TomTom today announced upgrades to its economical ONE and XL in-car portable GPS lines. The new TomTom ONE 140 series and XL 340 series will include IQ Routes and Advanced Lane Guidance, which were previously available only on higher-priced models in the GO series.
Also new is a black finish, and increased North America map coverage that includes Mexico.
The new models are to become available beginning this month, and suggested retail prices will be: TomTom ONE 140, $179 (3.5-inch touchscreen); TomTom ONE 140S (3.5-inch touchscreen, includes text-to-speech directions), $199; TomTom XL 340 (4.3-inch touchscreen) $229; TomTom XL 340S (4.3-inch touchscreen, includes text-to-speech directions), $249.
Of the two feature upgrades, I've found Advanced Lane Guidance to be the most useful. If you live in, or travel to regions where traffic is heavy and multiple lane freeways and beltways are the norm, it's great to know well in advance exactly which lane to be in for your next turn. I cover the Advanced Lane Guidance and IQ Routes features in my TomTom GO 930 review.
The IQ Routes feature calculates routes based on actual average speeds on roads, rather than posted speed limits. The two are often different, and an actual quickest route calculation can save you time and fuel. TomTom anonymously gathers route speed data from GPS users and adds it to its route calculation database.
Some additional features of note in the new series include:
-TomTom Map Share, allowing users to make improvements to their maps and share with others.
-Integrated "fold-and-go" EasyPort windshield mount (see photo).
