TomTom ONE XL 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
by TomTom
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List Price: Our Price: $59.99 You Save: $239.96 (80%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of TomTom ONE XL 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: THE TOMTOM ONE GOES WIDESCREEN...
Summary: 5 Stars
Welcome to TomTom's latest creation, the TomTom One XL. With the ongoing war between GPS manufacturers in full bloom it appears that TomTom has decided to counter against Garmin's latest GPS products. The Garmin Nuvi 200, 250, and 270 were released early this month and, from what I understand, are selling quite nicely. Never being one to take things lying down, TomTom announced their new One XL.
Customers should be informed this product isn't exactly a "new" item from TomTom, it's more of a "modified" version of the previous released (and extremely popular) TomTom One. What I mean is besides the obvious fact that this is a widescreen unit, this product is identical to the TomTom One (New Edition) Versons 3 and 4 which were released earlier this year. The TomTom One XL is equipped with a 4.3 inch screen, (as opposed to the regular TomTom One's 3.5 inch) because of the added screen space the TomTom One XL is slightly heavier than it's little brother. It now weighs in at 7.4 ounces instead of 6.5.
As far as the technical specifications...well, it's all still the same. You get the high sensitivity GPS chipset (which is the new GlobalLocate chipset found in recently released TomTom devices), the 32 MB of RAM space, the CPU runs at 266 MHz, a 2-hour internal lithium-ion battery, and 2.0 Bluetooth technology. The only real difference in the technical specs is the pixel count which is now a slightly higher 480x272 because of the wider screen.
One thing I did notice was the missing 1GB SD card full of maps I'm used to seeing with TomTom products.. It appears all the info (maps, points of interest...etc) is now stored on a small flash-drive inside the unit. The TomTom One XL does, however, have an open SD card slot for future map updates and expansions.
The unit itself is just as powerful and accurate as it's little brother. It has been reported that some test units have been preloaded with the Tele Atlas maps (version 665.1293)of The United States and Canada. However, TomTom has announced they will be preloading the One XL with Tele Atlas Maps version 675 making this the most accurate GPS on the market to date. This seems to be the subject of much debate, the clichéd' argument is that because Garmin is a North American based company their maps for The United States should be more accurate then the European based Tele Atlas maps which TomTom uses. I can tell you from personal experience (see my other reviews) that this is not so. I've found the latest maps from TomTom to be the most precise of any other GPS unit on the market today.
The TomTom One XL carries a $399.99 price tag, $100.00 more than the regular TomTom One, which may leave some buyers wondering if $100.00 is worth that extra inch of screen space.
Customer Review: Works okay but has several design flaws and bad support
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this unit three months ago because I was moving to a new state and didn't want to spend a lot of time being lost. It's been very helpful in getting me around, but I've had more than my share of frustrations.
What I like about this unit: display is easy to read except in direct sunlight; user interface is pretty easy (although it has flaws that make you wonder if they ever bothered to look over the shoulders of real users to see what they do -- more below); and audio instructions are loud and clear, even to my old ears.
But what I don't like about the unit and the company's support is a longer list. First off, I found it weird that its default keyboard layout is alphabetic. You can easily configure it to QWERTY instead. Second, when you use the "Back" button while setting up your destination by address, it takes you back one step further than it should, forcing you to make the same entry twice.
But the biggest problem I've had is that the unit no longer avoids unpaved roads. I used their website to ask for help, where I also found several design flaws. If you fill out a form, make sure you save everything you type because if you have to hit your browser's "Back" button after their website says you made an error in filling out the form, the form will have lost EVERYTHING you just entered. Also, the error will have been caused by bad design in their form, not because you're a dumb user.
Anyway, TomTom's support desk informed me that to configure the unit to avoid unpaved roads, I have to select the "Toll Roads" feature. Huh?!? Okay, I tried that but there's nothing in there about avoiding unpaved roads. TomTom's help line informed me that if I've "updated the unit," there's no longer any way to configure TomTom to avoid unpaved roads at all. They "regret" any frustration this may have caused, and they gave no indication that they have any plans to fix it.
Once you get past the initial euphoria of getting where you want to go -- although it's sent me to some dangerous backwoods roads where I should have had a 4-wheel drive -- you find a lot of other annoyances. For example, it doesn't tell me which side of the street my final destination is on. And when I have to make a turn where there are multiple turns close together, it fails to direct me carefully to the correct one. Also, this unit does not say the name of the street that you're supposed to turn on.
Too many reviewers haven't lived long enough with their TomToms before posting their reviews. I should have read all the reviews for all products more carefully before I bought this unit. Even though my unit is 3 months old, I'm going to see if I can return it. There are better ones available.
Customer Review: Widescreen, fast re-routing, excellent online updates
Summary: 4 Stars
The Tom Tom One XL is larger than most portable GPS navigation units, requiring a special case or a larger GPS case for those that travel frequently. The Li-Ion battery does not have a very long life, and the self-discharge rate is very rapid. I do not recommend leaving it uncharged for weeks. The windshield mount is fairly easy to use, but I do not like how they use the mini-USB connector at the base of the GPS. It seems rather flimsy but it gets the job done. The touch screen is very sensitive and easy to use except in a few instances. Zooming in and out of the main map takes some finesse. I had to use my nails to activate those "precision" controls.
Pros:
-Sensitive touch screen.
-Intuitive menu system.
-Excellent online support with additional voices, color schemes, map updates, and extra maps.
-Fast re-routes in case you run into unexpected construction zones. I was able to navigate out of a congested area with the help of the One XL.
-Clear and useful voice instructions if it loads the correct route.
-Easy to add favorites/travel destinations.
-Has the entire map of the US pre-loaded.
-LCD does not entirely wash out in bright sunlight and can be legible in broad daylight.
Cons:
-Lack of text to speech support so the GPS does not read off each street.
-Inefficient routing. An online magazine did a test between several GPS vendors and Tom Tom consistently performed the worst by choosing the longest and slowest route even though the user selected "Fastest Route".
-They should have included a clear-skin to prevent scratching the display. Even though it was designed to be touched, I still recommend buying a clear-skin overlay to prevent any superficial damage.
-The large and bulky size of the GPS makes it difficult to find versatile storage cases locally.
-The suction cup mount has a flimsy looking arm with a plastic ball and socket joint.
Overall:
I have always wanted to buy a GPS system just to have maps of the entire US contained in a small computer without having to lug around road maps on road trips. The Tom Tom One XL fulfills this requirement, but the routing software needs to be fixed to provide more logical routes under the "Fastest Route" setting. I give it 4/5 stars mainly because of the inefficient routing. However, the re-routing did not fail me when I needed it the most. In the worst case, you can just use the Tom Tom ONE XL as a real-time mapping tool if you do not want to depend on its routing algorithm.
Customer Review: One week with TT One XL
Summary: 4 Stars
I am looking for a portable GPS for my coming trip to the East Coast and I decided to try this unit on my recent trip to the SF Bay Area. I am familiar with GPSs as I have one in my Acura (which is supposedly the best built-in available). Here are my observations:
(1) The GPS reception is very good even I did not hang it on windshield.
(2) It's obvious that this is a EU company (for example, they use the term "motorway" instead of freeway or highway).
(3) I was confused when it informed me of "toll road" and chose the option not to use "toll road", it routed me around the Bay the long way. Later, I figured out that it was referring to the toll booths on some of the bridge crossings.
(4) The routing instruction is not as good as my car GPS (for example, my car GPS would say "second exit on the left" instead of "exit in 800 yards" by TT unit).
(5) The unit was not able to find "any" Starbucks anywhere (I tried in San Jose and Sacramento). In some instances, I was about half a block from one. I am not sure why that is when it found other nearby POIs.
(6) It's not possible to find a destination by phone number (which is much easier than having to enter an address) and there is no phone number listed for POIs (this feature is available in my car).
Overall, I found it to be acceptable compared to my car GPS. But, I am not sure I will keep the unit due to its inability to locate Starbucks as I don't know if this is an isolated case or symptoms of bigger search deficiencies. I am going to try either a Magellan next as I don't want to buy a Garmin due to their higher costs.
Update (7/21/2007): I am trying out Magellan 4040 and I believe it is better than the TT for the following reasons:
* Better driving instruction
* Much better POIs (I have no problem locating anything so far) and it does display phone#
* I especially like the AAA data (it even let you know if any of the POIs offer discount to AAA members).
I will take this unit with me on my East Coast trip, but there is no doubt on my mind that this is better than the TT one unit and the extra cost (about $100) is worth it as this gives much better driving instruction and POIs (which are most important when you are at a new destination). I should reduce the TT rating to 3 stars, but there seems to be no way to do this.
Customer Review: Tom Tom One XL review
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought bought the Tom Tom One XL, because of a road trip I took with my sister. My parents had bought her a Tom Tom One, that we used on the trip. (She was forever getting lost and calling everyone for directions) I was impressed with the capability of the Tom Tom and the ease of use. However, the only thing that I didn't like was the smallish size. So I looked around at reviews for other models and brands, and finally decided on the Tom Tom One XL. Some have complained about the fact that (the version I bought) doesn't have text to speech where it announces streets as you pass them, but I don't really mind that it doesn't have it. I have found it fairly easy to use. One thing that I don't like is that sometimes it gives me routes that I know there is a faster route because I had tried several different routes to determine which would be faster. I soon realized this happens because the maps don't have the speed limits for parts of a road or a whole road, and so it can't calculate those roads in giving the shortest route. It also has some trouble when a business is on a corner with entrances on both sides, but the address as all addresses are, for a street address, and so it will sometimes give you a more circuitous route then would be perfered.
I've downloaded several voices for my TomTom, and I've found I liked C3PO the best (even though my mom hated it).
The TomTom has saved me a ton of paper, because I used to go to map quest and then print out the routes when I would try to go somewhere new. I first tested it out on trips to places I knew how to get to, and for the most part it took me the routes I knew to be the quickest (exceptions above).
I'd also like to add that since my sister has had her Tom Tom One, she has only called me once for directions and that was because the place she was looking for had gone out of business and was no longer where it was supposed to be.
So other than a few issues with TomTom's maps, it's a great product that's very useful. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking to buy a GPS unit.
One caveat, is that it takes a little bit to get used to the directions, for instance, on the highway it will say keep left when it means don't get off the highway, and not go into the left lane.