Tried Tomtom GO-720, switched to Garmin 750 after nine days ...

SURE it did !!

That's odd. Go720 should have the larger map and the routing should be better. What kind of routing preference and avoidance options did you select?

like...direction settings? software version? Map version? example of routing? how exactly did your device malfunction? was there an error listed?

otherwise, your post is just another one on the long list of users that bash (without substance) TomTom b/c they are partial to Garmin. The Garmin bashers also exist, and the list is equally long to that of TT bashers, but they (the Garmin bashers) are found on more TT friendly sites, not here.

Oh I am not sure about that (ppl being bashers). I believe that people here give their own opinion about their devices, and yes, some like Garmin better then T2 or others.

However, remember it is only their opinion based on their own experience. Once bitten, twice shy! I know that I haven't liked something because it sucked the first time I used it, in reality, it could have been me that screwed it up, but it didn't matter.

The important thing is that (like you said) that we don't bash, but help each other.

Heck, which is really better Chevy or Ford? LOL.

Most studies I've seen indicate the garmin maps and routing algorithms beat Tom Tom every time

Not sure how to justify my actions with regard to this ... the device simply did not meet my requirements. The learning curve on devices like this is short. It did not take me long to get the hang of programming where I wanted to go ... but if I followed directions to the letter, it would have me making u-turns where I did not need to, turning right and going around the block instead of simply making a left, and constant reminders to 'keep right, then keep right' instead of going forward. Someone with a lot less knowledge of my particular area of southeast Michigan would get themselves seriously lost if solely using this device to find their way around. However, my point is moot: the device simply stopped working ... DEAD ... no error message ... NOTHING ... nine days after I purchased it. I DON'T make it a practice to bash certain products ... my life is WAY to busy to be doing that. I am sure there are millions of these devices out there, and I am sure there are millions of happy Tomtom owners. But for my four hundred plus bucks, I was not completely satisfied, and the retailer I purchased from recognized that. It cost me an additional $100 to exchange my Tomtom for a Garmin Nuvi 750, and I am much more satisfied having done so.

Happy trails,
-->renegade

Ford, of course!

I Have had my 720 for about 5 months and it has never caused me problems. I did have difficulty setting it up, but the customer support people were very nice and helpful.

I had the tomtom 720 for about a week and returned it. I love all the features for the money but since the price of the garmin 660 went down, it was a much better buy if you would compare the quality, not features.

at the end, quality matters when you are behind the wheels, not features.

the maps on garmin and the garmin's algorithem is so much better, it has really showed me new faster ways to get around but the tomtom 720 failed me many times during the 7 days I had it. It does not even know how to get me from my apartment to my sister's house, it takes me through back streets and keep re-calculating and after 15 minutes it gets me there finanlly! Where as the garmin is much smarter, would take me on the main road like any driver with brain and gets me to her house in 5 minutes!

there are some serious flaws in tomtom but I love the flexibility and user friendly design of their menu. Garmin needs to learn from that!

one disapointing thing with tomtom is that you cannot search by name across the US for a specific point of interest! In the tomtom you can only do that to points of interests that are near you where as in garmin you can simply be in Michigan and search for the Grand Canyon!

however, the tomtom looks and feels like a $300 gadget whereas the garmin feels more like a $150 gadget but it outperforms the tomtom and much more stable.

I think this comes down to how do you design your product so it's tested well and issues fixed before you hit the market with it.

In the case of Garmin you see they have so many models and the only way they can actually guarantee quality is by limiting the number of features so they can test their products that work very similarly.

Tomtom on the other hand has so many features and options to change the behaviour of the tomtom when it starts/shuts off and so on that makes testing a feature difficult and that's when they test it in one way and ignore testing the product in all kinds of ways and they end up rushing the product to the market before fully testing it.

so, it came down to the point, do I drive with a GPS that thinks I shut it off eventhough I didn't or do I drive with a GPS that stays on and does what I want it to do and get me to where I want like a pro?

the other issue is that tomtom 720 has some design flaw with its memory. The internal memory is onyl 2gb and most of that is used for the maps and sounds, well mostly maps. Any updates to the map use more data and after updating the maps you are left with little internal memory. If you deside to use the sd card you are limited to 2GB also and you cannot operate on the SD card without having the tomtom install the sounds, os on the sd card which uses a lot of data too. The maps have to stay on the internal memory but few have found a hack to load the maps on the sd card also, but when you want to use the sd card for mp3 and images, you are back to the same problem, 2gb memory, you don't have much room there. Now, I might be mistaken with the tomtom that it might accept a 4gb but you see that the tomtom doesn't work with the sd card unless it copies its own updated, os, sounds there!!

the garmin on the other hand allows you to use the sd card for mp3 and images only and it does not need anything else, leaving the sd card solely for your own use!

last thing I want to mention the poi database on the tomom is very limited and the garmin has much more. There is a hack in the tomtom to load the 920 poi database onto the 720 but you have to load it on the sd card, along with the maps, updates, os and sounds leaving you with little room for your mp3

i wish tomtom were smarter with the 720 to include a 4gb internal memory rather than 2, that would have made it worth while.

I hope tomtom learn from their mistakes in the future but i heard that all their products are always bugy.

hope this helps,

don't take me wrong, I am still in love with the tomtom 720, if you can put up with its design issues then you would love using it. It has bettwe FM transmitter than Garmin, much stronger. It has better Bluetooth connectivity, the voice quality is better and echo is less than Garmin.

however, I got my garmin for $295 vs. Tomtom 720 for $380 and tomtom has not reduced their price yet. I don't think they can afford without taking a loss on their product line.

My first GPS was a TomTom One, was OK, but had a hard time trying to download POI's. It also locked up on me a few times durning the first week I had it. Turn it in for a C530 and never looked back. Now I have the 750 and really like the features it has. The downloading of POI's is a piece of cake and to be just a way better unit.

I heard that FORD stands for:

Fix Or Repair Daily

Just kidding !

First off: Ford > Chevy. End of discussion.

I can't remember who the map provider is for TomTom but it's not NAVTEQ which is the map provider for Garmin. I "think" it was TeleAtlas.

I read an article discussing the merits of the maps and it said that the cheaper brands of GPSr all tend to use the other maps because they cost less and that's one way the companies can charge less for the units.

There are an awful lot of satisfied TomTom folks out there so the maps and the units must be reasonably good. I think it depends on your needs and, possibly, also on your technical ability. Many folks simply can't or won't learn how to use a complex feature set. They just want to use the basic functions without any mental input.

Lots of different folks with different abilities. If everybody was tech savvy I'd be out of work.

TomTom = better feature
Garmin = better routing, easier to use

Pick one ...!!

MOPAR all the way - and it's: My-Old-Pig-Ain't- Running!

One more for FORD - Found On Road Dead; they're is another, but lets leave it at two!

BTW my TTOne NE works just fine for me!

ML

My TomTom one works fine for me also.
Never had any problems with it. Never
gets me lost and I love all of the
features.
If you really want an unbiased opinion
check out this link: http://www.gpsreview.net/tomtom-one/
if you also search for the Garmin Nuvi
you will see that they prefer the tomtom
over the Nuvi and all of the features the
tomtom has that the Nuvi does not, and the
Tomtom is cheaper. I have heard both sides
that the Garmin gets people lost and the
Tomtom does. I imagine both units can be
fallible from time to time and it just
depends on where you live. I think if anyone
does the research they will find, in most
cases, the TomTom always comes out on top.

Here are a few paragraghs from GPS magazines review of the Garmin NUVI750 if anyone is interested.
Quote:Magellan's Maestro 4050, Garmin's nuvi 750, and TomTom's GO 720 all get us to our destination address, but the Garmin nuvi 750 chooses a slightly faster route, provides more detailed navigation instructions, and is also the only GPS to announce what side of the street our destination address is on.

TomTom's GO 720 faired the worst in this test, routing us in such a way that the destination address is actually on the left side of the street. We would then either have to make an illegal U-turn or go around the block to arrive at 135 Central Park West on our right. TomTom also has less detailed navigation prompts than the Magellan Maestro 4050. TomTom also uses yards instead of feet, which is less commonly used here in the United States.

The routing engine on the Maestro 4050 produced consistently solid results, soundly beating TomTom's new GO 720 unit, and closely matching Garmin's routing engine. Garmin edged out Magellan in all three tests, choosing slightly more efficient routes with more detailed turn instructions and shorter drive times.

TomTom's GO 720 unit performed poorly in all three routing engine tests, producing the longest routes in all three tests, and putting us on the wrong side of the street at our destination address.

Again, only Garmin's GPS unit announced what side of the street our destination address was on.

All three tests showed Garmin's nuvi 750 as the winner with the strongest routing engine. Magellan's Maestro unit performed admirably, coming in second place. TomTom's GO 720 (with TomTom's newest maps installed) came in a distant 3rd place in all three tests.

Chevrolet: Cracked Heads Every Valve Rattles Oil Leaks Every Time

BTW: Thanks for not posting that third FORD comment. I know what it is and it's definitely not appropriate here!

I'll still stick with Ford over Chevy. At least it's not a FIAT: Fix It Again Tony!

You know what Ford stands for, don't you?

Found On Road Dead.

EDIT: SORRY! Duplicate comment. My bad.