TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator by TomTom
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Digital camera reviews of TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Digital camera Review: Decent GPS but inability to change the battery makes this a very expensive "disposable" product
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this GPS on the day it was released in July 2007 so I have now had it for about 2 1/2 years. One thing I wish they would have advertised is that there is no way to change the lithium battery once it dies. I bought this for about $500 (since it was the day it released) thinking that it would last for several years and I would be able to purchase a new battery for it once the lithium battery died. Now, 2 1/2 years later, the battery does not hold a charge (and has not for a while) so I am basically stuck with a GPS that is only useable when plugged in to the car charger or an a/c adapter. All in all, I would say the following:
Pros:
1. The itinerary function allowed me to input multiple destinations and set a route.
2. The screen size makes it easy to view while driving. Glare was never a problem with this unit.
3. It redirects quickly if you miss your turn.
Cons:
1. The battery is not removable or able to be changed. This is not mentioned anywhere in the literature that comes with the unit.
2. The MapShare function did not work when adding streets, it only worked when changing the name of a street. I think this feature does not work well because they just want you to purchase the updated maps from them instead of changing your own maps in the GPS.
3. The TomTom Customer Service Manager quickly became irate when I voiced my dissatisfaction. When I called about the battery issue, they were quick to direct me to their website where there were new units on sale instead of addressing the problem.
Digital camera Review: Delivered
Summary: 4 Stars
Tomtom 720 delivers. No problems with downloading maps or voices. Paired with my mobile easily. Available voices are enough.Digital camera Review: Did not re-configure route even after 125 miles
Summary: 1 Stars
The price was right, a similar Tom Tom received great reviews in Consumer Reports, I did all the research and thought I'd made the perfect purchase. Wrong. So very wrong. I tested it on a 225 mile drive. I knew the route pretty well except for the last 30 miles or so. I couldn't really tell from the TomTom maps where it was going to take me but I trusted it. I set out using my own knowledge, assuming the 720 would re-configure the directions as I made my turns. Not so. It kept screaming at me to make a u-turn and go back. I ignored it but I started to second guess myself. I was on a short-cut so I thought it would pick me up when I got to a main road. Not so. Even when I got on a main highway it protested. It wanted me to take a very curvy river road. I was taking a parallel road which was much straighter and easier to drive. My road was a few minutes shorter but a few miles longer and I'd programmed it to "fastest"! At every major intersection for 125 miles it wanted me to make a u-turn or to "take a right and a left" to get to the windy road 20 miles to the east. I went through a major city and assumed it would take me to the connecting freeway but no - it wanted me to go back and get on the windy road. The final straw came when I was 6 miles from my destination and it still wanted me to turn around and go back - which at that time would have added 50 or more miles to my route - and I was within spitting distance of my stop! In all that time it never once was able to re-configure my route. I stopped in to Target on the way home and checked out a similarly priced Garmin - which is what I'm ordering right now from Amazon. I want a GPS that works with me to make the best choices - not one that is stuck on it's own opinion of what's best.Digital camera Review: Didn't live up to expectations
Summary: 2 Stars
My biggest complaint is battery life. I've had the unit for only a few months, and it seems the battery has fizzled - from fully charged to dead has deteriorated to about fifteen minutes - that's with sound turned off and screen brightness turned way down. The first unit I received (and returned for an exchange) wouldn't hold a charge overnight. This one barely will. So I have to live with the dangling cord and connecting/unconnecting every time I park in an area where I have to worry about it being stolen, which is about everywhere in Baltimore.
My next complaint is that the thing has a mind of its own. Sometimes I power down with sound muted and it's still muted when I turn it back on. Other times I power it up and it starts blabbing at me. Sometimes it beeps at me for speeding when the sound is muted, sometimes it doesn't. The switch between night and day colors is unpredictable and annoying, with night colors persisting from the night before for up to fifteen minutes before switching to a new dawn.
Next, the menu system isn't well thought out. To cancel navigation you have to go to page three (and if you don't cancel, you have to endure the unit constantly updating the route to a position you're not going to). To add your present location as a favorite, you have to go to page five.
Also poor is the computer interface. The Home program is enormous, it starts at boot-up even though you didn't ask it to (and you weren't offered the option), if you exit Home and later connect your device, when it attempts to connect it wants to INSTALL Home rather than simply start it, every connection with the computer risks wiping out anything user-entered on the device (better not forget to backup!). When I updated my map it wiped out my favorites.
Adding points of interest is a pain - you go through a list, choose what you want to add, and then it dumps you at the start of the process, with no easy way to find where you left off. Points of interest are added by any user, but many of them are redundant and there's no way to know what's what (except that some have stars and some don't), many don't even tell you what country they're for, and if you load U.S. points of interest you get things from other countries as well. On the "manage my device" screen, which shows where files are stored on your computer, you can't highlight and copy file paths so as to navigate to them easily in explorer.
Note that if you're willing to live without purchasing updates for a while because you don't need every single one in your day-to-day life, be prepared to pay for them anyway - when you DO decide to update, you'll have to pay for all the ones you skipped (though apparently sometimes they'll offer a slight discount if you need four quarters or more).
Customer support is poor. Two of my three calls to customer support connected me to people who did not understand words such as "reinstall" and "default," and who could not understand that I could run out of space on a particular hard drive.
The best thing I can say about the navigation is that I've seen parts of town that I never knew existed. The routes may be good according the the algorithm, but not in real life. It will tell you to make a u-turn when it would make more sense to go around the block. It will send you by different routes between the same two points, seemingly at random - or does it somehow channel Elvis to know which route is better on a given day (I don't have traffic services)?
I wish I had gone with a Garmin.
Digital camera Review: Didn't work
Summary: 3 Stars
Bought it from One Star Market. What a rip off those people are.
It didn't work from day 1. Was told to send it back for a refund.
I sent it back and One Star Market kept my money anyway.
Amazon should not let theses people operate on their site.
If you don't want a really bad experience, stay away from that con artist outfit. R.Ulman