The fast-approaching demise of dedicated GPS units has sure been exaggerated to a great extent with the emergence of the modern day mobile devices. While we don’t contemplate the fact that the latest mobile phones sure do integrate talent and at times a navigation app for free, not everyone would be keen on using a huge tablet or for that matter a phone for guidance on the road. A standalone GPS can be left in your vehicle and be forgotten about, unless you are lost in someplace or wandering in circles. With copious goodies on offer like free traffic updates, lifetime renewal of map and particularly local search getting a lot more common, current day’s Sat Nav’s perform way better than they have in the past. And despite all these, they have never been less expensive – thanks to the stiff competition given by the above-mentioned, nav-enabled Tablets/Smartphones. So, here we bring one such GPS unit that might be of interest to you, particularly for those who love motoring, the TomTom GO Live 820 Top Gear Edition Sat Nav.

In The Box

Packed in the conventional Black-Blue box, the TomTom Go Live 820 comes with a Top Gear logo with the front of the box featuring images of both the Stig and the Sat Nav. Flipping over the box you find a list of few features together with an image of the Sat Nav in action and the pack contents, which includes the TomTom GO Live 820 Sat Nav, USB Cable, Car Charger and the instruction booklet. The good news here would be TomTom has been magnanimous enough to provide buyers with the Go Live 820 Top Gear Edition with a whole year of LIVE services for free that includes the Speed Cameras, HD Traffic and Google Local Search (UK and Ireland only). So, having had enough of the boxing let us get on to the unit itself.

Top Gear Content

  • Entertainment by the Man himself, Jeremy Clarkson
  • Unique Top Gear icons/POI
  • Stig Mode
  • Top Gear Startup/Shut down screens

Features at a Glance

  • UK and ROI map coverage
  • Latest maps guarantee that you start with the latest maps available
  • 180-degree flip screen integrated mount
  • Affluent maps with additional roadside details
  • Spoken street names
  • Free 1 year subscription includes HD Traffic and LIVE services
  • 4.3-inch resistive touchscreen for legible route display
  • Bluetooth Hands-free calling
  • Voice command and control for better navigation
  • IQ routes calculating precise journey times
  • Advanced lance guidance
  • Quick GPSFix, which promises a fix on the GPS within 30 secs
  • Eco Routes allow for calculation and planning of routes with less impact on the environment thereby saving fuel and reducing costs
  • Speech recognition technology
  • Map Share technology
  • Mobile Speed Cameras
  • Easy Click magnetic/car charger with USB cable which can be interfaced with a MAC or PC
  • Weather Forecast Service

Design

While most of us are of the opinion that what best can be done to a plastic box that stays glued to your windshield, guess TomTom begs to differ here with the 820’s design. The attractive etch finish on the front with the silver band lining the bezel looks to be a proof of the same breaking the monotonous black colour scheme All of the GO Live 800 units take their design clues from TomTom’s award-winning IF design where chic looks meets witty functionality. This extremely solid navigator is relatively compact with a weight decidedly less in comparison to a pedestrian unit. Weighing roughly about 203 g it boasts of a generous dimension of 119.1 x 85.1 x 21.7 mm. The resistive touchscreen has a diagonal of 11 cm displaying maps in an optimal way, thanks to the WQVGA resolution of 480 x 272 pixels. We would have appreciated a capacitive touchscreen here as against the resistive, but guess it perfectly justifies the low price tag. Everything comes with a price huh? With an internal memory of 4GB navigation can further be expanded through the SD expansion slot. A small microphone adorns the bottom left of the unit that comes in handy to be used in conjunction with either the Voice Control or the Bluetooth hands free feature. Despite feeling thin and light (pretty much important for something that sticks on the windscreen), the GO Live 820 looks sturdy and well constructed. The integrated mount helps the unit to be tilted in various directions while the circular lock system takes care of attaching and removing the unit easily from the windscreen. With the fastening system being built around a ball, it helps with any kind of installation head up/down (for users who are used to having the GPS on their dashboard). Now the 4.3 inch touchscreen with an 11 cm diagonal wouldn’t seem to be the largest, but has an easy to follow and intelligently laid out icons, with elegant characters may we add, and it is matter of time before you get used to it. Getting to the rear of the unit you find the Power button, a microUSB port for installing software and charging together with a Car Mount that is attached permanently to the unit. This compact and small GPS comes with a suction wheel for windscreen mounting at the back, which is foldable. Also there is a magnet coupling allowing for easy click and release, that is fairly handy and more importantly very fast. A speaker that keeps you entertained for hours can be found on the rear beneath the car mount.

User Interface

Moving on quickly to the 820’s interface, TomTom units are fairly famous for their easy-to-use interface and the GO Live 820 Top Gear Edition Sat Nav is not exception to this school of thought. Taking its clue from its older siblings GO 1000 and GO 1050, it features an amazing on-screen keyboard that aides with text entry, selection boxes with rounded edges and allows you to design your own custom menus on the map display. Menus and icons are fairly legible. The Bluetooth needs to be activated prior to setting off, to have the phone connected and activate the function hands-free kit. It also activates the Services button for mobile radar alerts. With placing the destination address, you are provided with 3 options, you can either pound on the keyboard or just dictate the desired address. The latter seems to be more effective, provided your address is not too very complicated. The third option would be the integrated Internet connection that uses the Google’s local search database of address to locate your POI. The Text-to-Speech voice guidance looks to be accurate with distinct display of routes to follow. There is a variety of information on display in the lower section of the screen namely, your speed limit, distance to go prior to your next maneuver, option to toggle from 3D to 2D mode and shortcuts for the route summary. While the left side is filled with the above info, there is traffic information towards the right.

Navigation

Having punched your destination, the GO Live 820 Satellite Navigation System suggests the fastest available route, thanks to the IQ Routes, allowing for alteration, if need be. Thus you can avoid roadblocks, travel through a waypoint or work out an alternate route. TomTom’s IQ Routes uses real-life user data as against the conventional maximum speed technique. A route is determined by IQ Routes by taking into consideration all possible routes and opting the one that apparently takes the least of time and aims at avoiding main roads all along. Again, it is fairly rapid when it comes to route recalculation taking roughly about 5 or 6 seconds. There is also a Text-to-Speech technology onboard and can call out the names of approaching streets. As a part of the GO Live 820’s service suite, the red-light camera warnings and fixed speed are also included. Then there is this Advanced Lane Guidance which comes in handy with multi-lane routes, wherein there is an icon towards the left bottom corner of the screen that indicates the lane that you need to be in, based on your destination. The same is enhanced by arrow signs on Busy Highway Junctions that indicates the direction of the lane together with static road sign icons. Note that the signs are of the same colour as what you see displayed on the road.

Navigation on the TomTom GO Live 820 is also possible by way of voice control with more than 140 commands on offer. Besides navigating an address, you are also allowed to avert roadblocks, increase volume, zoom in or out maps and include new locations to your favourites. Tapping the microphone button from the Homescreen activates the voice command function. Just tap the button and utter a command and watch the GO Live 820 obediently oblige. Then again, any voice recognition technology is far from perfect these days and we often witness gadgets having a tough time deciphering our commands despite speaking coherently and close to the gadget. The same is the case here too. So you are better off keying in your destination manually for quicker and efficient experience. The incredibly rapid and easy to use Google Local Search is also here which pops out a whole load of suggestions upon keying in a place that you are on the lookout. For instance, Searching Restaurants brings a whole host of restaurants around your current location.

HD Traffic and Live Services

This Latest GPS System from TomTom’s features something called HD Traffic. Well, this isn’t exactly traffic at 1080p as one would assume, instead live updates of traffic that supposedly refreshes once every 2 minutes. TomTom claims this service of theirs to be both “the most detailed and accurate” as it is a blend of both live data and real time traffic flow via various sources. The coverage is provided via a data connection that is LIVE (the GO Live 820 has a non-removable SIM card on board) and it is through this connection the unit receives info from the traffic authorities along with data being collected by default from other TomTom patrons.

There is provision for onscreen indication of delays along your route owing to jams together with intelligent rerouting based on the information it has and info given by TomTom’s very own IQ Routes that has been on their units for quite sometime now. Slowdowns appear on the screen colour coded (Orange, Red and Dark Red) depending on the severity. While the traffic delay gets displayed on the top right corner of the screen, congestion/individual events get prompted on a bar towards the right side of the screen. With an alternate route being available, the service clarifies if you wish to re-route, though the same can be set to happen by default too – looks to be a fairly effective and comprehensive solution in comparison to the SUNA traffic update used by Navman and Garmin. Upon approaching a destination, there is a menu on display that finds you a parking nearby close to sidewalks and helps avoid parking in the streets.

Again, there are a whole load of settings within the GO Live 820 Sat Nav Unit to fiddle around and change that ranges from voice used for navigation all the way down to correcting the map. However, the unit supposedly requires some double tapping and hard pressing of the touchscreen before you realize that it has registered your command. Well, guess this shouldn’t pose much of an issue as you would set the unit prior to commencing your journey and wouldn’t really require much of fiddling along your course. But for that, everything seems to work just fine with brilliant audio and video quality. Also with the volume being set at 60% you shouldn’t be having any issues hearing Jeremy Clarkson’s instructions while motoring. Of course, there is always the option to switch to the Stig mode for those of you who are not great fans of Jeremy as there is nothing much happening in the Stig mode with just silence for the most part (particularly for those who would like to drive in peace).

Well, you might want to know that it is a subscription service after the 1st year, something that you might want to take into consideration while assessing the unit’s cost.

Safety Features

Alerts on Speeding: The GO Live 820 is smart enough to warn you to keep you speeding under control, despite you not being in the navigation mode.

4.3-inch Touchscreen: Helps you with a wider view and drive easily along with the touchscreen technology making operations simple making it a real pleasure to use your GPS.

Hands-free Calling: The GPS doubles up as a car kit for your mobile phones ensuring you have a safe drive even as you attend calls, keeping you in both control and in touch.

Voice Control: Simply Talk! Using the Voice address input and Voice command would be the easiest and quickest way to handle your unit. That way you get to navigate better without taking the eyes off the road and hands off the wheel.

Help Me! Emergency Menu: Getting help is a shout away with info on the Local Emergency Service at your fingertips. Right from roadside assistances to hospitals, the info comes in fairly handy in just about any area.

Smart Extras

Frequent Destinations: You are allowed to choose icons for the places that you frequent along with adding your own text making your navigation experience rapid and easy and truly your own.

Integrated Mounting: Check out this handy foldaway mount that can be easily glued to your windscreen, so it is all set and ready whenever you need it. There is also an optional mounting disk on offer, which is helpful in turning the unit upside down and have it positioned in your dashboard too while the screen flips the right way up, by default.

Google Local Search: Google’s local listing is just a tap away in the GO Live and locates anything from florists to entertainment options wherever you are. Just key in your requirement and your Sat Nav gets you close to that.

Weather: With your TomTom receiving five-day local weather forecasts, planning your day is now all the more easy.

Top Gear Extras: This is available only in the limited edition version of the GO Live 820 with Top Gear POIs that is prompted by an icon on the display with the area of interest fast approaching (for Top Gear and Car fans, ideally), Top Gear’s test track, for instance.

Battery Life
With battery life rated up to 3 hours, it is disappointing to note that TomTom has not included a AC charger, which would mean that you will have to charge the unit either via the USB cable that comes in the box or the cigarette lighter adaptor.

Pros

  • Clear and easy-to-use interface
  • Neat finish
  • Compact mount, that is in-built
  • LIVE services fairly handy to those who are a lot into driving, like speed cameras and traffic info
  • General responsiveness, decent

Cons

  • Erratic voice recognition
  • Couple of map errors (not something new in Sat Nav’s with TeleAtlas)
  • Just one stage allowed for journey planning
  • Touchscreen turns unresponsive at times

Verdict

Connected navigation gets even better with enhanced access as TomTom unveils their GO Live 820 Sat Nav System, proving to be a complete refresh of their product lineup. The 820 has been designed with the intent to help users break free of jams and benefit from connected navigation to the maximum possible extent via its smart design and value for money package like the HD Traffic. It offers intelligent routing options and re-routes promptly with users making a wrong turn. Again, traffic updates flows smooth and gets users out of slowdowns and blocks with its wise re-routing ability, thanks to IQ Routes. While all gadgets have their own flip side, the GO Live 820 too has by way of the touchscreen turning unresponsive at times and the Voice Commands prove to be a hit and miss periodically. Again, the Top Gear Edition costs an extra £30 from the standard version, but guess it is worth the money, particularly if you are a Top Gear Fan with a Flair for Cars and Driving, ain’t it?

TomTom GO Live 820 Top Gear GPS System – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer TomTom
Model Name TomTom Go Live 820 Top Gear Edition
Navigator Type Portable
Dimensions 85.1 (H) x 119.1 (W) x 21.7 (D)
Weight 203 g
Display Type 16:9 LCD Widescreen
Display screen size 4.3 inches (11cm)
Display resolution 480 x 272 pixels
Colour display Yes
Orientation Landscape
Memory type Internal Memory:4G Internal Flash Memory 

SD Slot: Yes
Bluetooth Handsfree Yes
Car Mount Yes
Carry Case Included No
Fuel Efficient Routing Yes
Home Charger No
In-Car Charger Yes
USB Port Yes
Vertical Display Resolution Pixel 272
Suction Mount Included Yes
Included Accessories microUSB cable, USB car charger, documentation
Services TomTom HD traffic
Weather updates
Mobile Speed Cameras
Google Local Search
Benefit Latest Map guarantee
MapShare Technology
1 year free Live services
Eco Routes
IQ Routes Technology
Hands-free Calling
Battery Type Rechargeable Lithium Ion
Battery Life Up to 2h autonomous operation
Warranty One year