Customer Reviews

Good But Not Great....
I have this and used side by side with a Garmin 200 W for several weeks before returning the Garmin. Overall this is a good product but a few annoying bugs keep it from being great...here are the pros and cons

Pros

It finds the satellites quickly and keeps the signal. The garmin took 2-3 minutes almost every time from a power up start (this was the deal killer)

The user interface is nicer and has a lot more options than the garmin.

The POI database (such as the POI categories it actually has - it is missing several major US retail chains - see below) is more up to date than the Garmin I bought at same time.

Allows you to set the keyboard to QWERTY mode which the Garmin did not.


cons

The graphics are a bit grainy compared to the garmin

The bluetooth is useless, works only for data transmission/reception and that too with very limited number of phones. No, you cannot use it as a handsfree.

If you take a wrong turn or pass by your destination or do anything to pass by your destination on a 2 lane road, it will not tell you to turn around - it will navigate you through the next set of intersections. In rural areas this can mean a 20 mile trip instead of going back 200 yards.

The text to speech works very unpredictably - it pronounces some name very nicely but mangles others horribly such that you can't recogonize it.

Also it announces street names about a quarter mile before and then simply says turn left or right when you are actually at an intersection and want the street name to turn into. This is annoying. Very annoying.

There is an SD card slot. However the unit works either exclusively with the SD card slot or with the internal memory. Which means that you have to reload everything in internal memory onto the SD card which takes about an hour because of the incredibly s-l-o-w data transfer rates.

Also the internal memory is pretty much full so forget about any upgrades unless you spring for at least a 2 GB or more SD card

Strangely, TomTom doesn't know about major US retail chains like Toys R Us, Payless Shoes etc. This even after I updated the unit with the US Retail POI database file

The color schemes available on the unit and online are completely weird. Seems to have been done by people with zero taste and sensiblity.

The internal battery is useless in cold weather (i.e. if you leave the unit in the car in winter). This after a few weeks. It either dies in a few minutes or doesn't fire up at all. Will have to see how it performs in the summer.

The brightness and contrast are so-so in daylight compared to the garmin 200 w

Worth Its Weight in Gold
We have used our TomTom XL-S on several trips but recently used it on a trip to Chicago. We decided on that day alone, it had paid for itself. It got us safely and accurately to our hotel. The next day and many, many turns later we arrived safely at a specific parking garage we were looking for and from there to the building we needed to walk to. It lets you know how long it will be until your next turn and in which direction you will need to go, so that you can get in the appropriate lane. It announces the name of the street in advance so you know what to look for. If you've ever traveled the highly congested streets of Chicago, you will appreciate the comfort in knowing you can never really get lost! So what if only the "Susan or Bob" option will announce the street names. As long as I get to where I need to be, I'll gladly only listen to Susan or Bob. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to travel in a big city and not have to worry about missing a turn because you didn't see it or because the traffic was too heavy to get into that lane. This product takes all the stress out of traveling in unfamiliar territory.

TEXT-TO-SPEECH AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE
At long last TomTom has released a GPS model that incorporates a text-to-speech feature at an affordable price. This has been what most TomTom customers have been waiting for. The original TomTom One was first introduced to consumers roughly two years ago and was in direct competition with the Garmin Nuvi 350 model. One of customers major gripes was that the TomTom One lacked the popular text-to-speech feature that the Garmin Nuvi 350 had. It seems that in a two short year span the TomTom One has come a long way with adding features and (with GPS becoming more popular) lowering prices.

The TomTom One XL-S is, in a way, the first of its kind. It is the first TomTom GPS device to offer text-to-speech (verbal pronunciation of street names) at a price tag of under $300.00. This is good news for consumers not looking to invest too much cash into a GPS but wanting this convenient feature. For those who are unfamiliar with past TomTom One devices this text-to-speech comes in handy when not wanting to take your eyes off the road. For example: lets say you are driving on an unacquainted, busy freeway. Traffic is moving at 70mph in four lanes all around you, your exit is close but given the circumstances you have to keep watching traffic and don't get an opportunity to glance down at your trusty TomTom. Ordinarily you would simply hear you TomTom One say "Exit Right" as you approached your off-ramp. But with the new TomTom One XL-S the street names will be heard as well as illuminated on the screen. So instead of hearing "Exit Right" you will hear "Exit Right On War Memorial Drive". A very convenient way to keep your eye on the road and know exactly where you are at all times.

Aside from the text-to-speech feature this particular TomTom One comes with a widescreen for easy viewing. I personally have never had any trouble reading the 3.5 inch screen of the original TomTom One but I'm sure a lot of consumers will love the new 4.3 inch widescreen display.

All the new features of the TomTom One 3rd Edition are included here as well. You get the "Help Me" button which when pressed opens features such as "Phone For Help" which displays emergency numbers for the current location (such as and typically 911) "Drive To Help" which show you the quickest way to the nearest police station or hospital and a "First Aid Guide" which is provided by the British Red Cross.

Also included in the safety features is an option to sound a custom alarm if any of the following occur:

1. When approaching a school or church
2. When driving faster than a set speed
3. When driving faster than allowed

A nice addition to the TomTom One XL-S is the ability to make your own map corrections. For example the city I live in recently shut down an existing department store and rebuilt a Super Center about a mile down the road about 3 months ago. Because of this recent change the Points Of Interest database had to be updated. I simply used the "Map Correction" feature to edit and move the existing Point Of Interest to its correct location on the map. Very convenient. The "Map Correction" feature also allows users to (Un)block A Street, Reverse Traffic Direction, Edit Street Names, Add Missing POI, and Report Other Errors

Compared to the many GPS devices I've used (including Garmin products) I've personally found that TomTom has the edge as far as map accuracy and route planning. This new TomTom One XL-S is another break through in TomTom technology that would be perfect for anyone looking to either upgrade from a previous GPS or for first-time GPS buyers looking to save themselves the headaches of getting lost in unfamiliar neighborhoods.

Included in the box is:

- The TomTom One XL-S
- (1) Car Charger
- Documentation Pack (Quick Start Guide, Installation Poster, Accessories Catalog, and Warranty/License Agreement)
- (1) Windshield Mount
- (1) USB Cable
- (1) Adhesive Disk For Windshield Mount (for mounting the TomTom to your dash)