TOMTOM Go 740 Live GPS Receiver – the review

Author's Rating:

Pros: It has pretty much all you’ll need while traveling, perfect mounting

Cons: Touch Screen Letters are too small, Live service will cost you, cell compatibility issues

The Bottom Line: 
It’s practical enough while traveling, fun enough for everyday

Author's Review



Before we begin talking about this GPS device for the car, we should establish that TomTom, out of the other top names in GPS retail, contains the easiest interface available.  As far as the models from Garmin and Magellan are concerned for instance, TomTom has them beat for the simplest, anyone-can-use-it-friendly way to get to the exact place you need to go.  I've tried to work other people's Garmin device, and I can't even get to the first step - and I consider myself very savvy electronics-wise.  So now that we know that TomTom, (from my experience) is the device with the easiest way to get to where you're going, let's talk about the one with all of the bells and whistles as far as USA TomTom models.


Some of the Basic Features, Live Features & Interactivity

The 740 Go Live finally gives the customer a TomTom device with it's own built-in blue-tooth enabled broadband access connection.  The other models require a cell phone that is 1- compatible w/TomTom (good luck), 2- the cell must have internet access, and 3- incur the charges from your cell phone provider (which could be costly).  For a low monthly fee of $9.99, your new TomTom 740 Go device can be "live", so let's learn what ‘live' means.

     Live Features -
TomTom Weather - you can get the basic local weather from any location you are traveling too, allowing for easier planning of your day or vacation. 
Fuel Prices - Another handy tool to keep travel costs down while traveling.  You can choose the cheapest gas around your area, along route, or near your destination.  You can also choose your grade of gasoline (regular, midgrade or premium) as your preferred default.
TomTom Buddies - This feature is the least used in my household, although I can see its benefits in case you are traveling with another family (who also happens to have this TomTom model).  You would be able to send messages, destinations or even see where your buddy is on the map.
Safety Alerts - This feature alerts you to red light cameras, fixed and/or mobile safety cameras, toll road cameras, areas prone to auto accidents, speed check warnings, ungated railroad crossings, and mobile camera hot spots.  You can be alerted to all or some, or none if this is your preference.  I appreciate very much the red light cameras to be sure not to incur any moving violations with this alert.  
Google Local Search - Sometimes your equipped points of interest are not installed in your device.  Maybe your maps are not as up-to-date as Google maps are.  If this is the case, then maybe you should navigate through Google.  This is the same as using Google Maps at home on your computer as far as the results go. 
TomTom Traffic - Now that I have used this particular service for almost a year now, I can honestly say that the Live Traffic is an absolute necessity.  I use this even on short trips. 

If you notice any items such as traffic cameras or change of speed limit, you can also update the TomTom with this knowledge and then whenever you update your TomTom, this will be shared with other TomTom users, and in the same way, your TomTom will be updated with others alerting us to these things that the TomTom may have missed the first time around.  The TomTom community is very active and they will be updating your TomTom info as regularly (and for free) as you update your device hopefully once a week (as I recommend). 

The basic features couldn't be easier, just tap the screen and it gives you five different options, Navigate To.., Mobile Phone..., Help Me.., and Find Alternative.  99% of the time, odds are that you'll be selecting the Navigate to feature.  When you press the icon, it gives you five options; Home, Favorite, Address, Recent   Destination, and Point of Interest. 
            Home - input your address when you get your TomTom and finding your way home from any destination could be as simple as pressing two icons.
            Favorite - If you find that you're heading to the same place all of the time; it's a good idea to add it as a favorite so your next familiar venture could be so much easier. 
            Address - If you are in posession of an address, input it here and off you go. 
            Recent Destination - This automatically stores the last 24 destinations you have traveled to, a great idea to easily revisit a recent destination.
            Point of Interest - This option allows you to search for a place of business by name either by your home, near your current position, somewhere along your route, near your destination, in any city or if you do not have the name you can search by a few categories.  If your interests aren't represented, make sure to update them online via TomTom Home. 

There is a second page that gives you a few less popular options including;
Point on Map - find an area on you map and touch the screen to a particular area you want to get to
TomTom Buddy - With this option, if you have a friend or family member who doesn't mind you know where they are at all times, you can be led to where this person is at the moment. 
Position of Last Stop - this is pretty much self-explanatory.
My Location - I'm not sure why this would come in handy
Latitude/Longitude - I'm sure who will be using this one, what are they looking at, a globe? 
Yet on this second page there is an option you can use called Google located on the bottom left of the screen.  This service is part of your Live Services, as I've stated earlier, which means you must pay for the premium services.  If what you're looking for is not found in the TomTom directory, use Google and it's sure to be found.


Limitations, Prices & Flaws

There is an option to pair your cell phone via Bluetooth capabilities in order to make phone calls from your GPS device.  The only problem with this is feature is that you must own a compatible cell phone in order for this to work.  I had tried to make this work with seven different Bluetooth capable cell phones, and I had no success.  This is a major flaw with TomTom products, as this feature would always be utilized by most who own the product, yet due to the limitations of TomTom products, it's unlikely that you will have success using this feature. 

Another small disappointment here in this device are the small letters they have available on the keyboard on the touch screen.  The earlier models had slightly larger keys, which made it easier to type your information with much less typos.  TomTom is unforgiving with your typos, which means you'll have to start the whole process over again from the beginning.  And especially when I am driving and need to type a destination or address, I am making typos at least 65% of the time. 

If you are a resident of the USA, your device doesn't get the added convenience that the UK residents can use with their same models.  In the UK, there is a free downloadable feature where you cannot only search for hotels and motels but you can also book a room right from your TomTom device.  This feature has been around for close to a year now in the UK with no signs of it crossing the Atlantic soon. 

The prices for the Live Services are as follows:
     - Monthly Subscription     -$9.99
     - Six months prepaid       -$59.95
     - Twelve months prepaid  -$119.95

I find it a bit odd that not only does TomTom not give you a little price break with the longer prepaid options, but they actually charge slightly more.  Instead of six months costing $59.94 ($9.99 x 6), they tack on an extra penny.  Instead of costing $119.88 ($9.99 x 12) they add another seven cents to the end price.  I tried the $9.99 a month option, only to run into problems.  They do not offer an option to automatically resubscribe you, and when I was ready to renew again (they send you a message alerting you to your TomTom) I had a problem.  I couldn't renew right from the TomTom device, instead I had to go home and use my software (TomTom Home) and renew this way.  When I tried this, there was another internal failure accepting payment.  I had to call for support, who instructed me to get another e-mail address and sign up with a new account with TomTom Home.  This hassle finally fixed the problem, and I decided to buy a 6 month + a one month right off the bat. 

*By the way, your first three months are free when you purchase your TomTom to sample the things you won't be able to live without. 


Improvements

The TomTom mount is vastly superior to the older models.  Firstly, long gone is the technique of connecting the power wire to the device and then connecting the TomTom to a mounting apparatus and connecting it to a window or the circle that sits atop of your dashboard.  Now the power wire is already connected to a cradle, which the TomTom snaps snuggly into.  The cradle has a mounting apparatus already as part of the power source, and with the twisting suction method, the TomTom is not going to be falling off every two minutes no matter how bumpy your ride.  Although when the temperature is very cold and you decide to mount the device on the window, you may still have some issues with the TomTom falling off. 

Recording your own commands used to be a pain in the neck on most of the older models.  You would have to record your voice commands to your computer, name them a specific things and then send them to your TomTom device.  Now, like a very select few of the older models you can record your funny commands right to the TomTom itself.  "Right Turn ahead" or "Get on the highway" can be your own annoying voice instead of a computer voice with a simple technique thanks to the Go 740 Live model.   
Creating your own icons may not be as simple as recording your voice commands, but it is possible.  My eight year old son is very much into the Kingdom Hearts games from the PS2, so I created a Sora character icon on my computer and now he gets a kick out of seeing Sora heading down the streets we travel instead of the default car icon. 

The size of the TomTom fits nicely into your hand, even and especially when in the cradle.  The screen is a widescreen format instead of the small limited square size that many of the other models have.  

IQ Routes Technology (IQRT) is something pretty new.  As my old TomTom would do, it would calculate my ETA by adding up the miles times the speed limit on all of these roads and highways.  IQRT now considers the average speeds traveled on selected routes instead of the actual speed limit.  For example, the speed limit is around 65 miles an hour on I-95 in Virginia, yet the average speed may be about 75 mph.  IQRT will figure how long it will take to get to your destination by these average speeds, which really improves the accuracy of your TomTom.  The downside of course is now you're trying to beat the TomTom ETA by speeding even faster than the average speeds. 


Overall & What's In the Box

What's in the Box?

  - GO 740 LIVE device
  - Windshield mount
  - USB cable Car charger
  - Software/manual CD
  - Documentation


This model has many more features, much too many to list all here.  It would resemble the manual instead of a helpful review such as this.  I recommend this device, although the price is high end comparatively.  Also, the price will keep costing you around $120 per year if you wish to use the Live features.  I prefer these features, or else why else would you need to use this more expensive model when the cheaper ones will pretty much do the same things. I love my 740 Go Live TomTom and I'm sure that you would too despite the hefty price.  My opinion is that it's worth it!


FIRMWARE UPDATES August 2010

During this month, there has been a major firmware update for this model.  It's almost as if the people at TomTom have read this review and made some of the improvements I recommended.  Namely, the too-small-keyboard now has the option to choose a larger keyboard that is easier to input data without too many errors.

The main screen now gives the option of changing from 2D to 3D.  2D is just an ariel view, while 3D is closer to the road.  I prefer 3D.

The transitions from screen to screen is not so abrupt, but works more like a Windows OS now where it appears that a new window will pop up instead of the quick disolve that was present before. 

There may be a few more that I haven't noticed yet, but the differences I see are greatly appreciated. 

They still need to work on the live services as far as prices and dependability, especially now that phones like Droid X have come out and seem to do almost everything that the TomTom does.  I'm sure that this pioneering company doesn't want to become obsolete so quickly from its initial launch.  The prices need to come down a bit more to maybe an easier digestable $7.95 a month, and maybe add a feature or two more to the services, such as maybe a limited internet, such as Google or Yahoo searches.  Speaking of the Droid X, I finally was able to make TomTom connect with a cell phone and it ios very conveneint.  One of the new services with this firmware update is after searching for a destination, it gives you a pop-up box option of viewing the destination information and the option to call ahead.  If you are hooked up with your cell phone already, just press the button call on your Tomtom and you'll be connected. 

Stay tuned for any more information with TomTom 740 Live.



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