MP3 player and Bluetooth questions for the 730

[chrisj]

Hi all,

I have been looking at buying a new GPS lately, since I kinda sorta killed my TT One 3rd off last year (long story, details upon demand ). I have pretty well decided I'm sticking with TomTom, for several reasons, and am debating between a 340S on sale at Best Buy for $100, or a 730 for $140 refurb (Newegg) or $160 new (Amazon).

Regarding the 730, I have a couple of questions that I would be very grateful to anyone who can help me with:

• When using it as a hands-free phone (Bluetooth), is the GPS still operating? For instance, if I am driving around some random unfamiliar place, and call the person I am meeting, will the TomTom still tell me where to turn or will I miss it?
  
• What is the MP3 / media player app like? From some reviews I've read, it sounds kind of basic. Again, does the GPS still operate while it's going? Sounds like it does (songs get interrupted with directions). Specifically, can the player stay resident between on/off, i.e. if I pause a track, then turn it off and come back tomorrow, will it still be at the same place?
• Or barring that, is there an easy way to skip around inside a track?

The reason I ask is that I will often want to listen to longer tracks (recordings of spoken things, not songs), and I have to be able to either auto-resume or easily seek to where I left off. I'm talking, get in the car and drive for 10 minutes to go to work or back, and catch 10 minutes of a 30-plus-minute MP3.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. I have found lots of reviews but not much at this level...suppose I can always get one, and send it back if it doesn't work out for me...

Thanks!
Chris

 

[dhn]

When using it as a hands-free phone (Bluetooth), is the GPS still operating? For instance, if I am driving around some random unfamiliar place, and call the person I am meeting, will the TomTom still tell me where to turn or will I miss it?

The GPS will still operate

What is the MP3 / media player app like? From some reviews I've read, it sounds kind of basic. Again, does the GPS still operate while it's going? Sounds like it does (songs get interrupted with directions). Specifically, can the player stay resident between on/off, i.e. if I pause a track, then turn it off and come back tomorrow, will it still be at the same place?

Nope. Not my understanding. It will start again at the beginning. You can send the output to fm that works ok if you can find a decent clear channel in your area.

 

[chrisj]

Hey, thanks for the great quick reply!

Nope. Not my understanding. It will start again at the beginning.

Hrm, OK, that's what I figured. Is there a way to quickly get around in a track (tap a slider, e.g.)?

Thanks again!

 

[spook45]

When I use the player with my 730 I just power off the unit when I get to my destination. Upon power-up the MP3 player has a Resume button which will start your selection where you left off. The player is very basic but it does what I want. I have 6GB of MP3 files and I set it to shuffle through them. I then connect the audio out to my aux in on my stereo head unit. During navigation the unit will pause the music and continue after giving directions. Perfect for me on long trips. Don't have to worry about tuning to FM stations.

 

[chrisj]

Spook45: Thanks! When it "resumes", is that "resume where I was (which file) in the playlist" or "resume where I was (time) in the file"?

As far as skipping around in a track, I gather from the screenshots in the 730's manual that that's not possible. But it would appear that Tomplayer will do it...

I suppose it just comes down to whether I decide BT, FM and an SD slot are worth the extra $60. Maybe I'll sleep on it.....

Thanks again for replies!

 

[dhn]

Thanks for the correction, Spook. guess I was remembering posts by some where they couldn't get the file they were playing to 'resume'. Maybe it was Audio Books that have the issue???

Anyway, thanks again.

 

[spook45]

@dhn -- no problem. I think you have lots of TomTom GPSs under your belt and I only have one. My purpose was not to correct but only to add to the conversation. I hope you don't take offense. None was meant. I think you are right about resume within Audio books is correct. I have not used Audio Books so I have no experience with them.

@chrisj -- The unit resumes exactly where it stopped within your current file. Within the player itself there is no way to fast forward or reverse within the MP3. Like I said, it is very basic but it allows me all I need to shuffle through 6GB of files when my wife and I are on cross country trips.

 

[mikealder]

Within the player itself there is no way to fast forward or reverse within the MP3. Like I said, it is very basic

Instead of tapping the next track button try pressing and holding it, you will get a nice surprise - the same works in reverse if you press and hold the previous track button - Mike

 

[spook45]

Instead of tapping the next track button try pressing and holding it, you will get a nice surprise - the same works in reverse if you press and hold the previous track button - Mike

Thanks Mike. I did not know that. I guess it is time to re-read the documentation again.

 

[mikealder]

I doubt you will find descriptions of features such as this by reading the manual as its not very comprehensive IMHO - Mike