UK Mumsnetters needed to test TomTom’s top Sat Nav - the GO 5000 worth £259.99 NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

We have been asked by the team at TomTom to find 100 UK MNers to try TomTom GO 5000.

We're looking for Mumsnetters who are regular drivers.

TomTom says: "We all know that traffic jams can take seconds to build up and then last for hours. There is nothing more frustrating than sitting in a jam or in slow moving traffic and not knowing how long you will be there. Especially, when your time is tight and you have children to pick up or drop off.

TomTom satnavs know the precise traffic situation on most UK roads at all times, in real time. The satnav you’ll be given to test is a “live device,” this means it is constantly searching every possible route option to find you the fastest route available. So, if the traffic situation suddenly gets bad on your “normal” route, it will automatically search other options to find a new, faster route and give you a new arrive time."

If selected, you'll be sent the TomTom GO 5000 to try for a few weeks and so long as you add feedback as required you will be able to keep the product.

If selected, you will be sent the TomTom GO 5000 at the end of September, and asked to try it for two weeks. You will then need to try it and add feedback to a thread on Mumsnet. At the end of the testing period, we’d also like you to post a review on the Mumsnet review pages and fill in a short survey. In order to keep the product, you would need to add your feedback by the 26th of October, so please only apply if you are able to do this.

Please also note that TomTom may use your anonymous feedback comments on their website and social media channels, as well as elsewhere.

If you'd like to take part, please add your details here: www.surveymonkey.com/s/RKBRB3K

We will be in touch with selected MNers ASAP.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

I haven't been anywhere at all challenging today. Going from school to work this morning it tried to make me go in the actual wrong direction on the main road ie heading towards Newcastle and away from Ashington, where I work Voice control very hit and miss. You really have to shout like a loon talk very loudly

Definitely on the right thread, but with a dodgy auto-correct!

I got the impression that the disc was sticky because it had a plastic film on it. I didn't realise it was just a suction cup.

Interesting that some posters are finding it prefers a man's voice. My Dad tried the VR and got an address up. I tried and couldn't.

Not managed anywhere else apart from school with it atm and school is a few mins away in the car.
I do have 2 hospital appointments next week so will put it to good use then and if I do some food shopping

The voice control on ours seems to respond to everyone except me ,it worked fine with dd this morning - it obviously just doesn't want to go where I want to !

I can get voice control to work, but I have to shout at it and say "Helloooooo TomTom!" rather than speaking naturally like it suggests. Oh well, it entertains DD1 at least! She loves me shouting at it to "Go Home!".

I can confirm that the traffic avoidance does work, I drive into a city twice a day at present to drop DH off at work and collect him again later. The TomTom has sent me a variety of different routes based on the traffic so far and it hasn't lead me wrong yet!

Not having a case was worrying me a bit, I didn't want the screen to get scratched. But I took one look at the cost of an official one and decided to make my own!

Any word on the special voice yet? And a proper thread for feedback?

I had a credit from my catalogue so I've order a case and a dual car charger set so I can charge my phone and Tom Tom at the same time as both seem to want charging together!

Mine doesn't respond to me saying hey TomTom either except when I lent it to dh and shouted at it via his hands free kit

You can get a case for it for about £6-£8 on ebay . I have fortunately found it a little case temporarily ( was housing something to do with the computer ) .

I say hey Tom Tom or Hello TomTom and it says - turning off voice control, every bloody time! I know I have a slight south african accent but it is just pointless.

On a better note I figured out how to a a place to my list by touching the arrow when I am stopped.

Tried mine for the first time today. Couldn't get voice control to work so will try that again tomorrow. Did a journey I've done before but not one I knew very well and it took me a different route. It was good, said there was a traffic problem and diverted me.

The estimations on time of arrival are loads better than my old one.

I like Serena's voice.

Very happy with my new voice so far.

how are you meant to charge it if you are not using the car for long distance and not meant to use computer.

need to use for journey, how do you keep it charged up?

I nicked a USB adaptor plug from DS1's bedroom and plugged it in the mains alemci.

is that safe? but good idea

Ooh not sure. I just imagined the Tom Tom was like a giant phone that charges the same way.

I have an ancient and dead tomtom one. I nicked its charger plug and am giving it a go, as I refuse to sit in my car for three hours to charge a satnav! So far, no drama, I think it's charging but there's no indication/light/secret handshake to tell me when it's done.

The traffic thingy is ace - I can see where all the jams are but I've not had to drive to any of them yet.....how does the avoidance work? Do I need to tell it to choose another route, or does it work automatically?

I like it that once you've reached your destination and go past it it clears the route and doesn't keep shouting at you to turn around! It would be good if there was a voice control for sending it to sleep for when you set to a town centre but don't quite need to go that far

Agree with Eddie that the menu button is way too small. Although I suppose they think you can use voice recognition providing Serena the floosie likes the sound of your voice.

It's good so far generally though, I like that you don't have to have blooming wires trailing all over the car, so long as it's charged up. Going to be used for a longer distance next week, will be interested to see how long the battery lasts.

Oh I missed the bit that said not to charge it via the computer. Oh well. What's the official option then? Just drive around with the wires all over the bloody place?

Anyone with an accent can try setting the language to that of their accent :)

it didn't work with mine, but frankly mine's a bit of a dogs breakfast

What's the problem with charging it from the computer?

Not impressed. Damn thing doesn't charge if you are having it on the holder, so Serena very helpfully died mid journey and I had to plug her in, hit a curb, and made dd carsick. That in itself is reason why I prefer the free Waze app (which is better) to the tomtom now.

Phew. Finally managed to get it updated and the maps (which had all completely disappeared at one point) restored, although it took me forever as it kept crashing every few minutes. LUCKILY it did seem to remember most of what it had already loaded up to the point of the crash, so by unplugging and replugging it many many times whenever it failed it eventually got through all the updates.

I also had a play with the walking and biking route option - anyone else found that yet? - to see if it would give me any better routes to work or school, but so far it just gave me the normal routes to school and a bike route to work that is basically my normal driving route but really NOT great for bikes in places, and it didn't seem to use any bike tracks or other bike-only options. So I wouldn't recommend it particularly for that.

I hope all the feedback in this thread will be counted as part of our "giving feedback" cos there's loads of comments here!

Allisgood it should charge on the holder but you need to plug the wire into the holder not the unit itself, there's a charging hole round the back of the bit you slot it into.

The PDF manual on tomtom's website doesn't recommend computer charging due to variable outputs from the usb slots. It's on page 10.

Thanks Eddie, haven't been anywhere near the manual yet.

Why on earth were you plugging it in, in a moving car? Let alone one with a child in it??

Inigo that sounds like a nightmare, but hopefully it will be OK now?! My friend had a little play with the walking route yesterday - frankly I thought 20 miles to school was a bit too much for me Shame the routes for B&W aren't better. I'll have to have a look around here as we have some good walking/cycling routes. I'll let you know when I've had the inclination time to have a look :)