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"best GPS I've had so far"
on by tpalnyPros - Wide screen - Text to speech - LOUD speaker - Volume adjusts to driving speed - great GPS reception - The new Easyport mount that eliminates the need to carry a separate mount - "Tomtom Home" softwa
Cons - Easyport mount can be a little problematic when fitted into a pocket - The car charger takes a little practice to insert it easily - No bluetooth capability.
Summary So far I had owned 3 GPS devices: the Tomtom One 3rd edition, the Garmin nuvi 350 and this latest Tomtom 330s model. Before owning, I have used the Garmin Streetpilots given by many car rentals.
By far, this is the best of the three:
Pros:
- Wide screen
- Text to speech
- LOUD speaker (I've read some reviews of a soft speaker - I guess either it was a bad batch of devices, or you didn't read the instructions on how to change the volume. With mine, on 80% it's blasting over the radio AND road noise.)
- Volume adjusts to driving speed
- great GPS reception (even in NYC, although sometimes because of tall buildings can have a little trouble finding current position, but that's the problem with ALL of the GPSs I've had, including the very highly reviewed nuvi 350)
- The new Easyport mount that eliminates the need to carry three things for your trip: the Device, the mount (sometimes more than one part) and the car charger. This new mount is a blessing and a small nuisance at the same time since it makes it slightly more difficult to fit snugly into a pocket or a pouch, but is definitely more of a pro than a con because of its simplicity of use and the eliminated extra plastic thing to carry. This little issue can be solved either by buying the Tomtom carrying case (the one made specifically for the models with the easy mount for an extra ~$28 on Amazon), or simply by detaching it from the back since it is detachable. Though detaching it, some would say, is defying its purpose...
- "Tomtom Home" software is a breeze to use and lets you add user updates to the maps when roads get blocked or other changes take effect to the preinstalled map.
- Device SOFTWARE SOFTWARE SOFTWARE: The best software of a device I've had the pleasure of using. Explanation follows:
The software allows much more intuitive handling of the device than any Garmin I've found.
It's quick, it's easy, and the most important, when you search for a name of a POI, it uses the more modern approach that allows you to type any letter or word no matter where it appears on the name of the POI and it'll show you the results on the list.
There are dozens of advantages in the software over the one of the Garmins I've used but I can't possibly list them all.
Some important features to note are that the actual Navigation Screen View gives you so much more clear information (which one can, of course, tweak to one's liking) such as current time, time of arrival, total trip distance, remaining time to destination, GPS signal strength, next turn's street name, current street name, direction of and distance to next maneuver (which nuvi 350 garmin only tells you which way to go right before the turn), and to that you can add a compass, change the car symbol and even more impressive - the color scheme of the map!
I have to say this is just a SHORT list of software features I absolutely love and think are on a much higher level of sophistication than what I've seen of Garmin.
Cons:
I really have to strain to think of any, but there are some minor ones (after all, nothing's perfect)
- As I said the Easyport mount can be a little problematic when fitted into a pocket, but it CAN be removed from the back (see pros).
- The car charger takes a little practice to insert it easily.
- The "Password" feature when powering on the device seems more fluff than a hindering threat. It doesn't really lock the device if for example you enter the wrong password three consecutive times or so, it just won't let you use the device until the right combination is entered.
- No bluetooth capability. For some it's a con, but for me personally it's a pro (because I don't really need it anyways, and if any corner should be cut to make the product less expensive, this is it!)
- The map isn't as pretty as on the garmins. It has a little more jagged lines but, if visual beauty is important to you in a map representation of a GPS, you're really looking in the wrong direction...
In other words, warmly recommended for the people who are interested in getting the best GPS for their hard-earned dollars. -
"Works really well but mount can be a problem"
on by cjc1103Pros The 330S has a very nice, responsive, touch screen, and has an intuitive user interface with large icons, and 3D map mode. Lots of trip progress information. Navigation is very accurate, also gives you plenty of warning for turns and lane changes.
Cons The built in mount is hard to attach to the windshield without inadvertently removing the GPS unit from the mount. Reattaching it is not so easy. Startup and acquiring the GPS satellites is a little slow. Power plug is recessed and hard to attach.
Summary The built in mount is my biggest complaint, but it is also a plus since it is attached to the GPS and therefor harder to lose. Also once you dettach it there is no telltale mount for thieves to see - they'll break into your car to get the GPS if they see the mount. Volume can be turned up loud enough to cut through the stereo. The LCD touch screen is beautiful, with a 3D map mode, although the map lines can be a little jagged, but that doesn't bother me. It's easy to program, has intuitive user interface with large icons. A quick tap on the map puts you in the menu system, select "Navigate to", then "Favorite Destination", scroll down, select, your in business. Entering in a city and street address is easy too thanks to a nice virtual QWERTY keyboard. It has a predictive entry feature that recalculates after each keystroke, so often you don't have to enter the whole street name. I really like the trip progress information on the lower part of the screen, including distance to the next turn, time to that point, total time left in the trip, the current time and ETA to your destination. It also shows you the GPS signal strength, your speed, and the speed limit if it has it in the database. If you go 5mph or more over the speed limit, the speed display turns red. The ETA display is based on the speed limit for the roads to be traveled on your trip. I set up the GPS and monitor it on long trips even when I know the route, because of the continually updated ETA. If you make a wrong turn, recalculation is fast - about 5 to 10 seconds. Overall I like it better than on the Garmin unit my Dad has.
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"Best first GPS to get!"
on by iceemarkPros Like the fact that if you know of a faster way, it'll recalculate and remember the faster way for future reference. Doesn't take long after powering it on to find the satillites. Like the bottom of the screen to show the various time sequences.
Cons The plug on the bottom is kind of hard to attach the cable. Sometimes when I'm playing with it, the voice prompts come on for no reason. Kind of hard to see in very bright sunlight, but with the voice prompts, it's not much of a problem
Summary I haven't had any problems of the time it takes to recalculate routes, takes less than a few seconds. Like the bottom of the screen to where it gives you your ETA and current time and how long it would take you to get to your destination.
Easy to mount with included mounting bracket, once you have the suction cup on the windshield, all you have to do is attach the GPS to the mount with ease. Very
accurate!
Some things I didn't like about it is that sometimes when I'm playing with it, the voice prompts come on for no reason, I don't know if it's because it has a route planned and is always referring to the current route. And also the sunlight factor, but I guess that's true with any LCD display.
If you're looking for a decent GPS that is very accurate and easy to use, I would definately get this one! -
"Nice GPS, Great features, No bluetooth"
on by Trouble4uPros Love the size, all of the features which are too numerous to mention and it handles re-routing good, sometimes not fast enough tho.
Cons Windshield connector comes loose easily from the back of the GPS, USB/power connector makes it difficult to connect and disconnect. Very difficult to see in bright sunlight. No sd card slot. No music player. This is just your basic GPS.
Summary Worth buying if you don't need or want bluetooth. It's a very nice looking and great working GPS.
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"Stay away- it stink"
on by narn3049Pros Nothing about this device is good
Cons EVERYTHING. GRANDPARENTS USED TO OWN and it kept telling them to update, said it was in Europe, and directed them a totally different place A WHOLE DIFFERENT CITY. They now have a Garmin
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