summary: Overall a great GPS System that I bought at Best Buy for $119 plus tax.
Summary: Overall a great GPS System that I bought at Best Buy for $119 plus tax.
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Saved us in Bellingham fog on way to Vancouver. Great!
by Markus89 on December 5, 2011
Pros: Great screen and out of box performance. On sale at Best Buy on a trip to a new place for only $120. Got us through Seattle Friday eve rush hour return to Tacoma. Realtime traffic info was exceptional help. Looking forward to quarterly map updates.
Cons: Slow acquisition of GPS signal at startup. Want more voice commands and help. Dennis Hopper's voice is not worth the money. Sorry dead guy.
Summary: This unit paid for itself on this trip. Never been to WA or British Columbia. Maps got us all around easily and saved us a ton of frustration. Good points ...
Summary: This unit paid for itself on this trip. Never been to WA or British Columbia. Maps got us all around easily and saved us a ton of frustration. Good points of interest too.
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My 1535TM is my First GPS and It is Amazing!
by Luckybob on September 29, 2011
Pros: 5" Large Screen is great for aging eyes, great day and night screen color options, excellent advance lane warning, voice recognition and commands work better than expected, easy mounting, very easy for user to program, interfaces perfectly with my TomTom
Cons: None yet! See Summary below.
Summary: As soon as I received my 1535TM and after I read the manual, I opened my registration account with TomTom. I followed the step by step instructions and downloaded TomTom'...
Summary: As soon as I received my 1535TM and after I read the manual, I opened my registration account with TomTom. I followed the step by step instructions and downloaded TomTom's little program, MyTomTom, to my desktop computer (WIN 7), hooked up my unit with the provided USB cord and powered up. The unit was immediately checked for the latest map/traffic updates and 3 updates were suggested. The main update was a complete new map version. This download was apparently huge as it took approximately 11 hours for the download but I was willing to just let it run (you must have patience on this download) until it finished. I then "installed" the new map on the 1535TM (approximately 1hr 25min) and this all went without a hitch! I am all up to date and each time I hook up the unit, it is automatically checked for updates and no more have been recommended yet.
Complete "PRO" comment: Pros:
I spent the last few days hooked up to the computer to become totally familiar with the features and commands and setting up some favorite local routes before I actually get out on the road to use it. I will not get to road test it until this next week. In the meantime, I have been looking for any problems with the routing and ease of use and so far, I have not found any significant "CONS" to say about this device. I have high expectations that this device will prove to be all that it is advertised.
I did very extensive research and compared the TomTom 1535TM to other popular brands and this one seemed to suit my purpose the best and had all the features, ease of use and support that I wanted. The 5" screen is outstanding for ease of use at a glance.
I will update this review as I gather more information from actual road use. Stay tuned!
Updated on Sep 29, 2011
5" Large Screen is great for aging eyes, great day and night screen color options, excellent advance lane warning, voice recognition and commands work better than expected, easy mounting, very easy for user to program, interfaces perfectly with my TomTom on-line account to receive map and traffic updates, complete and detailed instruction manual available for download from TomTom. Battery is charged while hooked to my computer and unit map and update status is checked by TomTom as soon as it is recognized in your account. -
Worst Tom Tom Product I have ever purchased
by rickfletcher-cak on September 26, 2011
Pros: None to speak of
Cons: My Tom Tom software wouldn't connect to unit with XP, Connected with Win7, however when map update completed download and attempted to install, was unable because unit did not have enough memory to update map. I eneded up with no maps on unit. Tom Tom sa
Summary: Don't waste your money or time. Very disappointing that Tom Tom would take a step backwards like this and damage their reputation.
Summary: Don't waste your money or time. Very disappointing that Tom Tom would take a step backwards like this and damage their reputation.
0 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Absolutely a disappointment
by CA_Guy on September 22, 2011
Pros: None that I can determine other than a 5 inch screen and it is thin.
Cons: Does not work! Online software update has many, many bugs. Many appologies by TomTom advisors about features not working, we are aware of the problem, features advertised will be available in the near future! I had a TT 140 XL that was wonderful!
Summary: Don't buy, almost everyone returning them to Costco!
Summary: Don't buy, almost everyone returning them to Costco!
0 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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NOT AS ADVERTISED
by bob_computer on August 24, 2011
Pros: Great for average joe who just wants to go from A to B and NOTHING ELSE
Cons: Too many to list
Many MISSING features
The "MY TOMTOM" software reminds me of windows 3.0
You CANNOT change the voice from the country of purchase like you can with other TomTom models you are RESTRICTED to the country you purchased it from.Summary: Maybe in a few months when TomTom actually finishe the software both for the device itself and the "mytomtom" application you may want to take a loomk at the VIA ...
Summary: Maybe in a few months when TomTom actually finishe the software both for the device itself and the "mytomtom" application you may want to take a loomk at the VIA series but until then if you are any type of serious GPS user then you may want to hold off from getting these models.
I too am concerned at that lack of real review work put into the "editors" review.0 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Don't be fooled by Lifetime updates. It won't work.
by pmrsed on August 19, 2011
Pros: Works out of the box but that is about it.
Cons: No lifetime updates as advertised.
Summary: If you are like me and want to keep up-to-date then stay away from the entire line of VIA products. I bought two VIA's and had another unit delivered ...
Summary: If you are like me and want to keep up-to-date then stay away from the entire line of VIA products. I bought two VIA's and had another unit delivered as a replacement and NONE of the units would 'talk' to the My TOMTOM update software. All you need to do is read the suppoer forum on the TOMTOM site and see hundreds of posts that are identical to this one. This company is blanatly selling a service that doesn't exist.
0 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: TomTom
- Part number: VIA1535
- Bottom Line: The TomTom Via 1535 TM offers many features and services to increase driver safety and routing efficiency.
General
- Product Type GPS receiver
- Recommended Use Automotive
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Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse TomTom products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:TomTom
- Address:
150 Baker Ave. Ext., Concord, CA 01742 - Phone: 978.287.9555
- Email: usainfo@tomtom.com
- Fax: 978.287.9522
