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I originally owned a magellan maestro which was stolen, so purchased a cheapo, which did the job, but I missed the bluetooth handsfree option on the magellan. If your looking for a good mid price range gps bluetooth, get the magellan. I've had problems with the car icon stopping at a point where it wanted me to turn until I proceded a few more blocks, and still tried to route me to the same road even though I was at a position close to my destination.
I realize that sometimes you might get a lemon, but it just seems that there was not much thought into being driver friendly, for example.Options menu-to many pushes of the button, and will take you back to the map, not the menu if you hit the wrong option and want to go back.Bluetooth-Is for a wireless data connection, and not for use as a handsfree device, as most people would expect.Routing-does not have a least use of freeway or fastest route etc. Also the car icon will not change unless you are in the 3d mode. I decided to try something different, and heard good things about tomtom, so I purchased a one xl.
The magellan would automatically route you to whatever route you took before, and didn't try to re-route you on every cross street.Destination-It tells you when you reached your destination, but it doesn't tell you what side of the road its on, which has left me in the middle of the road gawking at strip mall signs.Voice option-it's not in the manual,but you have to use the computer option voice for it to announce street names. You need to put your route in then do a alternate route, more buttons. It also seems pretty stubborn about routing you back to its original route when you stray from it.
Out of the other 2 gps's I had, the tomtom would rank third on routing and poi's.
Additionally, when we've encountered tie-ups and exit off the pre-determined path, TomTom reconfigures back to the road just exited, instead of setting an alternate.We still love our TomTom, and its use has eased a lot of driving stress by alerting us to upcoming turns with specific, advance instruction and repitition. And when we're out of town with no map.hoo hah.When this basic TomTom was a Friday deal for $108, it was certainly worth trying. We carry maps, to which he refers, but in general, he ultimately shouts about the street we can't locate on a two-year old map. Map upgrades must be purchased. When we finally got to the highway entrance ramp, it was permanently closed, which was not indicated on TomTom.On another day, TomTom completely blew an address. Actually, the current price of $399 is a little steep for its refurbished state and lack of features.
It took us right to the front door. On our 'maiden voyage', we headed for a location about 50 miles north, in what turned out to be a subdevelopment. Boy, were we impressed. We use American English, which is quite clear and doesn't sound computerized. My husband is one of those guys who resists asking directions. After the second stop, upon touching 'Home', TomTom wanted to take us back to the first destination and then home. The confusion landed us in a very sketchy, completely unfamiliar location.
We were nowhere near where we needed to be, because there are no points of interest as destinations. It is address specific, regardless of the type of destinaton.This version has no information on traffic patterns or construction. Despite being refurbished, the unit arrived in an original box and looked new--no scratches, marks or any sign of use.There are limitations. This has been a tremendously good investment for the $108 price. Thinking and attentiveness are still required, since TomTom doesn't drive.If you're a casual driver, this TomTom is all you need.
The maps are clear and all the numbers easy to read. We set directions for two stops from our home. However, if your life is on the road to unfamiliar places, you may want to upgrade. The newest model is $349 with a case on the TomTom site.
This is a great GPS, very easy to use and get where you need to go. However, the suction cup is not all that great and it keeps falling off my windshield. Also, it takes a long time to find a GPS signal even out on a road with no blockage. Otherwise, I really enjoy this product.
this is a great product. only a slow person cannot understand how to use it.
The product itself is a pretty decent and functional GPS if it HAS the most recent maps. Their technical assistance is also professional and competent once they have determined that the free map update applies to your purchase. I've learned this in a hard way although I'd indeed called before ordering to make sure that there exists a 30-day free map-update policy generally but without asking specifically for this product.
Most important thing is to make sure that you understand all of the conditions applied to purchasing a refurbished product from TomTom. But I do give the credit to a manager from TomTom who has offered me a free map update to their 2nd to the last version of map software after I'd escalated the issue to him after having spent much time on the phones and emails. One feature that it misses is that it cannot toggle automatically between day and night display modes like the Garmin GPSs do, a feature that I found useful.
The latter was the cause for the trouble that I've been through since no one at TomTom volunteered informing me of the details. So call TomTom first before ordering and ask SPECIFICALLY whether or not the 30-day free map-update policy applies to the product that you're interested in. Not all of the refurbished products come with the 30-day free map-update offer (most of them do not) as some of the reviews suggested.
The explanation was that TomTom was bound by the contract they have with the map software company. Finally, be aware of the potential issue of disk space for the new version may require more space than available on the product.
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