- 3.5-inch touchscreen with award-winning Fold & Go EasyPort mount that folds flat against the device, making it easy to take it with you
- Effortless navigation from A to B--enter the address on the touchscreen or use voice address entry and start driving anywhere
- Preloaded with millions of points of interest to enhance your traveling experience-easily find your favorite gas stations, hotels, and more
- With TomTom Map Share technology, you can instantly modify street names, street direction, POIs, road speeds, and turn restrictions on your own device
- Help Me! menu provides added safety features so you can easily access local emergency providers, such as police, fire stations, and hospitals
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 SAME GREAT TOMTOM NAME BUT NO REASON TO UPGRADE |
| Review Date: May 11, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Anton Tobias, The vast cornfields of the Midwest |
Here is the latest in TomTom technology. The TomTom 130. This latest development from TomTom will be perfect for first time GPS buyers who are looking for something simple, compact, and accurate. For previous owners of the TomTom One however, this is no reason to upgrade.
The product itself is as close to perfection as I've seen in a basic GPS device, hence the five star rating, but then again so is the TomTom One 3rd edition that was released late last year. The TomTom 130 model is basically the TomTom One with a few minor upgrades. The most notable would be the new flip and fold mounting capability. Instead of the standard suction cup mount that TomTom owners are used to owning as a separate component (one that slides in and out of the back custom grooves of the TomTom itself) there is now an attached mount that folds into the unit for easy storage. This is convenient but in my opinion and like the other minor upgrades, no reason to toss out your old TomTom One in exchange.
iPod has set the standard for a lot of electronic thresholds, none being more noticeable than the size and depth of its products. To some it up...slim is in and the TomTom 130 is even slimmer than its big brother the TomTom One weighing in at a 6.1 ounces and only 1 inch in depth. Here are the some minor specs:
Unit Size: 3.8"H x 3.2"W x 1"D
Display Size: 3.5" (Diagonal)
Weight: 6.1 oz
Also worth noting is the TomTom 130 now boasts a 3 hour battery charge instead of the paltry 2 hour that left TomTom One owners completely dependent on the cigarette chargers in their cars. 3 hours isn't exactly a wealth of time but it is an improvement and a little more realistic.
Also included with the product is TomTom's exclusive Map Share feature that allows users to make their own map corrections and share them with other TomTom customers through their online connection using the TomTom Home software on their PC. This service is free of charge.
This has been the subject of some confusion among TomTom users and should be pointed out. Some customers mistakenly think the Map Share updates they receive are entire map upgrades. This is not so. Although TomTom does provide its customers with Map Share updates free of charge these only include minor map modifications, such as dead end streets that weren't marked properly or points-of-interest that were marked out of place. These Map Share updates do not include the miles of new roads being built every year across America & Canada. In order to receive these major map updates customers will have to pay for them.
Of course the TomTom 130 will already come included with the latest Tele Atlas which is now version 720.1802, and although TomTom has major map upgrades throughout the year most customers (including myself) will be content with just paying for an upgrade once a year. This guarantees that you will always have the latest maps with the newest roads.
Like the TomTom One 3rd Edition the TomTom 130 comes with a "Help Me" button which when pressed opens features such as "Phone For Help" which displays emergency numbers for the current location (such as and typically 911) "Drive To Help" which show you the quickest way to the nearest police station or hospital and a "First Aid Guide" which is provided by the British Red Cross.
Also included in the safety features is an option to sound a custom alarm if any of the following occur:
1. When approaching a school or church
2. When driving faster than a set speed
3. When driving faster than allowed
The 130 still uses the same TomTom touch screen user-interface so prior TomTom users will already be familiar with the controls but with such a user friendly design even new customers will have the hang of it in no time. The screen is a bright 3.5 inch full TFT color LCD with 320 x 240 pixels that supports 64K colors.
For first time GPS buyers this unit is perfect because of its price, portability, latest maps, outstanding user-interface, and simplicity. For someone looking to upgrade to something a little more advanced try the TomTom 130S with text-to-speech capability (verbal pronunciation of street names). |
Love my TomTom
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| Review Date: May 22, 2008 |
| Reviewer: S. Harvey, Colorado |
| I recently bought the Magellan Maestro 3225 and, after 5 days, returned it because it was really user unfriendly. I then got the TomTom for the same price and I love it! So many more features than the other one. One thing I love is that it gives you a choice of route and background colors so that you can decide what color scheme works best for you. Also, gives you several choices of voices to choose from, which is nice. The British one is so polite! HA HA! I would highly recommend this device, and at $150, it's a good deal. One thing -- I highly recommend downloading the Mr. T voice ... There's nothing better than to be told to make a left up here, fool! I pity you! |
Very Good
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| Review Date: July 7, 2008 |
| Reviewer: D. Anderson, Murfreesboro, TN United States |
| I really don't know what more you could expect for the price. First, the sound. I'm partially deaf, and the unit set at 85% volume, it is just fine. At 100%, it's too loud. There must have been a bad productin run in the earlier ones, because mine is just great. Second, it will snap out of it's mount when adjusting...unless you also also hold the mounting part while adjusting the position of unit. No big deal and problem solved. Third, all maps, everybody's, are out of date the moment they are created. That's the nature of growth and constant change. However, I'm impressed as to how current this unit is. I did update it right away from the Tom Tom web site and got a later version map from the one originally installed. It has interstate off ramps and shopping centers in my area that were only completed 6 months ago. Forth, finding a location. Remember, it is intended to locate a place that is unfamilar to you, find it for you. It does that nicely. However, it may not follow the same routing to get you there that you might choose otherwise for yourself. You might like using some back streets, neighborhood streets that would maybe work better you think. But, if you already knew how to get there, why are you using the GPS? If you are unfamilar with how to get to your destination, it will take you there. If you do however wish to take alternate routing, say you know basically where you are going, but just can't find the particular address, then go your way and it will constantly update new routing until you get to the destination, and it will tell you when you have arrived. I am impressed with the detail of the maps. It has service roads in some of our shopping centers, pavement that is almost part of the parking lot. It locks onto you location very quickly and is very accurate in positioning you at locations. I did notice in a couple of cases, street addresses (my street and house) are a few hundred feet from there actual location. However, MapQuest and others have the same errors. Again, this level of technology for this price, unbelievable. |
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