Anyway, I’ve had this for almost one year. It hasn’t failed me and the software is decent. You can enter your trips over the computer when you are hooked up with the USB.

Sure, there are more advanced models. Yes, I may get one later. But this is a solid GPS for the money.

I went to a retail store so I wouldn’t have to wait for shipping and bought the Tom-Tom One 130. BIG MISTAKE! I used it the next day to drive to South Jersey to a house I have been to several times. I used my Magellan for all previous trips to this house so I was fairly certain of the route. I just used the GPS to check me. It always took me 1 hour and approximately 20-40 minutes to get to the house. Even mapquest says 1 hour 45 minutes.

As soon as I put in the address the Tom Tom calculated 2 hours and 20 minutes to get there…. Why? Mapquest didn’t think it would take that long. Now mind, I had the Tom Tom set to fastest time.

It proceeded to take me off I195 East and dump me onto Route 9. This is by far the worst road to get on for a long distance. Trucks, pedestrians and school zones, etc. The magellan always took me through the pine barrens on 20-40 mile stretches of roads with a 55 mph limit. Route 9 fluctuates from 50 to 25 with most of it being 40. Why would the Tom Tom think that route 9 would be faster??? Because it is a BAD PRODUCT.

On the way home it estimated that it would take me 2.5 hours to get home (home at 630pm). I was home at 530pm. And yes, I speed, but not enough to make up for an hour of travel. The Tom Tom just takes you on really long routes that take you way out of your way.

The user interface is kind of annoying and you definitely can’t just start using it as easily as with a magellan. Sure, it’s got cool features like voice choices and color schemes, but the real reason for it, mapping, is terrible.

Also, it was consistently 15 yards off from all turns. I would say “turn right in 15 yards” on the screen when in reality I had already turned onto where it wanted me to turn. I think Tom Tom made this model awful so that people would spend the extra hundred for speaking street names.

Never buy a Tom Tom, especially this model. It’s awful.

Other customer reviews complain about the speaker volume but, again, I wonder if the problem is with the speaker or with the recorded voice — I downloaded one customer-created voice that had a very low volume compared to those provided by Tom Tom; when I switched back to a Tom Tom-provided voice, the volume was fine. I suspect that most people will find, as I have, that if you 1) have the device positioned so that the speaker is not right up against the mount, 2) use a voice provided by Tom Tom (not one of the customer-recorded ones, which may or may not be recorded at a good volume), and 3) use the software to adjust the volume, then there shouldn’t be a problem hearing the voice as you drive.

Tom Tom 130 makes it easy to create routes & does a nice job of recalculating on the fly. It has some really great features — besides the removable mount, I love the ability to download all kinds of voices and Points of Interest, as well as the Map Share feature (user-supplied map updates, such as roadwork). I also like the ability to create different kinds of routes (walking, biking, driving) and to send locations from Mapquest to my GPS. I think this is a great device for the price. I hope I never have to use the emergency help links, but it’s good to know that they are provided. If I ever find myself having to do a lot of city or freeway driving again, I’ll probably invest in the Traffic Updates add-on.

http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewtopic.php?p=78980#78980

Second, after the fix is applied, this is a great little unit! I have background with just about every brand and model of GPS and even though the on-screen graphics are a bit “bland” and the processor is a bit pokey in this model, it still manages to keep up with the Garmin series nicely. Which is quite a feat!

As you know Garmin uses Navtech mapping data and TomTom uses TeleAtlas data. In the past, TeleAtlas has really been a letdown with its map updates and accuracy. Im happy to report, this is no more. There are roads on the current TA mapset that arent even on my Garmin nuvi 2255W! And both are updated with the latest offered maps!

I do, however, agree that one shouldnt have to open the GPS up just to get the speaker working properly. Apparently quality control was sleeping on this one, but it appears to be only affecting a certain batch(Mine was in that batch), as others report great sound straight out of the package. If you dont feel comfortable with opening up the device, you can try the “beat it” method. Just slap the speaker on the back(easy now) a couple of times to get the stuck speaker cone to unsitck.Some have reported fixing it by only using this method.

After installing the TOMTOM HOME software (directly from the TOMTOM itself) I was prompted by the system to update my software. Okey dokie.

With the new TOMTOM HOME software installed and running I was prompted to upgrade my GPS unit with the latest “version” of its’ operating system. I allowed it, and was rewarded with my actions with a TOMTOM ONE 130 that would not boot. It did, however, flash a menacing red “X” on its’ screen while the software on my Mac told me to unhook the thing and restart it.

I called the customer support line and was told that “these things happen”. I’m a pretty technical guy, and I know that you can sometimes get a bum steer. I asked him if I had purchased a $200 “brick” and the guy told me it sounded like my TOMTOM was beyond hope. No problem. The next morning I headed back to the retail store where I purchased the unit and I exchanged it for a duplicate.

This time I decided NOT to update my TOMTOM or let it get close to my computer until it had gotten me home. 13 hours and 920 miles later, the TOMTOM led me flawlessly to my doorstep, where I promptly booted up my computer, uninstalled all existing TOMTOM HOME applications, reinstalled a fresh version of TOMTOM HOME from the website, and plugged my GPS unit into my computer… looking forward all the while to downloading turn-by-turn instruction by good ‘ol Mr. T once my system was updated with the latest maps, POIs, and doodads.

Same thing happened. I was instructed to unplug the machine and restart it. When I did, I got a blinking “X” and no way to fix it.

Oh, sure… I went to the TOMTOM site and followed the step-by-step troubleshooting tips to wipe out the system and start fresh. And four hours later it was doing the same thing. A second call to tech support revealed that this was incredibly common, and my support analyst even tried to make me believe that it was MY fault that the unit bricked because I was the silly sap who tried to update the stinking thing in the first place.

What a waste! If the sole highlight of your product is its’ flexibility and ability to interface with your computer for updates and customization, then how can you justify such an unbelievably delicate framework that is so prone to critical errors?!

This was a fiasco. I couldn’t believe how I was treated by TOMTOM support and I couldn’t believe that the simple act of plugging the unit in and downloaded the recommended updates could destroy it so easily.

I returned the second faulty GPS unit to a local branch of the retail outlet and purchased a GARMIN NUVI for $50 less. Guess what? It updates flawlessly, tells me where I need to go without a problem (so far), and makes me feel like I spent my money on something worthwhile.

Tip; You may want to download to external drive.

* It takes FOREVER to get a GPS signal. I live in the NYC metro area and take lots of road trips. It takes a long time if I’m in the city, suburbs or the middle of nowhere.

* There seems to be a disconnect between avoiding “some” toll roads, versus avoiding ALL toll roads. If I try to get from NJ to NY without wanting to take the turnpike or garden state (two toll roads), it sends me on an 8 hour trip up through Albany. If it takes 3 tanks of gas and a third of my day to avoid a toll, then don’t bother.

* There also seems to be a lack of understanding what a highway is. If I ask it to avoid “highways” it still puts me on “freeways”, “expressways” and “parkways”. To me, a highway is a road without stoplights. Same as a freeway, same as an expressway, same as a parkway.

* My TomTom has a bad habit of what I call “floating off” the road, especially, and much to my dismay, during exits when I am confronted with 5-6 off ramps in front of me. The navigation arrow will just decide to float off the road into a river or field, leaving me in a state of panic as I try to figure out which ramp to take. (I once even threatened to throw it out the window for this very reason).

* My mount broke within about 3 months. Now granted, my brute of a boyfriend was trying to take the mount off, but still, I would have expected it to be a bit more resilient.

* The battery life on my TomTom is not really good. And if it’s kept off and unplugged for more than 2 days, it won’t even start on unless plugged in.

* The novelty of having different voices wears off very quickly. Who wants to listen to the slingblade guy for SIX HOURS straight on a road trip?

* I think this is just a feature of most GPS’s but, I don’t always know the name of the town. I may have a street name, and know it somewhere near a certain area of the state, but you cannot navigate ANYWHERE unless you have a town name. This is especially annoying in the suburbs, where certain streets run through several towns.

* The “Street Name” feature only works with 3 of the voices available. Of the 3, none of them seem to be able to pronounce well. Now granted, I wouldn’t expect a computerized voice to pronounce “Kosciuszko Bridge” very well but the word “Bridge” shouldn’t like “Brajze”. Just an annoyance.

So after nearly a year, I’ve come to use my TomTom as follows:

1. I use my Blackberry to access google maps because their trip routes are just soooooo much better.

2. I then use the TomTom to ensure that I am following the google maps directions correctly.

3. In ideal situations, my boyfriend drives, I turn off the sound on the GPS and read off the directions to him (the voices are just really annoying, not pleasant at all)

I originally wanted a Garmin, but ended up with the TomTom because I got a good price. I don’t know if the Garmin would actually be any better but the reviews are.