Are there any downsides to the 540T versus the 540S?

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Are there any reasons to prefer a 540S to a 540T? We have a 540M in my wife's car and are basically satisfied with it, so we are thinking of getting a similar unit for my car. I can get either a 540S or a 540T for the same price, and that price is much cheaper than the cost of another 540M. Accordingly, my decision boils down to the performance of the 540S versus the 540T.

I'm aware of the extra capabilities provided by the 540T, but I have not been able to find any information to indicate whether those capabilities have a negative impact upon other aspects of the performance of the 540. For example, does including the Traffic functions significantly impact the memory space available for custom POI, reduce the battery life when not plugged in, etc.

In my mind - possibly because I've never had such capabilities in the past - the extra functions of the 540T would be a nice extra, but not of great importance. Accordingly, if including those functions has a big impact on the other capabilities of the unit, I might want to get the 540S. If the impact is small to non-existent, I would choose the 540T.

Does anyone have relevant personal experience with the 540T?

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

 

[dhn]

Welcome to TTF.

All 540 models in North America are essentially 'S' models (which depicts text-to speech. European 540 models do not have this functionality).

The T model signifies you have the combo car charger/rds-tmc antenna included. Both your 540's can use that antenna, by the way.

Having traffic functionality does not take up much space if at all on the internal drive so that's not an issue.

Of course the lifetime maps (M) are not interchangeable between units and remember to register the second unit with a different email address than your current one.

Also, remember than rds-tmc traffic info is neither as current nor as accurate as traffic with LIVE models. It is better than nothing, though......

 

[- et -]

All 540 models in North America are essentially 'S' models (which depicts text-to speech. European 540 models do not have this functionality).

The T model signifies you have the combo car charger/rds-tmc antenna included. Both your 540's can use that antenna, by the way.

Thanks for the information. I had not seen anything that mentioned that all of the 540 models include the software for traffic and that the only difference is the presence of the antenna.

Having traffic functionality does not take up much space if at all on the internal drive so that's not an issue..

That is the answer to my primary concern. Thanks again for your prompt help. I just ordered the 540T on the premise that I have no way to know how much longer they will be available, given that Tomtom has shipped replacement models.

Of course the lifetime maps (M) are not interchangeable between units and remember to register the second unit with a different email address than your current one..

I was already aware of those issues, as I'm one of those people who compulsively research things before making a purchase. I've been lurking here and on some other GPS forums for some time, attempting to educate myself on the issues. Thanks anyway for mentioning those issues, as they are important info that many "normal" people might miss.

Also, remember than rds-tmc traffic info is neither as current nor as accurate as traffic with LIVE models. It is better than nothing, though......

That is my attitude about the value of it, which is why I was willing to pay the same price for the 540S instead of the 540T if there was any significant downside to using the Traffic functions of the 540T.

Thanks again for your prompt assistance.