TomTom GO 720

Pros: excellent form factor, simple user interface, ipod support,

Cons: poor routing logic, limited cell phone support, lame desktop software, mapshare too hard to configure and save routes while in transit, crippled access to traffic reports

Summary: I bought the TomTom 720 to help me with my part time delivery job. It had several excellent features and I loved the form factor but at the end of the day it didn't work well enough for me to keep it.

I was surprised to find that the TomTom 720 had difficulty with simple routes that I used everyday. For example, in the Best Buy were I bought it, the 720 was the only floor model of the same trim level that could not locate my office (which is off of a major road only 3 blocks away). The Magellan 4040 and the Garmin Nuvi 660 both found the address and plotted a route right away.

The feature set on the TomTom 720 is very generous for a $499 gps unit. Unfortunately many of those features did not work for me. The mapshare feature was hard for me to configure especially considering that I was doing deliveries and did not have time to stop and correct inaccurate routes on the GPS or make notes about which streets were closed due to construction.

I also had difficulty with the desktop software which is where you upload map corrections for Mapshare. I tried to use the desktop software to update the maps on my new unit and download some new voices but alas I could not. The purchase features were set up for european clientele only, there were no prices stated in us currency.

To add insult to injury, it had bluetooth support for handsfree calling but only for gsm phone carriers on a very limited number of handsets. There wass no love for Verizon or Sprint customers here in the U.S. (which I assue is because they are based in europe where GSM is the universal standard for wireless phones).

Believe it or not, all complaining aside I really wanted the 720 to work well for me. I prefer their user interface over the other two big GPS competitors (Garmin and Magellan). Unfortunately the TomTom 720 did not come through for me where it counted the most - when I was on the job and on a very limited time frame. As a matter of fact it did the opposite of what it was supposed to do it...it got me lost because it could not warn me of a closed road through live traffic updates. I ended up spending 2 hours lost on the back side of the desert trying to find my way home using dirt trails and dusty poorly marked back roads. I took it back the next day.

In summary this is nice unit with plenty of nice features but it is far from perfect and not the best unit for delivery drivers. I would reccomend the Garmin Nuvi 660/680 or the Garmin streetpilot C580 for that type of usage instead.