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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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happy with product. very happy with prompt delivery and quality of product. person i gave gps to was very happy with product.Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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This is a good product for the price. Great features works great and very easy to use. I really like the MP3 player and it is great that it mutes the music to tell you about turns.Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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I have never been one for taking orders from a machine, but the TomTom 720 made it so easy and pleasant. Thank you TomTom. If our machine overlords of the future are as helpful as the TomTom 720, we have nothing to fear.Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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I purchased this TomTom 720 after weeks of research - this IS our first GPS after all! I purchased one for my husband and I, plus one for my mother's companion as her gift to him. She told me whichever one I chose was good enough for her, and she trusted me. (no pressure there!)

I originally purchased a TomTom XL 330S, but returned it because it did NOT have an SD card slot.

This one DOES have an SD card slot (which is good for storing maps, poi's (points of interest), music files, etc.) so that you have the option of expanding the memory of the unit. This helps keep it from becoming a dinosaur too quickly.

The unit is compact, has a bright screen, clear graphics, easy to use software (TomTom Home is a bit "old school" - I'll explain later in this review), and is easy to use period.

I made sure to purchase additional accessories:
4gb SD card
carrying case (take it with you when you park your car - do NOT leave the GPS visible in your car or it will be stolen!!)
screen protectors (matte)
beanbag mount for the dash
alternate mount kit (from TomTom)

The day after I received it, I used it to navigate my way to a job interview. It tried to take me a VERY roundabout way out of my own development, so I just drove the way I wanted to. It recalculated (silently, thank you, instead of stating "re-calculating" like I have heard other machines do) quickly and continued coaching me on where to turn. Since then, I learned how to change the route BEFORE getting into the car so it doesn't do that, and so far I have been pretty successful.

I had bad luck with the "neck" it comes with. It was too short to use with my beanbag mount (it actually made the device come out of the beanbag), so I ordered the "alternate" mount from the TomTom website. This works GREAT with the beanbag!

I kept it plugged in to the cigarette lighter for the entire trip, just to be sure it wouldn't poop out on me - TomTom's are notorious for their short battery life - and it worked fine.

It connected to my Palm Treo 700p as a bluetooth device with absolutely NO problem - actually, it asked ME if I wanted to connect. I didn't expect that. I wasn't even thinking of using bluetooth (I do NOT have a bluetooth headset, rather I have a wired headset for my cell phone), but now I like it. The only thing that is a little weird is that it WON'T connect to my cell phone when I am making an out-of-state call (go fig!).

The updates were really easy to do, but the downloads were a little tedious. The "Home" software is a little "old school" in that once you find something you want to add to your device (such as points of interest) and download it to the device, you have to return to the very first page of the software and start searching all over again. It SHOULD have a "sticky" interface that could remember what page you left off on before the download started. This makes it VERY time consuming.

I made sure to download the 2 free "computer" voices so the TomTom would speak the street names during navigation. It comes with one, but I really like "Susan" out of all of the computer voices.

You get 12 months of mapshare downloads for no charge. At the end of that time you must purchase a full map upgrade to continue with free downloads for another 12 months. The full map upgrade averages between $80 to $120 depending on what you need. (BTW, this is comparable to the prices for map upgrades from Garmin, Mio and Magellan, but these companies do NOT allow for free downloads during the rest of the year.)

Also, you can submit map changes to TomTom - that means if something has changed since they did the map, you get to add your info! Garmin, Mio and Magellan do NOT allow you to do this, either. What does this mean for you? The power to help yourself and others. Heck, why not? Maybe your correction will help someone from getting lost and in return maybe someone else's corrections will help YOU from getting lost!

I purchased this unit (new) for $199 (that was my max budget). Since then it has jumped up to $300+. I guess that means it is in demand, but the newer models are around that price, so if you are in the $300 budget range I would research the newer TomTom's to see what they have to offer before buying this at $300.

If you are new to TomTom's or even just GPS in general, make sure to check out the user groups at: forums dot gpsreview dot net. You can find help for any and every brand/model.

That's all I can think of for now. If I forgot something I will re-post. Happy Travels!Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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last year we switched to this model and have been extremely satisfied. The 720 is so easy to use. Like the fact that i can update routes that have changed recently but were not originally in the map. I like that I can change the voices and having night colors is really helpful, too.Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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I've had my GO720 for over a year now and, unfortunately, I'm still not entirely satisfied with it's performance. My biggest problem is the map inaccuracies that TomTom refuses to correct even after I've submitted them numerous times. Their story is that their map supplier won't even investigate an error unless there are numerous identical reports of the error. I guess I can understand that up to a point, but after playing with one of their newest units on display at Sams Club and discovering the same errors and omissions, I'd have to say that they just don't care if they ever get it right as long as someone's buying the unit! Another problem is the routing logic, which, in many cases, is just plain stupid. Tries to run you 25 miles out of the way just to keep you on the interstate. The only way to get around that little quirk is to enter the name of a town along the route you want to take, but if you're in unfamiliar territory, what good is that? Try to run the route you know you should be using and it keeps trying to get you to u-turn or run down some cowpath backroad when it automatically tries to reroute you back to the original route. Bottom line is that if I knew then what I know now, I'd buy a Garmin.Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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I have owned the Tom Tom 720 (it was a gift) for over a year. During that time, it functioned well. However, a few days ago, the Maps, other than Guam, disappeared. I am not a novice with these products. I was sure that the U.S. maps had somehow been deleted. I contacted Tom Tom and was given instructions on how to recover the maps or reset the unit. I followed the advice precisely. No luck. Tom Tom concluded that the maps were, indeed, lost. They said the only way to restore them was to purchase/download for $69.95. I must admit, this did not cheer me up. Not planning to drive in Guam anytime soon, I tossed the Tom Tom in the garbage. I will purchase another GPS; you can guess what brand it will not be.

The only way to deal with companies like this is to not patronize them. I encourage you to look elsewhere. Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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I purchased the Totom Go 720 for a Christmas Present. We have used one before and found it to be a very good unit. We still like the unit. It is easy to use and works as well as, if not better than the Garmins we have used. This particular model, though, is flawed.

There are a very limited number of cell phones that it is compatible with. It would not link properly with either of our phones and we could never download our address book to the unit. All right, not that big a deal.

However, the voice is all but unintelligible, especially with the blue tooth. The voice is garbled and full of static and can not be used. The spoken directions are only a little better and usually have to be turned off because they are so annoying.

Tomtom is reportedly "working on the problem". They told us to wait for a new patch to come out that would fix the problem. Why they sold a unit that didn't work in the first place is beyond me to understand. However, even with the new patch, just issued a month and a half later, the speech still does not work. Tomtom now says to wait another three weeks for the next patch. "Maybe" that one will work.

No thanks. I'm returning the unit. If I still can.

DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT UNTIL THE SPEECH IS FIXED!!Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT or ANY OTHER TOMTOM PRODUCT

I purchased my Go 720 December 2007. It has had a few problems but generally worked as advertised. It synced with my V3 the first time and I found that the turn distances were acceptable, close enough to tell two close streets apart. But it really doesn't matter

The reason for the 1 star is because I can't give a 0. About 3 months after the warranty ran out and my screen went black. I called TomTom support and was told that if it were in warranty they would replace it. If it is out of warranty buy a new one. That's right, they told me they would not fix it at any price. You are on your own, we don't sell parts and we won't tell you how to get a third party repair. Good luck. Hope your battery doesn't die. Oh, buy the way, we will give you a discount on your new unit if you buy from us at full price. Yeah, right.

I now have a $350 paperweight.Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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I have owned this unit for over a year. I tried several different manufacturers and models through friends and coworkers before I bought. The thing that won me over was the user interface. I still believe it to be among the best. HOWEVER, the maps are so out of date. Major new highways that have been open for three-plus years are still not on the map. I performed all of the updates for the first year and I used Mapshare hoping that would help. No such luck. Additionally, I can never get "home" because my street is off by about 300 feet. This has always appeared wrong on many map programs because the subdivision was not built like it was originally drawn but they won't fix it. I recently looked at a Garmin which has maps supplied by Navteq and my road is now in the correct location on their maps. They have fixed that in the last year and TomTom has not.

Overall, as I said, a good but not great unit.Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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It works, but there has to be something better.

It does, mostly, navigate from one place to another. It is VERY interstate-centric. It's algorithm apparently has a strong penalty function for roads that are not limited access highways, so it pretty strongly steers you toward interstates and away from surface streets that might well be more desirable paths. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to punish routes through high traffic areas. It will run you through the middle of a busy city instead of taking the bypass even though the distances are nearly equal.

It's very hard to specify that you don't want to go the way it says. You have to find a point on the alternate route in order to force it to go the other way. Simple things, like specifying a city along the desired route, don't really work well. Example, from my home to a place 1000 miles away that I often want to go to, there are two nearly equal ways to get there. It picks the one I don't like by default. Telling it to go the other way isn't easy. If I tell it to go through a particular city it will try to run me off the highway and down to city hall. The only way to do it is to zoom in on a particular stretch of highway and put a way point exactly on the highway.

A very stupid thing about it is that it doesn't handle time zones. This device can't. That's really, really dumb. If I tell it I have to be in Chicago by 3 pm, it doesn't have sense enough to correct for the time zone change. It's going to put me in Chicago at 3 p.m. in whatever time it's set to now. If there are two things a GPS unit knows it's where it is and what time it is. From that it should be able to figure out the local time. It also should have no trouble figuring out the time at your destination. The fact that this one can't makes me want to chuck it out the window.

The internal battery lasts about six months before it croaks, and it's not replaceable without sending the thing back to the factory. Terrible.

It is pretty good at re-routing you if you ignore it, e.g. it tells you to turn right and you miss the turn, it does a good job of creating a new route based on your new position. I just wish it had a "stand down" control, so I could tell it to chill out when I pull off the road to get a bite to eat. I don't want to turn it off, I still value the map, I just want it to shut up for a bit.Get more detail about TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

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Because this GPS has been around for a while, the hype has settled and the price has therefore lowered significantly. It has amazing features that the most expensive GPS units offer. The newer model, the GO 730, has the new IQ routes and lane guidance features, however i don't think that these features alone would be worth the extra $100 (50% of the units cost!). The handsfree works perfectly with my verizon LG phone. It connects automatically when I turn the unit on and I can keep my phone in my pocket. The navigation works well and the speaker is loud. The screen is bright and clear. I love that this unit allows you to add POI's and make map corrections right on the device.
There are only a few negatives about the device. First, the suction cup mount isn't sturdy enough. I have tried using it on the windshield and the dashboard mount and on both the unit has fallen down while I was driving on a bumpy road. The only other major negative for me is that the unit has no capability of automatically turning on when I start the car.It has the ability to automatically turn off when the car is powered off, but some Garmin units can supposedly do turn on automatically and it would make life much easier not having to hassle with holding the on button down to turn the GPS on if I am in a hurry. Lastly, there is no volume control button to change the volume. If you want to change the volume, you must go through several menu pages. I have to press preferences, then speaker preferences, then volume, then change the volume. This can be to difficult to do while driving.

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