Figure 59: Telling the GO 720 Where To Search

TomTom does a nice job providing an easy menu that allows you to o specify where you want to search:

• POI near you - searches the POI database for business close to your current position
• POI in city - allows you to input a city name and search for POIs near that city
• POI near Home - search for businesses near the saved Home address
• POI along route - When navigating to a destination, this option allows you to search for businesses along the way. For example, you might want to search for a restaurant along the way to your destination
• POI near destination - Search for businesses near the destination address

In this example I'll be searching for a restaurant near my destination address in New York City, so I'll tap "POI near destination" to continue.

Figure 60: Specifying the POI Category

After telling the GPS where to look, next we'll need to tell the GO 720 what type of business we're searching for. The following categories are available to choose:

• Airport
• Amusement park
• ATM/Bank Machine
• Beach
• Border crossing
• Camping ground
• Car dealership
• Car rental facility
• Car repair/garage
• Casino
• College/university
• Company
• Convention center
• Cultural center
• Exhibition center
• Ferry terminal
• Fire stations
• Gas station
• Golf course
• Hospital
• Hotel/model
• Ice skating rink
• Library
• Marina/Yacht Club
• Movie Theater
• Museum
• Nightlife
• Open parking
• Park and recreation area
• Parking garage
• Pharmacy
• Place of worship
• Playing field
• Police station
• Post office
• Railway station
• Rest area
• Restaurant
• School
• Search - searches across all categories by name (handy if you know the name of a business, but aren't sure what category it would be under)
• Shop
• Shopping center
• Sports center
• Stadium
• Swimming pool
• Tennis court
• Tourist attraction
• Tourist information office
• Winery
• Zoo

Wow - that's a lot of POI categories (51!). Too many, in fact. Some users may find the extensive POI category list impractically long. TomTom might consider combining some of the 51 POI categories into a more manageable list that is easier to browse/search.

I'm searching for a Restaurant, so I'll tap on Restaurant to continue.

Figure 61: POI Search Results List

The GO 720 displays up to 30 results (paginated in groups of 6), ordered by closeness. Tapping on the Find button lets you filter the results by entering part of the restaurant name you're looking for.

It would ne nice if TomTom would let you keep searching beyond the initial results. For example, if you wanted to view more than the initial 25-30 results, a "more" or "continue" button could grab the next set of 25-30 POIs. I found several instances where there were so many restaurants near me, that the one I was looking for wasn't included in the results page, and there was no way to search deeper.

Of course, if you know the exact name of the restaurant, you could just search by name. But there are times when you either can't remember the name, or just want to continue browsing.

Figure 62: POI Map Screen

Tapping on a POI from the results list (shown in figure 61) brings up the POI map screen, shown above in figure 62.

This screen displays the POI on the map, along with the phone number of the business, and the ability to pan/zoom the map. If you're Bluetooth enabled cell phone has been paired with the GO 720, tapping the "Dial" button calls the phone number of the restaurant. Tapping "Select" starts navigating to the restaurant.

Figure 63: POI Details Screen

Tapping on "Details" in the previous screen displays the POI Details screen, shown above. Some POIs have more details than others. In this case, the only additional information displayed for the restaurant is that the cuisine type is BBQ.

7. Navigating with the TomTom GO 720

Once an address has been entered into the GO 720, the GPS routes you to your destination using turn-by-turn visual and spoken instructions.

First, let's take a closer look at TomTom's Map Screen:

Figure 64: TomTom's Map Screen

When not navigating to a destination, TomTom's map screen is fairly straight forward: your vehicle is displayed in 3D on the map, and the current time and GPS signal strength is displayed in the lower-right corner. Tapping anywhere on the map brings up the Main Menu.

Figure 65: Driving View

This is map screen, as displayed when navigating to a destination. Let's take a closer look at all the information that's displayed on this screen:

Figure 66: TomTom's Map - Driving View

One of the most critical aspects of any GPS is the map screen. Most of the time spent using your GPS will be spent looking at the map screen, so it's essential that this screen be well designed. Displaying visual information in a simple and effective way is a more elusive task than one might think, and each manufacturer approaches this challenge differently.

TomTom displays a lot of information on the map screen when navigating to a destination:

1. Zoom in
2. Zoom out
3. The name of the next major road or road sign information, if applicable
4. Navigation instructions for the road ahead (tapping this area repeats the last spoken instruction, and also displays the volume control)
5. Name of the next street to turn onto
6. Remaining time to destination
7. Remaining distance to destination
8. Current Time of Day
9. Estimated Arrival Time
10. Current Speed
11. GOS signal strength indicator
12. Current position
13. Highlighted route (the path you should follow to reach the destination address)

Compared to other GPS devices, the GO 720's map screen seems cluttered:

Figure 67: TomTom GO 720 vs. Garmin nuvi 660's Map Screen

Notice how much easier it is to see what's happening on Garmin's map screen than on TomTom's array of small numbers that can be hard to read from the driver's seat.

Also notice how Garmin's map screen displays the name of the upcoming exit as a large, green banner across the top of the map with white text that mimics the font and colors used in actual highway signs. The vanishing point on the 3D map is also less severe on Garmin's map, making it easier to see what lies ahead.

Figure 68: LG's LN740 Map Screen vs. Magellan's Maestro 4050

Both LG's and Magellan's map screens are easier to read than TomTom's. Magellan does a better job laying out the information so that it is easy to read, but LG's color scheme is easier to see in a bright car.

Thankfully, TomTom allows you to customize many aspects of the GPS, including how much or little information is displayed on the Map screen (more on customizing this screen later in the review). But even with fewer numbers displayed, I still found the 3D angle harsh and more difficult to look at than Garmin's, Magellan's, or LG's.

8. GPS Performance Testing

TomTom's GO 720 uses SiRF's high-performance Star III chipset, an ultra-sensitive GPS receiver capable of maintaining solid signal reception even when driving in challenging situations, such as dense urban environments (behind tall buildings), bridges, and canyons. SiRF's chipset is widely used throughout the GPS industry, and is now the de facto standard receiver used on Garmin, Magellan, TomTom, LG, and others.

I expected GPS performance to be on par with other SiRF-enabled GPS units. However, real-world testing produced some surprising results.