The brand new TomTom GO 5200 is the successor to the 5100 sat nav, and brings with it a whole bunch of improvements, including WiFi! This enables wireless updates and the download of the latest maps, without the need for a computer.
Smartphone Integration
TomTom doesn’t stop here with the new GO sat navs, and have enabled them to seamlessly integrate with your current Android or iOS device via Bluetooth. This includes hands-free calling, reading allowed your text messages and are compatible with Siri and Google Now.
Your sat nav is also able to recognise driving habits and predicts when to drive to frequent destinations saved in My Places. The more this feature is used the more accurate the predictions will become, and this way you can simply just get in and go.
Design
The 5200 is equipped with 5″ capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480×272, and it looks superb! The unit itself is nice and sleek and will look great in any car.
On the back there’s the power button and the magnetic mounting system, which allows you to charge the device but also enables to you to quickly remove the sat nav from the mount when needed. The great thing about this is once the mount has been attached to your dashboard or windscreen there really isn’t any need to remove it.
Features
Probably the biggest and best new feature of the TomTom Go 5200 is the built in WiFi. Once you’ve turned on the device, you can simply connect it to your WiFi network by heading to the settings menu. As a new device you’ll probably receive a few popups letting you know that there are software and map/speed camera updates available.
I found software updates completed quickly when connected to my WiFi, although I would still recommend doing this a bit of time before you set off on any long journey where you’ll be using the sat nav.
The 5200 is equipped with 16GB of built-in memory which seems like more than enough. We had the European maps installed on our device, still with around 6GB of space spare.
There is a wide variety of maps available to install via the menus, and they all come with free lifetime updates.
Because the 5200 has an integrated SIM you can use the Live TomTom Services at any time on the go. However, the 520 model doesn’t include this and therefore you need to be connected to your smartphone.
TomTom Traffic is one of these Live Services and it aims to deliver traffic information straight to your device. If any traffic disruptions are located along your route the TomTom will attempt to intelligently re-route you around it to save you time.
After now testing the device for an extended period over many journeys I’ve found it to be very accurate and save lots of time, fantastic news if you hate sitting in traffic jams on your way home from work!
Another of these services is the reporting of traffic cameras. Fixed speed cameras are actually included with the map downloads/updates, however mobile cameras are fed through to the system as a live service.
If you travel on motorways quite often you’ll probably be familiar with average speed cameras. Not only will you be notified of your speed on screen but the Go will calculate your average speed between each camera, and therefore you can alter speed accordingly if you’ve accidentally sped up a little during one section. A very impressive and cool feature.
Navigation & Interface
I’ve personally always been a fan of the TomTom UI, and I’m pleased to confirm that the 5200 is no different. The menu screens are pretty easy to navigate and I managed to find everything I needed within a few taps.
The home screen is a bunch of icons displayed next to each other and they’re organised in line with what your typical user would use most. So the destination search, home location, recent destinations and your current route are all displayed on the first screen making them accessible right away.
Once you’ve set your destination you’ll be shown the map view. The display is split into 3 main sections, with the majority of the screen being taken up by the 3D map as you would expect. Along the top you’ll find turning information, and down the right hand side will be live information about your trip including estimated times as well as any traffic disruptions along your route.