TomTom 720 POI Database

[JosephCirrilla]

Hey -- I just got my 720 last week at Best Buy, upgraded from my 920, or downgraded, I don't know which it is yet. However, today I was driving and wanted to find a Starbucks by me however it couldn't find any even though I was a quarter mile from one. I know the 720 has limited memory as compared to the 920, but I was wondering if its possible to load all POI's onto the 720 through TomTom Home or is there just not enough internal memory? I have a 2 GB SD card, which I am currently trying to figure out how to load music - does it take Itunes music? I know I have a lot of questions, as a newb would but any feedback would be great. Thanks!

 

[bilybob]

You can get the poi database for starbucks here
https://www.tomtomforums.com/showthread.php?t=71

tomtom 720 does play mp3 files on an sd card. Create a folder mp3 on the sd card and insert it after you turn the unit on. My 720 freaks out sometimes if I insert the sd card before turning the unit on. Also your older version of tomtom home might not let you do navigation when using the sd card. They have fixed it in v2 of tomtom home but i haven't tried it yet since I don't like the over simplified interface.
HTH

 

[JosephCirrilla]

Thanks for the link to the Starbucks database, however what my question rather is, just How many POI's can I load onto the TomTom 720? Considering the fact that the internal memory is so low as compared to the 910 I had. Do I have to pick and choose which POI's I have each time I hook it up to TomTom Home? I'm frustrated...

 

[bilybob]

My 720 has close to 600 Mb free with all the poi's I found on this site. I have removed some of the voices that came with it since I use TTS all the time. POI databases are not that big (atleast the ones that you create yourself). Add all the stuff that you want in one and it will still be pretty small. I haven't noticed any performance degradation even with all the POIs enabled on the map.

One thing I forgot to mention about the POI databases is that you will have to use POIedit or some software like that to tweak them a little. Tomtom 720 displays POIs differently than the older versions so if you use the format that the POIs are in, you will get long ugly results in your recent search button on the tomtom unit. Plus the phone number won't work. Use the format "name>phone number" in POIedit and omit the address since you will have the street map when you search for the POI on the 720. I haven't figured out how to add the detail button for the POI on the 720.

I feel your pain being an ex garmin user myself. You might be able to copy your POI database from your 910 but I don't know how since I don't own a unit. Maybe somebody else can chime in.

 

[Mnemosyne]

I think I know what you're talking about. It doesn't have to do with whether or not the POI is in the database, but it won't find nearby POIs a lot of the time, and it seems the results are based on how many POIs are nearby and not how far away they are.

That probably sounds kind of confusing, so an example would be if I were in an area where there are a lot of POIs like a city center. If I were to tell it that I wanted to search for restaurants near me, the farthest it would search would only be a half mile away.

If I were in a rural area though and told it that I wanted to search all POIs near me for a restaurant, it would search 3 or 5 miles away from me. I think that's what you're saying, am I right?

 

[tundra914]

I have the same problem that Mnemosyne described. I know the POIs are loaded in the database, but the 720 will not find it if you dont tell it what state or city the POI is located in, I have to know that one exist in that city and state in order for me to find it. If I want to find all IKEA stores in the U.S., it will only give me the ones for my state. Does anyone know a work around for this?
Another problem I found on the 720 is that I could not find a way to stop the current navigation. How do you tell it that you want it to stop? My garmin 360 has a button that says "stop". the 720 does not.

 

[Tom1222]

Hey -- I just got my 720 last week at Best Buy, upgraded from my 920, or downgraded, I don't know which it is yet. However, today I was driving and wanted to find a Starbucks by me however it couldn't find any even though I was a quarter mile from one. I know the 720 has limited memory as compared to the 920, but I was wondering if its possible to load all POI's onto the 720 through TomTom Home or is there just not enough internal memory? I have a 2 GB SD card, which I am currently trying to figure out how to load music - does it take Itunes music? I know I have a lot of questions, as a newb would but any feedback would be great. Thanks!

I just bought one yesterday and haven't even tried it yet but from what I know is that it has 2 GB internal memory and about 1.4 GB are taken by the Maps, POIs and other items, so it still has a bit of storage left for more POI's.
You can also add a POI at any time. That's what makes it so GREAT! Mapshare is the reason why I bought it over a Garmin Nuvi.
Keep in mind that there are about 90 some Million POI's in the US alone and even the Biggest and Baddest GPS only shows about 6 million of them which is about 7% of all the POI's. No GPS is perfect and like I said the good thing with the Go 720 is that it does let you add your own POI's and share them with others if you choose to do so.

BTW you can not run Itunes over the optional SD card. ITunes pretty much will only run from your Ipod or you need to convert them back to MP3's or some other format. Now you can run your IPOD through your Go720 and even control it via the touch screen.

BTW, you definitely upgraded from the 910 model. :thumb:

 

[bilybob]

Another problem I found on the 720 is that I could not find a way to stop the current navigation. How do you tell it that you want it to stop? My garmin 360 has a button that says "stop". the 720 does not.

Yes it was strange for me also coming from garmin when I first used tomtom but there is a button that says clear route on the 3rd page of the main menu. I don't know why the hid it so far back but its there.

 

[JosephCirrilla]

*Update*

Well I called Customer service this morning, and had the chance to talk to a real nice customer support person. So I addressed several issues: 1. POI's - how come I can't find my beloved Starbucks when I know it is a quarter mile up the highway? 2. FM Transmitter - howcome even when I put it on the most dead channel I can find, it still squeaks and gives a high pitched sound over the transmitted voice, music etc? 3. Blue-Tooth Hands Free Calling - howcome the other person on the line only hears a high pitched sound instead of my voic? 4. Will my Itunes converted MP3's play on the TomTom 720? And Do I need to load the TT Home software on my SD card in order to use whatever I load onto it? 5. Is the current TT Ipod connect cable compatible with the 720? And if so, can I then play my Ipod music using the FM Transmitter because I do not have a audio "IN" on my current car stereo.

Answers!!
1. They did not really give me a straight forward answer but did say that local businesses and restaurants are already programmed. He gave me a list of websites where I can find other POI's, but he said in terms of knowing what I have or don't have, to just go on the TT and do a Navigate - POI - Find - Any and just try to think of what is around you and what is not showing up and then download those POIs. A very shoddy answer indeed. Here are those links he gave me:

http://www.poihandler.com
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com

2. FM Transmitter - it's a hit or miss. I guess since I live near NYC, most of the frequency channels will have some sort of signal because most of them are used. Also, he recommended if the problem persisted in an rural area for example, to exchange the TT for another.

3. Blue-tooth Hands Free Calling - I read somewhere else on this forum about this problem, with a high pitched sound getting heard on the other end. I at first thought I avoided it because I was able to make a clear call when I first opened the box however when I tried again after plugging it into the car, the other person on the line could not hear me worth a dime. He said there was a known issue with the Blue-tooth and recommended me to exchange it.

4. SD Card - Itunes music - he did not have any list of compatible music formats that did or did not play on the TT, however he suggested trying to guess and check, tinkering around with the device as he said. Once again, he stated that since the device is so new, they need to wait for feedback before making changes for later updates and models. As for the SD card, you do not need to put a copy of TT Home onto it for it to play. It plays the SD card simultaneously.

5. Ipod Connect Cable + FM Transmitter = beating the system? - Well I was told the current Ipod connect cable that is out for the 520 or something and the 910 is compatible with the 720. Also, I am able to configure the FM transmitter to play my ipod tunes through the speakers like I had hoped.

** In addition - as for the status of the remote control, they gave me a website where it is apparently being sold, however the person I talked with said it was currently not being sold yet on the TT website. Interesting...

Here is the website you can supposedly buy the remote control (which I absolutely loved using with the TT910)

http://www.mobileplanet.com

Hope this information helps, I know it was over a broad range of topics.

*Note*

I exchanged my TT720 today for another one, hopefully the bluetooth and FM transmitter work a little better! Thanks for all the support!

 

[bilybob]

I think I have had about enough of tomtom also. Routing sucks, high pitched buzzing noise on the other end. I had heard about it but had never really tried a call myself. I went to the local best buy and even synced my cell phone to the demo unit and called my wife's phone and can still hear loud buzzing noise through the demo unit. So this is far wide spread than a unit here or there. For 500 bucks atlest the bluetooth should work. Its not even a new technology.

This sucks big time. Such a shame for tomtom to release such a great product and not run it through QC. I guess its back to nuvi 660 for me. Whats the use of all the bells and whistles if nothing works, not even the navigation part correctly (see my thread on navigation here https://www.tomtomforums.com/showthread.php?t=3160) I have more routing issues than the ones discussed there and I have only had the unit for a week and I live in a state where most of the driving is fairly easy. I can imagine using this bad boy in one of the big cities in other states, of course using the FM transmitter and bluetooth all at the same time.

 

[Mnemosyne]

I haven't had the opportunity to try using the Bluetooth calling feature since I have an unsupported phone (which of course, really bugs me), but I have the same problem with the radio transmission. No matter which station I set it to, it's not very clear. I found that connecting it to the power cable while in the car makes it much clearer, but it's still not great.

 

[a4000]

Did your new unit fix the handsfree buzz???

 

[JosephCirrilla]

Update New Unit*

The new unit has worked absoultely flawlessly. I also bought the Ipod connect cable and used the FM transmitter like I previously posted that I wanted to try and the channels are coming in crystal clear (assuming there is no interference to begin with on the channel). I could not be happier!

 

[tundra914]

I was at best buy today and had to compare the 720 with the old Tomtom One. WHY does the older model have a listing for every starbucks and the new model does not???? Is Tomtom boycotting starbucks and decided to remove it from the newer models POI database? Does that mean that they may have removed other POI's from the database? Thats a MAJOR step backwards, or maybe their just cutting corners to save on memory...why why why?