Figure 43: Main Map Screen

Ready to navigate! Once the initial setup wizard completes, the GO 720 returns to the default Map screen. The map screen is the default screen shown when the GO 720 is powered on.

5. Finding An Address

Figure 44: Main Menu 1 of 3

To begin entering a destination address, tap the screen to bring up the Main Menu, shown above in figure 44, and then tap "Navigate to..."

Figure 45: Choosing a Destination Type

The "Navigate to..." screen, shown above, allows you to choose what type of destination address you want to route to:

• Home - route to the saved Home address
• Favorite - route to a saved address
• Address - Enter a street address
• Recent Destination - Route to a recently found address
• Point of Interest - Search the POI (Point of Interest) database for a business (restaurant, hotel, gas station, grocery store, etc.)

In this example we'll be entering a street address as our destination, so we'll tap on "Address" to continue.

Figure 46: Choosing an Address Entry Method

The GO 720 allows you to enter a street address in a number of useful ways:

• City center - if you don't have a particular street address, and just want to drive to the center of town (useful for exploring small towns)
• Zip Code - if you know the postal code for the destination address, entering the Zip Code can be faster than spelling out city names (and less error prone)
• Cross street or intersection - allows you to enter two street names and route to a particular intersection
• Street and house number - probably the method you'll most commonly use, this button allows you to enter a complete street address.

I'll tap on "Street and house number" to continue.

Figure 47: Entering the City

Be default the GO 720 lists the most recently found cities in the City entry screen, shown above. The on-screen keyboard is used to input the city name of our destination address.

Notice the New York State icon (the green box that says NY in figure 47) -- as you type out the city name, results will be restricted to names within the currently selected State (New York, in this case). If you want to change the State, tap on the green State name box:

Figure 48: Select Country or State

The State/Country list can be scrolled through by tapping ont he down arrow in the upper-right corner, or searched by using the on-screen keyboard.

Figure 49: Viewing the State List

Unfortunately there's no way to search across States, or all States, so you'll have to know what State your destination address is in. The ability to search the entire address database is a valuable capability that comes in handy when searching for addresses, and is something both Garmin and Magellan's GPS units support.

For example, if you're in Massachusetts and aren't sure if you're destination address is in Road Island or Massachusetts, the ability to search by city name and view matching city names in all states is a useful tool in determining the correct destination address.

Figure 50: Entering the City Name

In this example we'll be driving to an address in New York City. After selecting NY as the State, I start to spell out Manhattan using the on-screen keyboard. As I type (M-A-N-H-A) the GO 720 is constantly updating the resulting list of matching names.

Once enough letters have been entered, I can simply tap on the correct city name from the results list. I'll tap on "Manhattan NY" to continue.

Figure 51: Entering the Street Name

As with the City address entry screen, the Street entry screen displays recently found streets, and filters the results list as you type out the street name using the on-screen keyboard.

In this example I'll be routing to an address on Central Park West in New York, so I tap out C-E-N-T-R-A-L and the GO 720 produces a list of all streets beginning with the word "Central".

Figure 52: Choosing a Street Name From the Results List

I'll tap on "Central Park W" to continue.

Figure 53: Entering the House Number

Unlike some other GPS units, the GO 720 doesn't display the valid range of house numbers for the chosen street - a handy feature if you're not exactly sure of the house/building number. However, TomTom does provide a convenient "Cross street" option if you change your mind and want to enter a cross street instead of a house number.

Figure 54: Setting A Desired Arrival Time

A great feature unique to TomTom is the ability to specify a desired arrival time. After entering the destination address, the GO 720 asks if we need to arrive by any particular time. Tapping No continues on to the route calculation page; tapping Yes allows you to enter the desired arrival time. If a desired arrival time has been set, the TomTom will constantly show how early or late you'll arrive at your destination.

I love this feature - the idea is excellent, and the ability to quickly see how early or late you'll arrive only enhances the overall navigation experience. Unfortunately, the usefulness of this feature was undermined by the GO 720's inability to accurately predict arrival times.

Unlike the Garmin and Magellan units, which do an excellent job predicting the arrival time, TomTom's GO 720 was constantly changing the estimated arrival time as I drove. For example, on an hour-long journey, if I drove for 85 MPH for 60 seconds, the arrival time would suddenly show me arriving 15 minutes early. But if I stopped at a traffic light for 30 seconds, the GPS would report I'd be arriving late. I suspect TomTom has set the sample interval too short for calculating the arrival time, and the GPS doesn't sample enough data to accurately predict arrival time.

Still, the ability to set a desired arrival time (and then see how closely you'll arrive to that desired time) is a great feature unique to TomTom.

Figure 55: Calculating the Route

Route calculation is surprisingly slow on the GO 720, and the route must be fully calculated before you can start driving. Interestingly, performance was poor for short trips, but quite good for longer trips. For example, an 80-mile trip took the 7.5 seconds to calculate, while a 2,900-mile journey took just 21 seconds to calculate.

Figure 56: Avoid Tolls?

Once the GO 720 has finished calculating the route, if any toll roads occur along the planned route, the GPS politely asks if we want to avoid the tolls.

Figure 57: Route Details Screen

With the address fully entered and route calculation finished, the GO 720 is ready to start navigating. This pre-navigation screen displays the entire planned route on the map, along with the total planned distance and drive time.

Tapping on the Details button allows you to view each turn along the route. Tapping on "Find alternative" allows you to modify the planned route, excluding certain roads or adding a stop along the way. Tapping on Done begins navigation.

6. Finding A Restaurant

Figure 58: Selecting Point of Interest as a Destination Type

In GPS speak, a "Point of Interest", or POI, is a business address saved on the GPS. You can think of the POI database as a pre-loaded yellow pages. Most modern GPS devices come pre-loaded with a Points of Interest database, allowing you to find nearby businesses, such as restaurants, gas stations, hotels, parking garages, and more.

TomTom's GO 720 ships with around 4.5 million POIs pre-loaded on the unit. That's a respectable amount of POIs, although Garmin's nuvis have over 6 million, and some brands include as many as 10 million POIs. Magellan's Maestro units also have around 4.5 million.

To search for a restaurant, tap the screen to bring up the main menu, then tap "Navigate to..." -> "Point of Interest", as shown above in figure 58.