What's so compelling about the TomTom 720

[jweint]

I've been doing lots of research over the last 2 weeks in an effort to make a purchasing decision between the TomTom 720, Magellan 4250, and Nuvi 660. These are roughly equivalent choices (if I purchase the traffic add-on for the 720). I look at the Magellan as an immature device with a good software feature set coupled with mixed reliability and a poor support organization behind it. I look at the Nuvi 660 as a very stable platform with a solid feature set, maybe a few less features with good support. I look at the TomTom as a decent platform, a good software feature set, mixed integration with other devices and fairly good support. Now here's the rub...been reading this in various reviews and forums....bluetooth integration is a mixed bag limiting users ability to utilize the Plus services through their phones....the traffic receiver, as a window suction cup solution, is not a very elegant solution to accessing TMC traffic. There's tons written about the Navteq vs. TeleAtlas maps. Finally, as I read this forum in particular, you seem to be going through TomTom's version of DLL-hell, disabling your devices with map and firmware upgrades and searching for ways to get the latest maps while still having all of your previous functionality working. What's the draw? Why is the TomTom 720 worth the level of pain? Besides the level of community support (not unlike the Open Source movement), why go this route over Garmin? I'm not trying to be a negative force here...just trying to understand if I have the money to purchase any of these solutions why would I buy the 720?

 

[Pedro2NR]

Welcome,
I believe it depends on your preference and what options you really like.
I've tried the 720 and it is a great unit!

Going back to your preferences, I need a unit with hands free capabilities and allowing me to navigate from Point A to B. I didn't need TomTom Plus features even though my phone was compatible. For more phone listings visit www.tomtom.com/phones/compatability and see if your phone is listed.

Text to speech was one feature I need so I purchased the 910 at that time. I had a plus feature because my iPod was compatible to my tomtom so that was a plus.

I also like TomTom because it was easy to use and i could customize it. For me, the Garmin GUI was not impressive.

I also went to stores and played with different GPS units and saw what I liked. I then viewed different demos on youtube and other websites and liked what I saw.

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[riptorn]

I would like to also add that people who are TWEAKING their 720s with new features or old features with a new map are not the norm. This comes with issues as you know. I still have Windows XP on all our computers for the simple reason that the latest is not always the greatest. Let the geeks (I am one of them) figure out the bugs before you set it out to the mainstream.

Yes I agree that TomTom did release the software and it should have been tested beforehand (by a beta test group) before it got to the upgraders but usually the average person doesn't even upgrade their TT but every few months if that.

Also the device works perfectly (as long as you didn't have one of the early units, see beta testing above) with compatible phones. All the phone issues minus the initial issue are with incompatible phones (most users will say that in the post as I have with my Motorola Q).

My brother had a Nuvi and then used my TT720 and found it was faster, more accurate and loved the moo I put in there when go by a Timmies (Canadian fans will know what I am talking about).

If I were you and you have the room on your credit card the simple thing is to buy both units at a local BestBuy (or whoever has a good return policy) and then just return the one you don't like after a week of using it.

Hope that helps and sorry for the Monday morning rant.

N...

 

[jweint]

Here are the features I really need

This will be my 3rd SatNav unit. I started with a Dell Axim X5 with a compactflash GPS receiver and PocketMap Navigator software. Had text-to-speech, somewhat slow route calculations, and the combination of my Axim dying and PocketMap no longer issuing updates sent me off for another unit. Then I bought a Garmin iQue M3 (Windows-mobile PDA based unit). No text-to-speech, decent interface, slow route calculations, good POI database, somewhat finicky. It's time for me to upgrade....looking for traffic, very fast route calculations and re-routing, text-to-speech, full North American map and POI coverage, and more flexibility in tailoring my routes. On paper, the 720 looks like it will provide this. Are any of you using the traffic receiver (not the Bluetooth gprs phone solution)? Haven't seen much on the forums and reviews I've been reading regarding traffic (just that there's a receiver available).

 

[mnguy07]

I was looking at the Nuvi 660 and GO 720 recently. I ended up going for the GO720 because of MapShare and itinerary planning (a couple of the plus features are nice too). The Nuvi 660 seemed solid but it also is "dated" compared to the newer 720. I'd imagine that's why some places are selling them very cheap.

 

[oliwa]

I went with the 720 because it was cheaper than the Nuvi, it had MapShare, it had rich rerouting options, and the screen wasn't cluttered (like the Mio C520). The only thing I don't like about the 720 is the POIs. I don't like how there aren't subcategories and a lot of major chains are missing...but it's very easy to add them.

 

[Boyd]

Are any of you using the traffic receiver (not the Bluetooth gprs phone solution)? Haven't seen much on the forums and reviews I've been reading regarding traffic (just that there's a receiver available).

I exchanged my 720 for a 920 a couple days ago (the 920 is basically the same hardware and software with more storage and maps, a dead-reckoning sensor, the traffic receiver and a remote control). I live in the middle of nowhere in far southern New Jersey and have 50 mile commute to work in Philadelphia.

It didn't surprise me that I couldn't get any traffic reception around my home, but driving West towards Philadelphia the receiver locks onto a channel about 20 miles from the city. I don't have enough experience to say how accurate the info is, but it's all there and appears to update quickly - it looks very cool. Downtown in Philadelphia reception was fading in and out because of the tall buildings (I assume).

My main disappointment is the physical form of the receiver, cord and antenna. There's a very short cord going from the recever to the GPS, then a longer cord that serves as the antenna. There are several suction cups to mount all this on your windsheild, and they don't seem to stick all that well.

I have my GPS on a home-made mount in the area of my radio/CD player - I don't like the idea of having it stuck to my windshield. So the cord connecting the receiver to the GPS is much too short, and it turns what is otherwise a very neat installation into something pretty ugly.

I guess I need to find an extension cord and see if I can lengthen that cord (sort of an unusual connector which is similar to a sub-mini stereo phone plug, but it's recessed). But I was able to get reception from the receiver pretty well by just plugging it in and draping the antenna across the dash. But the instructions say the antenna wire should run vertically up the side of your windsheild for best reception. Nevertheless, it seems like a really nice feature that will be useful in my area once I figure a more elegant way to mount it.

Regarding a comparison with Garmin, I've had 4 Garmin GPS'es - a StreetPilot 2620, Nuvi 650, eTrex Legend C and GPSMap 60Csx. I was going to upgrade the Nuvi 650 to a 760 but when I started playing with the Go 920 at the store I was really impressed. Aside from things which others have already mentioned, the speed and smoothness of scrolling, zooming and panning the maps is much, much better than the Garmins which tend to move in jerks. The rendering of the maps on the screen is also a lot more pleasing, and is totally customizeable on the TomTom. The 3d view on the TomTom is a lot nicer looking, with atmospheric haze applied to distant objects, stars in the night sky and textures which look like buildings in urban areas. I also like the fact that you can hack some things, since it's a Linux based unit, like creating custom menus.

When you connect the TomTom to your computer and run the "home" program, it will periodically upload a file to the GPS that tells the unit where to look for satellites. I find this lets the TomTom get a GPS fix remarkably fast. The Nuvi 650 was good at this, but the TomTom seems better (and the Go 920 can also use internal sensors to track you inside tunnels and other obstructed places, although I haven't had a chance to see how well that works yet).

But there are a number of minuses too. I can't get my Verizon Samsung phone to pair with Bluetooth on either the Go 720 or 920. This isn't a big deal for me, but I'd prefer to have it working (I have no idea if it would work on a Nuvi 660 either though). There also aren't any topographic maps from TomTom, and I really liked using those on my Nuvi (so I need to bring my 60Csx when I need those now). You can't really choose how much detail the TomTom will display at different zoom levels, but the Garmin has a rudimentary setting which affects this (detail can be set to Most, More, Normal or Less). This tends to make minor roads disappear unless you've zoomed way in. Probably not much of an issue for most people if you leave Autozoom turned on I guess.

Also realize that you can't turn autozoom off on the Garmin Nuvi's, which is something many people aren't happy about. The TomTom Browse Map feature is really great. It displays a 2d/North Up map full screen which you can live-zoom in and out with a slider. These views are really detailed and the pan and zoom incredibly fast as compared with the Nuvi which is much less responsive.

Another real annoyance on both the 920 and 720 is the amount of RFI which they emit. When I turn my GPS on it pretty much wipes out all of my AM radio reception. This is something which none of my other GPS'es ever did. Strong local stations are OK until you drive past a building or something which blocks their signal, then you get loud interference again. This might not be an issue for lots of people, but I like to listen to distant AM stations while driving at night and the TomTom completely wipes them out.

So I'm happy I switched to TomTom for the time being, but of course I'm still looking for the "perfect GPS" Am giving my Nuvi to my daughter and I'm sure they will love it since it's their first GPS. I don't think you can go too wrong with either unit. Try to play around with them in the store side by side if you can.

Also note that the Nuvi 660 is discontinued and being replaced by the 760 which has some nice upgrades. It can display a tracklog (trail of where you've been) which is a major omission on the TomTom Go. And the 760 can also save multiple routes that contain multiple via points. This is a big limitation on the Nuvi 600 series - it cannot save any routes, and the current route can only have one waypoint.

Happy shopping!

 

[jweint]

What's so compelling...

The Boston to DC corridor is where I'd love to have some routing flexibility (multiple waypoints to guide me down some preferred routes) and traffic. Many wasted hours spent waiting on the Cross-Bronx Expwy or on the Jersey Turnpike between exits 6 and 8 for various avoidable (if I had traffic info) reasons. Tired of listening for traffic every 10 minutes on Newsradio 88 in NY only to hear no mention of the mess I was currently tied up in.