About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

When people ask me for advice on which in-car GPS to buy, I ask them about their needs, but I always recommend that they spend enough to get true text-to-speech directions. Text-to-speech means that you will hear the actual names of the streets (or highway route numbers) as directions are given, rather than simply when to turn. It's: "turn right on Mulberry Lane, one quarter mile" versus "turn right, one quarter mile." It seems like a small thing, but hearing street names and route numbers as you navigate unfamiliar territory is important.

The TomTom ONE XLS is among the lowest-cost text-to-speech units available.



Pros

• Text-to-speech at a budget price.
• Wide screen.
• Nice look and solid construction.

Cons

• No automatic day-night mode.
• No automatic on-off with car ignition.

Description

• Price: $309 - $370.
• High-sensitivity GPS chipset.
• 64 MB RAM.
• 4.3-inch (diagonal) color LCD touchscreen (480 x 272 pixels, 64,000 colors).
• Internal memory 1 GB.
• SD slot (only for additional maps, SD not included).
• Bluetooth 2.0.
• Internal Lithium-Ion battery (2 hours operation).

Guide Review - TomTom ONE XLS: High-end Features at a Budget Price

Text-to-speech isn't all that the TomTom ONE XLS has going for it. The receiver also features a wide screen (4.3 inches diagonal) rather than the square, pocket-size GPS screen size (3 inches) often seen on units at this price. TomTom just kept going, packing real-time traffic tracking capability into this unit (with purchase of an optional RDS-TMC traffic receiver for $129), and good online update utilities.

TomTom units have a solid feel, a nice dark-silver and gray finish, nice styling, and simple but effective and easy-to-adjust windshield mounting kits.

On the road, the TomTom ONE XLS's screen and navigation are just as good as TomTom's pricier, high-end GO 920 model.

TomTom's exclusive "Map Share" capability is also enabled on this model. Map Share allows you to send map updates from your GPS to TomTom, and in turn, you are able to download and install map updates made by others.

The ONE XLS also features a "Help Me" menu location selection including the nearest car repair service center, police station, or hospital. The menu also allows users to locate the nearest emergency service provider. Users can also quickly identify their exact location, so that they can provide the information to emergency assistance providers.

The ONE XLS doesn't include higher-end features such as Bluetooth hands-free mobile phone connectivity, an MP3 player, image viewer, or remote control, but if you don't need these, you may be well-served by the ONE XLS.

On the road, the ONE XLS is a pleasure to use, and reliably provided me with solid directions and crisp, clear text-to-speech. Its high-sensitivity receiver picks up satellites very well. Two features I like that are missing on the ONE XLS are automatic day-night display mode (you need to switch these modes manually), and automatic on-off with car ignition.