TomTom 720 initial impressions

[digital-flex]

The instructions also say that the custom icon should have a thin white border to make the icon more visible on the screen, a more clean look.

 

[nyca]

I stopped by Best Buy to check out the device. It looks nice!
I was disappointed to learn that the voice recognition is only for the European maps.

it doesn't do voice recognition for US maps? why not? is this one of those "coming soon" features?

 

[Balthazar_B]

Nobody who is possibly in a position to know has said. The issue could either be technical or rights-related (i.e., voice recognition relies on licensed technology that can't be sold by TomTom in North America). I hope this whole thing gets clarified soon.

 

[Pedro2NR]

I hope so, but from TomTom's history I don't think it will happen.

 

[nyca]

you see no mention of this on tomtom's website, that speech recognition for data entry doesn't work in the US. and no mention of it at places that have the 720 for sale (like amazon).

when were they planning on telling people in the US about this? hell, if I hadn't stumbled onto this thread, I might have just bought this thing thinking it had it.

ah, never mind, if you flip their website to "United States" - they remove this feature from the 720. Amazon.com needs to do the same.

 

[Dylan]

I don't understand what the map correction is supposed to accomplish. I've made 3 corrections so far. I unblocked a road that was a dead end on the map but was recently extended. Then I added a new road to connect the former dead end to another road. The other change was to the speed limit on a different road. These changes aren't impacting the routes.

I've also allowed the Home app to download two corrections but there is no way to know what is being changed. I'd really like to see the change before I choose whether to accept it.

 

[Dylan]

Other impressions:

• It's equivalent to my wife's TT One in how well it does it's basic function of navigation. On the good side, the map refreshes quickly and it's spot on for my distance to turn. It beats Garmin in this regard. On the bad side, the routing and time estimation are flawed and inferior to Garmin.
• I love being able to move the status bar to the side. I've avoided buying a widescreen GPS until now because I thought they made poor use of the screen space. In the 3D view I want to see more of what's coming up, not to the side. This seems obvious. Is it just me?
• The 2D view is also more useful with the status bar on the side. I like 2D north up because it matches a regular map. I learn my way around better that way. The short and wide viewing area you get in other portable GPS's doesn't work well for 2D north up.
• The volume is clear enough up to 95% but it clips the amp badly at 100% and is unintelligible. This means I can't use the feature that dynamically adjusts the volume for background noise because it will sometimes raise it beyond the clipping point.
• The way the mount couples with the device is an improvement but it still jiggles. I don't know why everyone doesn't just copy Garmin's mount.
• I'm really happy with how well it works as a bluetooth speakerphone. I've bought and returned past Garmin and TomTom devices because the speaker and/or mic were crappy. For me, this is the big differentiator that justifies buying a $500 model instead of a $300 model.

I'll still be on my obsessive quest for the perfect GPS but this is the one I'm going to keep. I really wish TomTom could figure out how to get their routing as good as Garmin's. www.gpsmagazine.com has done a good comparison of them.

 

[Pedro2NR]

This is an article from PocketGPSWorld on how to use Map Share blocking/unblocking a road.

 

[asbaker]

There is no mention of AC charger on the GO720 I bought last night, just a car power charger. But I get the impression that it charges when in the USB cradle which is attached to a computer. When it is attached that way, the charge light is solid green. Can anyone here (much more experienced than I - this is my first stand-alone GPS) tell me if I am correct about charging through the USB connection?

 

[Sextant]

Devices can charge off the USB port so that's not unheard of. If the charge light is green I suspect it does. Easy test, leave it on until the power runs the batteries down and it dies. Plug it into the USB for a few hours, if you can turn it on and it's charged up, voila! You'll have your answer then.

 

[Dylan]

Yes, it charges over USB. If you want an AC charger there are plenty of generic ones that'll power any USB device.

 

[JeepLover]

There are pictures in this thread - https://www.tomtomforums.com/showthread.php?t=2602

Unfortunately that link no longer works.

I'm very new so if there has already been an update posted, please disregard.

 

[digital-flex]

Unfortunately that link no longer works.

I'm very new so if there has already been an update posted, please disregard.

Just clicked on it...works for me.

Try it again.

 

[asbaker]

Quick question about the pictures in your post - Did you get them by screen capture while using the Tomtom software or is there a way to export maps from the Go720?

 

[digital-flex]

Quick question about the pictures in your post - Did you get them by screen capture while using the Tomtom software or is there a way to export maps from the Go720?

I believe the OP used a technique where you can take screen captures on the unit itself.

It's a neat trick, look here to do it - https://www.tomtomforums.com/showpost.php?p=4490&postcount=7

 

[wimac75]

There is no mention of AC charger on the GO720 I bought last night, just a car power charger. But I get the impression that it charges when in the USB cradle which is attached to a computer. When it is attached that way, the charge light is solid green. Can anyone here (much more experienced than I - this is my first stand-alone GPS) tell me if I am correct about charging through the USB connection?

It has three ways to charge OUT OF THE box:

USB Dock
AC Adapter
Car Charger

That is pretty sweet if you ask me!

 

[wimac75]

ETA problems

Is anyone else having problems with the ETA functionality? Every trip that I plug in seems to be inflated by about 40% where the Garmin usually nails arrival time dead on. This past weekend I plugged in a trip that would normally take us 3.5 hours--TomTom 720 said 5hr 15min - that is a huge discrepancy. My buddies Garmin said 3.5 hours...

I really like the ETA functionality but need it to work.

 

[CPAScott]

you see no mention of this on tomtom's website, that speech recognition for data entry doesn't work in the US. and no mention of it at places that have the 720 for sale (like amazon).

when were they planning on telling people in the US about this? hell, if I hadn't stumbled onto this thread, I might have just bought this thing thinking it had it.

ah, never mind, if you flip their website to "United States" - they remove this feature from the 720. Amazon.com needs to do the same.

I'm confused by this. Isn't text-to-speech what enables the 720 to speak street names? If so, it certainly works for U.S. maps. Or, are you referring to data you enter (e.g. POIs)?

Thanks for the clarification.


CPAScott
(new GO 720 owner)

 

[a4000]

It has three ways to charge OUT OF THE box:

USB Dock
AC Adapter
Car Charger

That is pretty sweet if you ask me!

Mine didn't come with an ac adapter in the box. Car charger only and usb dock.

 

[wimac75]

Mine didn't come with an ac adapter in the box. Car charger only and usb dock.

I got the special edition one.

Just kidding. I got it confused with the LG LN 740 that I tried first.