TomTom ONE 3rd Edition 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator by TomTom
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List Price: Our Price: $36.84 You Save: $213.15 (85%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of TomTom ONE 3rd Edition 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator
Digital camera Review: A great bang for the bucks
Summary: 5 Stars
Resonably easy to program out of the box, I use it frequently and have yet to be led astray. I travel mostly rural roads and small towns through about 5 states and finding some locations was a nightmare. The only thing that could use improvement is screen contrast and brightness in daylight. I do find the user manual difficult but I have had little reason to do try. Having had a Garmin prior to this puchase I consider this model far superior.Digital camera Review: A little confusing
Summary: 3 Stars
This is my first GPS. I had used a Garmin in a rental car and went back and forth between purchasing the TomTom or a Garmin. I settled on the TomTom because it had much better reviews. I used it for the first time this week for a trip from Western Massachusetts to Baltimore, MD and used it to navigate through Washington, DC also. Here is my review now that I have used it:
On the highway/interstate:
You might want to get the one that says exit names. Unless you are really good at yards, this GPS gets a little confusing. When on the highway, it will tell you to turn right in 400 yards. While the yards count down on the screen to help you, it seems to be delayed in updating. I missed my exit about 6 times total. Not too bad for a 6 hour trip, at an average of about 1 wrong exit per hour. However, when you take the wrong exit, this GPS is very good about recalculating rather quickly and getting you back on course. I found that if I read the bottom of the screen that did help, as it told me where I should be turning. But sometimes even that was rather confusing.
City roads/off the highway: I actually found that this is easier to use when you are traveling slower. I had little trouble in DC, which can be a very confusing city to navigate. If I didn't understand when to turn, the street names on the screen were very accurate and I found myself only turning off the wrong road once, not bad for DC.
Something to be aware of: please be aware that the GPS is not a miracle and will not redirect you around unsafe areas. If you make a wrong turn, it does not have a "take me through a safe area" setting, so you might find yourself in places that you might rather have avoided. It might be worth investigating the city you will be navigating ahead of time in case there are any areas you would rather not drive through. This is something I never would have thought of before my travels. Not a flaw of the GPS but something to think about as a driver in an unfamiliar area.
All in all, this GPS is a good bargain for it's money. I am counting on it to get me across the country this summer. If I didn't think it could do it, I would definitely tell you so in this review. Although I am sure it is not the best one out there, with a little patience and some getting used to, it will get you where you need to go, no matter how many wrong turns you take :-)
Digital camera Review: A little low on reliability and update ability
Summary: 3 Stars
I will give this item credit for being a low cost GPS device and it is easy to use. However, it has not been very accurate. I checked it out by asking it to navigate to places I am familiar with. In some cases it didn't have the location on the map, in others it took such a convoluted route that I was lucky it eventually got me there or I would have been lost. Some of the time it just went the wrong direction. But, admittedly, most of the time it took me where I wanted to go. It is not very good in rural areas or backroad routes. I was also disappointed that it has only 1 mb of memory and no capabilities of expanding. This makes extra voices and updates almost impossible. I would say if your looking for something to get you around major cities and you don't need bells and whistles, this is the GPS for you.Digital camera Review: A special note for Eddie Izzard fans...
Summary: 4 Stars
First, a brief review of this device. I'm sure there are reasons that people spend hundreds of dollars more for GPS devices, but the TomTom One (3rd Edition) fits the bill for me. I enter an address and it tells me how to get there, step by step, with remarkable accuracy. If I veer from the path that it has selected for me, it recalculates a route in seconds. The database of points of interest is useful, too, but my main use is just getting where I'm going on those infrequent occasions when I'm traveling somewhere that I haven't been before, and for that, it's a solid deal at $150. It's particularly useful if you're driving anywhere on vacation.
The other thing that is fun about this product is that you can download celebrity voices, so instead of a random pleasant voice giving you directions, you can have, say, Eddie Izzard telling you when to turn, exit, etc. You can't find Eddie's voice on the TomTom site, however -- you have to go to EddieIzzard.com for that. Here's the address:
[..]
Digital camera Review: A wonderful little device
Summary: 5 Stars
Got this just after the holidays. It was $149 from a local office supply store. What is ironic, is that a store, three stores over, had the same unit for $249! Shop around I had to make several calls until I found one in stock.
The unit is elegant, simple to use, and works right out of the box. It comes with a suction mount, Cigar lighter cable, some documentation on how to get started, and a USB cable. But really, you can just plug it in and go.
I did not know the unit was more or less a self contained little flash drive. You can get free updates, and change a few things online. Whats neat is that the unit can run on a PC (using the PC as the interface). The unit will self-install on most PCs and the interface is easy to use. Documentation (advanced features) are online. Its 2008 don't expect a full "book" on how to use it. Frankly, you don't need it.
Getting around is simple, clear, and understandable. I did not want the bluetooth, extra cards, FM transmitter, and other bells and whistles, I just wanted a simple to use GPS in my car - this gets the job done with ease.
The display is clear, the buttons are easy to press, and the map routing is simple.
I tried a few other units in the store before getting this one. This is the 3rd edition, and it shows. It seems some of the much cheaper units are still in a beta phase and were clunky and slow.
The pre installed voices are clear and easy to hear in the car. I was able to find a LOT of cool FREE voices online. They just add fun to the unit.
Right now there is a lot of road construction in parts of southern New Jersey. The maps are fairly up to date (within two months), and I was talking to a friend with a Garmin unit (6 months old) and our maps are about the same. A lot of people seem to be freaking out about map quality, but if you read deeper - EVERYONE has something bad to say about all the GPS units on the market.
I am very happy!
Just a side note, I was using the TomTom tonight, in bad weather, in an area of NJ I was not familiar with. I was so glad that I could more or less just listen to directions, and keep my eyes on a road, VS trying to read a paper map - at night - in the rain...
My wife joked "We'd be dead-dead without TomTom.." she's right. As far as I am concerned this item just payed for itself with piece of mind.