TomTom GO 740 Live 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable Live Internet Connected GPS Navigator

Reviews

1. Great features but buggy software

   by M. Neri

   Got this new unit at a Best Buy clearance sale for $ 209 – a seemingly great deal for TomTom’s internet connected flag ship PND. Unfortunately, the excitement lasted less than a day. My first impressions of the product were good – voice commands, google search through navigation satellite ( the only brand of PNDs to offer this feature in US market, I think) , lane guidance, 3 D views, and all the usual Tom Tom features such as route planning, multiple waypoints, etc. But a little testing showed the product was half baked. Google search and other live services were intermittent and unreliable: they would work one time, and next time would give an error: “Cannot connect to server”. Pairing with my Motorola phone was easy, but when ever I tried to dial out a number shown on a POI or on a Google search, it would give an error: Bluetooth Not Connected; dialing from phone book did not give this error message. Voice Commands were similarly unreliable: one time they would recognize a command, the next time they would not recognize the same command spoken in the same way. Much worse was the glitches with routing. I tried to plan a route that would take me via the main toll free express way in Florida, ie I 95. Every time I selected this particular waypoint, the system would freeze and then reboot in a few seconds. This happened several times. Figuring that this might be a software bug, I immediately tried to update the software and maps. This process was excruciatingly slow: it took the better part of 14 hours to complete thanks to extremely slow Tom Tom servers ( I have a standard 1.5 MB/ps DSL connection). After updating, the product would not boot up to the main navigation screen. Resetting did not solve the problem and tech support was not reachable in a timely manner. Just returned the product for a refund.

2. Repair nightmares

   by Dan B

   I ordered the 740 Go live several months ago, liked the traffic routing and live services, but started having problems with it a couple months after. First the Live Services stopped working. After several attempts customer support was not able to resolve the issue, so I had to ship my unit back. Initially support requested that I pay for the shipping back even though the unit was still under warranty. After reading the warranty myself I discovered that it said they would pay for shipping as long as it was under 180 days. Only after I pointed that out to them did they agree to pay for the shipping. A couple of weeks later the unit was returned, but they sent me a lower cost model. Again I had to ship back that unit. The unit I got was having problems with shutting down spontaneously and more recently with not being able to find a GPS signal. At this point, I asked them for a refund, but they refused and want me to ship the unit back again.

   While I find customer service reps to be very friendly, I suspect they have a severe quality assurance issue with their products.

   As far as features, I did like the traffic routing, but the unit is not that easy to use. For example, with the Garmin you can easily see the details of the route, but with the TomTom you have to press several buttons to do that. Also it is not easy to add a via point or to turn off some of the warnings.

   Personally, I would stay away from TomTom unless you are prepared to spend hours on the phone with customer service.

3. Not for the TECHNICALLY UNINCLINED.

   by Robert C. Macky

   This unit has very impressive features but is a nightmare if you are not technically inclined. My unit came with the wrong computer docking station from the factory. When I called Tom Tom they seemed unconcerned. They stated I should take it back to the store. When I informed them that this was purchased from amazon.com they stated it will take two weeks to mail me the correct dock. Meanwhile, I attempted to use the unit without the updates. The unit kept sending me down streets that not constructed yet. I was able to jury rig a connection using a USB cable from my wife’s Magellan but it took 3 hours to update this unit to function correctly. When I called for tech support I was placed on hold for an hour. I finally had to call a friend with same unit for help. My Magellan in contrast was turn key. TomTom GO 740 Live 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable Live Internet Connected GPS Navigator

4. Good Product

   by T. Owens

   I like my TomTom works good still unsure if I am going to pay for the plus services. So far I like the tomtom and it works as you would expect.

5. $250 paper weight

   by Russell L. Fortner

   The Tom Tom Go Live 740 is a waste of money. $250 paper weight. It seemed to work ok when I first got it even though it had may home address located another 1 1/2 blocks away. After several software updates & 1 or 2 free map updates, it got worse. A major interchange on I-10 near Mobile, AL doesn’t even show up. CS was happy to tell me how to fix it myself. Lot of addresses don’t show up, it couldn’t find DisneyWorld!!!! Couldn’t find Hwy 431 in Columbia TN & this is a major highway not a county road, etc.
   
   Street names often are listed differently. Example Olive Rd is listed as Hwy. xx in Pensacola.
   
   Just took a trip to Nashville, TN it worked well until we got to Nashville & suddenly it rebooted. By the time it was back up, we were at our destination. Luckily I lived there & knew my way around. On way back home, it rebooted again & would not connect to the satellites even after I rebooted it several times.
   
   The bluetooth works pretty good.
   
   Can not delete individual recent destinations, it is all or nothing.
   
   Sometimes the live services work ok, but not worth the $10 per month. Gas locator is usually old prices. If you don’t know area it can cause you to backtrack. I chose a station listed as cheapest in area, & it wanted me to turn around & go back 13 miles the wrong way.
   
   The voice feature works ok, but it repeats the instructions to many times so I turn sound off. It doesn’t always understand your voice commands either. I laugh at it when it chokes trying to pronounce certain names.
   
   Lots of options of map colors & voices etc.
   
   Here is the part Tom Tom doesn’t tell you about, map updates. You have to update maps every time they are available, not when you want to, say every 6 months. If you don’t but each map, then when you do want to update, you have to buy the previous map, before you can update to the latest one. They sent me an e-mail I could get 1 1/2 year updates for $39 total. That is 6 maps, which was a great deal, but I would have to buy an additional latest update first, for around $45, which would be $95 total. I don’t think roads change enough to need a new map more than 1 or 2 times a year at most.
   
   This is my GPS & I trusted Consumer Reports, since it was on their Best Buy list. I researched them as much as I could. In stores, you can only try them out a little, no instructions to help you with them & most can not pick up satellites inside the store. Forget sales people, they don’t know much about the products.
   
   The wind shield mount is nice.
   
   Can’t think of many positive things to say about Tom Tom other than I won’t buy another one. Have not tried the MP3 player or photos.

6. Almost there…very impressed though.,….70% to perfection.

   by Joshua Brooks

   Alright, I’ve been using this GPS for the last few weeks (never understood reviews by people who used something once), throughout the northeast. From Maine to Pennsylvania. I travel as a salesman, so always driving to weird places and the traffic technology interested me. Disclaimer: this is my first GPS unit with traffic.

   Amazon initially sent me the wrong charging station, but a quick call to TomTom and they sent me a brand new one 2-day mail. Customer service seemed very helpful and fast. I also want to say that I WILL NOT BE USING the bluetooth, so people that have had a problem with that were irrelevent to me.

   I was attracted to this unit for the ability to reroute you based on traffic (a pop up comes up on the screen and asks if you “would like a different route. It will save you xx minutes.”) and for the traffic technology that supposedly compiles information on other drivers to find the best route (wondering why it took 10 years for someone to think of this?)

   Pros;
   
   1.) Easy interface, quick typing in of addresses (by city or zip code!!!), not like a Garmin where you have to go through endless menus. Large fingers might struggle a little bit.
   
   2.) I think the traffic technology works great. There are times (especially when driving through NYC from Philly or Boston), that this unit has saved me HOURS. It re-routes me, (sometimes on roads I have never even taken before), and allows me to much better plan my day, especially when avoiding 1+ hour delays. I’ve also gotten some cool shortcuts that I assume are based on the compilation technology of how local drivers drive.
   
   3.) The gas price function is great for people who travel unknown areas. I can search for the cheapest gasoline on my route and this alone will pay for the $10 a month of live services subscription.
   
   4.) The traffic updates frequently and seems fairly accurate. Sometimes phantom traffic delays will occur (where there is none), and the unit might struggle to route you, but overall it seems pretty solid. I’ve even intentionally driven into traffic delays just to test it and so far seems pretty accurate. If anything, I think it over-estimates your delay. Many times I’ll “gain” 10-20min.
   
   5.) The integrated Google search is very cool, easy to use, just click “go here.”
   
   6.) The mapping seems good for frequent long term, out of state use. Some of the reviews on here complain about it taking the wrong route, but these people also seem to be using the unit in their home town only. Do you really need a GPS? Obviously you might know better shortcuts than a GPS in a city you’ve lived in for 20 years.
   
   7.) It can beep if you are speeding, and also has traffic camera updates too (haven’t used).

   Cons:
   
   1.) I’m really disappointed in the POI on this unit. Maybe I’ve had bad luck, but it doesn’t seem to contain many businesses or restaurants, especiall major chains (like AC Moore, or DSW). I’ll have to start using the google search feature more, as I often forget about it.
   
   2.) This unit does reboot about once every other day (with full day use). Hasn’t been an issue for me, as it rebooted in 15sec. Not happy about it, but not annoyed either considering it’s getting a live internet signal non-stop.
   
   3.) Some streets just seem to be missing. No ability to type in Boylston St (Boston). This is one of the major streets! The gps can find businesses on that street (POI), but can’t type it in.
   
   4.) Also, Boston is a little tricky for this unit (big dig) as with most GPS. The “show lane exit” feature is nice, but usually gets in the way.

   Overall I think this is a very solid unit for sub-$200. Definitely the future of GPS. I would say that this unit is about 70% of where GPS perfection will lie.

7. Hardware is crap

   by R. Vener

   Mine died after 15 months of very light use. The only thing tech support told me to do was hold in the power button. There are much better choices than a tomtom.

8. TomTom Misses Again

   by Daniel Burstiner

   This is my 3rd TomTom device. I still have a 300 in addition to this one. I had a 720 but returned it. I have no idea why I keep giving TomTom more chances as they fail every time I try! Issues:
   
   1.) Spontaneous reboots when navigating. This one just suddenly reboots at random times. It usually picks back up but if you’re doing city driving, you better pull over and wait until it’s back or you’ll be lost for a while.
   
   2.) Resetting Customized Settings. This has persisted since the first 300. Set map colors, connect to the computer, colors reset. Every time. TomTom can’t seem to understand this issue at all. It also resets the car symbol.
   
   3.) Connection to Live services spotty. Not seeming to be related to cellular coverage. It just can’t connect sometimes.
   
   4.) Live services pricing. Minor, but TomTom must think GPS users can’t add. $9.95/month for Live services. $119.95 for annual live services. $9.95*12=$119.40 or $.55 less if you pay by the month. In my experience, when you purchase small quantities of anything, services or items, the cost per unit is higher than when you purchase in larger quantity. So, why would TomTom take the reverse approach? I asked that question and was told I was wrong, the annual and monthly cost were the same! I guess is TomTom that can’t add, not the GPS users. Should I trust a GPS whose maker can’t even add?
   
   5.) GPS is time based. Why isn’t the GPS clock synchronized automatically? Do other GPS units require you to set the time too? I have no experience with others.
   
   6.) Customer Service. Ever try to contact TomTom to actually speak to someone? Good luck!
   
   7.) PC/Mac Desktop Application. Evidently there are two. I’ve only used one. It stinks! Ever try to buy anything using a discount code they sent? Good luck there too. I never could use it. No way to enter a code.

   Overall the device is still a good GPS, it has LOTS of room for improvement though.
   

9. TomTom GO 740 Live

   by Stephen H. Arnold

   The box contained the wrong base unit and it took 15 minutes or so to get customer support on the line. The woman I spoke with was quick to solve the problem and shipped the correct base the next day. The 740 is a big improvement on the 720 we had and the traffic camera feature has already saved us a couple of tickets. Most of all we like the routing that looks at traffic and reroutes us automatically to a quicker route. It even continues to recheck the traffic situation and verbally tells us when we are still on the fastest route.

10. Great unit if you don’t need bluetooth

    by K. Jansen-Welch

    this is a great unit provide you do not need or want bluetooth support. If you want bt then be aware that the unit does, and very likely will, reboot after 2-3 days of using bt. TomTom has been aware of this for over a year and still hasn’t fixed it. One work-around is to downgrade the apps to an older, more stable version.

    Another is to buy a Garmin
    
    [stay away from Magellan as they want you to upgrade and don't support their older GSP units]

11. Good Unit

    by Jimmy R. Del Rosario

    Excellent Unit. Lots of availablee changes you can download from website for self preferences. My favorite is the Fixed Camera Alert system for Photo Enforcement. Google works great too. Other than the $119 annual subscription fee and extra cost to update maps, it works good.

12. Great GPS Unit

    by Paul S. Parker

    I bought this for my wife and she uses it all of the time and couldn’t be happier and she never gets lost anymore and is now on time.

13. Better Traffic Than Garmin

    by Goodspike

    I’m a prior user of a Dash Express GPS, that I replaced because it started acting up. My first choice to replace it was a Garmin 755T. That was a disaster. Not only is the touchscreen on some of those models very bad, but the traffic service was simply not very good compared to the Dash Express. It didn’t give you enough information about what was going on, and when it gave you information about local conditions, it was often wrong.

    Starting from the point of time of taking the device out of the box, the TomTom software (TomTom Home) to update the device is much better than the Garmin software, which often leaves you wondering what if anything it’s doing, and if additional user input is needed. That said, despite the superior TomTom software, I still have not been able to figure out whether I have the latest maps. I’m fairly certain they were not updated as part of the initial process.

    Access to the live data from the GPS either had a several hour delay, or required that you actually set up your TomTom account on line. Either way, my first trip out I didn’t have access to any of the live services, or traffic.

    As to traffic, the TomTom is much better than Garmin at letting you know what’s going on. Both show you how many minutes of delay you have due to traffic, but the TomTom is better at showing you where the delay is, and giving you the choice of avoiding that area. Also, the TomTom seems to be better at automatically rerouting you (with your permission) when traffic appears during your trip. It isn’t as good as the Dash Express at showing you the traffic for the entire region, but it is reasonably good at showing you traffic along your route. Also, the Garmin needs to be plugged in to show traffic information, and since the traffic service is free, you get on line coupons on your GPS display (Shop at Sears!). The TomTom will cost you $10 a month after the first three months, which is the same monthly cost as what the Dash Express was. The difference is, TomTom and DashExpress give you two way communications, so you can search Google or Yahoo respectively, where the Garmin 755T only gives you inbound traffic information.

    As to traffic, TomTom’s IQ Routing apparently routes you different routes at different times of day, based on historical traffic patterns. You get this service even without the subscription or access to live data. I have not been able to verify how well that works just yet.

    One of the things I didn’t like about the Garmin 755T is that it didn’t allow much customization of the device. If anything, the TomTom is actually worse in that regard. Apparently there is a way to turn off Autozoom on the TomTom, but I haven’t figured that out yet. There are relatively few other choices. One I do like though is you can turn off the pronunciations of street names. That leaves text to speech turned on for highway exits, and major highways, but turns text to speech off at the street level. Locally the street signs are not big enough to be able to read them very far away, so having them pronounced is not that useful. Also, the TomTom’s pronunciation of street names, especially “native American” names, is not as good as the Garmin, so it’s better to have it off.

    One of the best features is voice recognition. It’s actually amazingly accurate for a device that doesn’t require any training. A main problem though is entering the street name. Apparently because a street name can be either a name or a number, it can have a hard time understanding. Thus, it often cannot pick up “275th Street,” no matter how you say it, but it can pick up the house number 1325. Where it has trouble understanding, there is a button to hit to manually enter the item. Voice recognition is also good for other things, like ending the routing, zooming out the map, etc. You do have to hit a screen button before giving the commands, because otherwise it might respond to conversation within the car. It would be nice if it simply had a key word, such as TomTom, to activate the VR. To use voice recognition, you have to use a GPS voice that will pronounce street names. At first that seemed strange to me, but the VR does have to ask you questions, so apparently it needs the additional vocabulary. If you couldn’t turn off the pronunciation of street names, that would be somewhat annoying.

    Another difference between the Garmin and TomTom is the TomTom has a lot more exits covered with their lane assist type feature, where each gives you a graphical representation of the exit you’re approaching. I would say that locally (Seattle) they have maybe 5-10 times as many exits covered. Overall TomTom is much better guiding you to what lane you need, even without the lane assist type feature.

    Routing is so far very good. Better than either the Garmin 755T (which was worse than other Garmin products I’ve used) or the Dash Express. It does seem to prefer local streets a bit more than the Garmin, and a lot more than the Dash Express, but they are actually typically ways you would go anyway.

    The screen leaves a bit to be desired. The mapping detail is less than on Garmin products (but more than the Dash Express). There’s a lot of wasted/useless information. For example, I don’t need a graphic representation of satellite strength displayed all the time, and I don’t need to know that if it’s 7:40, and I’m scheduled to arrive at 7:50, that I will be there in 10 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, having the time of day is nice, but I can do the math for the 10 minute calculation. The Garmin unit allowed more customization as to what is displayed than the TomTom. Also TomTom does seem to know the speed limit in fewer locations than Garmin, and the Garmin seems to update your speed more frequently. Surprisingly, the TomTom seems to read a slightly faster speed overall.

    The TomTom’s anti-theft feature is just an optional icon reminding you to remove the device when you turn it off. The Garmin 755T allows you to lock the device, but with the bad touchscreen that feature is useless because it can lock your device until you return home. If you were on an extended trip, that could be disaster. The TomTom does not automatically turn off when disconnected from power, or turn on when connected.

    Overall the edge clearly goes to the TomTom, and it would even if the 755T I received didn’t have a defective touchscreen. The traffic feature is worthwhile on the TomTom, while of questionable use on the Garmin. Routing is slightly better on the TomTom, but that alone would not be a reason to pick one over the other.

    Edit: A few points after having used it a while. 1. I knew it didn’t typically tell you what side of the street your destination is on, but I had no idea how annoying that would be. 2. Related to that, when you arrive at your destination, it doesn’t display the address on the screen for very long, making it even harder to find your destination. 3. The voice recognition continues to work fairly well, with the exceptions of street names, especially street names that are numbers. 4. I’ve had some sort of an odd glitch that I haven’t figured out, navigating to favorites. I’m not sure if it’s just when I use voice recognition to call it up, or when I deviate from the route, but it seems to sometimes so some place entirely different than the favorite it was navigating to.

    2nd Edit: The glitch navigating to favorites only occurs when using voice recognition to select it. It seemingly selects the right place, and then takes you to another place. More disturbing is that today I downloaded map updates and software updates. It wiped out all my favorites, home, etc. Since I did both types of updates at the same time I don’t know which did it, but I’ll be very reluctant to download another map update again, and totally lost interest in their plan where you can buy a year’s worth of updates at the same time. Still more disturbing is the routing seemingly got worse with the updates, but I’ve only taken one trip so perhaps that was a glitch.

    3rd Edit: The routing has changed, but some of it for the better. I’ve only run into the one instance where it was worse.

14. Re-packaged and possibly refurbished but sold new

    by J. Rodie

    I purchased this because my wife’s had previously been stolen and she loved it so much that I had to get her another one. The item works fine, but the wrong cable was in the box as it was a mount type that doesn’t fit the model. Luckily she still had her old one, but it seriously makes me think that Amazon either re-packaged this or obtained it remanufactured or refurbished. It wouldn’t bother me if it was labeled that way during purchase, but it was sold “new”. Please beware as this is either a major mistake by the vendor or by Amazon on this product.

15. Don’t buy this model- Live services won’t update

    by Rev. Dr. Charlie

    I purchased this unit in October, and when the introductory LIVE service expired after 3 months, the next year activation of Live service cost $121.50 . The HUGE GLARING problem is that most of the units are faulty and WILL NOT allow updating LIVE services. To remedy this, a few calls to tech support, and guess what? They will only send out a “refurbished” replacement, and you have to send your unit back to them and wait 2 weeks while they send you a relacement refurbished unit (worth half of what you paid for it) via UPS GROUND, not even air mail or next day. The orders for this DISMAL CUSTOMER SERVICE come from headquarters. SO, Tom Tom Headquarters- Why should anyone trust you to support your expensive products when this is how you mandate paying customers be treated?
    
    I admit that the unit is somewhat useful, but I bought from Tom Tom based on thier good reputation. It now seems that it was a mistake, and thier good reputation undeserved.

16. Great GPS, except for all the FAILS

    by M. Baker

    We just got back from a 2500 mile road trip. In preparation for said road trip I replaced my aging Garmin Nuvi with a new TomTom GO 740 Live. I was a bit uncertain about making the move from the familiar Garmin interface to TomTom’s Eurocentric UI, but went for it anyway. For those that don’t want to read the entire review, let me just give you the end result: I am returning this to Amazon. If you want to know exactly why, read on….

    The unit had a number of WIN’s and FAIL’s. I will list the WIN’s first:

    WINS

    * Built-in cellular network connection

    The GO has a basic cell modem built-in which allows access to Google (see below) as well as robust traffic info that transcends simple ‘traffic info’ on other GPS units. Of course, this feature is not free.

    * Google search integration

    This is a major win. The ability to use Google search is a great idea. For example, during our trip we found ourselves in a small town along Hwy 101 and needed a hotel for the the night. All GPS’s can use POI data to list hotels, but the Google search data on the GO allowed us to see how the hotel was rated by the Google community. Very helpful.

    * Traffic info

    The TomTom displays traffic data much better than the Garmin. Not only does to tell me there’s a delay on my route, but it tells me exactly how far away it is. And it does it with a nifty sidebar so the info is always available.

    * Faster screen refreshes

    The TomTom 740, being a newer unit, has a much faster screen refresh rate than my old Garmin. This was especially helpful when navigating the freeways of LA at 85mph 65mph. I have made this same road trip several times in the past and my old Garmins’ map refreshes would basically be a slide show at that speed.

    FAILS

    * User Interface (aka UI)

    I expect a learning curve when coming from the Garmin UI, but even after 2500 miles the TomTom UI is still a joke. For example, it takes no less than 5 clicks to do something as simple as cancel ones route. No fun to do while moving at freeway speed. The Garmin took only two. Also, the TomTom gives lots of useless information on the main display. GPS signal strength? Why do I care? Current time? Yeah, my car has a clock thanks.

    * Map accuracy

    While the map is pretty much accurate most of the time, there are several glaring errors. Once while trying to create an itinerary the TomTom behaved as if there was no connection from Reedsport, OR to Coos Bay, OR (Hwy 101 drives right through both towns). Another time, while crossing a freeway bridge, the map showed us as ‘off road’. And, our final destination did not even exist on the map…the best I could do was navigate to a nearby intersection.

    * System stability

    This is the FAIL that ultimately motivated me to return the unit. The GPS spontaneously reboots at random times. During our trip it must have happened 20 times. I thought it might be a problem with the bluetooth so I turned that off but it continued to happen. I would be cruising along and poof! I see the boot screen and unit comes back up….and about half the time it would dump my route and the connection to my phone. Again, a huge hassle when on the road.

17. Nice Extras But Not Stable…

    by Christopher G. Harlow

    I’ve had 2 vehicles with in-dash navigation systems (2001 Honda Odyssey, 2004 Toyota Sienna) and 1 vehicle with an added GPS (Garmin Nuvi 760). So I’m not an expert, but I have a good deal of experience. Both the current generation of Garmin and TomTom systems are far superior to the old in-dash navigation systems, so I’ll focus on comparing the Nuvi to the TomTom.

    Both products have a nice “chase car” map view that allows you to easily see where you are going. The routing features on both are equivalent, although chosen pathing is slightly different. I can not honestly say that one system consistently choses better paths over the other.

    Some of the more notable differences between the two products include:
    
    – Instant on when put in the cradle (Nuvi only – nice advantage)
    
    – Asks whether to shut down when car is turned off (Nuvi only – nice advantage)
    
    – Simple, straight forward navigation menus (Nuvi only – nice advantage)
    
    – Substantial customization (TomTom only – very nice if you like tweaking the system…I do enjoy hearing Homer Simpson’s voice)
    
    – Majority of business locations included (Nuvi only – nice advantage)
    
    – Ability to add additional locations of your choice, or that others have created (TomTom only – would be very nice if it wasn’t a requirement)

    One of the more important characteristics to me, is reliability of the product. In the short term, that reliability is based on stability. I’ve had the Nuvi for well over a year; it’s still running, and I’ve never had it reboot itself. It simply works. I’ve had the TomTom for 4 months, and the system reboots itself at least weekly while I’m driving.

    Since the Nuvi has been extremely reliable, I’ve not had the opportunity to deal with customer service. However, due to the TomTom’s instability, I have had to deal with their customer service.

    TomTom’s customer service is *very* friendly. However, once it became clear that the problems with the TomTom were not due to user error, they were very quick to blame the bluetooth of my cell phone. When I pointed out that I just happened to switch to another cell phone during this 4 month period, they remained obstinate that the bluetooth was the cause. The fact that a bluetooth signal can even cause the TomTom to fail every 3 to 4 days (I use it daily) is clearly a TomTom problem, but tech support seems to be satisfied with using the cell phone scapegoat.

    Due to the lack of reliability / stability of the product, I would recommend finding a different product. It is too bad, because if the device was stable, I would actually rank it well above the Nuvi despite having to manually load business locations into the system. The last thing someone should have to deal with is the navigation system rebooting itself while trying to navigate a busy downtown area (happened to me once) that you are not familiar with.

18. Wow…

    by Reginald L. Miller

    How do the live feature works? It is amazing it works. This should be standard for all gps units mfg after this one. Good job TomTom.

19. Tom Tom 740 Live

    by Jason R. Schultz

    Good GPS, not happy with the blue-tooth as it will not connect with the phones in our family.

20. Had it for 9 months, too many issues.

    by J. Peters

    I gave this GPS a try, mostly for the traffic services. But it has enough other problems to make life frustrating. I don’t recommend it.

    The good:
    
    -The traffic service, overall, seems to be good in my experience (when live services are working). I sometimes commute in the DC area, and I’m on I-95 a lot. If there’s bad traffic on the highways, it generally let’s me know and can reroute me easily. It’s not always good on the smaller (but heavily traveled) US highways.
    
    -The fuel prices are up-to-date (when live services are working).
    
    -It has a lot of customizable features, and you can have a ton of info on the screen.

    The Bad:
    
    -As you’ll read in many reviews, the reboots are ridiculous. The device just randomly reboots, sometimes often, sometimes not at all. It’s very annoying if it happens when you are coming up on a turn or exit. I don’t understand why they can’t fix this problem. Tech support offers no solution.
    
    -The Live services have expired on me several times, meaning the traffic info, google, fuel prices are all inactive. Generally this is at the end of the month, even though I had a recurring $9.95 per month payment setup through TomTom. Tech support was no help. “You’ll need to make a new TomTom account.” I did this twice. How many times should I have to do this again? I’m paying for the service for crying out loud.
    
    -Computer has trouble speaking street names and exits quite often in my area. Not a huge deal, but it’s supposed to work better than it does, and I could see it being confusing in a place of which I knew nothing about.
    
    -Customer service was not very helpful. See tech support problems above. They also gave me no real response when I asked why “HD Traffic” is available in Europe, but they aren’t pushing for it here in the US. That would be a great feature. Too bad.

    After 9 months, I was very frustrated with the reboots, live service problems and lack of tech support, so I sold the device. Too bad, it had promise. Maybe one day they’ll improve upon this model, but I am now soured on TomTom for good.