I’m not new to GPS devices, so I’m probably the right guy to give advice. I have two built-in units and a Garmin i5. I like the TomTom fine, and the screen quality, even though smaller than my others, is just as good. I like the way that it was quite usable. I got it up and going quickly, and I was pleased with the TomTom's website, more so than with the Garmin’s because the TomTom Home site is friendlier and more intuitive. There are some basic problems with this edition of the TomTom though. Its lack of clear voice commands is a major problem for first-time GPS users. While calling turns out in yards might be okay for some, the fact that it doesn’t call out street names and that it uses yards instead of feet make it particularly hard to know for sure which is the correct turn.

The TomTom 3rd edition is simple, easy to use, but as with most low-end products, you do pay a price. In busy highways, such as in cities with several lanes of traffic, the voice sometimes comes too late, causing a major problem. Even if the GPS reroutes quickly, it is nevertheless annoying to miss a major turn. If you plan to have your family drive in a car with this GPS installed, you will probably want to step up in price a little to get a bigger screen so that you don’t have to look at it so often, one that speaks out in feet, and one that calls out street names. You will find it safer for your family.

The tiny TomTom One, although the basic TomTom GPS model, offers exceptional quality and the most important devices that the higher end models have. The clear multi-color screen makes maps easy to use and easy to see. The device shows routes, maps, directions, and travel information like distance and mileage. A compact 3.5 inches, the device’s resolution still offers a 320 x 240 with two and three dimensional images on its screen. A surprising feature in the TomTom is that you can add your own POIs. The device will allow you to plan all your stops ahead of your trip and will give you choices of routes you could choose from. For example, you could choose the most scenic route, the route with the fewest toll roads, or the quickest. This TomTom logs your recent trips, and it includes zip codes to help you both program your device faster and to calculate your destination more accurately. You won’t have to worry about glare with this model, plus this one has a compass to orient you. The TomTom One 3rd Edition gives you voice instructions for every turn in over 30 languages. You can listen to many comedians’ voices for free with some other downloadable ones available at a small cost. A particularly useful feature is that TomTom modulates its voice according to the speed of the car. If the road noise gets stronger, the GPS gets louder, and vice-versa. An excellent additional feature that makes it good for every driver, even the elderly who might have problems with hearing. You might not know that TomTom has an easily reachable Home site that allows them to update the newest maps and software for free. You can also download funny character voices plus celebrity voices for use with your unit. It can help you pre-plan you itineraries, and get traffic alerts as well.

Supported Languages:

Spoken navigation instructions come in the following languages: