TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Right now

I purchased a new TomTom Go 720 ($179) yesterday after much deliberation. I was considering buying the Garmin 760 ($250) but decided to go with the TT 720 which seemed to be better value for money.

The TT 720 came loaded with App. version 8XX and map version 7XX (X being numbers I don't exactly remember). The device worked straight out of the box. I updated the device to the latest App version thorough TomTom home but the promo code for installing new maps did not work.

I called TomTom tech support this morning and was told I needed to fax or email proof of purchase and the promo code document. I called back after sending the required docs and a rep validated it and said that the required map was loaded to my TOMTOM home account. It turns out he had added the "USA & Canada maps" to my account not the "North_America_2GB" file which should have been added. It took another two phone calls and having to speak to the supervisor before figuring out why I was not able to update my device. I was asked to delete the existing maps file by accessing the device through my computer and then the latest map verison (815.2019) which is a 1550MB file was ready for downolad. 2Hrs later the file was downloaded and installed. I think having to speak to 4 reps and one supervisor to get my maps updated is pretty bad service. Please keep in mind that the wait time to reach them was about 20 mins on each occasion. While the supervisor and the first rep were sharp the rest were quite average. One of the reps claimed I had to delete stuff from the device to make room for the update, it turns out the maps take up almost all of the space on the HD and there is nothing much to delete except maybe 50MB of french and maybe spanish voice. On the whole pretty bad service!

With the latest App and Map combination the TT 720 now has IQ routing and lane guidance available. I think both these features are worth ensuring that you get to the latest revs as soon as possible. Without IQ routing the device provides non-optimal routes. For instance the optimal route from Houston to Austin is about 170 miles, but without IQ routing it came up with a 220 mile route and even after requesting alternate routes never found the optimal route. But, with IQ routing the first route selected was the optimal one (170 miles).


The features I like about the TT720 are:

- Very customizable interface
- IQ routing works well
- Lane guidance is very useful
- Interface is very intuitive
- The demo route feature is quite nice. Can be made run at 4.8X times. My wife really finds it helpful.
- The icon moves quite seamlessly on the map unlike the Garmin
- Does not keep screaming that it's recalculating the route if you miss a turn, which can get annoying after a while

Things I don't like;

2GB internal memory is too small
The POI database is not as good as Garmin
The customer service is very average
Does not come with a carrying case
Blutooth synch does not work well

Bottom line: At below $200 it is great value for money. IQ routing and lane guidance makes it comparable to the Garmin 760.
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