10. Battery Life

I suppose this was done to keep the size, weight, and cost of the ONE down, and I have to admit that I'd rather have the smaller size and lower cost than longer battery life.

11. TomTom ONE Carrying Case (Not Included)

Figure 57: TomTom ONE Carry Case & Strap - $19.95

I know TomTom is focused on keeping the price of the ONE under $500, but I really felt that the ONE should have included a carrying case of some kind. Of of the best things about the ONE is its small size, making it easy to throw in your bag and keep handy in case you need it. but you won't want to scuff up your brand spanking new GPS, so a carrying case is more or less essential if you want to keep the ONE on hand.

I ordered the additional TomTom ONE carrying case from TomTom's website for $19.95. As you can see, the ONE carrying case is made of firm neoprene and includes a leather strap for the unit itself. The ONE fits snugly inside the case.

Figure 58: TomTom ONE Carry Case & Strap

The carrying case is nothing too special -- it gets the job done and looks pretty good for the price.

12. The Good

• Best looking GPS we've ever tested. This is a highly designed product that exudes elegance
• SiRF's high performance GPS receiver results in outstanding signal quality, even in challenging environments
• Windshield mount is much improved over previous TomTom mounts
• Priced under $500
• Good quality speaker
• Excellent voice quality during navigation instructions (voice prompts)
• Loads of configurable options - virtually every aspect of the ONE can be customized
• Nicest looking user interface in the industry
• Lots of available voices to choose from
• Broad language support
• Supports multi-destination routing (itinerary planning)

13. The Bad

• Tele Atlas mapping data (In the USA)
• Slow CPU results in occasional sluggishness when navigating menus
• Shorter than average battery life (2 hours)
• Instruction manual only covers the basics. Does not explain all the features of the ONE
• Carrying case not included (can be purchased for $19.95)
• No text to speech (does not read street names aloud)
• Extremely limited bluetooth phone support
• Non-existent URL's referenced in the included documentation

14. Conclusion

Clearly TomTom has put a lot of R&D into the ONE. In developing the ONE, TomTom focused on the customer who is concerned chiefly with navigation, and does not want an MP3 player, a picture viewer, or a hands-free speakerphone. That pretty much describes me to a tee, so I thought the ONE and me were going to get along great. Unfortunately, TomTom has chosen Tele Atlas as its mapping data provider. Here in the United States, NAVTEQ (the larger competitor to Tele Atlas) has more accurate and complete maps. It's no coincidence that Garmin, Magellan, Yahoo, Google, and MSN all use NAVTEQ.

The ONE is a beautiful device that's small enough to keep with you at all times. The interface is nice looking and easy to use. The voice prompts sound like a human being and not a computer. The included windshield mount works well and keeps the ONE solidly in place and vibration free while driving. With so much going for it, I couldn't help being frustrated with the Tele Atlas maps. In my rigorous testing, the ONE simply didn't have the addresses of many locations that other NAVTEQ-powered GPS units did.

I also felt TomTom should have thrown in the carrying case as part of the package. Garmin includes a leather carrying case on their nuvi line, and the ONE is similar in size. Battery life was less than average on the ONE, and the CPU felt slightly underpowered when navigating menus, but was acceptable when navigating. The major disappointment with the ONE is the choice of Tele Atlas for mapping data. Tele Atlas is not the best-of-breed mapping provider for North America (NAVTEQ is). Were it not for fact that the ONE uses Tele Atlas maps in North America, I would easily declare the ONE the Editor's Choice. It's worth noting that the European version of the ONE does use NAVTEQ maps, but here in the U.S. we're stuck with Tele Atlas.

TomTom is clearly an innovative company focused on bringing elegance, usability, and leading edge technology to the masses at an affordable price. Priced at under $400, the TomTom ONE has raised the bar on what we can expect as consumers. It's no wonder TomTom's market share and stock price are skyrocketing. Unfortunately, the mapping data is such a critical element of a GPS, for around $400 I feel you'd be better off buying a Magellan RoadMate 2200T or Garmin StreetPilot c530.