Review by Sally Shornick for TomTom GO 740TM LIVE (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
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I purchased the Tom Tom recently and found it to be a little complex to use. I attribute that to it’s amazing capabilities. I have used a Magellan, a Garmin and most recently a Dash whose technology has been sold and the company discontinued service on June 30th. So I am familiar with various applications and their use. In my humble opinion, The Tom Tom Go 740 TM Live has everything they all had and much more. It is however, in high demand by thieves as I have been the victim of attempted robbery twice and the evidence proved that the thieves were only interested in the GPS which I had securely tucked away in my hand bag. I had left the plug in mechanism on my windshield. Take it with you. Get a carrying case and use it. Remove temptation.

Review by R. Atkins for TomTom GO 740TM LIVE (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
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Update 7/9/10

I bought another 740TM from Amazon a few weeks ago. I wanted to give it a thorough test before updating.

This one is MUCH better; only one minor problem: it refuses to set a favorite based on the car’s current location. It says “Poor GPS reception; are you inside a building?” When I check the satellite status screen, I have a lock on 7 or 8 satellites, so this sounds like a software bug. Best of all, no demo mode! Battery life is slightly disappointing, but you need to keep it plugged in to use the traffic feature, so that’s not a big deal.

After I bought again, I called TomTom and had a long talk with the support people about the problems I had with the one below. This is what I found out.

1) This version of the GO has an updated GUI. The menu bar is now divided into 3 sections rather than 2, with the new center section being devoted to switching between 2D and 3D views. If you’re following a route, the menu returns to its prior appearance (i.e., from earlier models); if you press the center section, though, you get the 2D/3D switch menu.

2) The current versions of the maps and the navcore app are not getting along when it comes to traffic. They were supposed to update maps or app (can’t recall) to make them compatible by sometime in July 2010. They advised me to call them before downloading a new map as part of the lifetime map guarantee.

3) They said there are some issues with “Operate My Go” in TomTom Home. You can’t do everything you can if you were using it manually. Some menu items are grayed out, and some do not even appear.

In terms of use, the traffic seems to work pretty well, and in response to a commenter on this review, the 740TM is supposed to have lifetime traffic. The Live services are what costs after the first 3 months. Speaking of which, the gas search is kind of cool, but the Google search is next to useless; I was trying to get movie times and all I could get, no matter which search terms I used, were the theatre locations. I doubt that I will keep paying for this service. The new Garmin 1490T has free Google search for 2 YEARS, and after that it’s only $5/month, I think. That model seems to have some issues too, though.

Anyway, glad I waited and bought another. I gave it 4 stars because nothing’s perfect, and this has enough quirks (favorites marking, google search) to make it less than perfect.

Update 6/10/10

TomTom tells me that to fix problem 3, below, I must delete a folder called “scripts” from the unit while it is attached to my PC. That’s all well and good, but it’s advertised (as I well know because of this very problem) as working right out of the box. You can use it, supposedly, without ever having to attach it to your computer.

6/4/10

Where to begin?

I received this less than 24 hours ago, and already it has been such a problem that I’m sending it back.

1) There is supposed to be a promotion code/activation code in the box that enables the lifetime maps. It was not there. The TomTom support representative to whom I spoke asked me to look again. And again. And again. I finally told her that the box was not the size of a hotel room, and that there simply was no such code. So, in order to get a code, I have to scan my receipt showing that indeed it is 740 TM and not just 740 or 740T. Then I have to upload that to their site. Finally, they want me to CALL THEM BACK to tell them that I’ve uploaded it. Yeah, I’m going to wait 40 min on hold for that. Customer service people are OK, but customer service POLICIES blow. In any case, she said that this would not affect usage, just map updates in the future.

2) Ha. In the car, the traffic doesn’t work. I get the message “Your RDS-TMC receiver will not work in combination with the current map.” A little research tells me that this usually happens when people buy a unit in the US and take it to Europe, or vice versa. Clearly, I have not done that. Strike 2.

3) The unit seems to be stuck in Demo mode. After 2 minutes, the map goes away and I am treated to a slide show advertising the virtues of the 740. It would be nice if these features actually worked. Research says I should be able to disable this by resetting the unit. Unsurprisingly, that does not work. Strike 3.

4) Today I find that, even after charging it overnight, the unit will not stay powered on when not connected to power. I get the message “Shutting down your GO 740 Live in 10 seconds.” I search the web, and there is a “Shut down when disconnected from power” option buried in the setup menus. I know that it is not checked because I went through every setting, but I look anyway. Not checked. Strike 4.

For a company that advertises “it works right out of the box,” this is egregiously poor quality control. I will probably order another when Amazon has them in stock again (1-2 months, according to the product page). When I do get it, I will call customer service and set it up with them on the phone. There are way too many “gotchas” for a product advertised as working right out of the box.

This would have been my third TomTom. I had a GO 300 that I sold to upgrade to a 730, which was stolen. I never really even considered another manufacturer, because TomTom had the features I wanted and, for me, usability was perfect. Maybe it’s time to check out Garmin and Magellan, but I’m guessing that to get even similar functionality, I’m going to have to pay a whole lot more.

Very disappointed in TomTom.

Review by DLL for TomTom GO 740TM LIVE (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
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Well, after a painful return process for the first unit that froze within 5 days of receipt, I can now say that neither of the new units will connect to my computer. Since this has to be done to get map updates, etc, it’s basically just another GPS that cannot be updated. The original unit was pretty good for the few days it worked, but this new unit has trouble getting a “good” signal. Customer service with TomTom was a joke. I paid the shipping to return their defective unit. Hours were spent on hold to get a customer service rep. Though there seems to be nothing wrong with the unit (and there isn’t with the commputer), the rep would not entertain the idea that the dock is bad…I think this one will be headed for a refund! My ancient Garmin was at least reliable and recognized by my computer.