TomTom GO 720

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Product Features:

• GPS navigation system for Western Europe with a 4.3 inch touch screen, spoken instructions, plus ser

Customer Reviews:

• 
  2008-05-23
  By P. Jones, Manchester, UK
  MAIN REASON FOR PURCHASE - SPEEDING:
  
  I bought this device in February after a close call with a mobile speed trap. I already had 6 points on my licence for 2 marginal offences and I find that I am not capable of observing the speed limits on the second-by-second basis which is nowadays required. I managed to justify the cost because if it saves me from just one SP30, I would save £400 in insurance premiums over 5 yrs. (If you don't declare an SP30 your insurance will be voidable in a claim - fact).
  
  As the cheapest model of the TomTom with over speed limit detection, the 720 displays the speed limit and chimes when you are going 10% above it. Some mobile speed vans are placed in areas that you would expect to have a higher speed limit e.g. dual carriageways with 30mph limit or 40mph dual carriageways just before they merge with a motorway. The TomTom does not detect the van but it will keep reminding you if you go over the limit. It has already saved my bacon once on a 40mph dual carriageway (south Manchester under the M60).
  
  It does not display the speed limit on minor roads/housing estates etc even though it has them stored in memory. I think this is because they will only display speed limits that they have physically verified. It is not a big deal though because most are 30mph limits and you just shouldn't be whizzing around them anyway.
  
  I looked into a getting a laser radar detecting device instead but these are being banned in the UK soon and in hindsight I didn't need one.
  
  Apparently, all the pilots at one of the major airports are now being equipped with TomToms to ensure that they don't lose their driving (and hence their pilots) licences.
  
  
  SECOND AND LESS CRITICAL REASON - MUSIC:
  
  This model has a weird feature that it broadcasts your mp3s onto a channel that you tune into on your radio. I've seen the reviews that say that the volume is a problem but I find that with the volume set to 100% its fine. (I also turn off the voice on journeys where I know where I'm going.) You might want to experiment with different channels to find one with no interference.
  
  1st thing to note is that the Euro map fills up your TomTom and you need an SD card to put your music on. You don't need a high speed SD card - I found the 2Gb Kingston basic one is fine.
  
  
  RELIABILITY
  
  I've found that I haven't had any technical issues with the software/updates etc. Having said that, I work in IT and have learned to never ever unplug a device during updates etc which is usually why people get into trouble.
  
  
  OTHER
  
  I won't go on about the general benefits of Sat Nav but this model does a good job. The voice recognition works fine.
  
  I have only given it 4 stars because having owned it for 3 months, there is a new map out now and it costs £75. If you don't buy it, you don't get any more of the user map updates.
  
  
• 
  2008-05-29
  By DBS, East Sussex United Kingdom
  Firstly some of the extras that really are not much use - The jukebox beams the signal OK but you do keep getting interference, to be honest you are better off without it on. The handsfree for the phone is excellent for the text messages and you can here the caller no problem, however the microphone is really poor and they can rarely hear you on the other end.
  
  The main purpose of the machine is to get you from AtoB its not that clever at picking up City Centre locations from Post codes you often reach a destination about 400 yards from where it actually is. Notwithstanding this its pretty slick at getting you around and recalculates quickly if you take a wrong turn. The updates that you send in and receive make little difference I guess the sheer agro of stopping and updating the map puts most of us off from doing it.
  
  My biggest gripe with Tom Tom is that their maps are so aged. I bought this from Amazon a couple of months ago but its had me driving in fields for bypasses built two to three years ago. I have tackled them over this very fact and why I should have to pay another £74 to update the maps. Bear in mind all existing stocks of these things will have old maps it may be worth waiting a year or so to make sure you have the up to date ones.
  
  Without the map issue its somewhere between a 3 and a 4 you are paying for some extras that are not worth it, in hindsight I would have got a cheaper version and bought the new maps it would make much more sense.
  
  
• 
  2008-06-06
  By David Roe, Dorset, England
  The navigation is excellent, made better by updates shared by other users (Mapshare). It is very easy to use.
  
  However -
  
  The battery life is nowhere near 3 to 5 hours (as TomTom claims). 2 hours 30 mins is nearer the mark.
  
  The hands- free telephone operation is not good; it is very difficult to hear the person on the other end
  
  Voice recognition, for destination entry, simply doesn't work.
  
  
• 
  2008-08-04
  By D. M. Molyneux,
  This is the worst piece of electronic kit I have ever purchased. I have has it a year now and the unit had now died with a flashing white cross and disk drive - no help from the website and Windows cannot access the drive inside the TomTom
  
  - Updates off Tomtom from internet constantly messed up the unit - I had a computer voice go missing a couple of times and the unit also failed to start (lucky I did a backup) - Tomtom have sometimes released buggy updates
  - Customer Service Eh? 2 weeks for a response
  - Speed cameras from Tomtom are useless - there are no audible alerts - I had to get ones from PocketGPSWorld (and pay again) and set it up manually
  
  The unit is basically unreliable and the software is buggy - the internet updates via Tomtom Home constatnly mess the unit up
  
  I have spent more time fixing the unit than actually using it.
  
  When it did work it was actually very good - Tomtom need to sort out their QA testing - they shouldn't sell units like this that are so unreliable
  
  The only use for it now is an ugly paperweight
  
  I gone and bought a Garmin now for £114
  
  A waste of £320 - can't even sell it on ebay as its totally non-functional now
  
  
  
  
• 
  2008-08-20
  By Tyler Durdan, Surrey
  I was looking for an easy to use and accurate sat nav device and this TomTom fulfils the criteria. User interfaces are very easy to use and the lag between where the TomTom thinks you are and reality is minimal. Probably don't use all the flashy features but basic stuff like setting favourite addresses, speed cameras and changing the speaking voice are great. Nice big screen as well which made me choose over the more budget models.
  
  Items that stop a score 5 are 1) the battery is rubbish, barely an hour or two and as a result now never use without the car charger plugged in in case battery dies whilst driving at a key turning, and 2) can take a little while to find the signal when you first fire up (but not as bad as some friend's Sony sat navs though that take ages!)