TomTom GO 740 Live Sat Nav Review

Dan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:39:00 +0000

This review looks at the TomTom Go 740 Live. The 740 Live is positioned at the top-end of the TomTom navigation range, offering LIVE services like HD traffic and Google search, intelligent routing using IQ technology, voice control and lane guidance.

Technical Specifications

Before we delve into the review this is how the specifications stack up:

GPRS connectivity inside, including 3 months LIVE services in the United Kingdom
4.3" widescreen 16:9 format LCD (WQVGA: 480 x 272 pixels)
2GB internal flash memory
microSD card socket compatible with microSD cards
High sensitivity GPS receiver
Bluetooth®
Battery (up to 3 hours autonomous operation)
Optimised integrated microphone and speaker for high quality hands-free functionality
Dimensions: 127x85x23mm
Weight: 224 grams

Box Contents

This is what you get in the box:

TomTom Go 740 Live
Suction cup
Docking station with USB cable
12-24V cigarette lighter adapter suitable for cars and trucks
CD ROM containing TomTom Home software and user manual
Quick start guide

First Impressions

Everything is packaged and presented well in the box. Out of the box the 740 Live is a nice looking piece of hardware. It looks robust and well constructed. It feels a little bit chunkier than some of the other sat nav systems we’ve reviewed, but not overly so, and easily fits in the palm of your hand.

A docking station is included for connecting the 740 Live to your computer. You can leave the docking station connected to your computer and plug in the 740 Live as and when you need to. This is the first system we’ve reviewed which includes a docking cradle so we thought this was nice touch by TomTom.

No protective carry case is included which when you consider the price tag is a shame.

Installation

Car installation was a hassle-free process. The suction cup is pressed against the windscreen and the centre section of the suction cup is twisted to apply the suction. Once attached it is held firmly in place.

The cradle itself is well designed, sporting a design similar to those seen on other sat nav systems, you can twist and turn to get the cradle into the desired position. Attaching and detaching the 740 Live to the cradle is pretty simple too.

The cigarette lighter adapter supports both 12V and 24V meaning it is suitable for both cars and trucks.

Maps

The 740 Live covers the UK, Ireland and Europe. Map coverage in most countries is 99%, Estonia and Latvia have 72% and 61% respectively, whilst Slovenia has 47% and Croatia 43%.

The full list of map coverage is as follows:

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Vatican City. Also including the connecting roads of Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

Menu System

The main menu consists of 3 screens, from which you can perform all the functions you need to operate the system. Many of the options on the main menu then have further sub-menus allowing you to tweak and customise the system.

At first glance the system can appear a little daunting to use, especially when you start drilling down into the sub-menus. For example, if you select the ‘Change Preferences’ option, you are then presented with a further 8 screens. We feel the 740 Live is more geared towards a power user. There are literally dozens of menu screens available, far more than we’ve seen on other sat nav systems like Garmin or Navman. We’re not even sure we saw every screen ourselves.

You will therefore need time to familiarise yourself with the system. If you want a plain and simple sat nav with just a few menu options then this is probably not the system for you, although there are ways to hide a lot of the menu screens to provide a simpler looking user interface. If you navigate to preferences screen 8 you can select ‘Show fewer menu options’.

If on the other hand you’re the kind of person who wants to tweak and customise every possible option, then the 740 Live could be well suited for you.

Navigation

The 740 Live provides all the normal navigation options, such as navigating to an address, Point of Interest (POI) or a recent destination. You can also speak the address which in our tests worked surprisingly well. There is also a Google button which allows you to search for business listings.

Once a destination has been input you can then review the route, either as text or images. There is also a route demo which you can run at various speeds.

The 740 Live uses IQ routing technology. The idea behind this is to build some intelligence into the calculations when planning a route.

Traditional sat nav systems use the maximum speed limits for a given road to determine expected arrival time. Depending on the time of day, rush hour versus off-peak, these calculations may not always be accurate. You will tend to drive a lot slower during peak times, but traditional sat nav systems have no way of building this into the route calculations.

IQ technology works by collecting trip data from every single TomTom user. Whenever a TomTom is connected to the TomTom HOME software the sat nav trip data is sent to TomTom. This data can then be used to see how long a particular journey took at a given time of day. Once this data is collected from thousands of different users it can be used to analyze journey patterns and provide more accurate route planning.

Trip data is sent to TomTom anonymously, but if you have any privacy concerns then you can disable this feature.

We tested the 740 Live on several routes, both motorway and urban driving. Overall we thought it was an excellent navigator. The route selection was good, the maps overall were easy to read and the lane assist worked well, estimated time of arrival was accurate too. When approaching a motorway junction the status bar will show you what lane to get into, it also displays the motorway junction number at the top of the screen.

We felt too much information is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the screen, at first glance it can look confusing. There are various options to customise the status bar though, so if you want to see a compass rather than time remaining for example, you can do that.

If you want to navigate to multiple destinations, then you can setup an itinerary.

The 740 Live also supports voice recognition. The system is pre-programmed with a set of phrases which are linked to common tasks a user may perform, if you press the microphone icon on the screen and speak one of these phrases, for example “Start Itinerary”, then the action is performed. This saves a user having to navigate through several screens to get to the option they need.

The voice recognition worked well in our tests, of course you need to try and remember what phrases are programmed into the TomTom, but if you can remember a few phrases it could come in useful.

Live Services

TomTom LIVE is a set of services that provide the following:

HD Traffic
Google search
Local fuel prices
Safety cameras
TomTom weather
TomTom buddies

These services are provided free of charge for the first 3 months, thereafter you will have to pay a flat monthly fee of £7.99. Unless you’re a regular road user you may find these ongoing costs expensive, especially when you consider the selling price for these systems.

HD Traffic

HD Traffic is similar in purpose to traffic modules seen on other sat nav systems, the idea is to warn users of upcoming traffic problems. But whereas other sat nav systems we’ve reviewed use TMC (Traffic Management Channel) to broadcast traffic data to a sat nav via conventional FM-RDS radio stations, TomTom has taken this a step further.

TomTom collects data from Vodafone’s GSM network to track how mobile phones in cars are moving all over the country. This can then be used to calculate how fast cars are moving. The idea is that during a traffic jam, cars will be moving more slowly, and therefore the mobile phones in those cars are moving slowly too. This can then be used to warn other TomTom users in the same area. Some people may be concerned about privacy issues, but TomTom are only collecting GSM data rather than physically tapping into your phone to snoop on you.

Traffic data from 3rd parties such as government agencies and conventional traffic providers is also collected to try and provide a comprehensive traffic picture as possible.

Here is an example traffic map. It is not the easiest thing to understand. We thought the icons were too small to figure out what was going on.

During our tests we did not encounter any traffic hold-ups so it is difficult for us to tell how good HD traffic really is, but it sounds impressive in theory. You can also browse traffic between your home and work office which regular commuters may find useful.

Google Search

Using Google Search you can lookup local business listings. Search results provide you with the option to navigate to a given destination. We used this feature several times to lookup hotels and restaurants and it worked really well. Just bear in mind you can only lookup business listings.

Local Fuel Prices

The idea here is to show you the cheapest fuel in your area and therefore help you save money. In our tests this worked well.

Safety Cameras

The 740 Live will detect mobile and fixes safety cameras as well as warnings of accident blackspots. In our tests it did a pretty good job. In this example it is warning of a possible mobile safety camera positioned over a motorway bridge.

TomTom Weather

Some people may regard this as a gimmick, but the 740 Live can also provide the local weather in your area. A weather report is displayed on the screen and a human voice (not a computer automated one) will read out the weather for you.

TomTom Buddies

Using the buddies feature you can see where your other TomTom friends are on the map, send them messages and share favourite locations. We didn’t get a chance to test this feature out, but we’ve seen it used before on other sat nav systems and it is a nice idea.

Bluetooth

The 740 Live supports bluetooth hands-free calling as well as SMS support, which means you can control your mobile phone via the 740 Live. You can download your phone address book onto the sat nav, as well as call a Point of Interest. We experienced no issues, although we only tested this feature for a couple of days so can’t guarantee it will work flawlessly.

Points of Interest (POI)

The POI database did a reasonable job but it was let down with regards to accuracy. We looked up several hotels and on each occasion the location provided by the 740 Live was inaccurate, not just by a few yards but a couple of hundred yards away on the wrong street. We used the TomTom Map Share correction feature to notify TomTom of this problem, but we didn’t have much confidence in the POI being able to navigate us correctly to a destination after this. We preferred to use the Google Live Search which gave us more accurate results.

TomTom HOME

The 740 Live includes the TomTom HOME software to install on your computer. This software allows you to perform tasks like update the software on your 740 Live, share map corrections, download additional voices, and backup or restore your TomTom. We found the software easy to install, simple to use and reported no issues.

Final Thoughts

There were some aspects of the device we simply ran out of time to review. These included the ‘Where Am I’ feature, document reader, photo gallery and iPod control. TomTom have certainly packed a lot into this device but we wonder how much of this will actually get used by a typical user.

Summary

Overall the TomTom Go 740 Live is an excellent navigation device. It has a wealth of features and options that should keep most users happy. These do come at a price though, this system costs a lot of money, and to get the most out of it you will need to pay the monthly subscription too, otherwise you will lose the LIVE services, so unless you’re a regular road user you will not get your money’s worth.

It can be a complex system at first glance and will take a while to get used to. There are a vast array of menu options available and some aspects of the device, like HD Traffic can be difficult to understand. We feel it is aimed at a power user, someone who is already familiar with sat nav systems and wants to upgrade to something more expensive with more features. We don’t think it would be suitable for a novice user looking to buy their first sat nav.

From a navigational viewpoint it put in a stellar performance, although the Points of Interest (POI) was disappointing and wasn’t a match for the Garmin in this department.

If you drive frequently, have the cash and don’t mind paying the ongoing monthly subs, then this is a system worthy of a place on your sat nav shortlist.

Buy the TomTom Go 740 Live from Lemon Digital

Buy the TomTom Go 740 Live from Amazon

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Upcoming Sat Nav Reviews

Dan — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:36:52 +0000

We thought we’d give a quick taster of some upcoming sat nav reviews here on Technical Itch. We’ve recently got three new Garmin Nuvi systems in the office – the 255WT, 775T and 865T plus a TomTom Go 740 Live. We will be road testing these systems over the coming weeks so look out for these reviews when published.

Here is a quick summary of what these systems offer.

Garmin Nuvi 255WT

The Garmin Nuvi 250W review we published back in 2007 continues to be one of our most popular reviews, generating over 400 reader comments and regularly being in our best seller list.

Following on from the success of the 250W, Garmin released updated models in 2008 called the 255W and 255WT. These new models are essentially the same as the original 250W but with new features like “Where Am I?”, photo navigation and increased storage for waypoints and favourite locations. The 255WT also includes a traffic module to warn you of any traffic hold-ups on your route.

Read the full review.

Garmin Nuvi 775T

The Nuvi 775T is an update to the Nuvi 770 review we published last year. The 775T has the new lane-assist feature which is appearing on more Garmin systems these days. Lane-assist is designed to help you get in the right lane when approaching complex junctions. It also includes 3D city view, photo navigation and increased storage for waypoints and favourite locations.

Read the full review.

Garmin Nuvi 865T

The Nuvi 865T is one of the flagship models from Garmin featuring a full menu voice-controlled system so you can operate the system using your voice alone, rather than touching the screen. The reviews we’ve read of this system so far have rated the voice recognition highly so we look forward to testing it out. The 865T also includes lane-assist and photo navigation.

We’re waiting to road test this system currently.