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Reviewed by UK Guest, 15th Mar 2007. |
| Review Summary: The best incarnation yet. |
Overall Score: 5/5
 
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Review: I've been using Tom Tom navigation software on a PDA with a bluetooth GPS unit for many years, and have always found the software intuitive to use and reasonably accurate. Now that my PDA is dying, after some research I replaced it with a 710.
The screen is clear, and the software is just as easy to use as in previous versions. The windscreen mount is very firm and locks the unit in place whilst driving; it bounces a bit on rough road surfaces, but so far hasn't fallen off or disconnected. The home dock is very handy as well - the unit connected straight away to my MacBook after I'd installed the TomTom Home software, and downloaded updates which were installed to the unit without any problems. It takes a knack to mount the 710 to both the home dock and the car mount, but after a bit of practice it becomes second nature.
Using the software to navigate is very straightforward. The menus are easy and clear, and entering data is simple. I found the POI list to be comprehensive, and the ability to navigate to a postcode very useful. As with my previous experiences of TomTom software, I find it particularly useful when navigating through a town I don't know; between towns it's useful to have a vague idea which roads you need as the algorithm which calculates the route doesn't necessarily choose the most logical - but it will choose the fastest. That aside, I don't often encounter many problems with the routes it chooses, and after a couple of trips to a destination the unit "learns" and remembers your favourite route anyway. There are a few surprising gaps in the map coverage (the new M62/A1M interchange at Ferrybridge isn't there for example) which are very odd, and I would have thought would have been on this version.
I have a Nokia N73 phone with an unlimited GPRS connection, and so use the handsfree facility and the TomTom Plus services. Connecting the phone for Bluetooth operation was easy. Setting up the data connection (GPRS) to the 710 was not so straightforward. I tried to get the 710 to automatically detect the GPRS connection, but it failed on every occasion. Eventually I discovered part of the TomTom website which contains GPRS settings for all European mobile providers, made the small change to the protocols in manual setup and the 710 immediately connected.
Using the 710 as a handsfree kit for the phone is useful only for occasional use and not whilst travelling at any speed above 40mph - there is simply too much ambient noise to make either speaking or listening understandable. An external mic is provided in the box, but I found it difficult to mount where I could use it.
Tom Tom Traffic is useful in that it will show jams on your route, but I've found the updates to be reasonably infrequent, necessitating having the car radio on as well for traffic updates. I haven't bothered with TomTom Buddies or connecting my iPOD to the Tom Tom 710.
Overall it's a great package for the money, but setting up a phone to work with it can be initially frustrating. |
Ratings
| Value For Money: |
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5 |
| Review Score: |
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5 |
| Recommended? | |
Yes |
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