TomTom ONE Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator
by TomTom
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Our Price: $409.44 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $35.00 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of TomTom ONE Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator
Customer Review: Nice unit that will do the job
Summary: 4 Stars
OK, I admit it, I like to compare things. A strange hobby, but less expensive than many others (golf, boating, etc). Recently I have been comparing a couple of different GPS units. Some brand name and some "no name". This is how I came upon the tomtom one.
I got a good price on a "refurb" unit but unfortunately the first one was defective. So far, so good with the replacement. I'll touch on the highlights:
Pros:
1. Very nicely sized unit which could be used for short use out of the car as it has an internal antenna and battery.
2. Very clear map with very clear visual directions. For instance, when you are turning the screen arrow gets bigger and bigger as you approach your turn.
3. Nice map with street names of cross stress that appear on the map and then disappear as you pass them.
4. Very simple and easy to use data input.
5. Flexible POIs. You can find your POIs by many criteria, such as, along your route, current location or destination.
6. You can tell the unit to display the POIs that you have interest in (perhaps gas stations) directly on your map.
7. The One can use your data capable cell phone to get traffic info (I have not used this function)
8. Most aspects of the One are highly customizable.
9. I found that the One routed quickly and accurately.
10. When I went off course the One would calculate a new route (if reasonable) based on my new driving pattern.
11. the one comes with PC based software that allows you to control, program (to a limited degree) and update the unit with ease.
12. Simplicity is emphasized. Even the windshield mount is elegant.
Cons:
1. Maps may be a bit on the old side.
2. Topographical features are mostly absent (rivers, lakes, etc.). on the maps.
3. There are plenty of POIs, but not in all of the categories that I'm accustomed to. We do a lot of family trips by car and we always need to find a box store (Walmart, K-Mart, Target) along the way, but these were not listed via the POIs. We also hit grocery stores, which many other GPS units list. The One does not.
4. I was delighted to find a camping category listed. Unfortunately, the data base wasn't refined well as the entries included Girl Scout Day Camps and one place called "Camp Booty." I'm not sure what Camp Booty is, but I can assume that it is not a family camp ground.
5. Like all POI databases, the database on the One is sometimes incomplete or inaccurate. It listed a local bar that had been bulldozed a dozen years back.
6. Why do most GPS units list "winery" as a major category?? I guess I just too "Midwestern."
7. At times it will take you to a destination that may be a ½ block or so away from the actual address.
Conclusion:
Generally a joy to use and pretty to look at. I would recommend this unit to anyone looking for a basic, inexpensive GPS device. This is especially the case if you not too interested in specialty POIs.
Customer Review: Plug and Play - ready to go out of the box
Summary: 5 Stars
My wife and I bought this for her parents for Christmas. We played with it the month leading up to Christmas so we could explain it fully to them once we gave it to them.
The navigator comes with a suction mount, plug for the cigarette lighter, the USB cable, and a CD-ROM - which we haven't used yet. Being a touch screen display - each menu is very understandable and specific to what you are trying to accomplish. There are some opening questions it asks you for - such as your home address and what locations you'd like it to display while driving (pharmecies, churches, zoos, concert halls, swimming pools, etc.). Those were all very accurate. I was excited to see that there was an option to search all the nearby resturaunts and so forth were all listed by name - Little Caesars, pubs, and the like.
The volume is going to be sufficiently loud enough for my father-in-law who sometimes doesn't hear everything.
While it doesn't name out street names, it does speak to you about turns - giving you about a 500 yard warning and then when to turn. When you have a lot of immediate turns, it will condense the instructions, "Turn left, then get into the right lane, and take the first right."
The routes it has given us so far are accurate. A friend chose to take an alternate route on the way to a certain location - but I followed the TomTom and got there must faster on the route it chose for me.
Unless money is no object and you have the desire to keep up with the Jones' - or actually be the Jones' - you will be completely satisfied with this. It is perfect for directions and the menus are self-explanatory, simple, and concise. Inputting directions couldn't be easier. It sorts your results while you type and puts up the streets alphabetically while you continue your typing - then you just select. It also remembers your proximity, so you don't have to re-input your city each time - you can just quick-select from the history it lists on the same screen where you would type in your city.
I am unsure what features the more expensive models have. Do they actually provide you the menu of resturaunts, make your reservations, order for you, and pre-chew your food? Then, don't go with this one.
If you use Bluetooth technology, then you can also have it communicate through your phone and calculate routes based on traffic and weather. I haven't used that feature - but it is available on this product. With the use of your phone - you can also track other friends who are doing the same thing - and that would make caravanning easier. You can also make yourself "invisible" to them. I assume that means digitally, not physically - but that would be cool too (and dangerous on the roads) - could lead to an insurance nightmare.
Customer Review: IMHO Better than Garmin Nuvi 350!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, since there's already so many reviews I doubt mine will get read, however I just wanted to add a few points for those considering this and the Garmin Nuvi 350.
My experience with navigation units includes OEM GUI based navs in Lexus, BMW & Mercedes, the text-based Becker Traffic Pro (used in Porsche's, BMW's, Ferrari, etc.) and now the TomTom One and Garmin Nuvi 350.
I purchased two TomTom's as gifts because of the Best Buy rating by Consumer Reports. I really wanted to get the Garmin Nuvi 350 based on advice from a friend who has done a lot of research and said it was the best for the money, but that would be too expensive.
Let me tell you, after driving using both units I prefer the One to the Nuvi 350. The Nuvi has more features, great battery life, better voice directions and faster calculation, but the One is clearer/easier to drive to, updates faster in tight areas where there are many turns and can be found for less than half the price.
The Nuvi 350 has some nice features; it can play MP3's, it has a long battery life without being plugged in, thus can be used for walking directions, slightly easier to use interface, blue tooth interface for phone and auto dimming. Maybe others... however, most of those features aren't needed in a navigation unit--better save the money and put it towards an unlocked iPhone instead :)). It all boils down to which unit is easier to drive to.
When you're in a big city with one turn after another, when you approach an "X" or "Y" intersection instead of "+", when the highways split funny, etc. in those cases I prefer the One. I don't recall once making a wrong turn with the One, however when my friend and I went to New York City (following Nuvi 350 directions), he made 3-wrong turns (didn't get on the correct highway) and lost 15-minutes, according to calculations, before he let me drive his car to actually get us to where we were going. Driving to his Nuvi 350 was a chore compared to the One. I almost took a few wrong turns myself... constantly had to read what's coming up next on the screen (it's TINY); It's dangerous and I'm sure the people driving behind us weren't very happy with the way we were driving.
Sorry for the run-ons, but if anyone is considering the Garmin Nuvi 350 over the TomTom One, I seriously hope that you try both before making your decision. I feel that the One is much easier to drive to, which to me is the point of having a GPS navigation unit. TomTom One certainly has some drawbacks to the 350, however given that the One can be found for hundreds cheaper, it's definitely the best buy. Two other friends have also purchased TomTom One's since.
Customer Review: TomTom ONE a great help
Summary: 5 Stars
The TomTom ONE is the first GPS navigation system I've used much. After trying it out in my neighborhood, I used it on two trips - one from MD to FL and back again, and another where I flew to the Dallas/Ft.Worth area and drove a rental around for several days. Actually, a few weeks GPS rental would cover the cost of the unit. (The cost of getting a GPS nav system with a rental car is relatively high, considering the cost of the GPS unit compared to that of the car.) In each case the TomTom ONE operated as well as I could have expected. In general I've found that I can rely on it so much that I have to remind myself to pay attention to where I am and learning the route.
It sometimes takes a while to get a GPS fix at startup, but I've noticed this is much less when clear line-of-sight to the sky is available in all directions. GPS satellites send out some data required for a 'fix' on a 30-second cycle, so getting that from multiple satellites (at least 3 required) will rarely be much less than half a minute.
I found I-95 blocked at one point, and was able to instruct the unit to find an alternate route. This involved a trip through back roads and tiny communities, and was way more interesting (though slower) than the highway. Of course, it would have been a major inconvenience to have the GPS unit become unavailable at that point. The rechargeable battery lasts for long enough that I could recharge the unit at night and then drive for close to two hours with no power cable before battery life became critical.
The only feature I'd like added (or that I couldn't find, since I didn't study the manual) is the ability to indicate a blockage of a road segment that you are NOT currently on. I could tell the unit that the current road was blocked so it would find an alternate route, but I could find no way to do that for a road that I knew was blocked but hadn't turned onto yet.
The touch-screen works well, the volume and display brightness were adequate at the default settings, and it recalculates directions quickly. The options for changing its settings were generally intuitive, and I didn't need to refer the manual for anything. I had no problems attaching it to the windshield as long as I gripped the suction-cup mount firmly and applied pressure. I have some directionally-challenged friends who could greatly benefit from one of these, and the refurbished models should be great deals. Overall, I'd say this is a great product at a good price.
Customer Review: Tomtom One tested
Summary: 4 Stars
So, I'm one of those people who gets lost easily. Not sure why, I just always have been. I get flat out stressed when driving somewhere new, so I picked up a TomTom One before my trip for the weekend to Seattle. Here's what I experienced with it:
Took a bit to get used to how it works out of the box..very quick learning curve, but there IS a learning curve if you havent used a GPS before. Still, I was finding my way around pretty quickly. After being unable to find it ourselves, the TomTom got us to the zoo in Seattle, albeit the back entrance...but it refused to find the front one. Still, it got us there. After a day at the zoo- LOVED the Red Pandas!-, we used the POI (point of interest) setting to find nearby restaurants and picked a great little pizza place which it got us to with ease. We also travelled to our hotel in a suburb easily, and the TomTom gave excellent warning before turns and exits on the freeway, including telling us to "keep left" or "keep right" when we should ignore an exit.
The next day we travelled all over with no problems, doing the tourist thing...and even when we missed a turn indicated once, we were given a new route to follow in 10 seconds or so. Our final day there, though, showed us a few issues...when trying to get to where we needed to return ou rental car, it tried to take us down a street that didnt exist. Or rather, there WAS a street underneath us that headed in that direction, but ours dead-ended. I could see how it thought there was a street but it was still irritating. Also, when trying to get gas before turning the car in, we used the POI to find a gas station nearby- VERY HANDY- but then the arrow symbolizing our car started to move randomly all over the map as we were attempting to find it. Turned out we lost our GPS signal, but the randomly moving arrow thing was frustrating.
Basically, I was pretty impressed with this. Small enough to fit in my pocket, able to find nearby restaurants, gas stations and all sorts of other points and then give you directions to them. Its not perfect, and occasionally you will get let down by bad map data, but it finds new directions very quickly if thats the case and my family really enjoyed having its help on this trip. I can't imagine a better product for the price we paid.
Oh, and we much preferred the John Cleese voice to the pre-packaged ones, even if he does call a freeway the "motorway".
Happy travelling!