Good For A First Time GPS User

I'm a user that doesn't have another experience with a GPS to compare it too, and I was happy with buying a GPS without all the bells and whistles while I got used to using a GPS. So, this review might be more helpful for those like me- people who aren't technically savvy with the GPS units, and haven't had much experience with them.

I bought two of these, one for me, one for my girlfriend, both of us moved to a town (the same town) we're not familiar with, and this town is not laid out on a grid pattern, so getting around can be confusing without help until we get used to it.

Office Depot had a sale over Christmas, and the Tom Tome One Third Edition was on sale for $130- far cheaper than any other model being offered there, at Best Buy, or Comp USA.

When you first buy the unit, you have to connect it to your computer and update it with a new map, because the program tells you an update is available. It's also a good idea to download more of the English speaking voices, because there are only a few at first opening, and they can be annoying. I chose an Englishwoman- Jessica. Tom Tom also gives you the option of being able to update your map with any correction that other users make, with corrections that many users make, or only corrections that Tom Tom makes. I have yet to go online myself and make one correction- where the device incorrectly tells me to stay right to get on a freeway right near me, where you actually stay left. This is the only inaccuracy I have found so far, and fortunately this didn't happen in towns or areas that I've not been as familiar with.

If it's your first time using a GPS, I strongly recommend you use it in an area you're familiar with first, so you can understand the instructions you're given. (I'm going to refer to it as she and Jessica, because as sick as it sounds, that's how my girlfriend and I refer to her, and we're developing a sick co-dependent relationship with her, and we talk about her "did you leave Jessica in the trunk?" as others try to figure out what we're doing with a body in our trunk and who Jessica is...) An example of her instructions would be she says "right turn ahead"- This doesn't mean you immediately need to get to the right, it just means start getting over there...Then she says "ahead, turn right"- at this point, make sure you're in the right lane. Now sometimes, she waits until you're right on top of the turn, so you should look at the monitor, because she say "turn right" right when you're on top of the street to turn right on. It's also helpful to look because you can change the settings so it also says the street name or freeway name you'll be turning on to. Sometimes it can be difficult to carry on a conversation, because she can kind of nag you- "ahead stay left", "stay left ahead", "stay left", and I find myself telling her to shut up. But I'd much rather have her be rude and interrupt and nag me than me miss my turn. When starting off it can be difficult to tell which direction on a street I'm supposed to be headed, but she quickly recalculates and sends me the right way if I'm not headed the right way.

The device also gets a little louder when the noise from driving gets louder, so you may have to adjust the volume when driving which can be dangerous when you're not used to the device, as you have to tap the left bottom corner of the screen, and slide a digital slider on the screen to turn the volume down, which just isn't as comfortable or accurate as just using a real volume dial.

You can adjust the settings so you see all the street names, just the next street name, or none of the street names. You can adjust the compass to point in the direction you will need to go, or the direction you are going, or to just point out where north, south, east and west are. You can set the map so it points out places of interest such as museums, airports, police stations, restaurants, and gas stations. I have it set on gas stations and restaurants. You can adjust the colors, and the view angle (from farther out, or closer in).

I've been lucky and have had no problem with mounting my unit. There is a plastic disc included, so that if you don't have a flat surface to mount your unit onto (as many compact cars from the last fifteen years don't), you can stick the disc onto your dash, making a flat surface for the stand to mount onto. Though my girlfriend, who does have a flat surface and used the disc, but has a more bumpy ride (a Jeep), has had a lot of difficulty keeping the unit on the dash, because it has bounced off a lot. She now has to keep the unit in her cup holder, which isn't too close to the road view when driving. I haven't had much problem with battery life, because I just automatically keep it charging with the car lighter charger (which is the same charger I can use on my Motorola cell phone).

The unit is very small, and against the company's recommendation, you can stow it in your glove compartment (they say if your mounting stays on your dash, someone might try to break in thinking you keep it there).

As far as preset locations go, there are a few stores that probably paid Tom Tom to be entered, like Dunkin' Donuts, which I have no use for, and a few other major retailers like Walmart. Most locations I've had to enter manually, and while it has a way of setting it so I can specify that it's a store and not just simply an address, I've found that way once, and it can be difficult. When you do enter an address (say for example Trader Joe's) you can go to "save as favorite" then "recent locations", and it gives you the option of renaming the location to "Trader Joe's", rather than just the address. You need to pay a lot of attention when entering an address, so I always have to do this before I leave, or pull over to enter an address.

I've read that some people have had a problem picking up a signal in some places, so far when I've gone out of town or in town I've not had this problem- there has always been a signal- the unit has always known where I'm at.

All in all I have to say we both are very happy that we have our Tom Tom's...It's made us both feel not so lost, vulnerable, or that disconnection you have when you move to a new place. And if we decide to explore on our own, all we have to do is press "home" and we can get back.