Budget car GPS Garmin nuvi 1350T *Est. $155
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See All Auto GPS

TomTom One 3rd Edition

Discontinued

Reviewed

November 2008

Pros

Budget price
Celebrity voices
Supports dozens of languages

Cons

Not as easy to use as a Garmin
Doesn't route as well as Garmin and Magellan
Unable to speak street names
Difficult to mount on windshield

Where to Buy

for $249.99

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The TomTom One 3rd Edition has traditionally been the least expensive auto GPS unit recommended in reviews, but newer models are now available that are nearly as cheap. The One 3rd Edition cuts costs by omitting several common features: Bluetooth hands-free calling, a widescreen display and the ability to speak street names. Although some testers say the One 3rd Edition does a fine job navigating, others find that TomTom GPS units -- which use Tele Atlas mapping data -- never navigate as efficiently as units from Magellan or Garmin, which use Navteq data. The One 3rd Edition does offer some TomTom-specific benefits, such as celebrity voices (like Gary Busey and Mr. T) for the spoken directions.

ConsumerReports.org does the best comparison testing of the TomTom One 3rd Edition auto GPS, ranking it against dozens of other GPS units. Choice magazine in Australia and Consumer magazine in New Zealand conduct similar comparison testing, but they rate fewer units, and not all of them are available in the United States. Reviews at GPSReview.net and Kiplinger.com describe the One 3rd Edition's features, but they don't test the unit. We found a healthy number of owner-written reviews for the One 3rd Edition at Amazon.com.

Where To Buy

TomTom ONE 3rd Edition 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator
(754 reviews) Buy new: $249.99 32 Used from $37.00

Our Sources

1. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe

ConsumerReports.org tests the TomTom One 3rd Edition and ranks it against many other auto GPS models. ConsumerReports.org also writes an individual report on each model, alongside user reviews and ratings.

Review: TomTom One 3rd Edition, Editors of ConsumerReports.org

2. Choice magazineDetails/Subscribe

Choice, an Australian consumer-testing organization, is similar to ConsumerReports.org. It doesn't accept freebies to test, and it accepts no advertising. The TomTom One is one of the top finishers in Choice's test of 14 auto GPS devices.

Review: GPS: Car Navigation Reviews, Editors of Choice, Sept. 2008

3. Consumer magazineDetails/Subscribe

The TomTom One 3rd Edition ranks just behind the two top navigators -- including the Garmin nuvi 250 -- at Consumer, New Zealand's version of ConsumerReports.org. The review includes a ratings chart, with numeric scores and full profiles of each unit.

Review: TomTom One 3rd Edition, Hamish Wilson, April 7, 2008

4. GPSReview.net

Reviewer Tim Flight doesn't road test the TomTom One 3rd Edition, but he does a good job explaining how it differs from TomTom One's previous incarnations. More than 300 user comments and questions add to the discussion.

Review: TomTom One 3rd Edition, Tim Flight and contributors to GPSReview.net, Aug. 30, 2007

5. Kiplinger.com Details/Subscribe

The TomTom One is one of the least expensive basic navigators recommended by Kiplinger.com senior editor Bob Frick in this roundup. Frick hasn't tested all of the models himself, but he does ask experts for advice on whether more expensive models' extra features are worth the extra cost.

Review: The Best GPS for $300 or Less, Bob Frick, June 2008

6. Amazon.com

The TomTom One 3rd Edition earns an average of four stars (out of five) with about 700 reviews posted. The latest reviews are mostly positive, but critical reviews are included.

Review: TomTom One 3rd Edition, Contributors to Amazon.com

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