First of all, I have to say that my Christmas morning was great. Pellet stove turned on, nice breakfast with an apple Danish strip and a good cup of coffee. Christmas music was playing softly in the background. It was time to unwrap the presents.
My wife got me a TomTom One 3rd edition navigation system. Awesome! Now I never get lost anymore. The TomTom One stores the whole map of the United States and Canada. You can also select Guam as the default map. I guess nice for our men in service that want to drive around on Guam.
Nice gift if the TomTom works…
It took me about 15 minutes to get the TomTom device out of the package. Wow, that was a challenge to get the device out. I turned on the device and customized some settings. Different color settings, not too bright, voice level loud enough so I can hear the lady’s voice clear. After my customization, I turned the TomTom off and went to my PC to install the software delivered on a CD.
In order to get the latest updates, you have to turn on the TomTom again and what happened?
I got a white screen. A pure white screen and nothing else happened. I pressed on the screen but the white screen stayed there. My mood started to change a little bit. What is going on with this device?
Immediately I started to google to find a cause and solution for this problem and I discovered that many people are complaining about the same problem. It turns out that there was a large batch of defective units shipped to the stores.
You can’t fix it yourself so you have two choices. Bring the TomTom back to the store or after calling the TomTom support line, receive shipping instructions and ship it back for another unit.
I was disappointed because I wanted to play with my new toy. Although there are worse things that can happen in somebody’s life so it is not going to ruin the rest of my day. My wife picked a nice gift for me and it was the thought that counts. We get this problem with the TomTom fixed though. Just return the device for a new one.
Please let me know if you got a Christmas gift that didn’t turn out as expected. I am also curious if I was the only person with a bad TomTom experience on Christmas Day.
Update 12/26/2007:
I called the TomTom support line at: 866-486-6866 and received excellent service. After going through the phone prompts, the representative asked for personal verification information and the serial number on the bottom of the TomTom starting with: C_No:
Because I had already a TomTom account, I only had to provide my email address and all my information appeared on their screen. After my phone call, I received a confirmation email from TomTom that I have to print out and include in the shipping box. I used a small carton box. The 2nd email that I received was from Fed-Ex with instructions on how to print out a prepaid shipping label.
I will send out my package tomorrow and expect a new device within 10 business days.
Update 01/02/2008
Today I received my TomTom back and everything is working perfectly. Taking the holidays into account, TomTom shipped a new unit back to me fairly quickly. I was able to update the maps and POI (Point Of Interests).
Tomorrow, I want to take the TomTom for a test ride.
Read reviews on Amazon.com:
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TomTom One, 3rd Edition 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator |  |
Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator |
1 response so far ↓
1 Adam Kamerer // Dec 25, 2007 at 3:39 pm
This year’s gifts were very fulfilling, though I have had gifts in the past that were somewhat disappointing, such as a computer game that was made for a PC far more sophisticated than the one I had. I try not to worry about it much: if the gift was given with good intentions, its a good gift, even if it doesn’t work.