TomTom GO LIVE 1005 GPS Sat Nav System

This is the best Sat Nav system I have come across, everything about it is amazing. The instructions & directions are very easy to follow, I drove through London on my first outing with it, going into London it took me to my destination avoiding the Congestion charge, as I came out of London after 6.00pm it took me through the centre without any problem.
I would be happy to travel anywhere with this system.

I had a TomTom GO 500 (seriously old) prior to getting this device. It is a big improvement. The LIVE Services perform well and seem to be frequently updated while on the move. The device is well designed and I love the magnetic mounting system and the magnetic USB Cable connector, it makes connecting and disconnecting the unit a breeze. Not all the facilities on the 'My TomTom' website are available yet (June 2011) and the performance of the web interface seems a little flaky, but you can download the latest maps under the Latest Map Guarantee scheme.

I wanted to upgrade from a PDA running TomTom Navigator 6, I needed full Euro cover, I needed a BIGGER screen, I desired live services (Google local search mainly) and, although initially it seemed extremely expensive this seemed to fulfill all my requirements.
After looking around the only other alternative was the XXL IQ, also with a 5" screen but I soon realised that with a lowly 2Gb internal memory I wouldn't be able to update the map without breaking it up into smaller sections (this was confirmed by TomTom) which would then need a PC or laptop to load them when they were needed - hardly ideal when on holiday abroad !
So, the 1005 it was to be......
Impressively it worked straight out of the box and I was relieved to find that it quickly picked up 10 (out of 12 possible) satellites through my athermic windscreen - my previous one needed an external antenna as it wouldn't pick up anything !
In use the menus are intuitive and "familiar, similar but different" to previous versions so there isn't much of a learning curve and thankfully there are fewer menus to negotiate through.
There are several you tube reviews claiming the IQ routing system to be useless but I have found otherwise - it calculates the route very quickly indeed and as soon as it picks up a Vodafone signal you are advised of any delays on the route, more impressively it all works indoors too so you can check the route from home.
Voice announcement is loud (can be VERY loud if required) and clear and it can also speak the name of the road or street you are about to join which is a real benefit.
The display brightness automatically changes the day / night setting as it gets dark.
When I connected it to the PC and set up "My TomTom"