TomTom XL 330s
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| Store | Rating | Best Prices |
|---|---|---|
Compare all prices on the TomTom XL 330S Auto GPS ranging from $249.99 to $349.99. | ||
 |  In Stock at Dell.com | $349.99 |
 |  In Stock at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) | $299.00 |
 | In Stock at The GPS Store, Inc. | $299.95 |
 | In Stock at circuitcity.com | $299.99 |
 | In Stock at Dell Small Business | $349.99 |
 | In Stock at RadioShack.com | $249.99 |
 | In Stock at US Appliance | $279.00 |
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I just bought a TT XL 330-s from Sams Club online. It also has the low volume problem like the new 130’s. At maximum volume I can barely hear it. (Compairing to a 3rd editin I borrowed recently which I used at 55% volume). I will contact TT about getting it fixed. I think the brightness is also much lower which would explain why some people say that they aren’t that bright. Probably the same problem as the sound - some are defective and some are not. Indoors it is fine but outside I can barely see it.
I notice the 330 an 330s do not have SD card slots. How important/useful/needful is this?
Wendell, see our article: Do I Need an SD Card for my GPS?
Thanks Tim - I had previously read this, and was more thinking around whether I want a unit with or without the slot. Experience has told me where expandability is concerned, if you can get a slot, best to have one in any device.
I have plenty of SD cards hanging around so buying the card wasn’t my concern.
No slot.
Thanks Tim - I guess that I’d need to go with the XL-S if I want a slot and TTS then. Appreciate your help.
Great site, btw.
I am about to purchase my first gps and have researched to the point of confusion. So now I have come down to the XL-s or the 330S. I am planning a trip to Germany/Austria and may want to buy maps of those places. Is one unit better than the other for that? Does it make sense to walk around the streets of Salzberg with one in my pocket so that I can find my way back to the hotel? Thank you.
Ken- The XL-S has an SD card slot while the XL 330s doesn’t, so it could be a little bit easier to just load the maps and an application on SD card versus making a backup of the original maps and then restoring them later as the XL 330s would require. But if you’re comfortable with the map backups etc then it might not be a big difference in that regard. Both would allow you walk around with it in your pocket but beware of accidental touch screen input if it is running in your pocket as there is no “hold” switch/screen lock.
Thanks for the reply. I am assuming that the backup/restore is done via PC with a cable to the GPS and is not such a difficult thing. Is the fact that the 330S is newer an advantage? I don’t see many differences that would sway me one way or the other.
Yes, the backup/restore would be done by a PC application. Something else to check is the physical size of the maps you want to install– for example all of Europe might be too big to fit in the internal memory while a few European countries should fit fine.
I really do like the new mount design of the 330s, and the speaker is louder too– although the XL speaker works well enough.
I was thinking the same thing as Ken, but now am actually leaning towards the 920, which I can get at a decent price here in Canada (399.00) if I shop around and wait for sales. The lack of SD card, imo, is a big drawback - regardless of how good the new mount is. Another thing about the mount, is that I am not sure if it will work as well in those bean-bag friction dash mounts that are becoming all the rage — and which I am heavily leaning towards when I purchase.
I just rec’d a xl 330 s and gave it a test run today. I guess I don’t understand the text to speech feature because the voice only gave me ” turn right, etc.”…no street or exit names. I thought it was supposed to name the streets, exits and such. Please advise. Thanks!
Kathie, make sure you have Enabled Text-to-Speech properly.
Kathie, also make sure you have a COMPUTER voice selected for your TT speech.
Warren
Hi,
Can you charge the 330s on a computer using the usb or do you need a charger for in home charging? Where on the unit does it indicate the amount of charge left?
Thanks for any info.
You can charge over USB although it will typically take about twice as long to charge. If you tap on the satellite reception icon from the map page the remaining battery life will then display in the top right corner.
questions about the easyPort mount. I read your review about the new mount,
1. will it mount on the dash or is it only usable on the windshield?.
2.You mentioned an adhesive disk, is this part of the mount or does it need to be purchased separately?
3. Can the gps be moved from car to car or would I need to get another mount for the second car?
Thanks for your help
1) It will mount on the dash with the use of the adhesive disk.
2) It comes in the box, but is a separate part from the mount.
3) You could move it from car to car, but if you are using the adhesive mount you would need a second one of those. If just using the windshield you wouldn’t need a separate adhesive disk and in neither case would you need a second mount.
Is there a way to see actual address after adding to favorites and re-naming? Example: address is 123 Apple Street. I add to favorite and rename: Barbara’s House. This is a problem if I actually forget which house number is Barbara’s.
See this thread from our forums: Viewing the address’s in your favorites
Thanks Tim. Not the most ideal solution (add no. to favorite name), but it’ll work. They really should allow us to click on favorites (perhaps under manage favorites) and have actual address show. Do you know if this can be addressed in a future firmware update? and whether TT may do this in the future?
It is technically possible for them to change– yes.
I recently purchased a xl 330 s and took it on a weekend trip. Love it BUT … when I tried to update to the latest US - Canada maps, I found THEY WOULD NOT FIT! I used TTs Home software to remove old maps and ALL unnecessary items( extra voices, etc), still would not fit unless I removed computer voice necessary for TTS. What were they thinking? Without an SD slot I’m stuck with old maps.
Mark, if you call TT support they can assist you getting an updated map to fit.
I had the exact same problem with my new 330-S. But, since I don’t need Canada maps, I asked TT support to give me the newest US only map, which they did (I think it’s v791). US only is of course much smaller than US & Canada, so it left plenty of room for extra stuff on the unit. Maybe with support’s help I cold have squeezed on US & Canada, but that wouldn’t have left any space for extra itinerary files, custom POI files, etc.
Itinerary files are incredibly tiny. So if you didn’t have enough room for more of those your device probably wouldn’t operate at all. POI files are also small, but not as small. You might have been able to store 1/4 million POIs or so before running out of space.
Tim, Thank you for the assist. However, won’t I still be stuck with a “less than” map because of insufficient memory allocation AND restricted in the future with no room for new downloads & updates? I’m thinking this should be a return? No room for growth. Am I missing something???
If you don’t need the Canada maps then you are set. Otherwise you will be somewhat cramped for space. TomTom is having issues with that on many of their devices. They are aware of the issue and I have a feeling they might be working on new compression techniques that would keep the speed and detail but make the file sizes smaller.
Many of the devices are now shipping with extra POIs you may or may not need. For example one of my recent TomTom purchases came with separate POI databases for Churches, Fire Stations, and Playing Fields… none of which I needed and they were huge so I tossed them and saved a good chunk of space.
Tim, Thanks again. You provide information that makes decisions easier.
Hi,
Finally bought the 330s. Like it so far, but having a problem trying to set up a specific route I want to use and save.When I use route planning i can prety well set the route I want by using travel via, but I can’t figure how to save it or do i have to try and rewrite it in itinerary planning and save it from there?The route involves several waypoints to get the path I want, not what the gps wants Am i making myself clear?Thanks for any possible help
Joe, yes, you would want to use the Itinerary Planner for that.
I have the XL 330 S, and I’m trying to connect my phone to it, but there is no Mobile Phone option in my menu.
Nicholas, I moved your comment to this, the XL-330s page since it didn’t seem to relate to the page you left the question on.
The XL-330s does not have any functionality which uses a mobile phone, so that is why there is no option in your menu.
OK. I made my choice about a month ago - Garmin 255W. I purchased a map of Europe on an SD card, popped it into the slot, and started packing for vacation. With foreign travel in mind, the 330’s lack of an SD slot is a big disadnatage to me. I now have all of Europe and North America installed together.
I bought the Tom Tom XL 330S (first gps unit purchase), used it on a weekend trip in Maine and loved everything about it…….except, when you wish to search for a POI (point of interest), specifically a restaurant, you get a list of restaurants ranging from breakfast places through dinner. When I am searching for a pizza place, I don’t want to see a list of all the Dunkin Donuts in the area, along with the sushi bars as well! When I got home, I contacted Tom Tom technical support about this, told them what I wanted in a search, and asked if there was a software update available. They forwarded it to their product development folks, but don’t have this ability of search. Unfortunately, this was a deal breaker for me, so I brough the unit back, and am contemplating either the Garmin 255W or possibly a Magellan. Any idea which is better? They both have the restaurant search capabilities I am looking for.
We have been on holiday in Maine this past two weeks, and I decided to pick up a 330s just as we were leaving to return to Ottawa yesterday morning.
It worked flawlessly - although I agree that POIs are pretty skinny and search is definitely not as robust as Garmin or HP. Nevertheless, the rest of the unit works so well, that we were more than satisfied with the unit, and can live with this shortcoming which I knew about prior to purchasing the unit.
wHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOMTOM ONE XL-S AND TOMTOM 1S00.82 ONE XL-S
How different is xl 300 and the xl 330s? Worth paying for?
Neil - An XL-S is an XL-S… there might be different product codes for different regions of the world, but an XL-S is an XL-s.
Brian, the 330s has text to speech.
What do they mean “traffic optional” on the TomTom XL 330s. I’m looking for my first GPS. Thank you
It means that you can purchase an optional traffic receiver as an accessory that offers live traffic updates and re-routing around traffic.
Had to use the companies Garmin 260 the other day, and the unit seemed to be a little behind, meaning the distance to go to turn seemed a little behind to where I was in relationship to the actual turn. I have been looking at the XL330s, and was wondering if this unit was better, or if it is inherent in all GPS units. By the way great reviews on all of the units.
That is an issue that is somewhat common to a few (but not all) of the Nuvi devices. In many instances an application update fixes the issue, but for some people it has persisted. The newer Nuvi models don’t seem to exhibit that behavior.
I have a xl 330 that is out of warranty. TomTom informs me that they will not repair units that are out of warranty.Are you aware of any way to have these unit repaired?
The XL 330 wasn’t announced until the end of April this year, so unless you physically damaged it the device would still be under the one year warranty.
My mistake…..the unit I was refering to is the “one XL”.
I am debating between a One-XLs and a 330 XLs but can’t figure out what the big difference is between the two. Can you help?
The 330 is a newer model and essentially replaces the XL-S. the 330s has newer software, and the redesigned EasyPort mount which I find quite nice.