EASY EASY, FUN FUN, COOL COOL, REALLY RELIABLE!

This is my second Tom Tom One. I travel up, down and all around my State every day. It may not be international travel, or even cross country, but I think the printed website downloaded maps that I once carried are really unreliable, especially when driving in neighborhoods.
In 2003 I ordered my Dad a car I chose an in dash navigation system as one of the optional upgrades. It had a giant price tag, but was so conveniant and I worried less when he traveled.
Borrowing his car I fell in love with the way it counted down to the number of yards left, and then the footage left before each turn. This was great for use in the communities I traveled where streets are often unmarked and many times there is more than one street in the ".1 mile until turn" my printed maps gave.
So, as soon as portable units started coming down in price I knew I had to have one. With so many choices I researched like crazy and picked the Tom Tom One because of it's ease of use (it turned out to be even easier than I imagined) it's low price tag (under $200.00 May 07) its website support with frequent free upgraded maps (The car dealership charged my Dad over $200 to upgrade his in dash GPS map software) and its popularity, which has led to all kinds of websites with fun add ons. The first thing I did with mine was download Mr T.'s voice for driving directions. Funny, Funny, Funny and when my five year old niece heard "Hey fool, at the end of the road turn right" and "Don't give me no jibber jabber" she exclaimed "Auntie Auntie yours is WAY BETTER than Pop Pop's!" Her Pop Pop's GPS unit being a Garmin that cost more than three times more. If there was any doubt left in my gadget loving-my toy is cooler tnan your toy-mind that I had picked a winner, it was erased when on a long car ride to see the above mentioned niece, my six year old nephew PUT DOWN the PSP video game player he'd just gotten for his Birthday in July the same PSP he all but slept with, and he asked me, "Where's Tom Tom? Can I hold him?" By the end of the month both kids knew how to program Tom Tom, and how to tell me how far to my next direction before Mr. T could yell at us. (A great lesson in fractions .8 miles being less than a mile and so forth). Of course there's more to Tom Tom than just fun and education for the kids, It is feature packed. It re-routes quickly if drive past a turn or go off route for any reason, like a unplanned rest stop. Both of my Tom Tom units also have the ability to tell you how to get from A to B with the least mileage. This is a must with the rising fuel prices. I also like that there is only one step to set Tom Tom to your home address at any time, and the window mount places it so that it is much safer to view than in-dash units. The feature list goes on and on, it's no wonder I went with Tom Tom again when I decided one GPS wasn't enough for the multiple cars, trucks, cycle, etc. my husband and I own. This new Version 3 has some improvements that I like and still has all the great stuff I love about my last years model. The memory is built in, so there's no card for the kids to knock out while fighting over who's turn it is to hold it and the website offers even more support, while the price is still lower than any of the other big brands like Garmin.
I've seen a fewno named brands priced close to Tom Tom, but who are they? What happens when your maps need upgraded? I'm all about buying some basement bargain electronics, but not when the safety and comfort of you and your passengers is on the line.
The Tom Tom products are all great, but this Tom Tom One V3 is packed with a lot of great features at an awesome price!-Lee