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TomTom ONE 3rd Edition 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator

Overall rating:  

Find your way the easy way. TomTom ONE’s distinctive design puts a full-size touchscreen and the power of GPS in a slim, lightweight device. Switch on and go right out of the box. The crystal-clear display, 3D graphics and turn-by-turn spoken instructions help you find your way to any address in the US and Canada all with just a few taps of the screen. TomTom has the most accurate maps, and with TomTom MapShare technology you can instantly modify street names, street direction, and POIs on your own device. And now, there are added safety features so you can easily access local emergency providers. No activation, no monthly fees, it’s that easy. TomTom ONE is the world’s number one selling portable navigation device.

Features

  • The world’s #1 selling GPS; preloaded with maps of the United States and Canada
  • Millions of points of interest; TomTom MapShare instant map updates
  • Pocket-sized design; 3.5-inch touchscreen with 2D and 3D views
  • Turn-by-turn spoken directions
  • “Help Me” emergency menu; real-time traffic capability
  • Dimensions (W x H x L): 1 x 3 x 4 inches
  • Weight: 4 pounds

See price and more details at Amazon.com

Reviews

  1. by G. Sugimura

    It’s a good starter GPS. I gotta admit that.

    I would rather use the GPS that came with my phone. It’s more reliable, offers street names, and when I compared my phone and the TomTom One, it took my phone about 20 seconds to find a signal, while it took the TomTom One about 5 minutes. On top of that, TomTom says that you should plug your GPS into your computer every five days or so to get an update of where the GPS satellites are so that you can get a signal quicker. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the GPS satellites supposed to find me?

  2. by S. Bentley

    I bought one of these for myself for fathers day 3 years ago. From day one the thing has worked flawlessly anywhere I needed to go. I’m a paranoid traveler when I have to drive somewhere I’ve never been before. Before my TomTom I would print out driving directions from mapquest, buy maps and plan everything out before I went. And while there was nothing wrong with that, it hindered any opportunity for going off the beaten path. With my TomTom I’m comfortable in knowing that if I see something interesting, I can depart from my planned route and get back on track with no hassle. I should mention that there was one time when the thing just refused to lock in on a satellite. Thankfully I was just at home and tinkering with it. Quick email and response from TomTom tech support and it was up and working. Also I updated the map about a year ago. I was surprised to find out that the map upgrade also added additional features to my TomTom. If I had to buy again I would go with the XL but I’m still very happy with this unit, 3 years later.

  3. by Mr.

    This product has been a complete nightmare from the very beginning. It functioned improperly from the day I purchased it, and the maps and points of interest were outdated. When I tried to download new maps (which were grossly overpriced I might add), there was problem with the [...] server and the download was unsuccessful. After much adoo with a [...] technical support rep. I finally managed to download the maps to my computer, but when I tried to import the maps to my tomtom one device, there wasn’t enough disc space to accomodate the download. Then, when I was told to create disc space in the device by the tech support rep., who advised me to format the disc, my tomtom one device was virtually renderred useless. So now I have a device that’s useless, and I’m out $80.00 for a download that did’nt work. [...] is totally irresponsible in my opinion, and I would’nt recommend their products to anyone! Stay away from this albatross! Do yourself a favor and buy a different brand!

  4. by P. doumtjes

    Beware that when you purchase updates for this devise you will be charged a hidden fee because Tom Tom is a foreign company and you will be charged a “foreign transaction fee” on your credit card. Tom Tom does not make this fact obvious as it is hidden in the terms and agreement section. Order a map for the United States pay for it in the United States and have to pay a FOREIGN FEE!

  5. by Herbert J. Fellows

    It is ok for the price paid, which was only a hundred dollars at the time, but it definitely has some problems. It is virtually useless in Manhattan, maybe because of the tall buildings. Although it said it was getting a signal, it couldn’t direct me four blocks away!

    My biggest problem with it came a few weeks ago when I asked for directions to Franklin NJ. It sent me to ‘another Franklin NJ’, about 60 miles away! Of course, there aren’t 2 Franklins, turns out the wrong one was FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, not Franklin. The only way I found out was to ask for directions from ‘Franklin NJ’ to Franklin NJ. You would think it might say ‘you’re there’, but it sent me 60 miles away to the correct one without blinking an eye! Bad behavior, to say the least, not to mention another $10 in gas, $5 in tolls and being extremely late!

  6. by Corgis247

    Please don’t purchase this item as it is not exact or even close. You may start out – the GPS will tell you it is going to take you 4 hours to get there… as you get closer it will change and you will reach your destination in a shorter time. Believe me. I bought this at a bargain is the only reason to keep it. However, I went to download updated maps. The maps cost more than what I paid for the GPS – Crazy.

    So, that’s my take on the TomTom GPS – If you need one that is exact and precise – stay away from this one! unless they are giving them away!!

  7. by Brittany Le Blanc

    Besides being wrong nearly 95% of the time, it almost always displays a longer route, even though I have fastest route selected. I am planning a trip, but the directions it displays is an hour and a half longer, plus 100 miles more than directions I found on mapquest. I have had this GPS for over a year, and am finally fed up with it. It has never, EVER pinpointed a house exactly. I understand most GPS’s will be a little off with some buildings, but this one is absolutely ridiculous. It has done the following on a few occasions: made me go in circles, told me to go the other way on a one-way street, wanted me to keep going straight when I reached a dead-end… the list goes on and on. Sure, it has free map updates, but I don’t see any changes to them. The only positive thing I can think of is the custom themes you can add to it. I am going to buy a Garmin, which is a lot more accurate and reliable than this piece of garbage.

  8. GPS
    by Beverly Hatfield

    This was a very good buy and we have used it for a long time now and love it.

    The price at Amazon was much better than anywhere we checked

  9. by Kenney

    Since I purchased this product, I don’t worry about getting lost or arriving at my destinations timely.

  10. by b-dog

    I have had this for about 2 years. After just under a year the battery life has been HORRIBLE. When I unplug the unit from the charger, the battery literally lasts only about 5 minutes at most. I have tried to contact the company about getting it replaced and I have been told that the battery can’t be replaced – yet they also state on their website that expected battery life is 1 year…that doesn’t make much sense to me.

    Often times the directions are not accurate (they want me to drive through a road that does not exist, they don’t know which streets are one-way or not) and I have updated my unit regularly to keep abreast of any changes…no difference.

    It often takes about 5 minutes to get satellite signals – regardless of where I am.

    I bought a Garmin Nuvi for my wife’s car – what a difference. It is much better. If I’m unable to successfully replace the battery on this unit on my own, I’ll be buying a Garmin.

  11. by D. Barahona

    We have a pair of these TomTom’s and a Garmin Streetpilot 330 GPS. We only use the TomTom’s. The voice is far more pleasant to listen to than the Garmin and the directions are far more direct. It is interesting to note that on long-distance trips, both TomTom’s give slightly different travel routes from each other. We bought them about 6 months apart from each other and even though we update both regularly, it still happens.

    The Garmin does beat the TomTom in only one appreciable way and that’s in looking up businesses. Garmin definitely can find more businesses than the TomTom and not just mom and pop stores, but big chain stores too like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, etc.

    Overall we’re very pleased with both and should one die, we will definitely shop TomTom again.

  12. by SS

    I bought this to blow off a gift card to a crappy store. They had it on sale for $99 and its the only thing I could find that sparked my interest. So I expected it to be cheap, slow and non responsive. I opened it up and found the opposite. It picked up a GPS fix in 2 minutes and I could navigate and browse through the device nicely. So for a couple days I thought it was a awesome deal. But then I noticed a few streets were missing that should have been added to any map over 2 years ago. I thought no big deal I just need to plug it in the computer and let it receive some updates. I plugged it in and installed the software and got a few software updates. Then a message popped up and said ” your maps are out of date! Download new updated maps of your area for only $79.99.” Most other brands offer first time update for free and then after that is a one time fee for the life of the unit. Now with my TomTom I know I can almost get there. So if your one of those people who don’t mind pulling out the credit card for stupid occasional fee’s like this then it is a great unit.

  13. by Thomas T. Abbott

    I have had other makes of GPS receivers and feel the Tom Tom’s are much more accurate and easier to use than the other brands I have had. I am very pleased with this Tom Tom.

  14. by E. wilson

    I bought this for my mom as a birthday present. Everything about it was great. The item even arrived 1 day early. Wonderful overall experience.

  15. tt
    by James C. Addison

    the unit was advertised as new but the box had been taped up and the usb cord was missing. also it did not talk, other than that good idea and arrived as scheduled

  16. by Benjamin Schlick

    After doing some research around Amazon I discovered what I thought was accurate information in that tom tom had all free map updates. Could be i just had awful luck in which reviews i chose to read, because they all seemed to point towards the company having free map updates. Truth be told, they don’t. You can get map share updates that people have put into the system as roads change (or they find things tomtom missed) etc. I love my girlfriends garmin nuvi and used it to get to a new job i started about a month ago, until i purchased this. What i’ve come to find is first, you do not get FREE map updates with tom tom. Second, your arrival time is just absurdly off: it will start roughly 20 minutes more time than actual (for an hour drive) and get closer as you arrive to your destination, and I only drive 5mph over like the rest of the free world, the nuvi was dead on from the get-go within 1-4 minutes (again, for an hour drive); also the maps are not accurate, i’ve already found a few roads that are just NOT in the system even though they have been there for years, the roads were in the Nuvi.

    fyi, I do have all updates installed for the gps, maps are even the latest (for now)

    The reason I wanted a GPS of my own was to give me an estimate of when I will arrive at work (since its an hour away.. i know how to get there at this point), especially in the winter when I may be slowed down some. This unit will not accomplish that (at least not when i hop in my car in the morning, or am not w/in 5 miles of the destination). The other thing is the actual road my place of work is isn’t even on the map! Its been there for more than a decade.. Obviously i wanted a gps in general for vacations etc as well, but cannot imagine that going to my satisfaction with this device.

    Do more research before you buy, I wish i would have.

    On a side note, and yes this is somewhat my fault, but the plastic shell these come in will essentially require some combination of a jack-hammer and dynamite to open. I threw what was left of it away before i discovered what a disgrace this gps is. No returns for me..

  17. by Kevin

    As soon as I turned it on, it showed my exact location and when I typed in a destination, the GPS figured it out no problem.

  18. by Thomas Stover

    This was my first car-type GPS and I’ve used it for both long distance and local directions. It has been exceptionally helpful in driving thru large cities on the free-ways by anticipating what lane you need to be in … particularly helpful when pulling a trailer. But it has some weakness in cities as it will tell you to exit one street too soon where streets are close together.

    Its major weakness is that it can give you seriously wrong routing choices. For example, it got me “lost” in Washington DC going in both directions, north and south on I-95, lost in the sense that I ended up on city streets when all I wanted to do was by-pass the city. Routing in remote rural areas is worthless … maybe even dangerously wrong …. adding 100 miles to a 160 mile trip, for example. Routing between Kansas City and Lincoln, NE …. it chose to go up thru Omaha when there is a VASTLY better route.

    I’ve found it best, on long distance trips, to use Mapquest and then manually enter segments of the trip onto the TomTom using their “navigate to” option. Even then, I sometimes have to refer to my printed Mapquest directions rather than follow the TomTom.

  19. by T. ross

    When you buy this update it right away for 2 reasons . First after a few weeks or months it will stop receiving satelite signals and it will probably happen in the middle of a trip when you need it to work the most, Second you will loose your chance to get the free map updates included in the cost which are needed if you live or travel through big city’s where road construction and new roads can throw things off.

    I made these mistakes and actually thought the product was defective even after I updated it. I was freaking out because it would not get a signal afer the update but it worked when I took it out to the car. Update was a success and it was me not the product.

    Me and my husband are new to the Illinois and the Chicago area and once we got this we started going all over the place not to mention no more arguments because we got lost.

    Now I can sit back and enjoy the ride.

  20. by M. Hale

    I purchased this one year ago and it worked fine for about 10 months after which the battery/startup was sporatic. On contacting TomTom they have offered no support in any way, only suggesting a third party for repair. This is a piece of junk. Way overpriced for one year of service

See price and more details at Amazon.com