334 of 339 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars TomTom vs. Magellan, July 2, 2007
This review is from: TomTom ONE XL 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I had my choices narrowed down to the TomTom ONE XL and the Magellan Maestro 4040. It was a tough call but I choose the TomTom. In a nutshell, the TomTom is more designed to get you where you need to go and the Magellan is designed to tell you where you are and what's around you.
The Magellan has more current maps and identifies the roads that appear on the screen. The TomTom has fairly current maps but only identifies the roads you are approaching and a few adjacent roads.
TomTom has auto-zoom where the faster you travel, the map zooms out. The Magellan has the zoom feature but nothing automatic. I like the auto-zoom because when your traveling interstates speeds, it's nice to see out ahead of you.
I think the TomTom has the better screen, by a slight edge. The colors/contrast seem to be more pleasant. On the TomTom you've got various map colorizations where the Magellan doesn't. There's one map scheme on TomTom where the roads are outlined in black. It helps distinguish them from the tan background.
Tap the screen on the Magellan and you can scroll around the map. Tap it on the TomTom, you go to the menus. What I'd like to see is a menu button and if you tap on the screen, it tells you where your tapping (i.e. road name).
Reception on TomTom and the Magellan was great and the screen refresh on the TomTom was slightly better than the Magellan. The Magellan seemed more choppy where the TomTom was smooth.
Magellan can double as a speakerphone and the TomTom has the PLUS services.
While I would like TomTom to allow you to show more road names, in the end, this didn't justify the price difference of the Magellan (about $100). I think if you combined these two devices, you'd come close to having a perfect GPS unit.
As they stand, I think the TomTom has a slight edge mainly due to it's screen clarity, redraw/refresh rate, and auto zoom (the various voices you can choose from is a nice touch too).
TomTom, if you're listening on the next map update, please allow us to see road names on any road that appears on the screen! A menu button would be nice too and as an alternative, allow us to tap/identify the roads.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 
