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: Amazing for Price
Summary: 4 Stars
I just got off a 25 city book tour and took the Tom Tom GPS along to help for a lot of the driving. It is almost better than my car's built-in GPS in some respects. The voice component helped my 66 year old mom when she drove and she is going to get one now, too. For the most part, it will get you where you're going and works as well as the really high-end GPS units.
3 problems I had (but understand that many portable GPS may have the same thing):
1. Unit doesn't power up easily. I had to repeatedly hit the power buttom and sometimes wait for 5 minutes to get it to work. I'm taking it in for this one.
2. Clock never worked correctly even after I set it repeatedly. A minor annoyance but you'd like to have the right time showing on it if it's going to have a clock.
3. Sometimes the directions are off, like most GPS's as changes in mapping and roads do happen. Unfortunately, this landed us in a snowstorm stuck in a snow bank for 3 hours when it erroneously took us down a secondary road that wasn't the right route for where we were going. This may be because the severe snow interrupted the satellite signal.
However, the GPS worked fine in snow in Boston, heavy rain in Seattle and overall got us to where we were going. I simply could not have taken this journey without the Tom Tom and so am very pleased with it. For the price, it is definitely worth it if you need to know where you are and where you're going or have heavy, complicated driving trips to take.
The kit contains all that you need to use it including cigarette lighter power cord and windshield mount. The interface is easy to use and I had both my 67 year old mom and 75 year old mother-in-law, who came with me for part of the trip, using it, putting in addresses and POI's in just a matter of minutes.
One thing about portable GPS as oppose to the built-in in your car -- it will not keep track of you when in tunnels or at the airport because it will lose the satellite signal. I'm sure this is true of all portable GPS where it's a tiny piece of technology receiving a signal as opposed to an entire car, which is the case with built-in GPS. So if you're landing in the airport and then, driving off, plan to stop about 5 miles from the airport to program the Tom-Tom once it has a signal. And have a basic idea of how you start out driving at first.
I highly recommend this product.
Customer Review: Fell short in the Great American West
Summary: 4 Stars
First the disclaimer: I've never owned a GPS before the TT1, and what I write may be common place. This review is based on over 2000 miles navigated all by TT1 this past two weeks.
Goods: Excellent, easy, and fun to get used to a new device. Very accurate most of the time (exception listed below). Extremely useful and accurate in cities. Got me to restraunts I couldn't find without a problem in Denver (Old Spaghetti Warehouse), to museums, and to other POIs I knew specifically. High quality screen and hardware. Somewhat useful POI. Tech support very helpful.
Bads: While navigating from Cody, WY to Yellowstone, the TT1 kept trying to get me to take a left into a guardrail and fall 6000' to death. It showed two parallel roads (not actually there) and tried to get me to turn onto the other one. HWY 296. I received so many notices that I finally had to turn it off to stop the narrator from driving me mad. Then from Rock Springs to Denver by fastest route, it took me by highway only through Cheyenne to I-25 to Denver. All interstate. My sister took 287 out of Laramie, got a beautiful scenic route, and b/c both the interstate and 287 were 75mph, she actually beat me to the intersection north of Denver with a better view! When on I-80, I used POI to find reststops. It didn't find any reststops anywhere near, but then I saw one only 6 miles ahead and it was clearly mapped on my old paper map from a few years ago. Shame. Next, it couldn't find some (old) restraunts in Laramie. POI doesn't include grocery stores. A major shortfall when needing supplies cross country. Last, and this is a pain! when you use POI, it only shows the first 20 or so characters of the point. If you don't know which "Best Western" it is b/c it doesn't show the full length name, you have to press each one. When you do this, it starts navigating you to it even if it isn't the one you really want. Then you have to start over.
Overall, very good, but I think it should add more reststops, campgrounds, grocery stores, and offer a "scenic routing" option that we can select in mid-itenerary navigating for a break. I highly recommend it if you want a GPS, b/c likely what I've listed is common place for the technology. Please let me know if there is better. Thanks.
Post Script: The longer reviews here on Amazon are spot-on. Best wishes. J.
Customer Review: Excellent portable customizable GPS at the right price
Summary: 5 Stars
After a great deal of research into similar models at a comparable price (Garmin SP330, etc.), I decided to go with the TomTom One. I must say that I have been nothing but pleased with the purchase. I found the TT1 extremely intuitive to use, and using the Tomtom Home application makes updating, backing up and customizing my TT1 very easy. Within an hour of opening the box, I had already downloaded and installed additional Points of Interest (Dunkin Donuts, Retail Stores such as Best Buy and Walmart), Voices (the celebrity voices make driving directions fun) and Map Colors (there are a variety of uniquely colored map schemes available) - I found all of these customizable features to make an already solid unit even better and tailored to my specific tastes. In terms of actual use, I find the TT1 to be pretty spot on with mapping and navigation - about 99% of the time. Occasionally it will plot a less direct route than I would have personally taken, but the great thing is I can just ignore it and it will adjust the route (in seconds) based on which direction I turned. I love the feature where you can simply tell it to avoid part of the route and it will recalculate (i.e. don't take me on the highway). Granted, many say the POIs are outdated which they may be, but will a POI database ever be truly up-to-date with all of the changing restaurants, stores etc.? I think this criticism of the TT1 may be a bit harsh given all that you get for under $300 - I find the major attractions (parks, beaches) and "critical" POIs (gas stations, police/fire dept.) are all there. As a basic GPS unit, it does the job. I had a "How did I live without this moment" last weekend, where I was driving through a remote part of CT and where I would have likely second guessed directions and gotten lost before, I was able to push forward with confidence knowing I had my TT1. I am extremely pleased with the features, ease of use and value I am getting out of this unit and would recommend to anyone looking for a solid GPS unit. I would also recommend, in terms of accessories, a carrying case and a more flexible mounting unit (you can find ones online that allow you to either mount to windshield, dashboard or vent and are easier to place the unit in). As Tomtom is a growing company in the US, I can only expect the POIs, Maps and Customizable Features to get better in the future.Customer Review: Very good inexpensive GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
I got my TomTom One Limited Edition (with SD card slot) on Black Friday sale and I really like it. I have used Garmin Nuvi 350 for a while and liked it too. Both units are comparable in size and in performance, except that the TomTom One is 2.5x cheaper than Nuvi 350. I tested TT and Nuvi to see how they perform in a new housing subdivision in my neighborhood. They made exactly the same mistakes not recognizing new streets and telling me to drive into the same house where both units showed a non-existing road. This wasn't a major setback for me. Maps do need to be constantly updated, but in real life situation these minor errors wouldn't stop me from eventually finding my way around.
I compiled a list of more important differences I found between the two units. I listed them as someone who just needs a basic, solid, intuitive and accurate navigation while driving. I don't need the GPS to be a telephone, MP3 player, portable shower, etc.
Bad things about TomTom One in comparison to Nuvi 350:
- Rather cheesy mounting and not as easy to disconnect as Nuvi. This is a big deal if you need to take it out frequently to hide from unethical passersby or to plan new routes in the comfort of your home.
- TT doesn't turn On automatically when you start the car, although it can be set to auto turn Off 10 sec. after the ignition.
- The TT doesn't dim automatically to night mode and back like the Nuvi does; you need three taps on the screen to do it.
Now the good things about TomTom in comparison to Nuvi:
- Two and a half times less expensive, and by that I mean the rock-bottom sale prices for new units ($119 for TT One and $299 for Nuvi 350).
- Less pointless talking. I found the constant "recalculating" announcements of Nuvi quite annoying after a while. Spoken street names aren't necessary to me either, but I can see that someone else may find this feature valuable. I preferred the simple spoken announcements of TT.
- Although the official TomTom support is apparently lacking, there is a huge unofficial support from TomTom groups and forums out there.
- The TT is great for international travel being very popular overseas with maps and new corrections available all over the internet.
Overall it was the price that sold me on TomTom. :D
Customer Review: TomTom One vs. Your Destination (Battle of the GPS)
Summary: 5 Stars
First let's start off by saying for it's price range and features there's no comparison---1:THE CHIPSET used is called SiRFstarIII, in a review of this chipset I would definitely rate It a 10, first off in my use of the chipset in seconds as you go off course, which I have done numerous times it recalculates new directions in seconds and also in comparison to the GARMIN 360 which my good friend and I compare and argue about all the time it does so with out having to continuously state "Calculating new directions" over and over again and it's also FASTER then the GARMIN 360 unit. The signal pick up and strength is also excellent as is the GARMIN 360 unit also---2:THE MAPS used for the American version of the TOMTOM ONE are TELE ATLAS maps as the GARMIN 360 uses NAVTEQ maps (In theory the Tele Atlas maps are not as developed for North America as they are for Europe also it is said NAVTEQ maps in theory are better for use in North America)---3:THE USE in travel from home to work it chose the identical route I use every day but on my return home as I began to exit the off ramp of the highway in which I'm to make a sharp left TOMTOM ONE instructed me to continue straight and go around the block to get back on the same road I could have just made the left on to, also on a trip from Newark NJ to Paterson NJ the exit should be 155P on the Garden State PKWY the TOMTOM ONE had the exit as 156P and on another note if your looking up let's say WACHOVIA Banks that are close to you the TOMTOM ONE will just list the Banks and the distance that are positioned where you are at that moment not the Addresses and Telephone numbers as the GARMIN 360 does (GARMIN 360 announces the street names also) Also the TOMTOM ONE tells you if there are pay tolls involved in your route and sometimes even if you press yes to take the toll road it bypasses it (could be if you have your settings on fastest route instead of shortest route) I have not traveled very long distances yet but I have read in other reviews that a trip of 1 hour or more the TOMTOM ONE WILL NOT get you LOST but MAY take you 10-15 minutes out of your way, with that said I LOVE THIS UNIT and once again NOTHING in it's price range can compare. (In traveling with the GARMIN and TOMTOM mounted on the window shield in short distances it chose the same routes)