Go 740 Live

[top-jimmy]

Hello All !

I was looking for some input from you guys. I did some searches and could not find the info here (though I just might have missed it).

I am looking into buying a "connected" gps. I am looking at the Tom Tom Go 740 Live and the Garmin Nuvi 1690. I posted something like this in a Garmin forum as well, so I can get both sides. My question is this .... why would I buy the Tom Tom over the Garmin ? Are there features I get with the Tom Tom that I would not get with the Garmin. They seem pretty close to me in features, but the Tom Tom wants 10 bucks a month after 3 months. I can get lifetime maps for the garmin at $99 and the Tom Tom is at 39.95 a year. I can get the live services either offer on my phone, but I am on the phone alot with my job. I would rather have the dash gps and would use the services. Any help is appreciated ! I must admit this forum seems to be more reasonable than the Garmin already from the posts I have read. Don't see to many of the "insert competition here" sucks statements with no reasons. Garmin forums are filled with them.

Top-Jimmy

 

[canderson]

In just a few days, the 740 Live will be offered with lifetime maps and traffic. A representative price for the package with those subscriptions can be found here: Amazon.com: TomTom GO 740TM LIVE (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator: Electronics

Obviously, it's a bit more than the basic 740 to get the lifetime subscriptions, and that is reflected in the $299 street price of the package. It will undoubtedly drop at some point after release, but expect it to stay there for a while. As for the price being the same, the 1690 will run you about $50 more street price NOT including the lifetime map subscription. Given that Garmin isn't offering theirs for free, you're actually a fair bit of $ ahead with the 740 purchased with the subscriptions.

As for other features, many of the basics are the same, but there are odd differences here and there.

You'll find that the Garmin will NOT route based upon their trafficTrends data. The TomTom will suggest using alternate routes if it believes your current traffic situation warrants a change and does so on-the-fly, and uses historical traffic flow information (their I.Q. Routes) in lieu of any "issues" out there on the road. At the price point, I was very surprised to see that Garmin did not choose to offer trafficTrends on the 1690. You have to buy into their 3700 series to get that feature.

The 740 includes a built-in Bluetooth hands-free capability. The 1690 does not. The 740 includes voice recognition, up to a point, and 1690 does not. However, the functionality of the voice recognition is just so-so, so I wouldn't use that as a major point of differentiation.

While it probably won't ever matter to you, for some reason, Garmin limits their unit to 10 itineraries. You can create as many different itineraries for your TomTom as you've got the patience to poke into it.

One item that would be a deal-breaker for me, and is fairly common among even the higher end Garmin units, is the lack of any sort of audio-out capability. I find the speakers on all of these units "just OK", and much prefer to route the audio from the GPS through my car audio system. The 740 supplies that output. If your car has an "aux in" you can use that to good effect. If not, an inline wired FM modulator like the Audiovox TM100A works well. But with the 1690, there just isn't any place to grab the audio.

At various times, TomTom has had a more or less "open" architecture. It's basically an embedded Linux box. As a result, there are some very clever 3rd party applications that will run on a 740 and augment the functionality considerably. With their closed architecture, there are no 3rd party applications for the Garmin units. Have a look at these:

Mobilnova - TomTom Media Center with TomTom MP3 player, TomTom Video player and video converter, TomTom PDF Reader, TomTom picture viewer and TomTom games support
Le Web Bazar !!! Tripmaster !!!
Le Web Bazar !!! Offroad Navigator !!!

TomTom also allows you to make quite a number of map corrections that can be stored on your unit, although it won't let you add a road except to report it to the Teleatlas. TomTom makes use of a "crowd source" means of sharing errata called MapShare that often helps to deal with changes before Teleatlas gets around to it.

The last differentiator will be map quality, and that's a total crap shoot. In some areas of the world/country, Garmin's association with Navteq will get you a more accurate and up-to-date map. In other places, the Teleatlas maps (owned now by TomTom) will get you a better result. Neither seems to cover even the N.A. continent consistently, so you will never know which will get road changes to you faster.

So while I'd be one of the last people to say "Garmin sucks" (I own two Garmin units as well), in comparison to the 740, the 1690 doesn't seem to have any real advantages, costs more for the unit with lifetime maps, and lacks several features of the 740, one of which I won't do without.

 

[top-jimmy]

Wow ....

Thanks for the detailed reply.

So Tom Tom is going to release the same unit with a lifetime map package, at a lower price than they currently sell the unit for? It seems to be the same unit save for the lifetime maps. So I would have no cost for maps, a less expensive unit and the bluetooth could be a biggie for me. It does make the $5 dollars more a month easier to live with.

One more question .... I live in Boston, Ma in the states ..... anhone have any experience with the traffic and map quality in that area that you are aware of?

Thanks again !!!!

 

[dhn]

Supermod mvl also lives in the Boston area. I'm sure he'll pop into this thread at some point but, as I remember, his opinion of Live traffic in Boston and surroundings is quite positive.

 

[canderson]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

So Tom Tom is going to release the same unit with a lifetime map package, at a lower price than they currently sell the unit for?

No. I ignore MSRP (the price you'd pay directly to TomTom or to Garmin) in the equation - I look at what you'll actually pay when you go out to buy one of these units.

To keep this apples and apples, let's review the "street price" - what you can actually expect to pay in the open market.

The 740 alone can be purchased right now at about $230 from a number of sources (Car Toys will sell you one for $220). The 740 with the lifetime map and traffic subscriptions will be going for $299. You're paying about a $70 premium for the lifetime subscriptions.

However, when you look at the street price of a 1690 from comparable sources at $320, and that doesn't include the Garmin lifetime maps subscription, you can see how the 740 works out to be a better deal either way.

 

[davidalan99]

For those of us that just purchased the 740 live, will there be an option to purchase the life time upgrades. One thing I did hear is the the life time traffic will be via RDS as opposed to over the included sim, any comment?

 

[davidalan99]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

So Tom Tom is going to release the same unit with a lifetime map package, at a lower price than they currently sell the unit for? It seems to be the same unit save for the lifetime maps. So I would have no cost for maps, a less expensive unit and the bluetooth could be a biggie for me. It does make the $5 dollars more a month easier to live with.

One more question .... I live in Boston, Ma in the states ..... anhone have any experience with the traffic and map quality in that area that you are aware of?

Thanks again !!!!

Over the years I have used several TomToms in the Boston area. Once you get past the "enter router, take second right" (good luck), no problem. Through the years with all the big dig issues and map corrections, from Logan and out of Boston it has been great.

 

[c4791p]

Having not yet received my 740TM, I can only repeat what TT Tech Support and Sales Told me as I said they should drop the price of their LIVE package since lifetime traffic was being provided. They confirmed the lifetime traffic is indeed the RDS service and their LIVE subscription was not being changed so price would not drop. With a subscription to the Live Services they said also that the LIVE Traffic will take precedence.

Whatever that means in real life, time will tell.

 

[canderson]

Over the years I have used several TomToms in the Boston area.

Having driven in Boston a few times myself, I'm not sure which is the bigger challenge -- figuring out how to get somewhere, or figuring out how to get somewhere while avoiding major body damage to the vehicle. There's this strange thing that happens, and perhaps TomTom could add a new feature ... something called "The Boston Rotary Warning" or somesuch, providing a warning message whenever you are about to enter a traffic circle within 20 miles of the center of downtown Boston:

When there are three lanes on the roads leading into a rotary, and the road is the same width within the rotary as the roads leading into it, why do Bostonians believe that you can fit FIVE cars abreast INSIDE the rotary?

 

[top-jimmy]

I was in THREE rotaries today ! LoL

Thanks again for the replies. I just need to get my head around the $10 a month service charge and what it brings to the equation. Yes the Tom Tom will be cheaper up front with lifetime maps and all, but you'l get with monthy charges after the third month. Truth be told, I am leaning in the Tom Tom's direction by just looking at some of the replies here. Seems there is lots of friendly help. You have no idea some of the responses i have on the "How dare you bring up a Tom Tom on the Garmin" forum. I have learned over there that I am stupid in general for even considering anything else but Garmin.

jim

 

[canderson]

I was in THREE rotaries today ! LoL

Thanks again for the replies. I just need to get my head around the $10 a month service charge and what it brings to the equation.

Sorry to hear about the rotaries. Hope your nerves are back to normal.

As for the $10 service charge, understand that the package you are considering (GO740TM) has two means for obtaining traffic data. One would require a second subscription after the 90 day introductory period (vs 2 years for nuLink), and the other will continue at no cost. The former is a cellular based method, and the latter is the RDS/TMC method via a receiver integrated into the power cord. There have been several threads here about both the ClearChannel RDS service and "Live" traffic coverage. There's no question that the cellular coverage from both companies takes in more cities than RDS, but in both cases, the coverage is substantial. As I've never had access to both concurrently, I can't speak directly to the quality of the information each offers, but I'm sure a couple of the traffic gurus here could give us an update on what they've been experiencing.

 

[gatorguy]

If your only need for Live serices is the traffic reporting, the TomTom should be just fine. Not by any means great traffic IMHO, but as good or better than anything else available in North America right now.

But if you want the best bang for the buck on a pnd live device, you're not going to beat the Garmin 1690 IMO. The Garmin with two years of live services can be had for a total of $350. Throw in the $85 lifetime maps update sub and you save quite a bit over the TomTom 740TM, which will set you back at least $550 over the same two years. As a bonus the Garmin 1690 offers twice the connected services of the TomTom 740. The nuvi's Google Search is presented better, there's white page (residential) lookup, incliuding reverse lookup, Local Events and movies, remote Send to GPS, social networking, overall just a lot more useful than the limited services on the TomTom. But again, if your only want is Live Traffic, the TomTom 740 is a fine device.

Just my take on the comparison.

 

[top-jimmy]

If your only need for Live serices is the traffic reporting, the TomTom should be just fine. Not by any means great traffic IMHO, but as good or better than anything else available in North America right now.

But if you want the best bang for the buck on a pnd live device, you're not going to beat the Garmin 1690 IMO. The Garmin with two years of live services can be had for a total of $350. Throw in the $85 lifetime maps update sub and you save quite a bit over the TomTom 740TM, which will set you back at least $550 over the same two years. As a bonus the Garmin 1690 offers twice the connected services of the TomTom 740. The nuvi's Google Search is presented better, there's white page (residential) lookup, incliuding reverse lookup, Local Events and movies, remote Send to GPS, social networking, overall just a lot more useful than the limited services on the TomTom. But again, if your only want is Live Traffic, the TomTom 740 is a fine device.

Just my take on the comparison.

Hmmmmm .... so you feel the services provided are better with the 1690. I found out the 1690 actually has bluetooth as well. So what live services come with the Tom Tom that make it worth the extra money?


(Actually, let me edit this a bit. You guys have have pointed out differences in this thread. I gues I am trying to figure out why, if Garmin, offers "twice the services on live" would I buy the Tom Tom ? I was just about to order it to lol )
jim

 

[offthegrid]

I was going to switch to the 1690 myself but it doesn't have any historical traffic data mixed into its maps like the 740 does with IQRoutes and its a common complaint among Garmin users from what I read to have lousy routes. I do not experience that with the 740.

You can check TomTom's routing online with the TomTom Route Planner website.

I'm hoping that TT improves their traffic data but for the most part right now its accurate and the reroute feature works well. Garmin uses Navteq for traffic and they seem far behind everyone else right now although there was supposed to be some improved data available this year there has been no sign of it. I drove into Boston at rush hour Friday and the 740 showed a 45 minute backup on 93N so it took me up Blue Hill Ave and I got where I was going on time.

If you didn't need the Bluetooth the 340 Live with Lifetime Maps is $200 at Amazon versus $300 for the 740 with Lifetime Maps.

If we ever see the equivalent of the 1000 announced for Europe the price for the service is supposed to come down considerably with a longer free period also. Maybe the US model will match Garmin here, we'll see.

 

[top-jimmy]

I was going to switch to the 1690 myself but it doesn't have any historical traffic data mixed into its maps like the 740 does with IQRoutes and its a common complaint among Garmin users from what I read to have lousy routes. I do not experience that with the 740.

You can check TomTom's routing online with the TomTom Route Planner website.

I'm hoping that TT improves their traffic data but for the most part right now its accurate and the reroute feature works well. Garmin uses Navteq for traffic and they seem far behind everyone else right now although there was supposed to be some improved data available this year there has been no sign of it. I drove into Boston at rush hour Friday and the 740 showed a 45 minute backup on 93N so it took me up Blue Hill Ave and I got where I was going on time.

If you didn't need the Bluetooth the 340 Live with Lifetime Maps is $200 at Amazon versus $300 for the 740 with Lifetime Maps.

If we ever see the equivalent of the 1000 announced for Europe the price for the service is supposed to come down considerably with a longer free period also. Maybe the US model will match Garmin here, we'll see.

Am I assuming correctly that the historical data / IQ routes is only utilized with the live services ? I know it sounds stupid, but like I said earlier ... I am looking for reasons to buy the Tom Tom at this point based on the friendly community (it is not only on this site, but others as well). Not that I should make decisions based on that, but I've been to 2 forums now that are what appears to be slanted towards Garmin. Lot's of stupid answers and garbage there. (Garmin rules ! .... Tom Tom sucks ..... Why would you buy that crap?) I just need to make it close enough in my mind to do it. Thanks again for all the help and I'll let you guys know what I choose.

jim

 

[dhn]

IQ routing is available on many models besides the LIVE products.

Including the x30's, the XXL 540 series, the XL 340 series, the 140.

 

[mvl]

So I'm a bit late to jump in. Traffic is certainly the key plus with the 740 LIVE.

I use the 740LIVE in Boston, and definitely think the LIVE traffic reporting is worth it. LIVE traffic covers a larger range of roads than any of the RDS-TMC providers, especially in Boston. RDS-TMC in Boston only covers 90, 93, and 95, and 1 north (once a month you'll see coverage somewhere like Route 9). LIVE traffic covers smaller mini-highways like route 9 and Storrow Drive all the time, and even covers the Jamaicaway and Mass Ave about 25% of the time.

But most importantly, IQroutes covers all roads in Boston 100% of the time for predictable traffic, with the exception of roads that are less than 15mph (LIVE traffic sometimes kicks in on those).

You have to learn the few chronic holes in traffic coverage (eg: 75% miss on Jamaicaway), but otherwise it is phenomenal, and saves me at least 20% of my time in my commutes. When you start saying "where isn't it perfect" that means the LIVE+IQroutes coverage is really really good. It's so good that I'll never drive weekday evenings inside 128 without the 740.

The downsides vs Garmin:
- Tomtom made really buggy bluetooth software in 2009. This causes the GO740 to reboot and crash often when on bluetooth calls. However, there is one older software version (see here) that is relatively stable and has much fewer crashes. Hopefully Tomtom can get their act together and address these software bugs.
- The non-traffic LIVE services on the Tomtom are worse than the Garmin: Tomtom buddies doesn't integrate with social networking. Tomtom weather is text, not graphics. Tomtom doesn't have news and airline schedules.

Oh, and the maps cost $50/year for IQroutes models. The $39 you saw was for non-IQroutes maps.

 

[top-jimmy]

Thanks mvl.

It's funny I was looking at your profile from another post in here and it said "responding to Go 740 Live". I figured I would wait around

The traffic alone I think makes it worth it for me. I frequent the Braintree split, 128/95/93 up to Waltham and deal with the Cape rotaries as well. (if those are covered as well, i'd be in heaven !) Looks like I may go with the 740tm coming out and hope they update the services and/or drop the subcription price in the future.

Thanks again for the insight. It helps having some thoughts from someone who uses the device here.

jim

 

[mvl]

Most any device will handle 128/95/93/90 in Boston. There are magnetic loop speed sensors in the roads, and every traffic service has access to them. So predicting speeds on those roads is almost always perfect.

Where the 740 excels is IQroutes and live traffic on the alternate routes. It does a great job picking the right alternate road, or leaving you on the jammed highway if the highway is faster than alternatives.

It will definitely cover the cape rotaries. Last summer I had the lower-end RDS-TMC traffic, and even that routed me through a deserted parallel road to route 3 that put me right onto the Sagamore. RDS-TMC missed most of the route 6 jams on the cape, but I suspect the 740's LIVE traffic will fare much much better there.

 

[Jazz1]

Having not yet received my 740TM, I can only repeat what TT Tech Support and Sales Told me as I said they should drop the price of their LIVE package since lifetime traffic was being provided. They confirmed the lifetime traffic is indeed the RDS service and their LIVE subscription was not being changed so price would not drop. With a subscription to the Live Services they said also that the LIVE Traffic will take precedence.

Whatever that means in real life, time will tell.

So doescthis mean if I want the ultimate I should subscribe to the "Live" services? Is this month to month or a yearly charge.