Product Description

TomTom, the worlds largest navigation solutions provider announced the introduction of TomTom Map Share on the TomTom GO 720. This unique new map improvement technology allows TomTom users to easily improve their maps as soon as they spot changes in the roads with a few touches on the screen of their device. Via TomTom HOME, TomTom Map Share users also receive all map improvements made by others, making their maps as dynamic as the world they live in. Roads are continually changing. This feature gives TomT...

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #863 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: TomTom
• Model: 1N00760
• Released on: 2007-06-11
• Dimensions: .49 pounds

Features

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

Manufacturer's Description

Elegant, slim, pocketable design.
Fits perfectly in your car and in your pocket.

TomTom announces a new era in car navigation: the GO 520 & 720. It takes everything that has made TomTom the world leader in portable navigation and builds on it. Perfectly engineered, and with a range of enhancements to every aspect of your navigation experience:

• TomTom's legendary ease of use, made even easier
• A navigation performance that sets new industry standards with best-in-class GPS reception, best maps, unique TomTom Map Share™ updates and much more
• A focus throughout on s! afety
• Smart and fun extras

The smartest navigator is also the easiest

TomTom has a reputation for the most user-friendly and efficient navigators. And the GO 520 & 720 are no exception.

A range of useful and also fun new features all benefit from the latest version of an award-winning intuitive user interface that makes the smartest TomTom technology easy to use.

• Easier on the eye: a 4.3" widescreen improves your view of
where you are, and makes entering instructions easier and
quicker.
• Better communicator: text-to-speech means your device can
announce street names, as well as sms and traffic messages.
Giving you easier guidance and allowing you to focus better
on the road ahead. • Better listener: speech recognition le! ts you tell your device
where to go, instead of typing it on the screen.
• Better view day and night: light sensor gives automatic
brightness control.

Instant map updates via
TomTom Map Share™

TomTom Map Share™ is technology unique to TomTom which enables you to add to, update and personalise
your maps instantly. It also lets you share and benefit from fellow users' changes - daily, automatically and easily
via TomTom HOME. And even better, TomTom has the world's largest satellite navigation community that can
contribute and exchange all their changes amongst each other. Making the best maps available for all of them.

TomTom Map Share™ means TomTom drivers can always have the most up-to-d! ate maps at their fingertips. Choose the changes you want - for example, choose only those submitted by many users, or only those checked and approved by TomTom. Have the inside local knowledge, wherever you go.

Easy voice address input.

Speech Recognition:
Speaking an address, to tell your device where to take you, is much easier than typing. TomTom GO 520 & 720 understand the pronunciation of city and street names. You can also answer questions while driving, so you can keep
your eyes on the road with the combination of text-to-speech and speech recognition technology.

For example:
Your GO 520 or 720 asks:
• "Traffic delay now 12 minutes; shall I try to optimize?"
• "A new text message was received; shall ! I read it aloud?"
and you just reply "! Yes" or "No".

Best Navigation

At the heart of the TomTom GO 520 & 720 is its navigation performance:
• High sensitivity GPS chipset gives you the best positioning.
• Industry-leading route calculation takes you there the best possible way.
• Should you deviate from your planned route, fast route re-calculation adjusts to your new location instantly.
• And when you first turn on, TomTom QuickGPSfix™ technology is best at finding the GPS satellites, to give you even quicker start-up.

Points of Interest that tell you more.

The GO 520 & 720 give you access to literally thousands of Points of Interest - fuel stations, parking, restaurant! s, cash machines and lots more. Many now come ready for Rich Content - extra information on your destination or stop, such as overview maps, pictures, descriptions and phone numbers.
Now you can find a restaurant you like while you're still on the open road. (And with hands-free calling - you can even phone to reserve a table.)

Safe & efficient driving

Efficient traffic avoidance

Improve your routefinding with live traffic info. TomTom GO 520/720will calculate the effect of traffic and suggest alternative routes:
• Choose automatic or on-demand traffic updates.
• Choice of alternative routes to suit: Quickest route, Avoid any traffic congestion, Stay on same route, etc.
• Pre-program a regular route, such as "Home-Work", for a quick-&a! mp;-easy traffic check each time.
• A clear overview of t! he entir e traffic situation, integrated seamlessly into your navigation view via the improved traffic bar.

TomTom offers two options for receiving traffic information:
1. The TomTom RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver receives standard "TMC"
traffic updates (RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver is an optional extra on standard 520 and 720 models). These are broadcast at regular intervals "over the
air", rather like the traffic reports you hear on your car radio. The 520T & 720T models come with this Traffic Receiver as standard.

2. TomTom's Traffic service*. combines traffic information from several top quality providers. TomTom uses the most reliable,
accurate and real-time traffic information available. It sends this information to your TomTom device, via your Bluetooth® mobile
phone, whenever you want. TomTom GO will even give you notice of adverse weather conditions for the route ahead
* N ot available in! all countries. A data-enabled Bluetooth® mobile phone is required. Check your network operator for any data charges.

Hands-free calling. Safer and simpler

Hands-free calling, via Bluetooth®, lets you take a call with just a tap of the screen, or with speech recognition just by saying "yes". So you can
keep hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. With optimized acoustic design, enhanced noise reduction, echo cancellation technology and the
new high performance speaker the GO 520 & 720 give you the best hands-free calling experience, comparable with Bluetooth® hands free car kits.

We take your safety as seriously as you do
Technological innovation and smart design combine to make TomTom ! GO 520 & 720 best in class for driver safety. Of cours! e, clear visual and spoken instructions in your chosen language mean that following navigation directions is a calm and relaxing experience. Plus, a range of features make it easier to concentrate on the road ahead:

Choose which options you want to help you drive safely:
• display of current speed limit
• speeding warnings
• recommended driving breaks
• warnings of schools or places of worship
• unpaved road warnings and more.

Smart & Fun Extras

Driving's only half the fun
Your GO 520/720 has an MP3 Player on board with up to 2GB of memory* and transmits to your FM radio, via the FM Transmitter**, so you can play your digital music over the car audio system. It'll even go quiet as you hear navigation instructions and
hand! s-free phone calls there as well. You can personalise it too:
• Record the navigation instructions in your own voice, or a
friend's (hear your special someone say "Turn right, sweetie!")
• Choose the icon that shows where you are on the map,
or even create your own.
• Download your own ringtones or map colour schemes,
and more, through the "TomTom HOME" software

* Available via an optional SD card
** The use of the FM radio frequencies by short range devices is governed by local laws and
regulations which may vary from country to country

TomTom is powered by Tele Atlas Quality Maps.
Tele Atlas is a leading worldwide map data provider for personal navigation solutions. In a rapidly expanding industry and changing world, Tele Atlas continuously produces rich, fresh and accurate quality maps. Tele Atlas brand promise: find more, reflects how we see a world where people do not just want to move from A to B, but want to find interesting things and places on the way: restaurants, hotels, petrol stations, museums and so on. It's not about just guiding users to destinations but also helping them easily find the people, places and products that interest them the most.

Reviews
Perfectly engineered; New TomTom GO 720, the ultimate car navigator. Elegant, slim, pocketable design - perfect fit for your car and your pocket. GO 720 takes everything that has made TomTom the world leader in portable navigation and builds on it. Perfectly engineered, and with a range of enhancements to every aspect of your navigation experience. Speech Recognition: Speaking an address, to tell your device where to take you, is much easier than typing. TomTom GO 720 understands the pronunciation of city and street names. You can also answer questions while driving, so you can keep your eyes on the road with the combination of text-to-speech and speech recognition technology. For example: Your GO 720 asks: "Traffic delay now 12 minutes; shall I try to optimize?" "A new text message was received; shall I read it aloud?" and you just reply "Yes" or "No" Best Navigation At the heart of the TomTom GO 720 is its navigation performance: High sensitivity GPS chipset gives you the best positioning Industry-leading route calculation takes you there the best possible way Should you deviate from your planned route, fast route re-calculation adjusts to your new location instantly And when you first turn on, TomTom QuickGPSfix technology is best at finding the GPS satellites, to give you even quicker start-up Navigation innovations include: See where you are: Building footprints, for a more realistic representation of your surroundings Hear where you are: text-to-speech means your device announces street names, for even easier identification of your turn Today's best maps. And tomorrow's. TomTom GO 720 come with the latest and most complete maps pre-installed on 2GB internal memory, for accurate, door-to-door navigation throughout Western Europe. Coverage includes Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic

See all Reviews

Box Contents

Windscreen mount

Car charger

CD-rom

Desk dock

Documentation

---

Customer Reviews

Good for navigation but let down by add-ons
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.

Pros and Cons not sure its really worth the money.
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.

Great for keeping points off your licence
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.