TomTom GO 710

I recently acquired the TomTom GO 710 from Halfords I paid approximately 300pounds in store. The box it came in was nice and compact it contained;1GB SD Card, Carry Case, Home Dock, Car Charger, Windscreen Dock, External Microphone, Quick Start Guide and the TomTom unit itself. The TomTom has a Lithium-Ion battery (4 hours operation) which enables the TomTom for lengthy use without charging though a car charger is included with the package. The dimensions: ...
...coat pocket or small bag. TomTom though have produced a handy accessory pouch which is in stores now at 30pounds for a leather one.


Once you have opened the box and turned the TomTom on the 4inch wide screen lights up and you are met with a few quick questions to set up the system and make a few preference choices before being given a few handy hints on how it works.


When you have sorted through the set-up ... more

I recently acquired the TomTom GO 710 from Halfords I paid approximately 300pounds in store. The box it came in was nice and compact it contained;1GB SD Card, Carry Case, Home Dock, Car Charger, Windscreen Dock, External Microphone, Quick Start Guide and the TomTom unit itself. The TomTom has a Lithium-Ion battery (4 hours operation) which enables the TomTom for lengthy use without charging though a car charger is included with the package. The dimensions: are 112x81x66 mm and it weighs: 300 grams so although it is light it is a little large to fir comfortably into most peoples pockets should you be walking with the navigation unit. Though it would fit into a large coat pocket or small bag. TomTom though have produced a handy accessory pouch which is in stores now at 30pounds for a leather one.

Once you have opened the box and turned the TomTom on the 4inch wide screen lights up and you are met with a few quick questions to set up the system and make a few preference choices before being given a few handy hints on how it works.

When you have sorted through the set-up charged the unit up and are ready to make a journey you turn the screen on and press it to get to the menu screen. This screen is colourful bright and easy to use. By hitting the "navigate to" icon on the screen you are given further options allowing you to choice where to navigate to; home, favourite, address, recent destination and point of interest.

The home icon is useful as it enables quick navigation home from where ever you may be. The recent destination is also useful as it stores the last 24 destination that you have travelled to which helps as you can then keep the address should you use it reasonably often without making it a favourite which involves storing the address in the TomTom memory for future use.

If you are travelling to a new destination then you hit address and this gives you the options of city centre, street and house number, crossing or intersection and postcode. I personally find postcode the most useful as this is the quickest to type in. However if you are heading to a place in a city centre or residential area often knowing the road name too helps a lot as many building may be listed under the same postcode which can leave you the wrong side of a city centre block if your unlucky. Once your chosen destination has been typed in select it from the list and hit done. The TomTom will take a maximum of 20 seconds calculating the route and will ask if you wish to avoid toll roads on your route should any appear. Once the route is calculated hit done and start driving. The screen will give you a 3D display of your route though a 2D display is available should you prefer.

While driving on an approach to each turning you will be given clear instructions telling you "in 800 yards take the exit" or " cross the roundabout, 2nd exit". The woman's voice that I chose is very calm clear and concise with her directions. While on the motorway you are often told to "keep right" to prevent you from accidentally taking a slip road and are given 3miles 1mile and 800yard reminders that you should exit the motorway.
The TomTom makes driving very easy and takes a lot of stress out of driving to places that are busy or you don't know very well.

TomTom even alerts you to speed cameras with an alert bell that sounds on approach and a yard counter as you get closer. Be aware though that not all the speed cameras in Britain, sorry safety cameras, are listed, as new ones are being built all the time. Though the most recent updates can be acquired off the internet, by simply connecting your TomTom to your computer using the data cable supplied and heading to the TomTom website for updates. The only other problem that I have come across to do with speed cameras and the TomTom is that often the speeds that TomTom has the speed cameras listed as is wrong! Don't worry though I haven't found one where TomTom has said the speed above the actual speed so you won't get in trouble because of TomTom. Often though the speed stated is below the actual speed of the road e.g. in a 50 TomTom will alert you to a 40 speed camera. This isn't such a problem normally but is very
confusing when on the motorway as TomTom is always flashing the M5 as being a 50 when as it is a motorway it is clearly a 70 and I will never understand why this happens unless mine is defective! Also as a handy hint to users of the M25 there are that many speed cameras on that motorway that turning the speed camera alert off is hugely worthwhile as the alert will drive you mad.

Overall I love my TomTom and would recommend anyone to buy one especially those who drive a lot or head to different areas each day with deliveries etc. The screen is fantastically clear and easy to read at a glance which is great while driving, the sucker pad that it comes with to stick it to the window works well too.

TomTom also gave the 710 additional features that allow you to play your ipod through the TomTom which is useful for those with an ipod but I imagine that connecting your ipod to your cars stereo would be more of a priority than connecting it to your TomTom.

TomTom also has the ability to connect via bluetooth to your mobile phone which is a brilliant idea and removes all the hassle of headsets. Only when I have used this feature I have found that I can hear the caller clearly however they cannot always hear me though there is a headset that can be used to remedy this problem, a shame however that it doesn't work well like a loud speaker as this really would create a stress free driving experience, especially now its 3points for driving on a mobile phone. To get this feature working you need to allow TomTom to connect to your phone then whenever your turn TomTom on around your phone it will try and connect, if you reject it TomTom will try without fail until you accept which can drive you mad when planning a route in the comfort of your own home.

The connection to your phone also allows TomTom to pick up weather and traffic updates if you enable the settings and register your TomTom online which then enables you to make informed decisions and navigate around problem areas with TomTom advice.

The only other major points to mention about the TomTom 710 really is that this model has a night mode that changes the colour settings on the screen so that they are not blinding while driving and that the 710 has maps for not just Britain but Europe which is a huge plus, however a step down from the 910 which has maps for all of North America stored as well.  

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