3. Turning on the TomTom GO 740 For The First Time

Figure 25: Powering on the TomTom GO 740

The first time you power on the GO 740 a short "first use" wizards appears, and asks you to configure a number of settings.

Press and hold the power button for 2-3 seconds to turn on the GO 740. The TomTom splash screen briefly appears.

Figure 26: Language Preference

Before you can start navigating with the GO 740, a number of setting and preferences must be configured, beginning with the desired language. Scroll through the list of available languages and tap the desired language selection.

Figure 27: Confirm Language Selection

Confirm the language selection by tapping Yes, or tap No to return to the list of languages.

Figure 28: TomTom Welcome Screen

Once the language has been set, the GO 740 informs you that it must set a few more preferences before it's ready to begin navigating.

Figure 29: Right-handed or left-handed operation

The GO 740 can be configured for either right-handed or left-handed use.

Figure 30: Setting the Unit of Measure

The GO 740 can report distances in Miles, or Kilometers.

Figure 31: Clock Display Preference

The time can be displayed using any of the three formats shown above.

Figure 32: Setting the Current Time

Set the correct time by using the up and down arrows, then tap Done.

Figure 33: Selecting A Voice

The GO 740 ships with a variety of male and female voices. Computer generated voices can announce actual street names using text-to-speech technology. Real human voices are also available to choose, but they can only announce generic maneuvers, such as "Turn left in half a mile".

The default voice selection is "Susan", for US English. Susan is a computer generated voice that will speak actual street names when announcing turn maneuvers.

Most users will probably want to make use of the GO 740's text-to-speech features, and should choose a computer voice rather than a human recorded voice.

Figure 34: Select a Voice

Listen to the voice by tapping Test, or tap Select to choose that voice and continue.

Figure 35: Computer vs. Human Voices

If you choose a computer voice (and you should), the GO 740 notifies you that the voice might not sound as natural as a human recorded voice, but in exchange the device will speak actual street names.

Figure 36: Selecting a Day Color Scheme

The TomTom GO 740 has a built-in light sensor that can automatically switch the display between "day" and "night" color modes. Day mode sets the display to full brightness and uses color schemes designed to be seen during daylight conditions. Night mode dims the display, and changes the map to use darker colors that are easier on the eyes when driving at night.

TomTom provides four different day color schemes to choose from.

Figure 37: Selecting a Night Color Scheme

TomTom provides four different night color schemes to choose from. The blue scheme (top left) is chosen by default.

Figure 38: Would You Like to Set Your 'Home' Address?

Next the GO 740 asks if you want to input your home address. The 'Home' address is a special saved address in your address book that makes it easy to route back to your designated home address with just a few taps on the screen.

Using the 'Home' address is addressed in greater detail later in this review.

Figure 39: Would You Like A Brief Tour?

Now that all the start-up preferences have been set, the GO 740 asks if you want a brief tour on using the GPS and an overview of the features. If you're new to TomTom's GPS products, it's probably a good idea to take the tour (it only takes a few minutes).

Figure 40: Join Map Share

Map Share is one of the most exciting and innovative features TomTom has to offer. Map Share allows you to correct mapping errors directly on the GPS, and then share those corrections with other TomTom owners. For example, if you're driving around and notice an error on the map, you can note the error, as well as the correction, directly on the GO 740. If you choose to participate in TomTom's Map Share program, your map corrections are shared with other users.

The level of map sharing can be configured according to your comfort level, ranging from "accept all corrections" to "only those verified by TomTom". Map Share corrections are automatically downloaded and installed each time the GPS is connected to TomTom's HOME software via a computer.

Even if you choose not the participate in the Map Share program at all, the ability to correct mapping errors directly on the GPS is a powerful feature.

Just how powerful a feature is Map Share? According to Harold Goddijin, TomTom's CEO, an average trip of 1 hour or longer drive time will be influenced by more than 20 Map Share corrections.

Figure 41: Congratulations!

The initial start-up wizard is now complete. Tap Continue to finish.

Figure 42: Legal Notice

The above legal notice is displayed every time the GO 740 is powered on. Tap I Agree to continue.

Figure 43: Main Menu

Once the GO 740 finishes starting up, the Main Menu is displayed.