TomTom One LE Review:

The TomTom One LE (Limited Edition) offers limited bluetooth for traffic and weather information and a SD card slot for additional content unlike the TomTom One 2nd Edition. The TomTom One LE system comes with US and Canada maps preloaded in internal memory and has over 5 million points of interest that alert you to restaurants, gas stations and other attractions. The TomTom One LE is basically the like the TomTom One 2nd Edition but with a SD card slot and blue tooth. The TomTom One LE system comes with a new operating system which offers Help Me! and Mapshare features (See video for short demonstration).

You can purchase additional maps on an SD card but unlike the 3rd edition where you would have to remove the US/Canada maps and then upload the additional maps, the TomTom One LE lets you work with the additional maps seamlessly. The TomTom One LE also has more additional features than the 3rd edition. These features make the TomTom One LE a slightly better option to get than the standard TomTom One 3rd Edition. Below are some actual pictures and a short video demonstration of some of the features found on the TomTom One LE.

TomTom One LE User Said:

I’ve been lusting after many GPS systems the last 6 months but finally made my purchase today! This is my first GPS unit.

Let me first state that i’ve put the TomTom One LE through a 100 miles of testing already and im quite satisfied.

Its important to remember that this is an entry level system at a very good price ($139 if you look around). Having said that, here is a run down of my experience with TomTom One LE:

1. The box is a pain to open. I tried to do it carefully but in the end I tore it apart in my excitement to get to the unit so there is no way id return the unit in its original packaging.

2. I opened it in my car, plugged it into my car’s outlet, and powered it on. It took less than a minute to fully boot up, then it asked me to set my preferences. Quite simple to set up. These preferences can always be changed later or set later if you want to skip that part.

3. The windshield mount snaps onto the back of the unit and sticks to the windshield very well, i drove over some bumps to make sure.

4. Connectivity is good out in the open, even in some mildly foresty area it was good. I have not driven through a tunnel but im quite sure it will lose signal temporarily.

5. Installing the software on my MacBook Pro was very very easy, all i did was plug it in, pull up the disk and run the TomTom Home software installer. Next i backed up the unit, this took a little while because the backup file is nearly 1 GB. Be sure to have enough space on your hard disk. Next, i downloaded the update and installed it to the unit. Done with that. The TomTom One LE will charge with the provided USB cable.

6. My development is not on the map, not in Google Maps either so im not surprised. I picked the nearest intersection to my house and set that as my home. Navigating through the menus is quite simple if you are competent in the least. When entering addresses/zip codes it can be a little hard to use the keyboard when mounted on the windshield, but a little patience and practice goes a long way. You can always pull it off the windshield and enter whatever you need. I think the touch screen sensitivity is quite good, the keyboard responds with the keys you want to press. The screen brightness is adjustable and quite good. I’ve set mine to 100% daytime and 0% nighttime and im satisfied with that. The setting to change the screen from daytime mode to nighttime mode is only 2 screens away, so the whole deal with the light sensor on the more expensive units is a waste in my opinion. Nothing wrong with changing the setting manually.

7. POIs are prety nice. It won’t find you the nearest Wal-Mart or Macy’s, but it will find you shopping centers, ATMs/Banks, Beaches, Parks, Restaurants, etc. You can find the ones closest to your current location, closest to a favorite location, closest to home, etc. Can’t really ask for more from a basic GPS unit like this one.

8. I love how the TomTom One LE is compact, not much larger than my wallet. The screen may appear small initially but i think it is quite adequate. The 3D view works well and i can see POIs quite clearly as im driving on a road.

9. Routing is fairly good, on rare occasions it will prompt you to make a U-turn when possible. If you miss a turn it will calculate an alternate route within 15 seconds. Avoiding a part of a route is also easy to do, just 2-3 menu screens away. If you want to be warned of a turn 2 miles before the turn needs to be performed, you can tell it to do so.

Finally, the word on the ‘Latest map guarantee’ and TomTom Map Share:

1. The latest map guarantee is available for 30 days from when you first use the TomTom One LE.

2. The Map Share feature is free for only 1 year.

In conclusion, TomTom One LE is the unit to get if you are looking for a good basic GPS system to get you out of trouble. It’ll work well if you have an address you need to get to, just put it in and be on your way. If you are stuck in traffic take a random exit and the unit will find you another way.

It will NOT find you every Wal-Mart around you, and it will not do text-to-speech meaning it will not say the street names (i don’t think this feature is necessary at all, this unit will tell you the distance. If you are lusting for text-to-speech, once you start using TomTom One LE you’ll get over it.)

I hope i’ve helped.
By Ajay Rao

TomTom One LE Features

• Preloaded base maps of the U.S. and Canada
• 5 million points of interest include restaurants, gas stations and other services and attractions along your route
• Built-in Bluetooth connection lets you access TomTom PLUS services (cell phone with Bluetooth capability required, not included)
• Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to 2 hours of power
• Includes windshield mount, adhesive mounting disk, USB cable and car DC adapter

Compare Prices Of TomTom One LE GPS