12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
In This Case, A Step Down Was Really a Step UP
Date of Review: Sep 6, 2008
The Bottom Line: Another great TOMTOM GPS product.
I've previously owned several car GPS systems, including my last one the TomTom 720 ( please read that review for details). I bought this one because I accidentally broke the 720 by cracking the LCD screen.
This particular journey started out by trying to find a USA number on the TomTom website. Funny, there's every third-world dictatorship country customer service number, but nothing for the USA. I finally resorted to filling out the generic on-line email form, to which I got a response 2 days later with a 1-800 number I could call. The customer representative I spoke with with was not very helpful or knowledgable in resolving my questions. He did not sound like he knew the product, and seemed distracted during my conversation with him.
I almost didn't get another TomTom because of that experience, but found this one by chance "on-sale" at my local Office Depot. This one is the "3rd Gen" 1- GIG model. It's a much smaller screen but it has all the features I really need. I honestly didn't use most of the 720's features anyway(blue tooth, downloadable audio books, etc). Like my other TomTom's this one is very intuitive and is pretty much "plug n' play" out of the box. The cool features are the ability to switch from day maps to night driving maps. It's also the most ergonomic car GPS I've owned.
One other nice but odd thing, this device has more POI's than my 720. There were more than a few times, I'd go to punch in common POI's only to be told they "couldn't be found". Maybe the last one we deffective? Either way, this one works GREAT.
It's really easy to get map up-grades from the TomTom website. I also spent the extra money$$ and bought a nice leather case, which, had I done so on the 720, I probably wouldn't be writing this review. If you buy one, please, spend the extra $$ and get a case for it!!
The only big negative I have for the device itself is the change on the windshield mount. TomTom decided to go with a larger "U" shapped clip rather than just keep all their car GPS windshield mounts standard. This is quite annoying. The new style mount for this one is definitely a real pain to slip the device on and off.
Other than this and the lousy customer service. It's definitely worth the price.
