TomTom ONE 130s
TomTom’s new ONE lineup boasts a newly redesigned mount, a louder speaker, optional traffic services, and a focus on safety features. Is the new ONE 130 series for you? We’ve taken the TomTom 130s through our test course to see what this little guy has to offer.
Physical Design
The ONE 130 and 130s sport a new design. Gone are the more square bottom edges of the ONE 2nd and 3rd Edition devices in favor of more rounded curves of the 130s. The 130s also is a little bit thinner than its predecessors. The design has also been simplified with the removal of the SD card slot and no external antenna port.
No buttons on the side, the power button is located on the top, and the power/USB connector is on the bottom. Pretty simple. The back features the speaker and pins to connect the “EasyPort” mount. While the power cable does connect to the bottom of the GPS, it is recessed far enough that it doesn’t prohibit you from mounting the GPS as low as you want on the dash. Nice move.
The 130/s is also an extremely compact GPS device. Despite having the same screen size, the TomTom 130 is narrower than a Nuvi 200, about the same height, but a little thicker due to the EasyPort mount system. The screen is very bright, though not as bright as the Nuvi devices. The map and interface is easily visible from wide and tall angles, and is easy to see in most lighting conditions.
EasyPort Mount
One of the biggest new features of the TomTom 130 series is the EasyPort mount. This is a pretty unique way to build a mount, and that uniqueness offers a few advantages, and a few disadvantages. So here is how this thing works.
The back of the 130 series has a round disc that protrudes from the GPS. There are three spring tensioned springs that stick out just a little bit.
Then you have the EasyPort mount itself. Think of it as “clamshell” shaped. One one half is the suction cup. The backside of the suction cup is a big knob that you can rotate to lock the suction cup into place. This produces a very strong connection.
In between the two halves of the clamshell is a ball and socket joint that allows the mount to be angled into a variety of positions. It can be rotated for use with an adhesive disc on the dash, or for use directly connected to the windshield. This joint makes it so you can adjust the GPS to any angle, and is quite handy. On the other hand I found it to be just a tiny bit too tight, and the GPS would sometimes pop off the mount while I was trying to adjust the angle. If you are careful however you can pop off a rubber protector exposing two screws and very slightly reducing the tension on those screws. (If you find the same issue I did.) One eighth of a turn on each screw was enough, and it may naturally loosen with time anyhow.
The other half of the clamshell is a donut shaped piece of plastic which snaps onto the GPS. As I mentioned above there were a couple of times when I was adjusting the angle of the GPS (which moves the ball and socket joint connecting the two halves of the clamshell) and the GPS popped off from the mount. Loosening the joint helped with that minor issue. The GPS can also be rotated on this connection between the mount and the GPS. This is what allows it to change from a windshield mount orientation to a dash mount orientation.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with the mount. It allows for a number of adjustment options and certainly makes it easier to carry around the GPS and the mount. With the mount folded up but still connected to the GPS, the entire system is still 1.5 inches thick– plenty small enough to fit into most pockets and purses.
When I’m out of town for meetings and want to take a quick trip out for dinner, I obviously want to bring along a GPS to get me there, but it is sometimes is a hassle to bring the GPS and the mount and then put the GPS into one pocket and the mount in another. The TomTom EasyPort mount solves this problem beautifully.
Someone mentioned that the suction cup being in your pocket might attract lint and dirt. I didn’t have that issue, but perhaps I just have clean pockets. 
And with the suction cup lock it would probably take quite a bit of dirt before it make the mount less sticky.
video from tomtom.com
Battery, Speaker, Display
What also makes this GPS great for the frequent out of town traveler is that it has a longer battery life than the previous TomTom ONE series devices, up to three hours as opposed to two hours on other models. I tested the claim with the default factory settings and was able to match that, getting about 2:55 before it shut itself off. It is still behind competitors such as the Nuvi 200 series in this regard though, which get up to 4 or 5 hours of battery life.
Along with the EasyPort mount, the other big story here is the speaker. This thing is LOUD. I measured the volume level of the TomTom 130s and compared it to over a dozen other auto GPS devices and the TomTom 130 was the loudest of the bunch– no contest. Putting it directly up against its competition it was a full 22% louder than the Nuvi 200 with both at the loudest volume setting. (Measuring with a decibel monitor.)
Of course most GPS devices don’t sound all that great at the loudest volume setting, and the TomTom 130s wasn’t an exception in that regard, but it will still be louder at 80% volume than any other GPS at 80% volume. If you are lucky enough to be driving a convertible this summer or like the stereo loud, The TomTom 130s might be on your shortlist if for nothing else, just for the speaker volume.
The display is also decent quality for an entry level GPS. It is well visible from wide and high angles and is a large improvement over the display in older models such as the ONE 2nd Edition.
Navigation
The 130 comes with TomTom’s NavCore 7.5 software which has since been updated to 7.522. The map includes the USA & Canada, and a fairly decent POI database. You don’t get the nice branded POI icons like you do on the 700 and 900 series devices though.
The menu system has also been rearranged a little bit from previous versions. Gone is the ‘Show ALL menu Items’ option… thankfully. And many of the items are in a more logical place than before. I can’t tell you how many times I instinctively taped Menu -> next -> next -> only to find that ‘Clear Route’ isn’t there on the top right anymore. While hard for me to retrain my fingers (isn’t muscle memory amazing!) it will be somewhere that more people can find it… Menu -> next -> ‘clear route’ and without needing to change a preference setting to enable it.
Quite a few other goodies have been added that first appeared in the 700 and 900 series devices such as enhanced speech customizations, and additional status bar options like displaying the status bar horizontally.
Speed limit warnings also make their appearance on the device. You can have it show you your current speed and the speed limit of the road segment you are on (if known). If you are driving more than a couple of miles per hour above the speed limit, the current speed and limit will be displayed in a red box to hopefully grab your attention. (You can also set audio tones if you go above a certain speed.)
Routing was plenty quick, and with the enormous speaker the voice prompts were plenty loud. We did run into one, potentially severe issue with text to speech however. During the first couple days of operation whenever the text to speech voice would come on, the map would stop updating. This was extremely annoying as when the voice speaks, most people will have a tendency to look over at the GPS to get a better picture of what is being described. At the same moment you look over at the GPS, the map stops updating.
To make matters worse, when the GPS was talkative, for example saying things like “At the end of the road, turn right, Main street, then stay in the left lane” would cause the map to only update once during the entire few seconds. Turning off text to speech would fix the problem– but that is hardly a fix.
I later performed a factory reset, and the issue has gone away. Perhaps in combination of other features I enabled, I had just taxed the processor or RAM too much. Unlike other TomTom TTS models, the 130s only comes with 32MB of RAM. I’ve since tried to duplicate the problem and cannot, so hopefully this is not an issue other people will run into.
Pro Routing Features
The TomTom 130 and 130s also join the TomTom ONE 3rd Edition in being devices that don’t come with Itinerary Planning (multi destination routing). The other “pro” type routing features are available though such as the ability to set custom detour distances for roadblocks, being able to avoid a specific road or town, offset routing to start a route from a location other than where you currently are, etc.
As with the other new TomTom models, you get the ‘Help Me’ feature to quickly find your descriptive location or emergency services, as well as MapShare to make certain types of corrections to the map database.
We were pretty surprised though to see that the 130 series does not come with IQ routes. In some ways it is a slap in the face to people who might have been previous TomTom owners that had opted in to help provide that anonymous data– only to find now they don’t have access to the data they helped create.
Traffic, Fuel
Something I immediately noticed when taking the 130s out of the box was that there was no connector for a traffic receiver.. and the device doesn’t have Bluetooth yet it is designed as being traffic compatible. The included manual (yes, it actually comes with a printed, abbreviated product manual) shows how this will work. You plug a special “y-adapter” type thing into the USB port. This adapter then has two plugs, one that splits off to power and a second for the RDS-TMC traffic cable. So it looks like it won’t be getting a nice integrated/combo power/traffic cable and instead you will have a dashboard full of cable flavored spaghetti. The power cable is also required when using the traffic cable.
The 130s is also compatible with TomTom fuel prices. You can subscribe to the service and download the updates from your computer into the GPS.
Purchasing Guidance
This is a pretty slick little GPS. The most attractive trait is the compact size of the GPS and the mount. When you arrive at your destination just pop the mount off the windshield, fold the mount, and slide it into your pocket and purse. No messing around with detaching the mount and stowing it away somewhere else in the car or trying to stuff it into another pocket.
Due to the slower processor and less RAM, the 130s does feel a bit sluggish running through the menu system compared to its upper-end siblings, however I can walk through the menu system with my eyes closed so other people probably won’t notice it as much and it wasn’t excruciatingly slow.
The loud speaker is also a big winner for those who have noisy car environments. Plus, the ability to have most of the “pro” type routing features, optional traffic service, optional fuel prices, and MapShare make this a very functional device at a great price.
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Great review. Will you be reviewing the 330s as well?
This sounds like a pretty nice device. I’m curious though, I would think that the need to attach a cable to the windshield for traffic would be a deal breaker for many. I’m concerned about it in my consideration of the 930T. In your review of the 920T (I think) you thought it had better reception than Garmin’s solution. Do you think there is a significant advantage, discounting for a moment the bother required to attach and unattach it from the windshield? Are there ways to minimize the need to fuss with it, like lay it on the dash, or something?
Yes, we will be taking the 330s for a spin as well. While the TT traffic system might have a tiny advantage when it comes to reception, the advantage is minimal. I just leave the traffic cable on the windshield at all times, and take the theft risk.
newbie question here: if there isn’t an SD slot, does that mean that you can’t put other maps on it or can you just download them into the “hard drive”?
You would have to backup the original maps, then load the new maps in their place. Then once done, put the originals back.
Tim, is the IQ Routes capability a software feature? If so, might there be a chance TomTom could add it later if there’s enough clamor for it on the 130?
Geoff - You can read about that in our article: TomTom IQ Routes for older devices?
No Bluetooth is pretty annoying; now they want me to spend an additional $100 to buy a receiver to do what my phone could do with my old One.
I’m about to buy a basic GPS. I’m deciding between the Tom tom One 130S and the soon to be released Garmin Nuvi 205. I realize you haven’t seen the latter yet, but from your experience and the available specs, any advance opinion? Thanks.
PS to my last question. Aside from the Where am I and the traffic capability, is there any difference between the Nuvi 200 and the 205? Do you think there’s a chipset or RAM change?
Steve, I’d compare it to the currently shipping Nuvi 200. I don’t know if there is a chipset or memory change. There are a few other subtle changes such as a turn arrow at the top and some graphical rendering (terrain) changes.
I am going to make a purchase this week, and I’m looking at the TomTom 130. Do you know what the cost is for future map updates? (Yes, obviously it is subject to change in the future.)
Jason, map updates for this device will likely be $99.
Thanks for the reply Tim. How does this pricing compare with other comparable devices like Garmin’s Nuvi 200, 260, etc?
They compare well. Since the 130 series is still fairly new they are still priced a little higher than the 200 and 260 which have been out for longer. You can compare prices on those models over here.
I want to buy my husband a GPS unit for his birthday (June 6). Which of the following is the better unit in your opinion: TomTom One 130S or the Garmin 340? Thank you in advance for any effort you may afford this matter…
The Garmin c340 is a discontinued product, so you would likely be better off getting the TomTom 130s for that reason.
I am considering the nuvi 200 and Tom Tom 130s. Is wither more useful as a light duty hiking aid to avoid getting lost? I am aware that there are handheld devices more suited for that type of use but was wondering if these can pull double duty at all.
Both are capable of showing your location even if you are not on a road, but since they only show roads on their map it might not be a large asset of you are lost hiking– perhaps better than nothing, but certainly not a substitute for map and compass.
Are both capable of having a waypoint entered such as where my vehicle is parked being entered so that I can return to it?
Yes, neither have a function designed specifically for that, however it is possible with both devices with some creative functions.
Looks like nuvi 200 will accept 500 Waypoints while Tom Tom will accept 48 if I am reading specs correctly. I guess the next question becomes can you select a waypoint as a destination? I imagine entering a waypoint when I park my car, turning the unit off and then hiking on public land that is not more than a couple thousand acres. Then turn the unit on to double check my map and compass coonclusions as to direction of my car.
“…the speaker. This thing is LOUD.”
You sure??? I bought a TomTom One 130s earlier today and the audio is awful. Well if you want loud you need to change it to the non-computer generated voice, but you’ll loose the text to speech capability, which is what you’ve paid this model over the other less expensive models of TomTom. I returned it right away, and went to another shop thinking it might just be the unit I’ve bought, but all of them is the same, even the store associate say that’s the problem with this new model. You can check other web reviews and the cons are always the audio, that’s why i’m reacting to your review saying that the speaker is LOUD.
I bought a Nuvi 260 instead and this is their comparison to their volume.
TomTom 100%
Nuvi 40%
Steve - Yes, you could use the GPS that way.
Jun - Yes, I’m sure the volume is very loud. I didn’t test this with my ears, but rather measured it with microphones.
I’m not saying you didn’t hear what you heard. The first thing I did when I purchased the 130s was to update the firmware. Perhaps the software update addressed a volume issue. Also, perhaps the store settings were not setup correctly. There is also a chance that there is a bad batch out there as I’ve heard reports of people being less than impressed with the speaker and exchanging it for another identical model that was extremely loud. But with both devices setup for a text-to-speech voice the 130s was 26% louder than the Nuvi 260 with a text-to-speech voice and both devices set at 100% volume.
Again, I’m not denying your experience, but that isn’t the same experience I had.
Quoted from your response on May 10th:
“Yes, we will be taking the 330s for a spin as well. While the TT traffic system might have a tiny advantage when it comes to reception, the advantage is minimal. I just leave the traffic cable on the windshield at all times, and take the theft risk.”
Thankyou for making these great reviews. I have a TomTom 130S, I am considering to exchange for the TomTom 330s, but from your comment, it seems that there’s only a tiny bit of advantage in upgrading. Perhaps just a bigger screen. But please make suggestions !
Louise - My comment about “tiny advantage” was in reference to TomTom’s traffic receiver versus Garmin’s traffic receiver.
As to the 330, it does offer a few advantages over the 130s such as a widescreen as well as multi destination routing. It also allows custom POIs to be added from the device itself, although that function will have little appeal to most users.
Looking at a Fathers Day gift. Either One 3rd Edition or 130 (not s) After reading the cnet review I was going for the One 3rd edition. After reading yours I am thinking the 130 (newer?) would be good. Given same price whats your recomendation between the two units?
Gary, I’d go for the 130 over the ONe 3rd Edition provided that you find a store with a good return policy on defective devices. It is difficult to tell how widespread the speaker issue is, but it is clear there is an issue with some of them.
Thanks for replying !
I bought the 130S at $198CAD without tax. If I were to “exchange”:
for the - TomTom ONE XL-S GPS, I will need to add $100CAD plus tax.
For the normal TomTom ONE XL GPS, I’ll need to add 50CAD plus tax.
Would you think I should “stick” to my 130S at my $198, $255 for TT ONE XL, or $311 for TT ONE XL-S ? Your recommendations will really help !
I have a 130s on my hand, and unfortunately I am in a situation as mentioned many times before by other people, that the volume is barely hear-able.
You mentioned that you’ve updated firmware? How do you do that?
tomtom.com/home
That program will update your device. You might also try different voices and different volume settings…. we haven’t yet identified exactly what the issue is– if it is indeed a software issue, configuration issue, or hardware.
Bought one of the 130S’s last week. My question is, text to speech…..does this mean it will say, “in 2 miles, turn left onto Main Street” or will it just say “turn left in 2 miles”. Reason I ask is that my unit didn’t announce 1 street this weekend during a trip to Boston. I bought it for the “text to speech” feature.
Any help is appreciated.
The 130s does have text to speech, so yes it is able to say “turn left on Main St”. To enable that, you must have a voice selected that is labeled ‘Computer’, as well as the voice preferences set to read street names aloud.
Tim-
Thanks for the tip….this is great site!
How do you tell the difference between the one 130 and the 130s,
I have one but unable to tell which it is?
Thanks
I don’t believe there is a physical difference… if it has a text to speech voice installed among the other voices it is the 130s.
How much is the annual map update for the 130s, in US Dollars, for USA/Canada?
Bob - TomTom offers map updates quarterly; you can take advantage of them as frequently or infrequently as you would like. They generally cost $99 but have been known to go on sale from time to time.
Tim - I have recently gone through two of the ONE 130S units. I did the 7.522 update and also updated the map. After the updates, both units started having text-to-speech problems. In other words, if the next turn was on Main St., they would say to turn on Penny Lane (or some else totally different). This happened with two units from different Radio Shack locations. I tried resolving the issue via tech support, but (and I hate to say it), they are very lacking in knowledge of their systems. One lady told me she didn’t know what GPS was until she started working for TomTom.
Chris, I haven’t heard of that issue, so I’m not certain what advice to offer. The most likely scenario is that either the map database is wrong (you can report through MapShare) or the street has multiple names. It is somewhat common for a street to have multiple names with the “local” name being different from what is written on the map.
Tim, Thanks for your quick response. This has actually happened for several streets in two different cities, and in my case, there are no multiple street names. The latest map actually has the correct street names. Now that I think about it, it’s probably the interaction between 7.522 and the latest map. I remember on my first unit, I updated the application first, then didn’t update the map until three days later. The voice was working fine until I updated the map.
Tim - thanks for all the helpful info on this site. I was asked what I want for Father’s Day, i travel so I want a gps. And I want text-to-speech gps (my wife has the ONE 3rd Edition, which I like except for no text-to-speech). I’m looking at the ONE 130S or the Nuvi 260. What is your take between them if any (outside of the loudness difference you reviewed)?
Larry - If overall you are pleased with the ONE 3rd Edition, then I’d go with the 130s since you would be familiar with the operation, probably have the HOME application already installed, and it would probably just make things easier.
If there are things other than the lack of TTS that bother you about the TomTom, let me know what those are so I can let you know if it is better on the 260.
Thanks Tim,I was leaning toward the 130S. The only issue I had with my wife’s One 3rd Edition was when I go to New York or Dallas from Colorado, it seems to take a long time to update from the satellite. This isn’t the best when I’m in my rental car ready to drive off. How is the 130S (or Nuvi 260) in this regard?
Tim, what a great site! Thanks for answering all these questions. One thing I’m curious about is whether I’ll really miss the 130s not having an SD slot. I’m sort of a hacker type guy and I’m all excited about putting lots of custom POI datasets on there. But it doesn’t seem like there is very much room for them. Is there a lot of unnecessary stuff that can be removed? I’ve already removed some of the splash images but the biggest problem is that US+Canada already takes like 95% of the total space. Perhaps I’d be better off with something with expandability. But one selling feature of the tomtom is the user supplied corrections. Do the others not have this?
You can remove any extra voices (especially any unused text to speech voices). Some of the custom POI databases (even those that come with the device) can be large. You might for example wish to remove things like the Church POI database, Schools, Playing Fields, Fire Stations, etc. If you are feeling really brave, I’ve had some luck recovering some space by making a good backup, formatting the card, reinstalling the application and maps, and then installing back just the other custom features I’m interested in.
But new custom POI databases, if you wanted to add something like WalMart for example, don’t take up much space at all.
User supplied corrections also take up a little space, but again not a ton. No, other manufacturers currently do not have a MapShare type program.
Scott - They will be similar in that regard.
Just an FYI for others who are having volume problems on their 130s. We got one from Radio Shack that has very low volume for the text to speech computer voice. It was definitely louder for the other voices that can’t do text to speech. We upgraded the firmware / application running on it and it didn’t improve. Then we got another one from amazon.com and it is much much louder. So I think there must just be a bad batch of them. If you get one that is too quiet, return it for another one.
John, I noticed you said you updated the application. Have you tried the new map as well (v720) ? I got two from Radio Shack and when I updated the application and map, the text to speech started saying wrong street names for many streets. I have a feeling Radio Shack may in fact have received a bad batch. I’ve returned both units. The first one was fine for volume, then the second was bad.
Chris, I haven’t noticed that but I didn’t use it for navigation after upgrading and noticing that didn’t solve the volume problem.
Tim
In one of your latest responses, you mention adding in a Walmart custom POI database but I thought the 130/130S did not support custom POI. This is mentioned in your web page that brought me in to this review. You said that not many people use them. Maybe I misunderstand what they are. I had a TomTom ONE (taken by an opportunist in a hotel lobby)and found the Australian link http://www.ozpoi.com/ invaluable for adding POIs. I would be disappointed not to be able to add in the location of local store chains and public conveniences!
I am looking to replace it when in the USA next week since the new ones are not available here yet, hence the search that led to your site. I have established that the warranty is world wide but am a bit concerned about the voice level issue.
1. Does the voice level problem only occur with the computer generated voice? I was planning on just getting the 130 anyway since TomTom Australia has told me that the text to speech won’t work with the Australian map on the 130S. I won’t have much time to test and return if the voice is too low.
2. Is it easy to remove a map and install a new one (which I will need to do once I get home)? I assume I use TomTom Home to do this. My old model had an SD card.
3. Does the new mount rely on a suction cap on the window? I am told that these marks tell would-be thieves that there could be a GPS inside your car.
Justine - You can add custom POIs to the device through TomTom HOME. You cannot manually add a custom POI category through the device itself like you can other TomTom devices.
1) It appears to be device specific, while the non-TTS voices are generally louder, the speaker issue seems attributed to a specific batch of devices.
2) Yes, exactly, through TomTom HOME.
3) Yes, you can see the pictures through my review (and the video) above. I carry a small face cloth to wipe the windshield when necessary.
Hello. Quick question. I currently have gps software that runs on my ppc and love it. I do lie this AIO unit for my traveling purposes though. I currently have mutliple destination routing but primary use it for avoiding certain areas in a route.
With the 130 - As far as waypoints, if I create a route and then want to avoid a certain area, can I enter a via somewhere that will route me the way I want to go to avoid that area? Thanks in advance!
Rob, yes, you can add one via point to the trip. You can also tell it to exclude a particular road.
Hi
Thanks for the great review, Would you be comparing the 255 and the tom 130s soon?
As both seem to be the new models with “text to speech” from each company?
To John
Did you update your software from the one you got in amazon.com yet?
let us know is it the batch from Radio Shack that is having problems with the volume or is it also amazon.com
Again thanks for the review
Hi Tim, I am about to purchase a 130S online, under product information it says “RDS-TMC Traffic Compatible–NOT INCLUDED.” Is this something that I need for this device to work and will I have to purchase this separately? Second question, do I have to do any form of subscription before using this device?
No, you do not need the traffic receiver to use the device. If you were to purchase it, the device will alert you to live traffic conditions. There is no subscription needed to use the device.
Hi Tim, I just asked two questions a minute ago and am making a correction. Under the description of the product where it spoke about the “RDS-TMC Traffic Compatibility” it said “Receiver not included” do I have to purchase this receiver separately for the equipment to work?
No, you do not need to purchase the traffic receiver for the device to work. That is only if you want to add in live traffic reports to the device.
Greetings Tim,
Please, can you tell me the noise level measures that you have done between TT 130 and Garmin Nuvi 200 ?
I’m interested in the measure in decibel that you found (particularly for the Nuvi 200).
Thanks a lot.
Orbitica I didn’t save any notes beyond what I included here, sorry.
Tim,
My parents want to get a bare bones gps and after research and reviews, I like the 130 for them. One question…the Magellan model I have alerts me if I happen to run into a traffic delay by displaying a detour icon that I can touch and it will provide me with re-routing options to avoid the delay. Very helpful. Does the 130 have a similar feature? Thanks.
Tim,
Forgot to ask in my above question…if the 130 doesn’t have this detour/re-routing feature, can you recommend a similarly priced, equally impressive model that does?
Yes, the 130s has a detour function. It doesn’t automatically prompt, but you can select it from the menu and have it create an alternate route.
Seems there are still 130/130S with volume issues in the stores.
I really wanted to buy a 130 on June 19 in downtown Chicago and not every TomTom reseller has it. Ended up at Radio Shack and because of the previous comments about volume, asked to hear it - it was unbelievably quiet compared to the TomTom One Third Edition they also opened for me and which I somewhat reluctantly bought (as I had wanted the extra battery life and lighter weight).
While I was there, someone else returned a 130S saying that it was a lot quieter than another one from another store (that I won’t mention here). The staff returned his money but were sceptical on the comparison as they said they came from the same manufacturers.
Justine,
I’ve written a few comments about units from Radio Shack and also about a possible software bug. I tried two units from RS. The volume on the first one was actually loud enough that I didn’t have to use 100% volume. I returned it because after I updated the operating software along with the map, it started saying incorrect street names (the text-to-speech was saying incorrect street names). The second unit then had really low volume and it was garbled. When I updated the software and map on it, I got the same text-to-speech errors. So, I have returned two units to RS. I’ve actually talked to someone at the main TomTom office, and they said they would call back but they never did. Also, their regular tech support is pretty poor. One person told me they didn’t know what GPS was until they started working for TomTom !!
I bought two TomTom XL 330s and returned them both because the speakers were too soft. Today I picked up the 130s, and it sounds great. But as soon as I connected it to a computer to update it, it froze. It asked me to disconnect and reconnect, but when I did, it showed me a “disconnect” error, and a big red X. Now it won’t do anything but flash the red x and I can’t use it. I can find nothing on TomTom’s website about this, and I’m about at the end of my patience with their products. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?
Mike - The “red x” issue isn’t unique to the 130s. It can happen to any TomTom when the application becomes corrupt or the wrong application is installed.
See this thread in our forums for the fix:
red x on TomTom 720 screen won’t start & reset doesn’t w
TomTom’s website does have information about this error too:
My TomTom device flashes with a red ‘X’.
If you still have trouble, I’d reply to that forum thread (or create a new one over there) and we can probably get you running.
Bought the 130s yesterday… outstanding unit. Very easy to set up and use. But, as above, the volume was really hard to hear. I too messed up with updating with tomtom.home. Customer service was excellent. First off they said: Ignore the “disconnect and reconnect” prompt. It’s mistake and they’re trying to fix that. I too got the big red flashing “X”. They walked me through a hard reset and had to reinstall the operating system. They couldn’t help the sound issue… suggested sending it in for service or taking it back to Radio Shack for an exchange… which I did. The replacement unit is VERY LOUD - you have to actually turn the volume down to 70% to be comfortable. I love the product and the customer service!
If you get the red X after unplugging the GPS like the screen says, look for the article telling you to browse to the device when connected to computer, remove all files in the home directory in the GPS, *BUT* leave all folders and files in the folders, restart and reload the application from the “HOME” folder. This is the only way I got mine to work again.
I just got my 130S today and want to know if I can skip past the update download screen and restore files and programs from my wife’s recently updated (yesterday) regular TomTom One 3rd edition due to the red X problem? Or are the updates and other programs specific to the 130S?
The application is specific to each model.
I purchased a 130s today and seemed to have an audio problem where promts were hard to hear. There was no volume. I took unit back and exchanged it. Volume is very nice and clear now. I had to call customer service to remove the other device from my account. Answered quickly and helped me right away.Now to test it on the road.
Hi Tim, Thanks for your great website.
1. Do you know how many POIs comes with the 130s? I only see “millions” in other reviews, doesn’t say how many exactly. One of the reviews said, can’t find a Barnes and Noble
2. Up to how many POIs can I add before I ran out of space? estimate?
3. There are only two things that’s stopping me from buying, first is you can’t search a restaurant by cuisine type. Sometimes when you’re in a new place, you feel like eating some specific cuisine. Is there any way to get around that?
4. Second is, I’m worried that this GPS is not for long term use if you want to always have updated maps, perhaps longest is 5 years since with all the map updates, it would eventually ran out of space, no SD card slot.
5. I currently have a magellan 3225, pretty happy with it, but it seems slow when recalculating when you miss a turn, takes about 12 seconds (could be the free 6 million POI update I got from the net) to give a new route from right after I get past the street I’m supposed to make a turn. How long does 130s take to recalculate? Another thing I don’t like about the 3225 is that when you miss a turn, it usually gives you longer recalculated routes but if I cancel the recalculated route and re-enter my original destination (it’s easy, I can go to previouis destinations) it would give the better/best route. This is not an issue if you know the place, just ignore 3225’s recalculated route and keep going the good route, and eventually it will recalculate and give the good route. But, I don’t always know the place and that’s why I want a GPS that will recalculate and still give me the best route, is 130s dependable in this area of recalculation?
6. You don’t need to answer this one, just curious if you don’t mind, are you based in Canada or U.S.? which city? You have the same name with my techy colleauge.
Again, nice work on this website. More power!
1) Roughly 2-3 million, TomTom won’t confirm.
2) Probably a couple million more.
3) Not really– other than the type is sometimes/often included in the name. If you’re looking for a steakhouse, “steakhouse” is often in the name.
4) I’m not certain you would get five years from any GPS due to the rapid pace of development and the changing technology. I think there would be technical barriers almost as fast as drive space limitations.
5) I think you will find it recalculates faster and more accurately based on your description.
6) US, New England area. I think I’m on the opposite side of the continent from you.
I’m exchanging mine with Amazon now due to a quiet speaker. Otherwise I’m pretty happy, especially at this price point.
I finally got a response from the Concord, MA, office about my issue with the 130S text-to-speech saying the wrong street names during a route. For example, if you are supposed to turn on High Street, it could say “Turn on Hill Ave”. As I suspected, they have verified that the problem is with the current version 720 map. Most users may or may not have this problem. If you only upgrade the application, there is no problem. It only occurs after the map is updated.
My replacement unit has a loud audio section. I really like the 130, especially for the price. Just make sure you’re OK with the sound level. If it’s not loud and clear, go ahead and exchange it. Amazon sent me a new unit via overnight UPS.
I’m a newbe to gps, I tryed to tell the wife that her and Mapquest printouts were my gps but after her seeing my sons’ unit and the one her friend had I broke down and ordered a 130s supposedly new from [snip, see comment policy]. I just have a few questions;
1. Can you charge the unit via the usb port leaving it connected for a few hours?
2. If you start a trip and go off the route for lunch or lodging and turn the unit off does it remember the plan and continue on powering up?
I’ll be on the volume problem and won’t upgrade the map for now until I here the problem is resolved.
1. Yes, although it will take twice as long to charge.
2) Yes.
The speaker issue isn’t related to any map upgrade or application upgrade. It appears to be a production issue.
I just got one of the 130S units from BB 15 minutes ago and speaker issue was present - very garbled at anything over 85% and too quiet to hear at any level below that.
I thought I would take it apart and see what was causing the problem, but the speaker would only come part way out. I smacked it back into place… voila! perfect speaking voice with no distortion at even 100% - I guess the Fonzie method of getting things to work does prevail every once in a while.
I wouldnt recommend this method, but I had the replacement plan, so figured the worst that could happen is it didnt work at all after I put it back together.
Chris, thanks for sharing. That is interesting because it is the first report I’ve seen that actually starts to narrow down what the issue might be.
Hi,
I know the TomTom 130s has text to speech but will it indicate both the street name and the distance? ie you will turn right on main street in 100 feet or will it only say turn right on main st? Please let me know since I just purchased the garmin nuvi 200 and may take it back.
Thanks.
Dave
There are multiple verbal instructions given for a particular maneuver. I don’t think each instruction includes all of the text, but for a given turn yes it will verbally tell you the name of the street and distance provided there is enough time.
Ok. Thanks for your response. The guy who helped me at Best Buy said it only said the street name so then I was swayed towards the Garmin. In your opinion which is better for in city driving? I believe the Garmin only says turn left in 500 feet and doesn’t name the street. Please let me know what you think and thanks again. I really appreciate it.
Dave
The Nuvi 200 doesn’t speak street names, you need to move up to the Nuvi 260 to get that.
i bought 4 tom tom units, from last november, 3 tom tom 3rd edition and the last one is tom tom 130. For the tom tom 130 the volume level is very too low. at 100 % volume is equal as the tom tom 3rd edition at 20%. very disapointed about model 130, i don’t know if they all have the same problems, at 100% volume level you must place it at few inches from your ears to hear something.. very poor volume…
Claude, apparently you didn’t read any of these comments before posting yours.
Thanks Tim,
Yes I’m in the opposite side of the continent. I’m in BC. Would you know what the size is of the original POI file in MB that comes with 130s? and how much more free space is available in the unit? I just want to make a really close estimate of the number of POIs available and how much more I can add.
Thanks Tim,
Would you know what the size is of the POI file that comes with 130s in MB? and how much more free space is available? I just want to make a really close estimate of the number of POIs I can have.
The original POI file size is 68.6 MB. My 130s has about 18 MB of free space on it. I wouldn’t read much into the size of the original POI file as it likely uses a different format than custom POI files do. I’ve got a custom POI file with 10,000 locations that takes up about 0.5 MB of space. So you could roughly estimate that 100,000 POI locations would take up 5 MB of space. So I could fit probably fit another 400,000 POIs on the device… If I could think of that many.
Hi,
I am trying to decide between the TomTom 130 and the Magellan Roadmate 1400. I have found both of these for the same price but can not find any reviews on the Magellan 1400. Are they comparable and if so which one would be a better buy?
I just purchased the TomTom 130 and am very pleased with it. I have just one question; how do I delete a location from my Favourites? There is a delete option for Recent destinations, but I can’t see one for Favourites. Thanks!
Menu -> Change Preferences -> (next) -> Manage Favorites -> (select favorite) -> Delete -> Yes -> Done.
Hi, I want to buy a basic GPS device with GPS faatures- speaking street names,good re-routing, good points of interest database etc. and I researched and almost settled on Garmin 255 which has just come out. I was waiting for its price to come down and came across omTom 130S model which seems quite comparable in efatures. Have you looked at Garmin 255 and what will be your advice - should I wait to but that or go with TomTom,right now? thanks.
Hi, I’m taking a trip soon, about a 7 hour drive, can I rely on the tom tom 130 to take me all the way or should I have a backup google map…thanks
Avsal - I rely on GPS 100% of the time, but that is also my job.
I’d rely on it to take me anywhere and any distance the maps cover. But there is certainly no harm in printing out a backup set of directions, just in case. It can sometimes take some getting used to the type of directions the GPS gives you, so having a backup isn’t a bad idea.
Can the 130S manage POI’s like my older One XL?
I used to create site locations in the cities I’d visit and make them a POI, but I don’t see this feature in the software, just creating and managing favorites.
No, the 130 series, like the ONE 3rd Edition, doesn’t let you manage POIs “on-board”.
Hi, Tim. How do I check the version of the map on my 130S?
My software version is now 8.010. After I upgraded from 7.xx (didn’t check, didn’t backup, my mistake) the compass icon has shrunk and now I can’t modify it. Worse, I tried operating my Tomtom from the computer, had to download some software to do so and then I lost my only computer voice. I had to re-download and install it. It’s almost a week and Support still haven’t told me why I lost the compass preference settings and my voice.
So far the unit performs better than their customer support.
Thanks.
You can find your map version by clicking on the satellite reception icon in the lower corner of the map view, and then clicking on the button that shows your application version. (version 8.010) I believe there were some application changes that impacted how the compass is displayed, so far from what I’ve been able to determine this was an intended change.
Nice site. Thanks for the information. I just switched from a Garmin c330 to the Tomtom one 130. I tried to setup the fuel information and pay on tomtom website but it would not allow me too. I called them and they said it is not an option that will work with the one 130? Have you heard this before? I was surprised since it is in their menu etc. You also list it above as a feature. Wonder if it will be in future releasesw. Thanks for your help.
Tell them that tomtom.com/6610 says it is compatible.
Has anyone figured out the 720 map update and pronouncing street names correctly? This seems to be an ongoing issue with my XL330s unit and it’s getting frustrating after numerous calls to support.
David, did the 720 map come on your device when you purchased it? If not, did you have to call to get the updated map?
Looking at the 130 and Nuvi 200. 1st time user. Do they both recalculate new routes if you get off the specified routes, or do they direct you back to the specified route?
thanks
The 720 map did not come with my device. I called and got it placed into my account, with the latest map guarantee service they offer.
David, the reason I asked is because so far everyone I can recall that has reported that issue has upgraded their maps by calling support to a version that was not automatically offered through the LMG. For example I have a 130s that came with the 715 map and don’t have that problem. The LMG function within HOME, and the regular update check through HOME both say I have the latest map available for my device.
Now of course we know the 720 map is out for some devices, however I don’t wonder if it is known that the current 720 map is incompatible with the new 130/130s/330/330s and that is why it is not being offered automatically.
Perhaps TomTom developers know there is an issue and thus are not releasing it through TomTom HOME. And perhaps TomTom support doesn’t know of the conflict and is giving the maps out when people ask.
Henry, yes they both will automatically create a new route. They will take you back to the original route if that is still the best way, but they will consider alternatives from that new point.
Thanks for the info. Both are being offered at [the same price]. any preference or benefits between the two for performance or any other reason.
Thanks,
Thanks.
Both are offered at the same price here and is there any performance or other benefit of one vs the other.
hmm so what you’re saying Tim is that this is a fairly common issue. From what I’ve asked support, they hadn’t heard of the issue except for when I brought it up to them. I’ve reverted back to 715 for now since it works fine, and maybe I’ll give it some time to see if an update becomes available sometime in the future. Not much else I can do anyway.
I guess I’m saying it seems common for those who found there exists a higher map version, and called TomTom support to request it. From x30 owners I suspect that scenario of events is not common. However for those who did follow those steps the incorrect street name issue seems common.
Hi, this is a great forum. I was reading a post regarding deleting from favourites. I have a question regarding deleting from recent destinations. How do I select one destination from the list to delete? Right now I have to delete all recent destinations. I look forward to your response. Thanks.
You can’t delete just one– it is all or nothing.
We wanted to buy the Tom Tom 130s. The salesman said they have alot of returns of this model due to incorrect turn directions. He recommened the garmin nuvi 260. Is the Garmin a better choice for this problem?
Sandy, I haven’t heard of issues with “incorrect turn directions”. I haven’t experienced it with my 130s.
My 130 did’nt come with a software disc, Do you have to log on TomTom web sight to get updates ? And is it true what I’m finding out that updates cost $ after a month it was bought ?
Bob, you use the TomTom HOME program for application updates and MapShare map updates (both free). The installer should be on the device itself, or you can download it from TomTom. Official map updates do cost money, as they do from every GPS company.
Does the map share get check for any viruses and for it being accurite. So how is the Official update differ from MapShare ?
MapShare updates are updates made and submitted by fellow users. They are typically fairly accurate. They are not susceptible to “viruses”.
I have good news and bad news regarding the TOMTOM 130S. The good news is that I have “fixed” the extremely low speaker volume problem. The bad news is that in order to make the unit work properly, I had to rap the rear speaker section with my hand. Amazingly, the volume problem disappeared! The volume is so loud now that I cannot set it higher than 85% or it will wake the dead!
I know that this is a primative fix but the unit works great ever since I made the “repair”. It is my belief that the speaker diaphram sticks and this is a original manufacture or quality control problem.
I had originally contacted TOMTOM customer service about the problem. They had me do a re-boot but that accomplished nothing. They denied that there was any problem with the unit. I am glad that I “spanked” my GPS because I am happy with it small size, LOUD volume, and good performance all around.
the “Fonzie” method works again… this shoudl become the standard fix for these things. I did it, andwe took a 1200 mile trip to Rapid City South Dakota - not a single volume issue.
For those of you who updated maps and found that the spoken street name no longer matches the correct street, I’d like you to try something. If you don’t immediately understand these instructions, I would not attempt. Mount the TomTom’s drive on your computer. Open it, then the USA_and_Canada folder. Make a backup of the ‘cphonmlh.dat’ file for safe keeping in case this makes it worse. Delete the file from The TomTom, run HOME and install any suggested updates, and then reboot your TomTom. Some users have reported that procedure fixes the street name/voice mismatch.
I just bought a 130-S from BB. I live in Honolulu and our addresses have a “dash” in the middle, ie 47-544 Lulani Street. I have not been able to figure out how to insert the dash. The 130-S is unable to find any addresses because of this problem. I can navigate to an intersection, but woud like to know if anyone knows a fix for this problem.
Richard, see comments #247 and 248 on our TomTom ONE 3rd Edition page for a similar question/answer.
Tim, thanks for the quick reply. Entering the address without the dash doesn’t work in Hawaii. The Google Maps suggestion does work but is very inconvenient. Since Tomtom is silent regarding a fix, I guess I’ll return my unit and try a Garmin.
Hi, I have a brand new Tomtom 130 that has the flashing X after updating the unit. I’m confused by comment #69 by “J” to “remove all files in the home directory in the GPS, *BUT* leave all folders and files in the folders.” Exactly which folders and files are being referred to? Thanks.
Mel - I would ignore that for now and follow the steps at tomtom.com/6363 first.
We have just purchased a tom tom one 130 Took a trip to Atlanta, we had trouble with it losing its satellite fix.. It couldn’t find us and even showed we were driving off the interstate and even driving in water. Gave wrong turn for our destination too.. Thank God we knew where we were going.. Any comments or solutions ?
Rene, I’d follow our Acquiring Satellites tips or contact TomTom support.
I figured out how to correct the low volume issue. I took apart the speaker assembly and noticed the speaker cone was pushed out. I pushed it back in and the volume increased dramatically. Here are steps: Use a small flat blade jewellers screwdriver to pry up the speaker grill. Start in one spot and work your way around. Try to get under the rubber surround. There numerous clips that hold it in place, they seem sturdy and none of the broke. The speaker is held in place by the rubber surround and some sticky tape and has two small wires. When I removed the grill the speaker popped out of the surround. Pull up the speaker, it is held in place by the sticky tape and will give some resistance until it finally detaches, be careful not to pull to far and damage the speaker wires. Now you can push the speaker cone in, it is plastic and will make a snapping sound as you do this. Push only on the outer areas of the cone and avoid the center dust cap. Turn on the unit and do a volume test. Then power it off. Now re-attach the speaker to the grill by sliding into the rubber surround lip. I used the small screwdriver to help get it all the way around. Pay attention to the clips on the grill some are larger then others. The hole at the very bottom is smaller than the rest of the holes, line up one of the smaller clips to this hole. The tricky part is dealing with the mount clips in keeping them from coming out of the holes. This the part that took some time getting it just right. Once the holes and clips are lined up, begin at one area of the grill and start pusing it back into the unit. Once it is correct, the grill will sit uniform all the way around. Once back together, the sound that it originally produced was equivalent to about 75% of the current levels. I was astounded at how much louder it got and there was no distortion at 100% like before. I hope someone finds this useful. Good luck!
Josh - I tried your speaker fix, and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the advice. That was the problem and it made a dramatic difference. I was a little hesitant about being so intrusive…I didn’t want to void warranty in case it didn’t work. But it did. You have be careful not to pinch the rubber surround. I found the hardest part getting the speaker back into rubber surround especially around mount clips. Thanks again.
I have a symbol on the left side around the middle that when I hit it it says that my location is stored. What is this ? When I hooked the GPS to the computer nothing about that was seen. Thanks
Bob, you turned on the Quick Menu option for saving your current location as a favorite. To turn it of go to Menu -> Change Preferences -> Quick Menu Preferences, and then uncheck ‘Add position to favorites’.
I can’t find “Quick Menu Preferences” I followed your instructions and found nothing.
It is in there… you might need to right arrow through a few of the menus to find it.
Do I have to use a particular voice for the text to speech feature to work?
Yes, see our article on how to Enable Text-to-Speech.
Tim,
Thanks for the advice. I had to repeat the instructions at tomtom.com/6363 three times, but it eventually got rid of the flashing X.
A couple months ago, I purchased the TomTom One 130s for a birthday gift. The volume was too low (couldn’t hear at highway speeds). I had read about this in a CNET article by Bonnie Cha, but didn’t think the odds were that I’d be afflicted. Murphy’s law, I was. So I brought the unit back to Best Buy for an exchange, but had exactly the same problem with the second unit. Returned it for a refund, then tried another more distance store (RadioShack), hoping maybe they’d have an different batch. This third one worked perfectly right out of the box. Had never had a GPS unit with such a loud volume level.
Then, two months later for no apparent reason (didn’t reset, didn’t drop, never updated the software), all of a sudden, the exact same volume level problem reappears. Now I’m out of the 30 return window and have to call TomTom to see about repair/replacement. I’d already tried resetting to factory conditions, restarting (holding power button for 15+ seconds), updating the application software, uninstalling/reinstalling the application software) to no avail. TomTom’s tech support had me do a simple reset (holding the power switch) and then turning the volume up to 100% and testing. The volume was still way too low and noticeably distorted on top of that. The guy immediately tells me, “that sounds good, that should be OK.” When I told him it was way too quiet, he insisted that it was loud enough because he could hear it through the phone, implying that I was being unreasonable and was probably out of options, but that he’d go check and see what else (if anything) could be done.
Long story short, I complained to a supervisor and got a return authorization. But now, before I’ve sent it off, I stumbled upon this web-site full of wonderful information, and see a user post saying that he rapped his speaker firmly with is hand. Lo and behold, I slapped the speaker grill on the back of my unit (firmly with the flat of my hand, and the thing is back up to very loud (undistorted) volume levels! Don’t know what to do now…return for new or live with what we’ve got.
Thanx for a wonderful site.
Hi, I have a couple of questions about the 130s
1. Since it’s a new model, are all the map versions the same no matter where you buy,or are some already carrying updated maps?
2. Without opening the box how do you know what version it is?
3To charge at home do you have to use a tt home charger or will any charger like from a phone or razor work?
Thanks for any help.
1) There will likely be some with different map versions but it really doesn’t matter since TomTom offers a 30 day latest map guarantee.
2) You don’t.
3) Some will work– you would just need to make sure they have the same power output to not fry the GPS.
Joe,
re power charging at home. I find a Blackberry charger works very well - used it in both USA and Australia (same charger with appropriate fitting) but for Third Edition TomTom so imagine it would work for 130S as well.
This was posted in the forums, but for those who updated to the 720 maps and are getting the incorrect street names using the TTS, read here for a fix; http://www.gpsreview.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7076
Hi,
One more question about the 130s,if I have an alternative route to a site that i prefer to take, can it be saved and used whenever i want to go there or do I have to enter it each time I want to use it. If not, which TT do I need to look at to get this feature? Thanks
You can add a via point to a route, but you can’t “save” that setup. (Although it only takes a second or two.) If you want more than one via point to build a route or to save that route, any TomTom other than the ONE 3rd Edition, 130, and 130s would work.
Tim I must ask you, do you work for TomTom or for this web sight ?
I work for this website. You can checkout our Ethics page if you have any questions.
New to all this. Just bought the TomTom 130-S. It is great…ONLY when I select a route and start it, after about 2 -3 minutes I get a demo/ad series of images run. The voice to tells me where/when to turn, but i have to keep touching the screen to see the route. Please tell me how to fix this.
Phil - Can you describe in more detail what you see?
It is like it is running an instore demo, listing the features of the unit. It is annoying to have to constantly keep touching the screen to get to the map. I assume that there must be a setting to remove or stop the screenshots/demo stop running.
hmmm…. I’m not really sure what to tell you on that one, Phil. There used to be a ’show tips’ or ‘hide tips’ setting which would do something similar to what you describe– though not while actively following a route. Last I knew TomTom didn’t have specially built “in store” models. You might need to contact TomTom support about that one.
I have a severe hearing impairment and do NOt expect to use the audio on a GPS when I buy it. It would be used by me either at a stop - or while my wife is driving. Are any units especially suited to this type of usage??
Harry, the TomTom models offer more customization of what you can add to the map display than many other brands, so they would perhaps be a good pick. You might want to consider a device that has a widescreen though so you can fit more on the map display and it will make it easier to scan the map. For those, consider the TomTom ONE XL-S or the TomTom XL 330s.
Three Tom Tom 130S and none of them worked properly. First could not find the satellite and froze up and, second had the volume issue common to this model from a particular store, third froze up like the first…store refunded my money and thought that this was not the model/make for me.
Just purchased the TOMTOM XL330-S and boy was I disappointed. At first I thought the unit was defective as there was no volume. I then located the volume and pumped it up to 100% as well as used the tomtomhome website to update my software. Well, the volume and the speaker was low and muffled at times…kind of like underwater with a muffled tone. After reading this site, I popped the speaker with my palm. On the third pop, the speaker completely changed. It is now AT LEAST 35-50% more powerful and is NOT garbled. Thanks for the tip!…you saved me much time and hassle by bypassing a return. We’re coming in loud and clear now.
Tim,
Has TomTom shown any interest in this discussion on volume which at least now has a way to fix it? It clearly was more than an isolated batch that it appeared to be at the beginning.
TomTom is aware of the issue. They are encouraging people who have the issue to exchange it as that might be fastest. Or if they prefer support will exchange it.