After a few weeks trial period, I can now say that I do not regret my purchase and am very happy with the TomTom.
The following positive characteristics are:
* Route calculation is lightning fast and route recalculations are carried out within seconds if you leave the assigned route
* Incredibly faster GPS reception (power is turned on - signal has arrived)
* IQ Routes technology provides for admittedly unusual, but always very fast routes
* The operation is very fast and intuitive; the user interface is very clear, a freely configurable menu increases ease of use in addition
* TMCPro works flawlessly and delivered previously only correct information
* With personal start and Endgrafiken, noises, voices and Co you every time you turn a lot of fun with his Navi
* The voices are clear and also text-to-speech provides impressive (I recommend that you disable automatic volume adjustment)
* The voice command works in most cases smoothly (even if specified in the manual that one should "spell out" multi-digit numbers, which directly cited works fine)
* The card interface can be adapted to a variety of ways in appearance and a night mode ensures that your eyes are relaxed when driving at night, which is really a difference for bright-shining day layout!
* The Lane Assistant supports very nice in an optical way the turning maneuvers
* The speed warning is extremely handy
* On POIs can be made acoustic beforehand attention
* The favorites management of targets contributes to comfort
* With the device can be very easily map corrections with manual focus (for example, change the turn possibilities, adapt directions paste / adapt speed limits, road block / unlock, edit street names, edit / add POIs / delete; further changes as newly-built roads , highway exits, new cities, new or replaced roundabouts can be marked on the spot and sent in a report to TomTom; it will try again soon and am curious if the new roundabout in the neighboring town is then added)
* Updates (GPS Quick Fix and MapShare) be downloaded within a few seconds and installed (Pentium 4, 3.2 Ghz, 2 GB Ram); only the first MapShare downloads can be drawn in the length, which, given the tens of thousands of corrections is however understandable
* Good battery life
* The design is fancy, noble and unobtrusive
* Back-ups and updates can easily be made via the included software
What I noticed is negative:
* The FM transmitter is due to the few free frequencies in Germany relatively useless in my eyes; in a small test could be heard too much noise
* Rarely navigation is incomprehensible and one will be sent by 3 roads, can although you could continue straight
* Those who want to use the device to store MP3s, should equal mitkaufen a larger memory card, because the 2 GB card is already almost fully utilized
Namely * the software TomTom Home follows the interface of GO; However, this is really not practical for large PC monitors; Here you could have chosen a more efficient surface
A separate paragraph, I would like to dedicate the navigation instructions. We read in the reviews often that information is only imprecise, come too early or that the device reports more than once "Mission accomplished". In my testing, I can face such claims only shook her head. That is also the reason why I think that the unit has earned a better guidance, because I believe that the fault lies not with the device, but the user because this makes hardly thought. We must hold fast: There still is a computer and not a man. I had to first travel by GO clear relatively quickly, as it has come to these negative reviews. A small example:
The TomTom is a computer and retrieves prefabricated announcements. However, these need to be interpreted correctly by the user. Thus, for example, shortly before the finish point has yet to turn into a road and this is followed at some point the goal.
The corresponding instructions of the GO can be here:
"Turn now right - THEN - you have reached your destination"
after the turn:
"In 200 meters: you have reached your destination"
200m later:
"You have reached your destination"
Presumably appropriate people have just heard, "You have reached your destination" without note to the connector "then". In reality, it is but just to predict the next event (which can be disabled in the settings by the way).
Similarly vehält with premature announcements. Since the statement is: "turn right in front of them" this is the bend actually still 1km. It is merely a warning that the next event follows the bend. The display one can read off how far this event is still away. Because such statements usually (as a warning) to the half of a track section to follow, there may be such a "premature" messages. If the section for example, 2km long, takes place the reference to the next event after about 1km. It takes again a kilometer until the turn really follows. One can - as already mentioned - turn off this early warning in the menu, so that only the command is carried out, if you want to really bent.
I think you have to just deal with a little bit with your device and already is one misunderstand no statement. But it is missing some understanding of the technical navigation, then you should probably put on a human companion.
My experience with the GO 730 are very positive and I would recommend this unit to anyone who wants to be brought safely to its destination. None of the defects had an impact on that has not reached a goal. The TomTom led me always faithful to the specified destination. The software is fully stable! Congratulations to TomTom. I'm really excited about this device. Highly recommended!
Side note:
The original holder I have not even used. Instead, a somewhat more stable, also from TomTom. No problems with it!
