Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very nice!, 21 Dec 2008
I bought this unit for my father to use. I already have a TomTom ONE V2 which has been working fine for the last three years of ownership.
The same map and voices exist so I can compare the two quite easily (I updated the maps on my original unit).
The ONE XL V2 is thinner, wider and generally 'nicer' in comparison. The unit has a wider, more easily accessible 'on' button so your fingers don't hurt.
The touchscreen works just as well as the ONE V2. The larger screen allows for a larger keypad, making typing in addresses that little easier. The widescreen allows for more information in the status bar. This now includes a 'planned time of arrival' and an 'estimated time of arrival' so it flags up whether you're gonna be late or early.
The speedometer in the corner has also been adjusted. It now displays 70/70 to indicate you're doing 70mph in a 70mph zone. If you go over the speed limit eg 90/70, then it highlights it in red so you know you're over the speed limit. Works well most of the time but there are a few roads where the speed limit has been adjusted and it hasn't been updated on the unit.
My unit also included some speed cameras, though I already have my own speed camera subscription from elsewhere (PGPSW).
In terms of directions and mapping, the unit is as quick as the old ONE.
Another huge difference is the mount. Whereas on the old unit, the mount came as a separate unit, this one is built on to the unit and is far superior. Instead of a suction cup on the end of an arm attached to the mount, the suction cup is now attached to a hinged arm which is in turn attached to a bezel on the unit. This means you can quite easily attach and adjust the mount without too much hassle. The cup has a screw-ring which presses the cup to the window for a firm attachment.
The USB socket is now recessed. This makes it easier to insert the USB in-car charger without having to remove the unit from the window.
There is also no SD card or flash memory slot. I used to have issues with sticking my old unit to the window because occasionally I'd inadvertently eject the memory card due to to its position. However, it did make it easier to remove the card and stick it into my card reader rather than having to faff around with USB cables, which is something you'll have to do with this unit. I would have preferred a hinged cover over a memory card slot to protect it but still make it easy to extract.
All-in-all, this is a vastly improved product. Just remember to buy a suitable case and a home charger too.
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great product..., 10 Dec 2008
I'm a new owner of a TomTom One XL, and I thought I should share my impressions. I've been a massive fan of sat-nav since getting one built into my Toyota Avensis - a first-generation CD-based affair that doesn't display maps but uses spoken and visual directions. I've always been awful at navigation - and even this basic sat-nav got me to my destination - usually without a hiccough.
Many people recommended the TomTom to me based upon ease of use - and, while it has been my plan to get a TomTom rather than buy my next car with Sat-Nav included... family (noticing my struggle to reverse engineer a postcode to an address for my antique built-in device; realising that upgrade CDs for the maps cost upwards of £150...) splashed on this unit for me as a birthday present.
First, my gripes: it is frustrating that the power connector stands proud of the bottom of the unit - it would be neater if it didn't... and while the unit (optionally) turns itself off when power is cut, it needs to be turned on manually. Mounting the device in the car is also a bit of a pain - I do wish car manufacturers would agree a standard form-factor for sat-nav units and design their dashboards to accommodate.
In other respects, I think the device is fantastic. The maps are clear (once I'd switched from 3D to 2D, at least) and entering a new address is a breeze compared to my built-in unit. The instructions are clear and straightforward - the customisable voice being a nice touch.
In summary, for the price, this is an awesome bit of kit... though it is not without imperfections. As a demonstration of what can be achieved in an inexpensive unit, it gives me great hope that future versions will integrate better into car dashboards... and that a unit such as this could combine an MP3 player with hands-free with internet-based live traffic update. This TomTom isn't perfect - but it is getting there... and I'm very pleased to have it now. It is, in my opinion, leaps and bounds ahead of both the Garmin and Navman units I've borrowed... and it makes my built-in sat-nav look positively prehistoric.
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59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good product but awful customer service - don't buy if you want traffic service, 2 Dec 2008
I've used one form or another of TOMTOM satnav software for several years now - starting with the TOMTOM software on my old PDA. I finally bought a dedicated TOMTOM One XL a few months back, and the device itself is OK. It's not the fastest SatNav on the market, in terms of route planning, which can be frustrating if you get stuck in traffic and want to reroute, but by far my biggest gripe with TOMTOM is the customer service. They still act like a small start up company, not one of the largest satnav providers in the world. On 8th October the Traffic Service went down, and it has not come back - nearly 2 months later! I paid for the Traffic Subscription where updates are sent to the device via your mobile phone and bluetooth connection. The service has got progressively worse this year, often being out of date and rarely accurate, and it finally failed completely on 8th October with a message saying "the service is not yet available in your country". TOMTOM finally recognise that this is a major problem affecting many users, and now have a standard reply on their (very basic) support website, advising that it is a top priority to resolve the problem. It's clearly not that important or it wouldn't still be down 2 months later, and clearly not as important as advertising their top of the range traffic service (HD traffic) which will cost you nearly a tenner a month (I just got emailed advertising this as a 'current user of traffic'). No way would I pay this as I just don't trust them to resolve problems once they've got your money. A shame, as the device itself is easy to use, and now at a good price. I'm not sure I would buy another one from them though.
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