I have just replaced my rather ancient Tomtom Go satnav (which was the first of their models) with the new 730t.  Tomtom have really nice philosophy of constantly upgrading their software and making that available free, so my old model has a lot more functionality than it did when I bought it.  It is easy to download and and upgrade them so if you have an  older model, do check this out.

The new machine has a better chip in it which means that it grabs the satellites much faster and holds them better.  It has many new innovations that I’m sure will be very helpful.  You can upgrade the maps free and users are able to post corrections so we don’t have to wait years for the official version to be updated. 

The 730 is pretty similar to the previous model the 720 (which you can now pick up for around £185, so it is  a bit of bargain), but the 730 has two new nifty tricks up its little plastic sleeves.  It has IQ routing , which means that Tomtom collects real life data of journey times from users so it knows how long various journeys take at various times so it not only can give you better estimates of when you will arrive, but can get you there faster.  The traffic version of the 730 comes with a little gismo to collect RDS traffic data and factor that into its routing calculations.  The other new feature is Advanced lane Guidance which tells you exactly which lane you need to be in on motorways so as not to miss key turns etc.

You  can update the machine with not only revised mapping data but also useful lists of Points of Interest (POI’s) which are little databases of things like car park locations, ATMs, your favourite hotel and pub chains, supermarkets etc.  So if you are in the habit of meeting at a particular coffee shop, the Tomtom can take you right there, and the 730 is a much slimmer beast than my old one so you can take it with you, when you leave the car.  You can also download speed camera locations.

It is highly customisable and I’m looking forward to giving it a road test very soon.