TomTom ONE XL 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
by TomTom
|
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 |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of TomTom ONE XL 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Great Product, Please Heed This Warning
Summary: 4 Stars
I love the utility and functionality of this product, everything is where it needs to be, without trying to do too much. It is compact, the screen is bright, the touchscreen is responsive.
HOWEVER, I had one MAJOR problem with the TomTom One XL. I installed the "TomTom Home" software application and checked for software updates. The application told me that there was new software for the unit, so I downloaded and installed it (again, through their "Home" application). After doing so, I could not restart the unit back to its functional state. The screen displayed a red circle with a white X through it. Consecutive restarts and resets (using the reset button) did nothing. I had even made a backup using the app's tool, but could not restore using the backup.
I called TomTom tech support (who were quite nice, very helpful, and practically no wait time) and was told that the product ships with newer software than the one downloaded through the "Home" application and that by applying this update I have corrupted the drive. They suggested I contact the seller and return the unit. I was also told that the product was supposed to be launched on June 15, 2007 and that the pre-release was likely the culprit. I understand that to mean "the hardware team released before the software team was ready".
I tested on both Windows XP and Mac OS X.
I'll be returning the unit, but will still place an order for a new one and will keep a close eye on reviews and message boards before I install any updates.
(note, I am writing this on June 2, 2007, hopefully by the time you read this, the issue will be resolved by TomTom!)
Customer Review: TomTom One XL
Summary: 5 Stars
A basic GPS that serves its purposes. I have a built-in GPS in my car and bought this one for my Honda mini-van. I also travel a lot for work, so naturally, I use it in rental cars for work as well.
What I like: I like the 3D view and the way the unit present the information to me. The unit provides very good directions; once I get used to the way it directs, I think I am better informed (or directed) thjan my built-in unit. Nice wider screen than my previous HP GPS PDA is definitely a big improvement. The voice level is more than adequate.
What I don't like or want to see improved: There is no adjustment to the brightness of the screen. Although visible, I can use a little brighter screen under bright sun. The power plug is underneath the unit - I prefer it on the side, because the unit is so sensitive, I do not really need to mount it on the wind shield, I like to have the option of leaning it against the instrument panel; with the power plug underneath, I could not let it sit behind the steering wheel and lean on the panel. I still have not found a way to delete the favorite from the database, and there is no where in the manual can tell me what is the SD slot is used for. I plug in a blank SD card, the unit would not boot up until I remove it. Fully charged, the unit would last about 2 hours with the internal battery can be improved as well.
Overall impression: A decent GPS unit that is well worth the money. Since I lost my HP GPS PDA (with all my personal info!!!), I am staying away from multifunction gadgets, this is one is highly recommended.
Customer Review: Turn right in 200 feet
Summary: 5 Stars
While this is not the best GPS navigational system out there with tons of bells and whistles, it gets the job done. Newer and more expensive models include voice recognition and text to speech features. I feel that these are overkill and not really needed, especially text to speech. How often are you able to actually read street signs before the intersection anyway? It is much easier to just be told right or left. A quick glance at the screen also shows the street name and your exit is overlayed in red. This is great for confusing highways with multiple ramps in one place.
I do have two issues I do have with this device. First, it would be nice if it told you which lane you need to be in. There were several times where I did not realize the lane I was in suddenly became an exit or split into another highway. The device does try to help by instructing to exit left or right far enough in advance to get you to move in that direction. One nice feature that I really never thought about before is that depending on your speed, the device gives you more or less warning on turns. At highway speeds it gives at least 2 miles warning. But at city speeds it gives yards or feet.
The second complaint is that the device saves your personal information on volatile memory and sips on the battery to keep it stored. If you do not charge the device regularly, the battery will eventual run out and your home information and preferences will be lost. I have no idea why this can't be stored on flash memory with the maps.
Customer Review: Love my TomTOm One XL
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a lot of research on GPS's before I bought one. I paid much more attention to a "normal" user's review of the GPS instead of a formal magazine or business review. I wanted to hear what real world reviews were like.
Every GPS had its good and bad with each but I found that even though the TomTom one XL had a few people that gave it maybe a 1 or 2 star review, everyone else gave it pretty much 4 and 5 star ratings.
It does not have text to speech capability. It might be cool to have it call out the name but after using the TomTom One XL, it is not a big deal. It says "turn left in 2 miles" instead of saying "turn left in 2 miles onto Burton st." Text to speech just verbally gives you the street name. The TomTom quite visibly displays the name of the Street and the direction to turn, like Burton St., on its large widescreen display and along with then verbally telling you to turn right in 2 miles, works just fine for me. It continues to verbally tell you to turn in decreasing increments down to "Turn left now". If you can't turn with this, you wouldn't be able to turn right even if it did call out the name of the street.
I also like the feature of "TomTom Traffic". I have a Bluetooth enabled phone, and it wasn't even one of the so called supported ones, but I got "Traffic" to work and it is just great. To be able to know in advance, any traffic issues like construction or accidents. I can not say anything bad about this product. For the price, it can't be beat as far as I am concerned.
Customer Review: Good Unit - Battery Life Limited
Summary: 4 Stars
I am new to GPS and have been hesitating buying a unit. The TomTom brand came recommended by a neighbor and by a taxi driver.
I live in a major city. TomTom seems to have fairly accurate directions and street ID. The directions sometimes are not the most direct, but when I take the shorter route, the unit accurately recalculates the path. It also picks up signals very very well. The destination addresses are easy to enter into the unit while on the road (which was the biggest obstacle to buying a unit).
' The battery is limited to not more than 2 hours. Otherwise, it needs to remain plugged into the cigarette lighter - a bit limiting when wanting to walk with the unit.
' Also, beware of where you mount this unit. I mounted it on my windshield (below the rear view mirror, as instructed), and it falls off once every hour. Mounting it on the dashboard probably is better . . . it also won't fall as far.
Overall, I am happy with my purchase. I think a smaller screen (less than the One XL) is useless, as my taxi driver was also explaining. However, the larger screen on the One XL is easy to read.
Lastly, I do not understand why this unit does not have "speech to text". It does have "spoken instructions", which means you hear "turn left in 500 feet" as opposed to "turn left on Main Street". The speech to text is another $50 - $100 dollars, depending upon where you buy the unit.
Still, I would recommend this unit to anyone.