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TomTom GO 730T Satellite Navigation SystemSnagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here! Rating:  - IQ routes huge improvement, but you can upgrade your 720 for lessThe TomTom Go 730T is a highly functional and fully featured SatNav with additional phone and music facilities. It is very substantially better than previous models, but its direct predecessor, the TomTom Go 720 Traffic Edition, can be upgraded to the same level by buying the new maps and using the free software upgrade from TomTom. Although its additional features vary in performance, this is still a product that will save its own price in petrol fairly quickly if you drive a lot to places you don't know well. The key difference between the 730T and its predecessor the 720T is the inclusion of IQ Routes, an (allegedly) much more intelligent way to plan routes, based on time of day. The 730T differs from the TomTom GO 730 in that it has traffic information through the included traffic aerial. In the West Midlands, I find this to be very helpful, but comments from users across the country suggest that coverage is patchy. Traffic HD, a much better, but paid for service, is now available on the TomTom GO 740 LIVE by monthly subscription. However, unlike the first issue in the Netherlands, it now appears that you won't be able to buy an upgrade for your existing device. The 730 scores over the lower models in that it has built in blue-tooth for complete hands free phone use (generally works, but some connections to some networks in some areas are basically unuseable) and an FM transmitter for playing music through your car stereo. To use this, buy an SD card and put the songs on that - if you try to connect an iPod with the special iPod connector cable, you discover that you can't use the Traffic attachment, since they share the same socket. I have searched in vain for a splitter, or even a switch. Nobody seems to make one. The unit also benefits from voice activation, which works for me but not for everyone, and (as they say) numerous other refinements. If the main difference from the previous model is IQ Routes, then how good are they? Well, basically, they are much better, but this is a result of better overall information, rather than the flagship change of route based on time of day* (see update below). It turns out that, in the current implementation, the unit only distinguishes between weekdays and weekends. That said, the routes it now chooses are much, much more intelligent, especially in crowded towns. Previously, the TomTom looked at the speed limit and class of road, and assigned a path on that basis, thereby often taking you through the most congested places (occupied by lots of other drivers with TomToms on their windscreens). Now, because the routes are based on real average speeds, the unit frequently chooses the route that an experienced driver would take through streets they know well. This is really much, much better, and I find myself now rarely choosing 'Shortest Route' to avoid being taken by the slowest possible route at rush-hour. However, if you already own a 720T, you can get the software upgrade for nothing, and simply buying an up to date map will give you the maps which make it work. A much cheaper option, and one which renders your investment quite nicely. IQ routes also gives you better lane information on the motorway. I haven't really found this to be a great improvement, but I'm sure it will come in handy at some point. If you are upgrading from the 710, then you need to know that the 730 (and the 720, for that matter), are very, very different. The overall form is much slimmer, and will fit in a coat pocket, but there is no electronics in the mount, so you have to plug it all in again. I actually opted for a built in mount this time, which TomTom advertises, and am much happier, since it also means there is no tell-tale ring on the windscreen, and the mount itself looks like nothing in particular. Slightly less helpfully, the unit seems more prone to software problems than the 710 was, so see the caveat at the bottom of this review. As you can see, there are quite a few flaws with the 730T. So why am I giving it five stars? Ultimately, despite the patchy traffic coverage, the not entirely reliable Bluetooth phone link, and the extremely unintelligent way in which you can either have Traffic, or the iPod, but not both at once, this is still a superb piece of kit which will save you its price in petrol fairly quickly, and will also keep you on the right side of the law as far as receiving calls while you are driving. The Traffic information saved me a couple of hours just last week. If you don't have SatNav, or if you have a TomTom model older than the 720, then I would strongly recommend this. -- Caveat If your TomTom should crash, or need resetting, you should plug it into a computer as soon as possible and check the disk (instructions are available for both Mac and PC on the TomTom website), and, to be on the safe side, also reset the flash memory. If you don't do this, it will freeze up with increasing frequency, requiring more and more resets, each of which damages the apparently fragile disk structure. If you repair the disk regularly, the unit is highly reliable. If you don't, it's fairly flakey. -- * Update This week I received the latest maps from TomTom, and the software is now date and time aware, rather than just week-day or weekend, as it was previously. Exactly how different the routes are for particular times and days is something I am waiting to discover. However, it seems that TomTom is using the anonymised data that they started requesting about a year ago (which you can switch off if you don't trust them) to constantly improve the maps and routes. Rating:  - Great Product with just a couple of criticismI have had the 730T since May and it is a great product, the design is great, the window docking unit is simple just push onto the windscreen and its ready (so it will not suffer the problem with the x10 series docking unit which broke after constant use of twisting to lock the unit to the windscreen), the IQ routes works really well as do the Traffic and Speed Camera updates, when setting a route the arrival time is reasonably accurate even when traffic issues are reported the advance lane guidance works well, if i have any criticisms... 1st.. is with the compatibility with the more complex/modern phones such as the N95 and PDA's using windows mobile software Tom Tom even admit they concentrate more on compatibility of the basic phones and the 2nd criticism is you can use either the audio lead or FM Transmitter option to hear Navigation Instructions and MP3 music via the cars speakers and this works very well but it seems ridiculous that when you are using a phone via the Tom Tom the sound of the person you are talking to cannot be put through your car speakers, it will only come through the Tom Tom's built in speaker which can make hearing the person difficult especially when there is a lot of road noise, I hope this can be changed with a software update... but even with these issues I would still recommend a Tom Tom over other Sat Nav manufactures Rating: - TomTom GO 730TTomTom GO 730 TrafficTomTom GO 730T Satellite Navigation System Apart from a glitch getting the TMC traffic receiver to recognise my unit, I am vert pleased with this unit. The mapping is clear, and seems to be up to date, the unit responds quickly, and the Bluetooth connection with my phone is excellent, and saves me using a headset. Rating: - Brilliant Piece of kitUpdated my TomTom 930 to this one, it's fantastic. Small enough to fit into your pocket, light and packed with so many features i haven't yet managed to use them all! Lane guidance is brilliant, very clear directions. Hands free calling also fantastic, IQ routes works out the best route based on avge. traffic for the time of day you are traveling. Subscribe to safety cameras and it's a camera detector too. Everything you could ever want, plus free traffic updates, which usually you have to pay to download through your phone. Buy this today! Rating: - RDS Traffic Reciever works perfectlyThis is the first sat nav system Ive bought and it does pretty much what it says on the tin. The only bug bear is the lack of map correction for road changes, the maps arent particularly up to date. I read the reviews saying the Traffic system didnt work but its worked perfectly for me on each and every journey that Ive used sat nav on. Absolutely no problems. This is without doubt one of those 'how did I do without' products. Highly recommended and something I would buy again in a heartbeat. Go back to: TomTom GO 730T Satellite Navigation System You might also be interested in the following great products:
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