TomTom ONE XL Classic

...After owning a fairly old TomTom for a few years, it was having some problems with charging, and instead of sending it away to get fixed etc, I decided to buy a new one altogether. I am quite loyal to TomTom's - I once bought a Binatone Sat Nav as a spare (it was cheap in a sale), which was absolutely useless and ended up being returned to the store for a refund - and find that the useless Binatone enables me to make comparisons with my new TomTom ...
... The best thing about the TomTom ONE Classic is the fact you can connect it up to your laptop/PC to charge it. Before, I could only charge my old Sat Nav via my car's cigarette lighter, but thanks to the USB cable, you can now charge it via your PC. To be honest though, I've only ever done this once! I think it's slightly easier to charge it whilst you're driving, as you know it won't die of battery and it makes no distracting noises/sounds etc. ... more

INTRO

I do quite a lot of driving, and therefore owning a Sat Nav is an essential part of my life. I also find them helpful when out and about in places I'm visiting, so I can quickly locate a supermarket or a restaurant. After owning a fairly old TomTom for a few years, it was having some problems with charging, and instead of sending it away to get fixed etc, I decided to buy a new one altogether. I am quite loyal to TomTom's - I once bought a Binatone Sat Nav as a spare (it was cheap in a sale), which was absolutely useless and ended up being returned to the store for a refund - and find that the useless Binatone enables me to make comparisons with my new TomTom to other models.
I purchased my TomTom ONE Classic from Argos for around the £130 mark, which is a good price. You can buy several Sat Nav's for a lot cheaper - I've seen some around £50 - but I do believe you get what you pay for, and as I only wanted a Sat Nav with UK maps on it (TomTom ONE Classic comes with Republic of Ireland maps too), it was a great price. You can get Sat Nav's with Europe maps too, but as my parents have one of these, I'd be able to borrow their Sat Nav when I drive abroad!

IN THE BOX, AND THE TOMTOM'S APPEARANCE

Included in the box were:

• The Sat Nav
• Car Charger
• Instructions
• USB Charger
  The best thing about the TomTom ONE Classic is the fact you can connect it up to your laptop/PC to charge it. Before, I could only charge my old Sat Nav via my car's cigarette lighter, but thanks to the USB cable, you can now charge it via your PC. To be honest though, I've only ever done this once! I think it's slightly easier to charge it whilst you're driving, as you know it won't die of battery and it makes no distracting noises/sounds etc. However, if you don't like the hassle of using leads to plug the Sat Nav into the cigarette lighter, you will get a good few hours off a full charge from your PC/laptop without having to charge it during your journey. Plus, I guess it saves on your CAR'S battery, which the Sat Nav uses to power itself.
  Another point I found to be very impressive was how you can upload - for free - new maps onto your TomTom. You get a CD with your device which enables you to download free updated maps onto your TomTom which other users around the UK update for you. You can, of course, opt not to do this, but I personally love this feature. New motorways/roads are being created/adjusted all the time, and buying new Sat Nav's to keep up is only going to hurt your bank balance. You can buy those memory-cards which have new maps included to fit into your existing Sat Nav, but this will save you a lot of money!
  The instructions are clear and tell you exactly how to use your new TomTom, although because I've had one before which was very similar, I didn't take much notice of the instructions! Thanks to the TomTom being 'touch operated', you don't need to carry anything to enable you to use the Sat Nav; you simply use your fingertips. The touch screen is very intuitive and reacts quickly and smoothly, although thanks to the slightly small screen (I'll get to that in a moment), you can occassionally end up pressing the wrong key.
  As I just mentioned, the TomTom ONE Classic is rather small. The Binatone that I purchased was a wide-screen, and I quite liked the appearance of the Sat Nav being wider. The TomTom has a 3.5in screen, and I found this perfectly Ok to look at. The images are crisp, it's very clear and the colours are bright and it's generally very good looking. However, sometimes when I type on the 'QWERTY' keyboard, my fingers will hit another letter/number when I'm typing a destination, and I don't have large fingers. Therefore I can imagine if you have rather chunky fingers, it might be a little tricky to type a destination quickly, and this can be very dangerous if you're driving and leaning over to type on your TomTom. However, it's not TOO small, and I only have this problem rarely. The Sat Nav is very slim, and it no longer has a window bracket which would 'suck' on your window and fit the Sat Nav in its clasps. Instead, there is a bracket attached to the back of the TomTom. I love this feature and think it's a much easier and simpler way to carry your Sat Nav with you. All you have to do is pull the part from the back of the Sat Nav, stick it to your window and twist to hold it in place. The TomTom can then be adjusted so it can now be twisted to face left, right or centre, upwards and downwards etc. It also means it will fit well on virtually any vehicle - older Sat Nav's could be quite difficult to fix up in a sports car, for example, where the window is lower and it can be tricky to get the Sat Nav in a position where you can see it perfectly. Thanks to the 'flexibility' of this TomTom, that issue has been fully resolved.

DOES IT FIND PLACES WELL? RECEIVE GOOD SIGNAL?

This is where the TomTom ONE Classic has to be praised! With the Binatone (which was sent back), the reception and signal was incredibly poor. It would take ages to locate where your car was, and I can honestly say that out of 10 destinations, it would only arrive at one without any trouble once. It wouldn't find many locations, would lose it's signal, and generally you would end up more lost with it than without it!
The TomTom, on the other hand, excels in this area. I travel to many different areas and addresses and it hasn't never failed once. I have had a couple of occassions where it hasn't found certain roads, but if you have a postcode, it will definitely take you right to the front door. Even if it can't find the exact road you're looking for, it'll find one very close, and I have never been lost with it. 9 times out of 10, however, it finds roads, lanes, villages and motorways etc perfectly.
It doesn't find supermarkets very well. That's quite annoying, as I have been parked outside supermarkets before and searched my TomTom for 'shops' and it doesn't seem to realise there is one right next door! However, it does pick up places such as Mc Donalds very well, which is great if you've been on a long journey and your children are pestering for something to eat on the way! It also finds petrol stations and hospitals, amongst many other places, very well too. It's literally impossible to get lost with one of these and I think it's great you can find places to stop whilst travelling. It tells you where you can find zoos, restaurants, places of interest, amusement parks, hotels...it's become quite a valuable device for me!

THE MENU & USABILITY

The menu is clear and easy to look at but it's not the most user-friendly. I have not worked out yet whether you can move certain menu options to the main screen (when you first turn it on), as I have to press through several menu options before I locate where it says 'Postcode' so I can type in the postcode I want to drive to. This is one of my biggest aggreviances, because I imagine when anyone uses a Sat Nav, they use the postcode function the most. However, as I have previously mentioned, the 'touch' is very intuitive and it's fairly simple and easy to get to where you want to go on the TomTom's screen.
The TomTom ONE Classic has the 'voice feature' many Sat Nav's also have, which is great if you're travelling somewhere you aren't familiar with and also means you don't need to take your eye off the road to check where you're going on the Sat Nav. This is probably the SAFEST way to use the TomTom; however, it gets incredibly annoying after 30 minutes or so! The woman voicing the Sat Nav clearly feels a need to tell you to 'turn left' miles before you actually need to turn left, and you have to endure listening to her instructing 'turn left in 2 miles, turn left in 1.5 miles...turn left in 400 yards, 300 yards...etc'. I usually turn the voice feature off, but this does mean that more of my time is spent checking the TomTom to check I'm going the right way. However, it literally takes a quick second to glance at the screen (when it's safe to) and note how many more miles you need to drive before you will take a turning, for example. Believe me, after using a Sat Nav for a while you will soon get used to knowing how long it will take you to complete 15 miles on a motorway, for example! If the roads are busy, though, I turn the voice feature on, because it reduces the risk of an accident as I have my eyes fully focused on the road rather than glancing at the Sat Nav.
If you come across an unfortunate road accident and need to re-route, your TomTom will do this for you. The TomTom also allows you to find the 'fastest route', so you can arrive at your destination by using the more direct roads, for example.

DOES IT RECOGNISE YOUR SPEED & SPEED CAMERAS?

The TomTom ONE Classic certainly does recognise your speed and speed cameras. It is fairly well known that the speedometer you see in your car is set to be slightly over the speed you're actually driving - for example, when your speedometer in your car reads that you're driving at 30mph, you're actually only driving about 27mph or 28mph. The TomTom will actually tell you how fast your driving, so even though it may look as though you're driving at 53mph on your car's speedometer, you're actually doing 50mph. It's very clever but personally I prefer to stick to my car's speedometer as it is easier to see and I'd rather be a little under the speed limit than over it and risking a speeding fine! The best thing about this feature is it tells you the speed limit of the area you're driving through. Sometimes if you're concentrating on finding your way around, you don't realise what the speed limit is in that particular area and it could incur a fine and/or points on your license. The TomTom tells you whether the speed limit is 30mph, 40mph, 70mph etc, so I personally love this and refer to it quite a lot.
It tells you where speed cameras are located but not Police vans which set themselves up in areas to catch motorists rather than using the speed cameras you sometimes see on roads. Really, you shouldn't be breaking the speed limit anyway, but it is nice to know where speed cameras are located so you are extra cautious about checking how fast you're driving.

POSITIVES

• If you're driving somewhere unfamiliar, a Sat Nav is a must! If you're more accustomed to map-reading, then this is perfectly fine as long as you have someone in the car with you who can read the map to you. Reading a map is extremely dangerous if you're the driver, and therefore Sat Nav's are essential in that respect.
• Some might find them a little expensive, but they're very valuable devices if you make many journeys and want to make them run smoother. They also warn you of upcoming traffic, and if there are diversions, the TomTom will guide you on another route. Even if you're driving in a fairly local area, being sent on a diversion might end up with you feeling utterly lost and using more petrol/diesel finding your way on the right road again!
• You can drive anywhere you want, and if you're feeling hungry or running low on petrol/diesel, the TomTom will navigate you to the nearest restaurant/petrol station.
• It may not be a widescreen but it is still easy to use and looks very attractive.
• The slim design makes it lighter and easier to carry.
• Now the window bracket is attached to the back of the TomTom, it means less for you to carry in your car.
• The USB cable allows you to charge the Sat Nav via your PC/laptop, saving your car's battery.
• The TomTom's signal strength is fantastic and it finds destinations with ease.
• It tells you your speed.
• It can alert you to speed cameras.
• The battery life is very impressive. I would say it lasts a good couple of hours, if not more, on a single charge.
• TomTom are a very good brand - you know you are getting a great device for your money.

NEGATIVES

• No holding case came with the TomTom. I like to keep my possessions scratch free and seeing as most people put their Sat Nav's in their bags when they aren't using them, keys and such-like can scratch the screens and consequently make them difficult to see when being used. However, I bought a TomTom case off eBay after purchasing this for less than £5.
• The fact it isn't widescreen might cause some problems to a few people who may find it's quite tricky to type on with bulky fingers!
• It can be dangerous to use whilst driving. Some drivers type on the Sat Nav whilst driving and common sense knows if your eyes aren't focussed on the road, you're liable to cause an accident. I ALWAYS pull over when I need to use my Sat Nav. It only takes a few moments to pull over or pull onto the hard shoulder of a motorway to adjust the TomTom if you've changed your mind over your destination - there's no need to put your life and others lives at risk.

TIP

* ALWAYS remove your Sat Nav from your window. Sat Nav's, especially expensive ones like TomTom's and Navman's, are a thief's dream so make sure you wipe the windscreen, which shows marks of the Sat Nav's 'suction' bracket, and is a real giveaway for thieves.

CONCLUSION

Having used this new TomTom ONE Classic for around 3 months now, I'm very happy with it. I'll always buy TomTom Sat Nav's, because I've always had pleasant experiences with their devices. They've always worked well, never had to be repaired, and even though my old TomTom had some issues with charging, it was over 3 years old and I was ready to upgrade to a newer one anyway. As you can see from this review, the positives far outweigh the negatives, and I would thoroughly recommend this TomTom ONE Classic if you're looking to buy one for yourself.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review and I hope if you are looking to purchase a Satellite Navigation system for yourself, you'll purchase this one!

Thanks, Sonic4290
 

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