TomTom GO 720 Portable Car Navigation System Review

[admin]

If you haven't checked out the latest portable GPS offerings, you are missing out. In the last couple of years, the technology has really reached a saturation point that has brought in-car navigation to the masses, and the prices continue to fall while features and quality rise. TomTom is one of the leaders in portable GPS units, and I was thrilled at the chance to review one of their latest offerings, the GO 720.

Discuss "TomTom GO 720 Portable Car Navigation System Review" here. Read the article.

 

[birdonthebeach]

Anyone out there tried both TomTom and Garmin? Any opinions on how they stack up?

 

[abboudc]

If you don't need the "fancy" features of the GPS (bluetooth, etc), the tomtom One is $199 right now. They just came out with a new model (3rd edition, replacing the old model). For the price, you can't beat it.

The big difference among the models i saw (between Garmin and TomTom) is the garmin says "turn right on main street" whereas the TomTom says "turn right at 300 yds". Granted, i didn't play with the advanced functions like phone integration, etc, i was more focused on the actual GPS functionality.

Their GPS chips are fast and fairly accurate. The biggest gripe i've had is the battery life...it'll last about 3 hours if not plugged in to the DC in the car. So i just leave mine plugged in all the time. The newer models have better batteries.

For those who don't need the fancy stuff, but want a big screen, check out the Tomtom One XL. It's the same thing with a 4.3" screen (instead of 3.5"). $349, not quite the same bargain though...

 

[palmharbor]

Tom Tom = No No

[The problems with the Tom Tom units are the following:

1) they are not intuitive like the Garmin Units are. Example:
to terminate a planned/guided trip on the Garmin you go back to the last screen and in RED it says stop.
2) the icons are the most well done and easy to read and understand at 60 mph. A knife and fork means places to eat.
An Icon of a gas pump means places to find gasoline, by brand name and by distance, The Tom Tom is confusing.
3) the Garmin is faster in its reaction to your input
4) the fonts are up to size 18 in the Garmin but the TomTom
uses fonts sometimes too small to read.
5) the Garmin is both PC and Mac friendly
6)Garmin also provides a way to attach the unit to your dash board.[/B]
7) Garmin offers more models and more choices:
C-330, C345, nuvi 200, nuvi 200w (wide screen), nuvi 260,
nuvi 350 (that plays mp3 files to your radio) nuvi 760, nuvi 680
and one for the motorcycle the Zumo 500.