Customer Reviews

TomTom ONE 130-S 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I had an old C320 Garmin GPS that I bought only 2 years ago and the touch screen was freezing up randomly for several months so I decided to get a new Garmin nuvi 200. I exchanged the Garmin nuvi 200 for the Tom Tom 130S mainly because the Garmin nuvi 200 did not have speech for street names. The Garmin nuvi 260 announces street names but was $250. The Tom Tom 130S was on sale for $199 so I decided to try it out although I was a little hesitant since I'm a big Garmin fan. I'm happy about my exchange. It's plusses surpass its minuses:
My favorite features:
-The mount is awesome, it's foldable and the Tom Tom snaps out easily.
It's also very lightweight and can be easily stored with the Tom Tom for
easy transportability
-You can easily connect to computer for instant upgrades and map changes.
-It's fun! You can download your favorite celebrity voices. I have Mr.
T and Yoda
-It's got separate emergency contacts such as roadside assistance,
hospitals, police
-Upload to satellite time is very quick
-The volume of the voice changes automatically with your driving speed
-You can preplan an itinerary with more than one stop (you can't do that with Garmin)
Some things that can be improved:
-battery lasts only 3 hours, my old Garmin can outlast that...but TomTom
130S has improved from its older ONE models
-Menu is more complicated than Garmin so if your not tech savvy you might not like this. However, it certainly has more features than the Garmin nuvi 200

Have owned this for a week. It replaces our Garmin Nuvi 350 that was stolen from our car. My fault - I accidentally left it on the windshield when coming home late one night, and it was gone the next day. The Tomtom has a visual warning not to do this, which appears briefly when turned off - so this will never happen to us again!

We did not especially like our Garmin (and I reviewed that last year). Although (current discounted) prices and high-level features are similar, here is where the Tomtom is better:

- It is much faster at locking on to the satellites, and noticeably quicker at calculating a route. When you make a wrong turn, it doesn't give that annoying warning but rapidly updates the directions.

- The speed in "demo" mode is easily configurable (e.g. to 3x real speed) which is very handy.

- Although the maps look a bit uglier, the real-time zoom is nice, using the slider a la Google maps. Zooming with the Garmin was fiddly.

- My favourite feature is the ability to press a couple of icons to avoid a specific segment of the current route. Don't want to go down Broadway, and don't want the device whining at you all the way? No problem! It is not perfect, and it will sometimes attempt to sneakily reroute you back to a later section of that road, but as all the steps are listed on one screen you can rapidly add/remove points as necessary.

- Downloadable and VERY easily replaceable voices (some free, some for 10 or 20 bucks). Drag-and-drop from your Mac/PC, no software required.


Of course it's not perfect:

- The speaker volume is no better than the Garmin, despite its large size. By default it is adequate; however, in "text to speech" mode (computer voice) it is practically inaudible with any engine noise. This is with the volume set to 100% and the "link to car speed" turned OFF. (I noticed enabling this option would set a lower volume at slower speeds, and only increase to the "set" volume later on.) I have heard similar reports on other reviews (e.g. CNET), so plan to wait a month until the next batch is manufactured, then return the unit to Tomtom for a warranty exchange.

- The screen has a relatively plasticky feel compared with the Garmin.

- Minor gripe: it is not obvious that you are meant to twiddle a ring on the suction cup to stick it to your windshield - as without doing this it will still stick reasonably well, until you go over a bump. However this is MORE than outweighed by the joy of having the suction cup fold into the back of the device, for quick & easy portability / storage.


In conclusion: to whoever stole our Garmin, we ended up with a better product - so nyah!

UPDATE June 29: I explained the volume problem to Tomtom who unhesitatingly said it was a known issue. I returned the unit to Tomtom and they shipped me a brand new unit a week later. The two computer voices (the second one - male USA - is a free download) are slightly softer than the recorded voices, but even at 70% they are now more than loud enough at high speeds, and at 100% they are so loud you can hear the distortion: unquestionably louder than our old Garmin 350. I really like that the volume is lowered at slower speeds.

I would echo another reviewer who says to use the MENU to disconnect the device. Even when the software updates and it says "please unplug & restart" you still need to select the menu item so you get the message explicitly saying "It is now SAFE to unplug". The first time you connect your unit, be sure to use the Backup menu before doing anything; that way if there is a problem you can easily reformat & restore (it's just a USB drive to your computer so if you have a backup, you can recover from anything, which is handy).

After some more trips, we still feel it's very accurate. Of course it's just a computer, and its attempted pronunciation of the more obscure place names is entertaining, so do watch the street signs; also while it's usually quite good at getting the lane correct, on occasion you'll hear the contradictory "Keep left, and take the exit on the right" which isn't much help in traffic unless you were paying attention to the signs!

This is my first GPS. It fuctions as advertised, and so far, nearly every trip has been correctly mapped out by the 130S. Just a few notes to be aware of: There is only one voice option that will allow text-to-speech, which means that if you use another voice option or a downloaded voice, you lose the street name announcements. For me, this means I am limited to the one voice. That's fine with me, but if you simply must have Mr. T give you directions, you will not hear street names. Also, the text to speech isn't perfect. "Br" - which is how the word "bridge" is abbreviated on the screen - is always pronounced "branch" by the 130S. Also, some words are so far off their correct pronunciation that they are unrecognizable, such as "Goethals Bridge", which comes out "Goot - halls - branch". But the text-to-speech is generally OK.

My wife complains that the mount is hard to set on the windshield, and that it falls off. I have not had any problems with the mount.

I had to call to find this out, but the 130S will charge off a computer using the supplied USB cable, so you may not want to pay up for the AC charger option.

Recently, I was trying to find a street address in Brooklyn, NY, but for some reason, the 130S would not let me enter a house number. As soon as I entered the street name, it took me to the map. This only happened once so far, so I guess it's no big deal.

Features I find useful: The variable volume setting, which increases or decreases speaker volume based on your speed. It works well. The "home" and "recent destination" options are quick ways to set up the 130S, and allows you enter the destination at home, shut it down, then retrieve the destination once you're in the car. Screen is very readable (I don't see why a larger screen is useful).

TomTom customer support has been pretty good. You can get a live person quickly, and the one time I called, I got a knowledgable, courteous customer service rep.

Finally, the 130S is fast - it locks onto the signal quickly, and can recalculate quickly, too, which is great if you miss a turn.

The 130S is a great GPS and a great value!

After reading the reviews and trying to comparison shop I recently purchased the Tom Tom One 130 S. The first unit I had, the sound level was so low as to be barely audible even at 100%. I spent an hour on the phone with the very nice lady at customer service downloading all sorts of stuff and it made no difference.

Traded it in for another unit and the same. Spent much time on the phone and the second unit was only marginally better.

Can not hear the directions with the windows open.

The Magellan I rented once from Hertz, blew off the windows.

Back this unit will go and my quest will continue.

By the way, other than sound, it performed well.

I'm a first time GPS buyer.

A few weeks ago Teenage Daughter and I took a road trip from the Deep South to Toronto. Usually my husband and I share the driving on such trips, and once we enter a city I do the navigating. This time around I knew that I would do all the driving since Teenage Daughter only recently received her learner's license. I wanted our trip not to be stressful but rather relaxed without having Teenage Daughter looking constantly at a map and feeling the pressure to navigate in unknown territory. We both decided to look into a navigation system, but also did not want to spend too much money. I am an avid reader of Consumer Reports and checked out their recent ratings on navigation systems, and of course I read all the amazon reviews. The TomTom ONE 130-S looked like a good and affordable choice. But you never know what you are really getting unless you put the system up to the test. And this model - we named ours "Tamara" - passed the mother-daughter road trip test with flying colors.

This TomTom lets you put in a final destination (address or a Point of Interest = POI), and then it will guide you from your current location or you can plan your trip/s further ahead. So off we went. If you use the computer voice, the TomTom will not only tell you the directions but also the street names which I found rather helpful when driving in a place I am not familiar with. Yes, you can also download the voice of Bart Simpson and others, but of course you cannot expect for the voice to have recorded all street and place names in the world (or the maps you are using), so you will get only directions which can be confusing, at least it was for me. If you just wish to show off and/or impress your friends while driving in your surroundings, then go ahead. Speaking in a pleasant sounding computer voice (you have several options to pick from) Tamara never once led us astray. We liked that the system came already loaded with the maps of Canada, no additional purchase needed. During the trip we felt the need to stop several times at Dairy Queen. Teenage Daughter simply picked up Tamara, and in no time we knew when the next DQ would come up and of course Tamara led us there if we wished so. Don't panic, you are not tied to DQ as your only option for food - you can also look for other places to eat. The evening before every section of the trip we looked up online where we wanted to go on the way: art museums, H&M stores (the Swedish clothing stores with great affordable fashion), outlet malls with the occasional stop at Trader Joe's to stock up on food and the like. Teenage Daughter punched in the address, and off we went the next morning. We had no trouble to navigate through Nashville, Columbus, Cleveland or Toronto. Tamara told me in advance when I had to turn so I could prepare to change lanes. The instructions were clear, and the monitor lets you see exactly where you are and also shows you when to turn. I used the 3D view, but you can also have the map view option. I also liked that the system told me in advance in which lane to keep after a turn in case I needed to turn again. The major test came when we were driving on small roads through Ohio Amish country. Suddenly we faced a closed road more or less in the middle of nowhere. Tamara found an alternative route without a problem. At one point she directed us using rather small roads (for a small section), and we looked at each other rather doubtfully, but she had picked the correct route, and we indeed saved a lot of time by following her when I later checked a map.

All in all we were and still are very happy with our purchase. This model is very affordable, and it also allows for upgrades on current traffic problems. If you drive a lot, that could come in handy, but with the alternative route option, we did not see the need for such a subscription. So plug the thing in, and you are ready to go. An initial loading of the battery is recommended by the manufacturer, which we did. The system attaches rather easily to the windshield, no problems at all. I had read complaints about the system falling to the floor and breaking. If you follow instructions, meaning making sure that the system is snapped in securely, and you know that when you hear a clicking sound and pull and it stays safe in place, you will have no problem whatsoever. If you do not screw the lid of the milk container tightly, and you turn the container and the milk gushes out, it is neither the fault of the carton nor the milk; you, the consumer, are responsible for this malfunction. Initially I asked Teenage Daughter every time if Tamara was securely clicked in place, and after an annoyed look Teenage Daughter would check, and indeed, there were times where Tamara was ready to pop out, so just make sure that the system is locked in, a clicking sound will let you know.The model fits comfortably into a purse and is light weight.

After following this TomTom for about 2400 miles I can only say that I would by this system again. And of course you do not need to name your TomTom "Tamara." How about "Natascha" or "Boris"?

This is an excellent GPS navigator for the price. It is full-featured: gives clear directions, the screen is visible in sunlight, the sound perfectly adequate. If I had never attached it to a computer, I would rate it five stars. But that's not what I want to write about here.

The problems started when I installed the "TomTom Home" software on my computer. The GPS connects over USB and shows up as disk drive. The software is stored on the device, ready-to-install. First problem: It came with an old version which immediately crashed.

I downloaded the newest version of Home - which worked much better. It connected to the internet and said that it had found an update to the GPS software, I let it autoupdate to 8.010. New problem: the GPS now wouldn't restart in navigate mode (flashing X of death). The software update bricked my shiny new GPS, right out of the box.

The solution was to reformat the GPS and reinstall all software on it. There is no installation CD/DVD that will do a "factory reset", so you have to: use the Home software to take a copy of all the modules to your computer; reformat the drive using Explorer; download and install the latest app using Home (restart it a few times to make sure it upgrades to the latest version and cures the flashing X); restore the maps and any other modules using Home. Warning: TomTom will charge you $80 if you accidentally erase the maps and need to download them again - so be careful.

Eventually I got everything working - and it is a nice product. I'm happy with it as a GPS device - but based on my abysmal setup experience, I wouldn't recommend it without serious reservations.

I bought this item because a friend owns the Tom Tom One which is great and cheap. I bought the 130S since I wanted the voice to also tell me the street names. This product works as well as the old and simple Tom Tom One and has only one flaw but this is really the decisive one: YOU CANNOT HEAR IT! Even turned up to the max, you cannot hear it. The sound is approximately 30% or less as loud as the old Tom Tom One. And sound is really want counts on this product. I even shipped it back to Amazon and they were so nice to send me new one. But still the same. Inaudible sound! So it is the product and not my model. I called the company (TomTom) and they admitted that the sound does not work well on the 130S. DO NOT BUY! You will regret it.

TomTom One 130S 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished)]
Unit arrived with 15 month old maps. You do not receive one free update to current map as stated. You can update to current map for $60 which then makes unit $28 more that new unit with free update. What a deal. Link to page that states all TomTom's have latest maps available; [...]

Pros: It will eventually get you where you want to go (especially if you already know how to get there.) The 130S version will read the street names out loud, which turns out to be a necessity. The 130 version will only say "Turn here" which is usually confusing.

Cons:
Streets built within the last 3 years are not on the map or map updates. (my own home street, for example, plus several MAJOR roads in my city).

Many streets that have not existed for up to 15 years ARE on the map. Several times I have been instructed to pull off into the ditch to an imaginary road.

Regional map updates cost $60. However, they are not true updates (see above comments) Customer service rep states there is NOT a way to preview a "new" map to see if it contains the updates you need. You have to spend $60 and hope for the best. Nationwide map updates cost $120.

MapShare feature is misleading. You CAN share map corrections regarding street names. You can NOT share corrections regarding the streets that are missing from the map or streets that do not exist in real life. Nor can you correct these on your own map.

For almost every trip, after the unit finds the "fastest" route, you then have to force the unit to re-route through a specific city or road that you know is faster. Then the unit will indicate that the estimated time of your route is actually FASTER than the "fastest" route. And it doesn't learn from it's mistakes.

The windshield suction cup will stop working in about 3 months. It will fall off your windshield over and over again.

This is a great unit, for all the reasons listed by other five star reviewers. The routes calculate fast, and the position is quite accurate. BUT, the voice cannot be heard. Period. Volume set to 100%, windows up, radio off, stitting still in the driveway - the voice is garbled and inaudible. If you are going to buy this Tomtom, save your money and buy the Tomtom 130. Who cares if it doesn't say the street names; you can't hear it?

I love the unit. I'm keeping the unit. I only wish I could hear the voices.