I'm one of those unfortunate souls who is lost once you turn me around once. I joke my internal compass always faces north (not magnetic north, mind you, just that no matter what direction I am facing my intuition suggests that's north). Needless to say, I am often lost. My friends love seeing where I'm taking them when I drive and have often bet one another on whether or not I will reach a destination I've been to a dozen times without making a wrong turn.

Now that I've gotten that confession out, onto the 330S XL.

I played with a few items in the store before I made the decision to buy this. I found that the TomTom was easy to use and incredibly intuitive. I looked at Garmin, and my only hesitancy was that when a zip code straddles two townships, it offers multiple choices based upon the larger townships and not the smaller, named community and zip, and this lead to some confusion.

As irony would have it, I recently started a job where I drive from office to office, so I was using Google Maps to plot out my travels. My problem with this was the first direction always starts with a direction to head in (NW, SE), and I am oblivious as to what direction I am facing, as mentioned previously. So I compared the two, the TomTom directions and the G-Maps directions, and they were identical. The difference: TomTom knew where I was when I didn't. I didn't have to pay attention, it was telling me when and where to turn.

The speaker was plenty loud. I know others have commented about it, but I actually had to lower mine because it kept startling me even with the radio on. I now keep it at 70% because I can hear it clearly but it's not so loud that it makes me jump.

The screen is loaded with information, and at first this is distracting. How far and how much time to the destination, the next turn, the current and next street names. After a few hours, I became aware of what everything was and could merely glance and know what was up.

The directions are very accurate - down to when to turn. Now, I wouldn't suggest this, but the directions are almost accurate enough to take blindfolded, meaning that when it says turn, you're usually right at the spot where you need to start your turn. I've seen in-car units where the accuracy isn't that succinct.

My only complaint is that it's not 100% simple to take in and out of the car - it attaches by suction to the windshield, and you either have to undo the suction or pop the TomTom from the mount. Now this foible is also what keeps it so tightly attached, so I can't really complain - I'd just rather see a different solution - it's the sort of device I don't want to leave in my car and would rather just take with me when I go into a store.

Overall, I like the thing and recommend it for ease of use, accuracy, and volume!

I have a Garmin c320 GPS unit and wanted to upgrade to a model with more features - particularly coordinates and "Where Am I" features. After reading the reviews, I really liked the features in the TomTom XL 330. The only hesitation I had was with the speaker volume. The Amazon reviews showed some buyers that had speaker problems with their units. There were enough positive reviews to make me buy it.

PROS:

1. Lots of customization. You can change color schemes, choose your voice, change viewing angles (Garmin c320 & 205W can't do that).

2. "Where Am I?" This is far superior than Garmin. It shows in what City, Township, Municipality, etc. you are and the nearest address. This can be very valuable when calling for help. Garmin only gives nearest address and nearest intersection (which I like to call "some random intersection within a few miles")

3. Alternative routes. If you don't like the route you're given, you can ask for a new one. Read more in the Cons.

4. Tons of route control. You can look through a list of every turn ahead of time and ask it to avoid a certain place on that route.

5. Compact, attached mount. I didn't use it, but it was a cool idea. The mount would detach from the unit or you could leave it on and fold it in.

6. Fixing map errors. I never got to see this in action, but it sounded really cool.

7. Results as you type. I loved this feature and will really miss it with my new Garmin. As you type a street name or city, it will show you the results as you narrow them down. This can really save time and effort.

CONS:

1. Routing. (Deal-breaker one) The routing seemed to have a large bias toward driving on interstates. It seemed to me that the reason was insufficient non-interstate speed limit information. For example, I asked the Garmin and TomTom for a route from Irwin, PA to Oakland, MD. The Garmin used state routes and backroads to get us there in 2 hours. The TomTom insisted we take mostly interstate (and adding many, many miles) at an estimate of 2.5 hours. The TomTom alternate route was even longer. (Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, Mapquest all were similar to Garmin's route.) When we took the Garmin route, the TomTom said it would take over 2.5 hours (adding existing travel time + time left), but as we drove, the time remaining kept decreasing super fast. The Garmin's arrival time was rock steady all the way.

2. Address entry without City. (Deal-breaker two) There are many occasions in which I have a street address, but don't know the city. You know -- maybe someone lives in a Township with a city's mailing address, or any area known as "North Hills" has many post office names, but you don't know which one. Garmins give you a "Search all cities" option. TomTom has no option. You must enter a city. If you don't know it, you won't get there.

3. SPEAKER. (Deal-breaker three) I had read two problems with the speaker; 1) too quiet, 2) garbled. I figured that if I got a bad one, I'd exchange it and I'd get a good one. How widespread could the problem be? Well -- the first unit was very quiet. If you have the radio on, you can't hear this thing. I called TomTom and the nice rep seemed to be very familiar with the problem and suggested returning it to the store. So fine, I shipped it back to Amazon. The second unit was much louder. Wait -- you couldn't understand it, it was all garbled. Well, third time should work. NOPE -- just like the first, you couldn't hear it.

4. POI annoyances. On my first unit, when searching for a POI, it would show the distance you were from the POI, but not which direction it was from you. This made it unusable. I won't make a big deal of this, because my unit #2 did have a directional arrow for each POI. This may have to do with software version on the unit. Secondly, though, it only listed a few pages of POIs. I would have liked to see more choices.

5. Graphics. The graphics rendering was very jagged and old-looking. Garmin is far ahead here.

After doing all this testing, my decision was easy. Even if the speaker actually worked, the first two cons make it unusable for me. I returned them all. I recommend the Garmin nuvi 205W 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (although it has it's own weaknesses, watch for my review there).

My final question is -- TomTom, don't manufacturers test products before they get shipped to poor American consumers??

I get lost in a paper bag with air holes in it. It's a sad fact of life I have to deal with, and when some friends introduced me to a GPS I saw my life coming back to me. No longer would I be limited to well traveled areas and wasting gas looping back around paths familiar because I was sure to be lost, otherwise. What price can you put on freedom?

I tested all the different brands at Best Buy. The TomTom line found the most addresses which I personally used, including my home. Garmin didn't seem to realize there was such a street. There were some places which eluded all brands, but TomTom seemed to have better maps for me. I read all the reviews and noticed the main complaints about the sound on the TomToms and the slow connection to satellite on the Garmins. They seemed to have their strengths and weaknesses, so I decided to take the gamble on getting a decent speaker.

And I did. I have no trouble hearing Darth Vader directing me to the Dark Side. In using it to take the paths I'm familiar with it seems to pick a good route. If it's good for long distance... well, just get me there. If I knew how to get there in long vs. short routes I wouldn't need the thing to begin with. I understand the gas price issue, but for me this hasn't been a problem. Sound is fine. Easy set up. Quick connection and route plots. Even the software started out just fine. It was easy to download and use. Yes, you do have to adjust the screen if you use 800x600 but that's becoming more and more common with larger monitors and smaller settings. I connected, updated my map, and played with a few of the free voices for fun.

Everything was delightful, until I upgraded Windows XP Home with the standard required / recommended update from Microsoft. XP no longer recognizes the TomTom is connected and declares there's an unidentified device that may be malfunctioning.

I've attached 2 scanners, 2 different printers, my MP3 player, and my digital camera. Those are still recognized just fine. I've gone through all the troubleshooting tips with TomTom Home as well as Win XP. I realize XP Home is becoming a dinosaur, but there's which went awry in the update. My map is current for now, but this issue will have to be resolved if I ever want to update it again.

I bought this unit in advance of a recent trip from western Wisconsin to the the east side of Michgan's Lower Penninsula...a trip with my father to a family reunion.

The interface and software were all user friendly, although I did download a full user's guide before starting. I also downloaded the most current maps...good thing I had a high speed connection, since the files were almost a gig.

The unit routed us right through the heart of Chicago without a hitch, and I have to say, it's the first time I've EVER driven the Windy City without white knuckles. Everything on the screen was right there in front of us and it constantly reminded me to change lanes, keep right or left and take exits or make turns when needed. My father was absolutely in a state of awe.

The volume levels were just fine for me, plenty loud, in fact. Dad often asked me what it said, but he is quite short in the hearing department these days.

Now, the quirk. I've had the unit about a month, and I don't keep it installed in the car all the time. When it's not in the car, it's sitting with the power off on my workstation or desk. However, twice now, I have come into the room only to find that TomTom has turned himself on! Today, I found it on and the battery almost drained. Now, I'm telling you, nothing or no one was near the unit to hit the on button. It just came on randomly, like HAL in "2001 A Space Oddessy" or something, with a mind of its own. (I'm afraid one day I'll try turning it off and it will say "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that." And my name isn't even Dave!)

This quirk is no skin off my back, since I would only need the unit in the car and would be plugged in for power. However, if someone knows something regarding this issue, I'd appreciate knowing! It's just a little unsettling!

Other than that, I really have to say that it's more than I expected, and then some. For 200 bucks, it's a no brainer. Even though I'm considering changing the name of it to HAL.

So far I had owned 3 GPS devices: the Tomtom One 3rd edition, the Garmin nuvi 350 and this latest Tomtom 330s model. Before owning, I have used the Garmin Streetpilots given by many car rentals.

By far, this is the best of the three:

Pros:

- Wide screen

- Text to speech

- LOUD speaker (I've read some reviews of a soft speaker - I guess either it was a bad batch of devices, or you didn't read the instructions on how to change the volume. With mine, on 80% it's blasting over the radio AND road noise.)

- Volume adjusts to driving speed

- great GPS reception (even in NYC, although sometimes because of tall buildings can have a little trouble finding current position, but that's the problem with ALL of the GPSs I've had, including the very highly reviewed nuvi 350)

- The new Easyport mount that eliminates the need to carry three things for your trip: the Device, the mount (sometimes more than one part) and the car charger. This new mount is a blessing and a small nuisance at the same time since it makes it slightly more difficult to fit snugly into a pocket or a pouch, but is definitely more of a pro than a con because of its simplicity of use and the eliminated extra plastic thing to carry. This little issue can be solved either by buying the Tomtom carrying case (the one made specifically for the models with the easy mount for an extra ~$28 on Amazon), or simply by detaching it from the back since it is detachable. Though detaching it, some would say, is defying its purpose...

- "Tomtom Home" software is a breeze to use and lets you add user updates to the maps when roads get blocked or other changes take effect to the preinstalled map.

- Device SOFTWARE SOFTWARE SOFTWARE: The best software of a device I've had the pleasure of using. Explanation follows:

The software allows much more intuitive handling of the device than any Garmin I've found.

It's quick, it's easy, and the most important, when you search for a name of a POI, it uses the more modern approach that allows you to type any letter or word no matter where it appears on the name of the POI and it'll show you the results on the list.

There are dozens of advantages in the software over the one of the Garmins I've used but I can't possibly list them all.

Some important features to note are that the actual Navigation Screen View gives you so much more clear information (which one can, of course, tweak to one's liking) such as current time, time of arrival, total trip distance, remaining time to destination, GPS signal strength, next turn's street name, current street name, direction of and distance to next maneuver (which nuvi 350 garmin only tells you which way to go right before the turn), and to that you can add a compass, change the car symbol and even more impressive - the color scheme of the map!

I have to say this is just a SHORT list of software features I absolutely love and think are on a much higher level of sophistication than what I've seen of Garmin.

Cons:

I really have to strain to think of any, but there are some minor ones (after all, nothing's perfect)

- As I said the Easyport mount can be a little problematic when fitted into a pocket, but it CAN be removed from the back (see pros).

- The car charger takes a little practice to insert it easily.

- The "Password" feature when powering on the device seems more fluff than a hindering threat. It doesn't really lock the device if for example you enter the wrong password three consecutive times or so, it just won't let you use the device until the right combination is entered.

- No bluetooth capability. For some it's a con, but for me personally it's a pro (because I don't really need it anyways, and if any corner should be cut to make the product less expensive, this is it!)

- The map isn't as pretty as on the garmins. It has a little more jagged lines but, if visual beauty is important to you in a map representation of a GPS, you're really looking in the wrong direction...

In other words, warmly recommended for the people who are interested in getting the best GPS for their hard-earned dollars.

This product is extremely easy to use - I only found one or two of the very extensive options to be a little unintuitive, but after less than a couple hours of poking around the features you really get a glimpse of the depth of the product. It may not have a few of the features that the $400+ models carry, but for my needs it far meets and exceeds. I was a little disappointed when it wouldn't find a numbered address on a highway ( such as when a smaller state highway runs through a city street ), but the database of points of interest had my destination on file.

I was somewhat concerned about the voice volume issue that I'd read about in a few of these reviews ( after already having put my purchase order in ), but I'd have to say any units with poor volume have to be from a bad batch - even at the default 70% volume it was clearly audible with music playing and a window open at highway speeds. At max volume you really can't miss it unless you have difficulty hearing in general, though I found a few of the default voices were softer than others. Since it seems possible to create your own voice sets, and some voice sets are louder than others, I would assume one could edit a copy of the default voice and increase the gain / volume and reinstall, but there are a number of built in voices that are wholly satisfactory in the volume department.

If I had to list any cons, it would be that base package voices still show up in the menu even if you remove them from the TomTom with the manager software. The inability to find an address on a highway might be a weakness of all navigators for all I know, as I've not had much experience with any others.

If you buy this, definitely spend some time with the management software. There is a goodly amount of user supplied content ( maps, points of interest databases, and even voices ) that are free, as well as the normal software updates.

When I left the store with it the most difficult part of setting it up was getting it out of the evil tough plastic packaging that most of us are familiar with. A car charger was included, so I plugged it in, answered a few basic questions, did a short tour and was on my way to my next destination within only a few minutes. Normally I can't find my way out of a paper bag, even if I'm still outside of the bag, so this is probably the best $200 I've ever spent. A separate data cable is also included for connecting to your home PC ( which will be required to update the software and add new features to the device ).

There is an optional attachment and service you can purchase that will give you real time weather and traffic data. I understand that there is a monthly fee for this additional service, but I've not yet bought the extra receiver so I can't comment on its performance or cost.

In short - if you want a very well rounded GPS navigator for an excellent price, you can't go wrong with the XL 330. I know what a few friends and family are getting for the holidays this year.

A few days ago I bought this GPS mainly because I loved the widescreen feature and TOM TOM reliability. The XL 330 first struck my eye and I found out that the 330 was the updated version of the XL. This GPS is truly a wonderful product and I could'nt be more happy with it so far.

Let me tell you what happened to me last week.

Incidentally, I had to bring back the first one I bought at Circuit City,

because the Volume at the highest setting was barely audible. This volume issue was in response to an early review by Michael Dahlin "Dr D" stating that he ALSO had a volume problem with his unit. I have made numerous attempts at contacting TOM TOM regarding the numerous complaints about the volume, with no response yet. Anyways I went back to Circuit City to exchange the unit for another one. Low and behold the new unit i received worked PERFECTLY with loud and clear sound and great volume.

I have to assume that TOM TOM MUST have released a bad batch of XL 330's.

I have not as of yet received a response from TOM TOM......but again I want to reiterate this product is really wonderful....great GPS for the money!

I bought an XL 330 and drove to the California coast. The menu was easy to learn and navigate, and I liked the free voices I could download and night-time display options, but the device was not as accurate as it should be. Once near the coast, it showed me traveling on the water, and on one freeway, it told me to turn off the road when there was no where to turn. The freeway had been redone and moved maybe 20-30 yards and it showed me as being off route.

I had no problem with the volume. Even at 60% volume setting, I could hear it just fine. (I was in a quiet luxury car, so I don't know what it's like in a noisier car.) The unit got me where I needed to go, but I took it back and will buy a better unit. I like the fact that TomTom allows users to correct map errors and submit them. The unit got a little annoying on some freeways telling me quite often to "keep left". I can understand this when a lane goes off, but it sometimes told me to keep left when a lane did not go off (exit only). I think TomTom should update US freeways. I downloaded the latest maps right before the trip so it should not have had these problems.

After reading an early favorable review of the TomTom 130s, I was confident that the XL 330s would be just what I was looking for. But after a weeks' use, however, I am a little disappointed.

First, the plusses: it is pretty easy to use, easy to update using the TomTom software, and the new style of mount works very well. The screen looks good, and it's pretty easy to learn the touch screen navigation. Also, it permits you to build itineraries with multiple destination points, which some of the more entry level models will not do.

The negatives: really, there is only one, but for me, it's a dealbreaker: the speaker just isn't very loud. Even with the volume up to 100%, it's not loud enough to hear clearly while driving, even with the radio turned off. I thought it might be an issue with the particular voice I was using, and some did seem a bit softer than others. But even the loudest one I could find was still too soft to be helpful.

If you're driving with a passenger who can hold it close and/or touch the screen to get the directions to repeat, it works great. But driving by yourself, it's not terribly helpful.

I'll probably be returning it, which is too bad, because in all other respects, it's a nice device.