blog.forret.com

The TomTom One (the ‘old’ model) is my first ever GPS. Overall, an excellent design. I never had to open the manual because it is a very intuitive device. The route calculation is quite fast and accurate, and with the Spanish “Norma” voice installed, it is even a pleasure to be told where to go (”despues de ocho cientos metros, gire a la derecha“).

The only problem with the device is that within 6 months of buying it, the battery started running out very quickly. Actually, it is not always short of breath, but mostly. Sometimes when I turn off the ignition (which stops power to the GPS) it will die within seconds. Other times, it might keep on running for an hour. Feels like a bad contact inside but the standard engineering trick for this (”hit device hard with right hand”) doesn’t help.

According to TomTom support (but I don’t think that’s why my battery gave up):

Speaking of the battery, TomTom told me by phone today that I should navigate using the battery and not the in-car charger. The customer rep said that overcharging was an issue if I left it connected continually.
via reviews.cnet.com

When I check the boot screen (reset and keep pressing the power button while turning on, via) then my battery gives 4140 mV, which is a good enough score. So I don’t think buying a new battery would help (they sell for less than 20€ at e.g. www.mdsbatterie.com.fr). I guess I’ll just wait a bit and go for the TomTom One XL. Size matters.

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