TomTom XL 340 S Reviews

Friday, May 15, 2009, 5:13
Gadgets
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tomtom-xl-340s The TomTom XL 340 S is another addition to the successful XL line up of portable GPS systems. The letter “S” in the name of the device suggests that the 340 S is among those devices from TomTom that boast text-to-speech.

The XL 340S boasts of 4.3-inch WQVGA touch sensitive display that dominates the front panel of the device, while the back panel houses a loud 2-inch speaker. The top of the device houses the power button, which is the only physical control on the device, while the bottom of the device houses the mini-USB port. However, the XL 340S lacks the microSD memory card slot, which you will find on the competitive devices offered by Magellan and Garmin Nuvi. The device comes with 2GB of internal memory, which is not expandable due to the lack of expansion slot.

The XL 340S comes with a USB cable connector, 12-volt car charger, and adhesive disk, which allows you to attach the device to your vehicle’s dashboard. You also get a suction cup for windshield mounting.

The TomTom XL 340S boasts of few extra features, one of which is Advanced Lane Guidance. The XL 340S is the first device in its lineup to accommodate this feature, which gives detailed information of a complex freeway interchanges. The device gives lane by lane guidance according to the route chose by you.

The second new feature is the text-to-speech functionality, which announces the street names and point-of-interest names. The XL 340S comes with 14 languages such as English, French, and Spanish. You can also download more languages from the Web.

Another interesting feature is the IQ Routes, which uses the data collected in the previous time to calculate the fastest route. This feature helps you to avoid the congested routes based on the data received from other users. However, this features is not as good and reliable as the live traffic updates that are offered Garmin Nuvi.