Figure 22: First Use - Right-handed or Left-handed?

TomTom's software allows you to configure the ONE XL for either right-handed or left-handed use. This is a nice feature exclusive to TomTom, and no doubt a blessing for all the leftys out there...

Figure 23: First Use - Setting the Unit of Measure

Next the ONE XL asks us whether we want to use Miles or Kilometers. One annoyance I noticed while navigating with the ONE XL is that the ONE uses yards instead of feet when set to Miles (not a big deal in Canada, but irritating here in the United States).

Figure 24: First Use - Setting the Time Format

The ONE XL allows you to specify how you'd like to see the time of day displayed.

Figure 25: First Use - Setting the Current Time

Next we'll need to set the current time so the ONE XL can display the estimated time of arrival. Using the up and down arrows, the time can be manually set. Alternatively, if you are receiving GPS signals, you can tap on the Sync button to get the current time from the GPS signal automatically.

Figure 26: First Use - Selecting the Voice

The ONE XL doesn't have Text-to-Speech, so it won't announce actual street names or highway names. But it will verbally announce navigation maneuvers (in .5 miles turn left). The ONE XL ships with 4 different US voices to choose from (3 female and one male), and 3 UK voices. Additional voices can be downloaded and installed from the included CD-ROM. TomTom also sells additional voices available in funny accents or celebrity voices (NY Taxi Driver, Mr. T, John Cleese, etc.).

Figure 27: First Use - Selecting the Map

This setting is probably more useful for our European readers, but you'll need to specify the regional map before TomTom can navigate. Here in North America,the United States and Canada are contained in a single map.

Figure 28: First Use - Settings the Home Address

The Home address is a special saved address in the GPS that allows for quick, one-touch routing back to the designated Home address. The Home address can be changed at any time via the Configuration menu.

Figure 29: First Use - Would you like a brief tour?

With the first-use wizard complete, the ONE XL asks if we'd like a brief tour of the features before continuing on to the main menu. The tour is handy for complete newbies, but doesn't go deep enough to help someone who's somewhat familiar with GPS and wants to know how to do more complex tasks.

Figure 30: TomTom ONE XL - Main Menu

One the first-use wizard completes, the ONE XL displays the Main Menu, shown above in figure 30.

This screen will look very familiar to anyone who has used a TomTom GPS before, and will look identical to anyone who has used a TomTom ONE before. Note that the first time you use the ONE XL (or if you haven't used the ONE XL for a few days), it may a few minutes for the GPS to calculate it's position and figure out where you are.

7. TomTom's Updated Maps

The two largest mapping providers are NAVTEQ and TeleAtlas. Magellan, Garmin, LG, Yahoo Maps, MSN Maps, and most in-car OEM GPS systems all use NAVTEQ maps. All TomTom GPS devices use TeleAtlas maps. NAVTEQ has historically had more complete and accurate maps in North America than TeleAtlas, and in my recent "What to look for in a GPS" article, I recommend shopping for a GPS that uses NAVTEQ maps.

When I reviewed the TomTom GO 910 and TomTom ONE last year, without question the biggest problem was the poor quality maps and routing engine. TomTom responded to customer complaints about their poor North American maps by releasing updated maps for 2007. Version 675 of TomTom's maps adds:

• More than 410,000 new road miles and 500,000 points of interest
• More than six million new household and business addresses
• Improved road detailing for better visual representation

I tested the ONE XL with the updated maps in areas that the previous maps lacked coverage. During my testing every road that was missing on the previous TomTom maps (and was present on the Garmin nuvi's 3-year old maps) now appears in TomTom's new maps. I'm pleased to report that the 2007 maps are, indeed, on par with the current NAVTEQ maps, so that's very good news for TomTom.

Figure 31: TomTom Maps Version 675

TomTom's new maps are considerably better than the previous maps used on the GO 910 and ONE. If you own an older TomTom, you may qualify for a free map update, otherwise it'll cost you. Either way, if you're using a TomTom GPS in North America, you'll definitely want the new maps.

8. Navigating with the ONE XL - Finding an Address

Figure 32: Entering a Destination

The ONE XL allows you to enter a street address, POI, cross streets, or coordinates as a destination address. Most of the time you'll likely be navigating to a street address, so let's test that first.

From the Main Menu (shown above in figure 32), tap on "Navigate to..."