I bought this to replace my 2-year-old TomTom XL 340S, mainly because I wanted lifetime map updates which were not available when I bought my XL. I hooked both units up in my car and drove around for an hour to compare them. A couple obvious differences are that the VIA units are slightly thinner and lighter than the XL series, and the VIAs have a slightly better screen, although honestly I could barely tell the difference. Diagonal lines are a little less jaggy on the VIA if you look closely, but the increased resolution does not make much difference. The font size is slightly different as well. The font for the current street is a little larger on the VIA, but the font for the next street to turn onto is slightly smaller, which you can see in the screen image on this site. The street name is green and white and meant to look like a highway sign. The fonts were perfectly fine on my XL, and they are fine on the VIA as well. One thing that they changed, and I think this is new for the VIA line, is that when you are approaching your destination it will tell you if it's on the right or the left. With previous generation TomToms you could see which side of the street your destination was on by looking at the screen, but it didn't announce it audibly. It's a slight improvement, but not a big deal in my opinion.
As far as navigation, the two units were pretty similar when giving directions. I noticed that in some places the Lane Guidance screen would kick in on the XL while it did not on the VIA. I think they have tweaked the software a little after realizing that there were times when Lane Guidance was coming on when it wasn't really needed. Also, I noticed at one exit that the XL said to exit and "go straight on," (although the screen showed a left turn with an arrow) when in fact it should have said exit and turn left. The XL got it wrong, the VIA got it right. Again, that was probably just the result of improvements that have been made to the software in the last two years. Also, the XL would say "take the exit toward Erie, PA" (spoken as "pa" as in "papa"), whereas the VIA just said take the exit toward Erie, and didn't mention the state. It's kind of pointless to say the state in that instance, so just saying a city and leaving it at that is fine.
And now for the best feature. The reason I would not consider any other brand of PND right now is because TomTom is the only brand with the excellent EasyPort Mount. I only use my PND when I travel by air and then rent a vehicle. In my opinion, having the mount built-in to the unit is great. It is much easier to pack and carry than it would otherwise be with a mount that is a separate piece of hardware. I've had no problems with the EasyPort Mounts on both of my TomToms. They work great!
I didn't want the traffic or Bluetooth options, so I went with the "M" instead of the "TM" and the 1405 instead of the 1435.
Overall this is a great PND. I highly recommend it to anyone who takes along a PND for use in rental cars. The EasyPort Mount is excellent and makes for a compact and easy to transport device, and TomTom is the only company that offers it. TomTom VIA 1405M 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps
I just bought this a few weeks ago and sent it back within 3 days. Why?
1. Lifetime maps code was invalid at the TOMTOM WEB SITE. I called customer support and they wanted me to scan and send the UPC, The original packing slip, and the plakard with the original activation code before they would do anything. Woa, stop! This was a BRAND NEW PURCHASE with a bad code in THEIR database. I expect a solution and service, not suspicion and hoops to jump through. Customer Service gets 1 star because I don't want anyone to think I skipped it.
2. Nothing in the POI db. I tried it a few times as is and it didn't even find simple things like older restaurants.
3. Wouldn't find satellites until I plotted a route. I wanted to know where I was 1st, kinda handy to have that info when out of town.
4. The VIA won't synch to the full client on the desktop. This acts more like a rushed to production BETA.
AVOID! Get the Garmin instead. not enough letters in the word "sucked" to properly emphasize the suckiness of this product.
I recently purchased the TomTom Via 1405, 4.3 inch GPS unit as an upgrade to a 2007 vintage TomTom One, Third Edition. I was planning an extensive road trip through Canada and wanted something a bit newer, faster and bigger. I also wanted the "lifetime map updates" which are a popular, inexpensive addition at the time of purchase now-a-days. The purchase through Amazon was a piece of cake - as usual.
Some impressions - the unit is light, well put together and starts up fast. However, I noticed right away that even with the screen brightness turned all the way up, this unit is noticeably dimmer than the old TomTom One. On the dash, in the right lighting, it is very difficult to see. I never had that problem with the old unit. Second - the power plug has changed from the widely available, familiar "Mini-USB" to the less available "Micro-USB". Also, the port is in a recessed hole, making some aftermarket charge cables difficult if not impossible to use. The included non-coiled Micro USB power cord is quite long. My dash mount is about 15 inches from my cigarette lighter plug so I have about 3 feet of extra cable to deal with. I have tried two different coiled, shorter Micro USB 12v power cables but neither have worked properly with the unit. One I had to shave down quite a bit to get a proper fit but it still would not work right. On the old TomTom One, you could use just about any Mini USB cable to power it.
Another annoyance is that the unit, when mounted on the dash (not hanging from the window) causes the "L" ended stock cable to point up in the air before making a 180 degree turn to drop down to the cigarette plug.
The new mount is totally built into the back of the unit. My experience is that the rubber suction cup gives up it's grip long before the unit quits working. I am making it a point to un-stick the mount every time I park the car for more than a few minutes. It does not look like this suction cup will be easy to replace. The mount itself seem to hold well on a clean surface although it does not place the unit very far from the windshield. Any radical angle causes the side of the frame to touch the glass.
The Via units also use a new software interface to connect with TomTom for updates, etc. I do not like it compared to the older TomTom Home software. The new interface is a connection to a web page. It does not allow for remote operation of the unit, like the old TomTom Home did and it is confusing to install updates, initialize your map subscriptions, etc. It took me several tries to get my lifetime map subscription up and running and it felt like I happened on the solution by accident. Thinking back, I can't remember what I did to get it to happen but after several attempts, it just worked all of a sudden.
For those who are familiar with the older TomTom units, the new interface is nice. It now shows street and POI's in proper style - no more all lower case names, etc. The map routing is quick and easy to understand. A frequent route I take is now listed correctly the first try in lieu of the custom routing I used to have to invoke to get it to work on the One series. The POI database is up to date for the most part and quick & easy to operate. Complicated interchanges are now displayed in a clear, temporary display which give very precise lane guidance, etc.
All in all - I still like the TomTom units. I was quite surprised at some of the steps backward I feel the new units have taken however. I think TomTom has to work on the software interface and would like to see the Via units incorporated into the older TomTom Home stand alone software package... - Mp3 - Maps - Gps - Large Screen'
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