One 125 Impressions

[Javan]

So, I bought this as a gift for the wife since she was heading for a girls weekend in Syracuse (this past weekend). I spent Friday figuring out how it worked and explaining the operation to her. Her friend that rode with her also had a GPS, but it was a higher end model (maybe a 325 or 350). Both worked well, but I think that we will be upgrading as well.

Hits:
-Good display
-Decent battery life
-Cheap price
-small (fits easily in coat pocket)

Misses:
-Does not come with a map of Canada (we live on the border), the higher end model does.
-Does not tell you the name of the street you are turning onto (the higher end model does.)
-The suction cup does not work on the glass easily. I had it on for a minute then decided to change locations, and it would not go back on.

I think I will look at the 325 or 350, but all-in-all, I like the Tom-Tom. Seems like a good product, just realized that the low price was a good incentive, yet I want more.

Oh, a rant about the map. Currently, Walmart is selling the 125 for $99. The map for Canada is $65 I believe. Or I can buy the 140 for $110 and it includes the maps of US and Canada. It boggles the mind why T-T does not include the map of Canada. Oh well.

 

[dhn]

The 130 was the low end TomTom model and did include a map of Canada. Then TomTom decided to bring out an even lower end model last year JUST for the States with just the US map.

 

[Javan]

I was bitten by the "low-price" bug. If I lived in a more interior area of the states, I would keep it. But since I live on the border and half my family lives in Qc, I will opt for a better model.

 

[dhn]

A poster in another forum reports that on 'Black Friday', Costco (in Ct) will be selling the 335S for under $100!

Check if thats the case where you live. That model has US and Canada plus IQ routing and Advanced Lane Guidance (for the States).

No FM, sd slot or MP3 player but a heck of a price for a model like that.

 

[Javan]

Got the XL340S

Ordered online from Walmart last Monday and picked it up on Friday.

So far I like it. The maps seem accurate and the naming of streets is a feature that I did not not think I would miss, but I like that feature quite a bit as it turns out. Time will tell how much we like it in the future, but so far, I like it.

One feature I wish it had, I have used Garmins with this, is a way to browse POI's based on certain criteria. For instance, I did not see any way to search for a Mexican restaurant unless I knew the name. I could only browse the list of restaurants near a city, etc. Another oddity I found was that I could not search for a ski area, or more to the point, it would not find any ski areas, when I would search for a ski area, it came up with nothing, even though I live within 1.5 hrs of several great North Eastern areas.

 

[dhn]

Even the high end models of TomTom don't have the capacity for sub-categories within categories of pois. Often requested, but....

There are sites on the web where custom pois can be downloaded to add to those already included with the map you have.