Tomtom 700 - still a good buy?

stevem999 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 06, 2006 Posts: 46

Hi there, I've been offered the chance of getting a VGC used Tomtom 700 for £160. It seems like a really well-featured piece of kit but a few threads are now saying it's getting outdated and 'old' technology.

Can anyone give me any pointers on this - do you agree. Are there any things to be wary of with the 700 now that it's known inside-out? There are new things coming out all the time and wonder if the feature-set can be obtained brand new for not much more money? I saw the Navman ICN530 for £239 the other day on an offer which seemed a very nice piece of kit - are these better buys? Is the 700 chipset now outdated?

My needs are more of a spoken map than true navigation. I like to plan my routes beforehand if possible with via points etc and then let the satnav guide me rather than having the old road atlas on the steering wheel Wink

- is the 700 good for this? Of course, I'l also let it tell me where to go on occasion as well!

Hope you can help.

Cheers

saudidave · Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 6:19 pm Post subject:

I see no reason why it won't suit your needs perfectly. I have a Go510 and quite frankly see no difference to tomtom for pda V5. Any updates are negligible

sgould · Frequent Visitor Joined: Oct 05, 2004 Posts: 1320

The newer chipset seems to only "necessary" if you drive a car with a reflecting windscreen, or, you need to drive frequently in central areas of cities with a lot of tall buildings. You can overcome this problem with an extra aerial.

Otherwise the upgrades are "froth". Handsfree phone link - handsfree kit is better. Traffic - no good in London, if there's a jam, all the diversions are jammed too! MP3 player - play your iPod through a 2 inch speaker -why?

My 700 is fine. I'm not upgrading.
_________________
TTGO 700 (dead)
iPhone 3GS + TT holder
iPhone 5 (hers!)
Western Europe Map
Eastern Europe Map
Kenwood DNX-4210DAB with Garmin maps

mikealder · Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:19 pm Post subject:

stevem999 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 06, 2006 Posts: 46

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Consensus seems to be that it is still a nice piece of kit. Any little vagaries or idiosyncracies I should be aware of when using it, or updating software etc?

Do you get firmware updates and if so, do they come from TT? I also saw that you need a 'key' to access updates etc that came on a card when new. I don't know if this card will be with the 700 that I've been offered yet - is it essential to know this number to transfer ownership/ access updates etc?

peterc10 · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 11:36 am Post subject:

You must get the card with your TT otherwise you will not be able to purchase new maps or other extras from TT. There should be no reason for the seller not to give it to and if he has not got it that is an indication that the unit may be stolen.

Put simply my advice is don't buy the unit without the product code card.
_________________
Peter
HTC Sensation
Sygic GPS for Europe (No more TT "support"!)
Copilot for USA
Bury CC9060 bluetooth car kit & Brodit mount

Gmonkey · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:52 pm Post subject:

As long as you are getting it from a reputable source, to me, it is one of the best units available - it has sure saved my butt a few times. Smile

internetpilot · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 14, 2006 Posts: 35

During a recent trip where my Palm-based TomTom Nav 5 solution just wasn't working out too well (battery/power issues), I was given free rein to buy a TomTom GO unit by the boss (my wife).

I was able to compare a TomTom GO 910 and a TomTom GO 700 side-by-side (fully functional along with about 10 other popular nav models, too) at a CircuitCity (USA), and I personally saw little or no reason for me to pay the extra dead presidents for the 910. The 700 was a far better device for me and it was US$300 less. I don't have a bluetooth phone, so I can't take advantage of any of the Plus features, so I really just wanted more stable hardware and cleaner looking vehicle install than TomTom Nav 5 on my Palm Tungsten|C was providing me. That requirement is well satisfied with the 700.

The bigger screen on the new X10 line is puzzling to me, I guess because of being a Palm user for so long (which has the same size 4" screen, but it's taller rather than wider). Why would you want to see more on the sides of a GPS screen instead of more of what's in front of you down the road? In my opinion, TomTom should've made the the X10 line have a taller, not wider screen. Other nav units that have wider screen don't have the rotate-up feature that TomTom has, so you could theoretically be driving "sideways" across the wide portion of one of their maps, but with TomTom always "driving up" the screen, it would be better for the screen to be taller. Just my opinion, but that's definitely one of the reasons why the 910 didn't appeal to me as much as the 700.

I've seen reviews were people are saying the GO700 is outdated, etc., but it I really don't see why -- it depends on what you want from a nav unit. If you want it to be a multimedia device, then one of the newer models would do you better. But even with that requirement, the 700 can play MP3s and even videos/movies with add-on software, and even with the all the maps of North America on the 2.5GB hard drive, I still have 1.5GB of space available -- that's a lot of MP3s and even movies. More importantly though, that's a lot of extra space for voices and future map upgrades. Since the X10 line still has some models running of SD card, I think that the 2.5GB of storage in the 700 puts it at the same level.

Incidentally, I don't know how it is is really big cities with towering skyscrapers, but I've been several Florida and Georgia cities surrounded by tall buildings, and haven't lost the sat signal. I'm sure there are cities where you would lose it, but unless you're driving in a virtual tunnel of super tall skyscrapers, you may not encounter a signal loss.

Good luck with your purchase!
_________________
Chris
- TomTom GO 700
- Palm Tungsten|C w/TomTom Nav 5 & Holux GM210 Receiver

sgould · Frequent Visitor Joined: Oct 05, 2004 Posts: 1320

I use my 700 in central London. It's OK in the car. Occasional signal loss etc., but OK.

But I tried it for a walking route - actually setting a PoI where I parked the car so that I could find it again. It was useless! Walking on the footpath close to buildings reduced the satellite coverage too much. I could only use it as a walking aid if I walked down the centre of the road!!
_________________
TTGO 700 (dead)
iPhone 3GS + TT holder
iPhone 5 (hers!)
Western Europe Map
Eastern Europe Map
Kenwood DNX-4210DAB with Garmin maps

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