My Tom Tom One 3rd Edition Review

I received the Tom Tom One 3^rd edition for my 18^th birthday. Also, you might just be considering it as a gift for a friend or loved one. After getting over the fact that it should just be called the Tom Tom Three, I wanted to find out what it was all about. My friends hate it. I like it, so let's figure out what's going on.

Here's why I like it:

First of all, it has some great features that should be included on any GPS navigational system. It has a memory to save favorite locations. So, you can plan your route from "Home" to "Work" with 3 taps on the screen. Also, if you come up to an unexpected road block, with a tap on the screen, the Tom Tom will plan an alternate route for you.

The voice feature is both a safety and "just for fun" feature. It tells you where to turn without you having to divert your attention away from the road.

Tom Tom also has a wide array of downloadable content, including alternate voices, different color schemes, extra points of interest, etc. Some of the alternate voices are poorly impersonated pop culture icons such as Darth Vader and Homer Simpson, (the Homer Simpson voice being the worst Homer Simpson impression I have ever heard.) Some of them are pleasant, interesting, and funny, however.

Best of all, everything is user involved. You can create your own paths, edit points of interest, record your own voice (or poor pop culture impressions) and they will be automatically uploaded to the vast user interface for all Tom Tom users.

Here's why my friends hate it:

Well, our first problem was in Boston. We took a road trip there for the Summer and we were trying to find our way back to the house where we were staying. We were in the city, on one road when suddenly, Tom Tom said we were on a different road, so I turned around to get onto that road. Suddenly, Tom Tom said we were across the city. After 10 minutes or so of frustration we turned it off and found our way back the old fashioned way. My assumption is that, in the large city, there must have been quite a few Tom Toms, and the signals crossed. Since then, my friends have totally distrusted it, but my argument to that is that if we hadn't taken it on the road trip, we would probably be stranded somewhere in Nebraska to this day.

Overall, I would recommend this if you are bad with directions, like me, and don't live in a big city. I give you fair warning, however, that your friends may have many pointless arguments with you over who can give you better directions, Tom Tom or them.