TomTom ONE 130 Review (Tom Tom 130 S)

The TomTom ONE 130 is TomTom's newest compact and most basic navigation. It does not feature a whole lot of bells and whistles but it does offer a very easy-to-use menu and operation.
The TomTom ONE 130 features a more compact 3.5" touchscreen LCD monitor that features an anti-glare design, but is about an inch smaller than the more common and becoming standard 4.3" LCD screens. It is also a much slimmer design than most portable GPS navigation unit, measuring at only 1" thick, about 3" in width and under 4" in length. It is also very light and could fit in pockets, purses, and really anywhere you want it to be as it only weighs 6.1 ounces.
The ONE 130 has a built-in map database that does need any additional media for navigation such as additional SD cards, although the unit is fully capable of POI updates through its USB connection. The TomTom ONE 130 features a smaller 5 million points of interest database, but it's good to know that it's fully capable of future updates. Keep in mind that despite having only 5 million points of interest, the unit is relatively compact, so having 5 million POIs isn't a bad thing. It'll still still have most of your favorite places to go.
Its navigation features are pretty standard for TomTom, featuring quick-route calculations, toll/highway avoidance, or fastest/shortest route guidance. It also has 2D/3D perspective navigation with voice guidance and text-to-speech technology. The menus and the graphical user interface is very easy to use-- a signature TomTom design. Like most of TomTom GPS products, the TomTom ONE 130 features an emergency function that will display emergency contact locations and numbers for nearby police stations, fire stations, and hospitals. It even allows the user to locate their own location such as GPS coordinates and nearest cross-streets.

In addition, the TomTom ONE 130 also could also receive TomTom PLUS services, which allow users the ability to receive traffic information, additional navigation voices, and updated points of interest. The mounting kit is actually part of the unit and folds quite nicely, maintaining its slim profile.

In the end, the TomTom ONE 130 is simply a navigation unit without any audio or video playback support, so don't be looking for this feature on the unit. The TomTom ONE 130 is a nice entry level GPS navigation device that is quite cheap and a nice fit for anyone needing a very useful GPS navigation device.

Mio Moov 310 / 300 Review

Note: Mio Moov 310 and Mio Moov 300 are identical with 1 year Traffic messaging service included in the Mio Moov 310

Pros
The Mio Moov 310 is one of the most stylish and feature packed portable GPS navigation system available at such an affordable cost. The Moov 310 features a 4.3" widescreen LCD monitor that is almost 1" bigger than most GPS navigation devices at this price.
The Moov 310 joins a handful of GPS devices that is considered the thinnest on the market, measuring at less than 3/4" thick. The stylish and compact design of the Mio Moov 310 houses a powerful Samsung 400 MHz processor with 1GB of internal memory. This attractive GPS device also features a 20-channel GPS receiver with a SiRFStar III chipset with the new Instant Fix II technology. The processor and the chipset both are new technology that were recently released. Users will be enjoy the incredibly smooth and fast navigation that the Moov 310 has to offer. In addition, this GPS unit has built-in map database, so you won't ever have to shuffle for various SD cards for your maps.

The Mio Moov 310 also features a text-to-speech technology that will give drivers turn-by-turn direction with speech guidance that tells a driver of exact street names. In addition, its internal TeleAtlas-based maps covers all 50 US states as well as Puerto Rico with 3.5 million points of interest. If you need traffic information to be displayed on to the screen, TMC (Traffic Messaging Channel) is included with a free 1 year trial subscription on the Mio Moov 310. There is also an SD/MMC card reader as well as a USB port for PC direct connection.

Cons
The downside of the Mio Moov 310 is its inability to play media files. The SD/MMC and the USB port are all for map updates and firmware/software upgrades. But at this low price, you're probably looking for a basic GPS navigation system anyway. If you're not too concern about media playback, the unit is a great stand-alone navigation device.

The battery life of the unit is also relatively short when compared to TomTom's 4+ hours of battery life. The Mio Moov 310 has about 2 hours of battery life, but that's at optimal factory conditions. Expect this number to diminish as you use it more often.

The unit features a small database of 3.5 million points of interest. This is considerably smaller for today's standards. However, 3.5 million is still quite a large number and should cover most of your favorite major-name stores, hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and emergency facilities.

Overall
Ultimately, the Mio Moov 310 is worth buying if you're looking for an essential and affordable navigation unit. Expect to find this basic GPS device anywhere from $190-$250.

TomTom ONE XL Review (Tom Tom 1)

TomTom recently released the TomTom ONE XL, a stylish new navigation device. The first thing you'll notice about the TomTom ONE XL is its relatively thin design. The market's thinnest GPS devices measure at less than 3/4" thick. The TomTom ONE XL measures at a little bit over an inch, so it's still relatively small. It is an upgrade from the older TomTom ONE model which featured a 3.5" LCD touchscreen display. The TomTom ONE XL features a 4.3" widescreen LCD that is significantly larger and much clearer as well as high contrasting.
Keep in mind that the unit is a very basic unit but it does feature Bluetooth connectivity that is optional with an additional subscription, as well as an SD Card reader that enables any user to update their map database. The TomTom ONE XL does not feature any playback of audio or video files, but it does receive FM radio-based traffic information that updates the displayed map. In addition, the unit could receive weather data of any user selected cities.
Also be advised that the Bluetooth technology is not designed for hands-free calling but only for addition TomTom Plus subscription. It picks up better traffic information through the Plus subscription. This portable GPS navigation device, however, features an SD Card reader that could read up to 2GB of map information.
On the one hand, the unit is a great basic unit that offers plenty of GPS functions; but on the other hand, there really is no other feature that would be attractive to more advanced users. The TomTom ONE XL features a SiRFStar III processor that runs at 266 MHz, which is unfortunately slower than most portable GPS navigation units today. However, there is truly only one function for this unit, which is navigation, so a 266 MHz processor would be adequate with most usage. If you're looking for a basic in-vehicle navigation system, the TomTom ONE XL could be the perfect easy-to-use navigation device for the basic user at under $250.