TomTom GO 740 Satellite Navigation System - LIVE Full Europe

I bought the device in December, and have been happy with it so far. This device is the first of its kind connected on the move, and gives us some taster of the functionality to come onboard cars.

However, there are a few flaws, which will hopefully be fixed by a software update:

Pros:

- Very nice, slim device
- Quite responsive and fast to calculate routes
- Very easy to read maps, clear instruction. Nice lane guidance.
- Computer voice (not pre-recorded messages) is quite impressive, and can read destinations, SMS messages received etc
- Very powerful, sturdy suction device, to use on windscreen. It's actually quite hard to remove.
- Fuel price search seems to work well. I was on the M1 in December, and saved 10p per litre by going to a service station off the motorway, only a few miles away. Tomtom's marketing is clever, claiming that the subscription (£7.99) will pay itself off by just using the fuel price capability (probably only true for people doing a lot of motorway driving).
- Voice recognition is not bad, and device can understand the driver even when there is background noise (radio)
- Hands-free capability with bluetooth link to mobile phone also works fine, and callers seem to get a good sound
- Device GPS reception is very sensitive (works even indoor, away from a window) and very fast (usually, full reception within 5 seconds)
- Tomtom home software is user friendly, and many additional items can be loaded on the device (new POIs, voices, pictures etc)
- it is possible to use the device out of the box (even the live functionality), without registering or connecting to a computer first

Cons:

- For some yet unknown reasons, the device does not want to navigate to/from a few locations, which are business parks for instance. Tomtom support advised to manually wipe and update the software, but it didn't resolve the issue
- Sometimes, if the device can't get a mobile phone signal when starting, or cannot connect to Tomtom's server, it does not try again until restarted. Happened to me several times, and the device would not reconnect, even after an hour. Device had to be stopped and restarted
- I got a few times some warnings about subscriptions being out of date (not the case). Had to reset device.
- Resuls from Google local search are uneven, pretty useless sometimes. Often, the result list would just show the same names several times, without location information. Searching for some store chain names would return their headquarters or offices.
- Device can adjust screen brightness automatically based on a lighting conditions. However, this not smooth, and done by quite visible steps
- Voice sometimes stops reading. For instance, when receiving a text message, the voice would start reading it, then would be disrupted by traffic instructions, and would not resume the previous task automatically
- Once on a motorway, the device advised on some traffic ahead and made me leave the motorway...just to come back on it again. Since the device does not advise on the new route or changes, it's hard to know if those are genuine/justified
- For two days, device indicated the M4 motorway from junction 1 to 3 was closed, which was not the case at all. I lost 45 minutes the first day following the device route, while the motorway was perfectly fine. Tomtom support had no justification for this, but similar issues will mean people losing trust in the HD traffic information.
- So far, the device appears to have been good at detecting traffic, even on small roads, but much less good at providing new routes to avoid traffic
- In order to give the device audio instructions (voice recognition), there is a need first to click on an icon on screen. Sorts of defeats the point of controlling the device without touching it. It works better when it prompts user for some decisions, such as rerouting due to traffic ahead
- Fixed cameras cannot be updated wirelessly (only when connected to a PC). Same applies for map share corrections. Mobile cameras are updated on the move.
- Device does not understand some roads are only open specific hours each day. For instance, Richmond Park is closed at night, but the device would try to go through it anytime.
- Tomtom does not have a mobile roaming agreement abroad, so the device will only work offline outside of the UK
- Tomtom had a promotion for a £40 fuel card in December, but they made it quite complex for people to redeem
- There isn't much in the box for the high, premium price. No case or even pouch for instance, no proper user manual
- Device is sold in the USA for roughly the same price, but includes the first year of subscription (only 3 months in the UK)

Overall, there are indeed some glitches, but surely those could be fixed by Tomtom in an upcoming software update.

Also, it would be good to extend the information available on the move: for instance, display stores opening times, cinema movie times, news alerts, weather alerts, Tomtom software updates available (along with list of new features), or other information useful on the move.

I've had the 740 for a week and have been really impressed. It does everything you would expect plus a little more. One reviewer on here has a few fundamental facts wrong, so I thought I'd correct them. The 740 connected seamlessly with my mac (I can even connect my iPhone 3G via bluetooth which surprised me!) also the LIVE services are not £7.99 each but a flat fee for all the services "...users can register for a monthly, flat-fee subscription of £7.99 with no hidden costs, so they can continue to receive all LIVE Services directly to their device". I used the cheapest petrol facility yesterday and via a very minor detour (1-2 mins) I found petrol that was 5p per litre cheaper saving me £2.50 on a fill up! The voice activated search works really well and means you can concentrate on the road. I've already used the Google search facility a few times and it came up with the goods (including giving details of the search and a phone number). The HD traffic works although not entirely accurate (having said that it has already saved me time). Overall Superb and would highly recommend.

We decided to upgrade from our old TomTom One of 5yrs beacuse we were tired of it routing us along roads with heavy traffic. The Live traffic looked to be the best avoidance sys on the market currently so after checking out a friends Garmin I took the plunge. I needed the Euro maps for the odd trip I do there. After 2.5months of use I can say the IQ routes in tandem with the Live traffic work well in the UK. I will shortly come to the end of my 3mnth trial of the Live traffic which means I will pay £8/mnth which I am not sure is worth it. A friend has a Tomtom 730 with traffic receiver aerial. The traffic service is free but he seems to get similar live data to me and is not limited by reception on the Vodaphone network (this is how the 740 gets its info). The unit is well designed and made. If you have had a tomtom before you will be able to use this straight away, and if you are new to it, it is very simple with a very intuitive and easy to use series of icon menus. The windscreen mount is the best I have ever seen for any car gps nav system. The Tomtom home software that updates the device with the latest maps/updates/camera positions etc.... is very easy to use and works well. In principle the idea of users having the ability to flag errors in a map and send them off to Tomtom to clarify is a great idea and will, over time, lead to more accurate and up to date maps. As a package we can thoroughly recommend this unit!!

Just don't leave this baby stuck to your windscreen when you leave your car - it will be stolen.......