TomTom GO 730T 4.3Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS

TomTom 730T is fine product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have never used a GPS unit prior to buying the TomTom 730T. I purchased this unit because it seems more flexible than the Garmin units and Amazon has a good price on it. I gave two of my children Garmin units as presents a year or so ago and they speak well of them, but being a gadget guy, I purchased this TomTom because of the ability to install my own POI’s, the map update feature, and the regular update of the satellite positions if you synch once a week or so. The screen is not as crisp as the Garmin’s, but I mostly listen to it anyway so it is very serviceable for me.

The inclusion of the Bluetooth speaker phone saved me spending another $50+ on a separate gadget, and the ability of the unit to port directions through my car’s FM radio provides me a way to increase volume when that is necessary. The spoken directions are clear and pronunciation of street names is serviceable. The unit gives ample warnings about turns and lane changes, etc. Since I am a newbie, I do not have much to compare to except casual observation of my children’s units. I recently used this on my very first trip to another city without the assistance of a paper map of some sort. I was nervous, but the TomTom took me right to the precise business address I needed and helped me find a particular restaurant and the nearest public library as well. If I had needed, it could have also called the restaurant or library on the speaker phone.

If it isn’t obvious, I like my TomTom 730T. I have not used the traffic radio component, but I assume it works OK. I would have purchased the 730 instead of the 730T except the “T” is cheaper on Amazon. BTW the Bluetooth paired with my Sprint ‘Samsung Rant’ with no problems. Each time I turn the 730T on it immediately connects with my phone. It is also convenient that the phone’s contact list can be uploaded to the 730T for use in dialing from the GPS unit.

However, there are some peculiarities of the unit and of TomTom that should be mentioned. It took me a couple of weeks to get all the bells and whistles all ringing and tooting at the same time (mostly). Being an experienced gadgeteer, I know most multi-purpose devices are compromises: the 730T is no exception. It took a couple of hours over a couple of days to get the FM broadcast thing working, and that was only after going on various TomTom forums to read about the quirks of the system. In order to use the FM broadcaster, one MUST broadcast music from the built-in MP3 player before it will send the directions over the radio. (Some government rule in Europe or here about the use of the FM broadcast band apparently.) Anyway, I do not care to be forced to listen to music, so I had to download an MP3 of silence a nice tecky person has developed in order for the unit to be quiet in between directions. On the trip I mentioned earlier, the unit chose exactly the route I would have chosen to get to the location. However, when I directed it to route me to home, it chose a completely different route! And one that would have put me directly into heavy rush hour traffic if I had taken it. Not sure what that is about. Could be some newbie mistake I made. The unit does seem to learn from my driving habits though. Originally it wanted me to leave my subdivision one way, but I prefer another that avoids several speed bumps. It now routes me my preferred way after determining I was not going to go the way it thinks I should.

TomTom customer service was quick and helpful when I had to call about something. However, the digital user’s manual and online help are weak in my opinion. Answers all seem to be partial, searches do not get me to needed information, and dealing with seemingly straight forward procedures are needlessly complicated and/or vague. The user forums are the most helpful places to get help, but it is frustrating that TomTom knowingly puts out a device which is complex and then offers such lame explanations for the procedures necessary to navigate the complexities. The TomTom “Home” software which connects the device to my computer and the internet is not especially intuitive or helpful. It downloads updates and does general housekeeping chores automatically, but one must poke around to discover any of the other abilities of the software.

I like the little dock that came with the 730T to attach it to my computer. I think that component is missing on the GO 630. Giving the GPS voice destinations is a compromised feature. I find it generally easier to type in destinations rather than try to remember the steps to speak them in. But, to each his own.

I live in Houston and have no trouble with satellite acquisition, loss of signal, or accuracy of maps. For me the versatility and longer anticipated service life of the unit override the oddities of mastering the feature set and the lame documentation.

Just OK
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I have GPS built in to my car and use it often, especially for information such as services available at the next exit etc. My wife and I go scootering on Sundays and take all the back roads to our destination. I was printing directions from Google Maps but they are cumbersome to read on a scooter (pull it out, unfold, read next step, fold, put away). From the description, I thought I could plan the route on Google maps and upload it to the TomTom but it will only take the destination from Google and plan its’ own route. I also liked the ability to choose the mode of travel and max speed, expecting it to select mostly back roads for a bicycle or 25mph but there is hardly a difference in the route when neither involves a highway. Planning a route turn-by-turn on the TomTom is too tedious. I take it with me now just in case we get lost. The quality of the unit is good but be careful…it seems many of these get returned and you are likely to get one already set for some foreign language. Mine was set to the Middle East somewhere and it took some time to reset everything.

poor reception under heavy clouds
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
nice features such as the reading text messages out loud and the FM transmitter is VERY good quality.

however, i havent figured out how to load MP3s and stuff onto it yet (most likely need to be on the sd card)

also, i was going to camp and the little country roads are off by like 100 feet on the map so yeah, and, it was cloudy and so my sattelite reception kept dropping off to 0 but other than that, city driving wise, this thing ROCKS, might consider getting one more for the wife

BUY A TOMTOM FROM AMAZON.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Previous experience during a long trip led me to buy a

TOMTOM 730. Price led me to AMAZON. Thank you.

Some quick notes
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve only had it a week, not long enough for a proper review, but some things should be pointed out -

- The $194 price on amazon for the 730T is less than the 199 price for the 730. Traffic for less!

- I have yet to get the Bluetooth *handsfree* connection to work with my Verizon Wireless LG Voyager (VX10000). TomTom never said it would.

- I have yet to get the Bluetooth *data* connection to work with the same cell phone, which ruins alot of add on features. Again, TomTom never said it did. I have found someones note’s by searching the web on doing a manual connection to a Verizon phone, but it close, no cigar. Some interesting features are available, some for free, but without that connection, no go.

- You can get traffic info from two sources – the same Bluetooth data connection, and from an FM *receiver*, called something like RDS-TMC.

- I have yet to get the FM *transmitter* function to work well without static in my 2002 Subaru Forester with its FM antenna in the rear driver side window, between pillars C and D. There may be a combination of frequencies and TomTom antenna locations that works. If you have a music system with a “Line In” it appears you do not need the FM transmitter; maybe a lower cost unit would fill the bill.

- With that same FM *transmitter* or Line Out/Line In function, you can play MP3’s off of a memory card, but you have to put them in a directory called MP3, its missing from the manual.

- It can display jpegs from the memory card.

- You can customize some of the sounds and pictures, TomTom has a webpage telling you how to do it; might be over some peoples head, but I’ve never seen a manufacturer do that before.

- Some features can be difficult to find. For instance, I accidentally got a satellite chart by pressing the wrong button.

- It has some voice recognition capabilities for when entering a destination; yet no overall voice recognition or voice control. What’s up with that? So TomTom can have the 930 ?