TomTom One XLS Portable GPS Navigator, the Gift of Navigation

Easy to use for mom & dad!

By Sailor Man "Steve"

Purchased the Tom Tom One XLS for 70 year old parents. We needed something EASY to use and large enough for them to see. We took it on a 460 mile test run and it worked very well and was easy to use. The only problem we had was in trying to find a post office in rural South Carolina...it kept leading us to intersections with no post office. It was good at finding restaurants and gas stations, however, which is what they will be using it for. The ETA was reasonably accurate, we always beat it but it may not have taken into account the different speed limit in different states.

Tom Tom XLS

By N. Arfaras

Product is awesome, worked out of the box without updates, used it for a week before obtaining updates. The updates were easily downloaded via the computer, software provided by manufacturer at their website not in box, which is just as well as most software in the box is out dated by the time it gets to the consumer.

Product is exremely easy to use, directions were not needed just power it up, let it find its current location and choose a destination and it maps the way for you giving clear spoken text easily understood while driving. I bought this for my mother and plan on getting one for myself soon.

Very happy with the Tomtom One XLS

By de novo

Having carefully weighed and compared the Tomtom ONE XL-S and the Garmin 650, I settled on the Tomtom. I paid about $268 for the unit. Prior to its arrival, I had a bit of buyers remorse thinking that perhaps I should have gone with the Garmin 650, because I found more reasonably priced units at Costco. Additionally, I was told by various sales people that that the Garmin was more user friendly, and it was the best selling - blah, blah.

Having actually used and played with the Tomtom for about a month now, I am very happy with its ability to take me anywhere I need to go. For me, it never takes more than a moment or two, to acquire satellites (if not immediately), the user interface is straight forward and user friendly. It has lots of points of interest, and I enjoy adding my own in the Favorites list. One caveat, the full manual is online, and one has to play with the unit to figure it out, as the "to how" literature is sparse. Having said that, it's easy to figure out and use.

There are a variety of reasons I chose the XLS over other GPS devices, these include the wider screen, which I think is necessary to freely type in addresses, as well as see a larger view of the map.

In comparison to the Garmin 650, the XLS was cheaper, and didn't have the unnecessary picture viewer or MP3 player. One important factor for me was that the XLS has tons of way points that can be included to plan a route for traveling, while the 650 has only one!

Drawbacks to the XLS include a short battery life, but I don't need it because its plugged into the car. The attachment base is decent, instead of attaching it to the front windshield, I highly, highly, recommend using the "Nav-Mat Portable GPS Dash Mount" - it's absolutely brilliant. I paid about $20 including shipping, and it's quality, and it does precisely what it's suppose to do.

Other things of note include the following: the cord plugs directly into the XLS, while the Garmin 650 cord plugs into the base; the XLS while plugged into the computer through the USB cord (included) will reenergise the battery, however, I personally opted to purchase the Tomtom wall plug in cord - its just easier; password protection requires that you go through Tomtom "Home" the company's software that requires downloading - which was a nuisance; upgrading the unit to the latest software version (Windoze) wasn't an issue as another reviewer had suggested.

I can see the screen in direct sunlight - and it looks good; the unit has (if I recall correctly) 1 Gig of memory, which is mostly filled with the North Am. maps - one can purchase extra memory cards if necessary; finally the unit has the option of shutting down when the vehicle is turned off just like the 650. Overall, I am exceptionally please that I bought the Tomtom XLS. I hope this helps in your hunt. Cheers.