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Tomtom 720 vs Garmin Nuvi 360T

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Old 28 August 2007, 03:25 PM
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GazTheHat
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Default Tomtom 720 vs Garmin Nuvi 360T

Can't decide between the two. Can get the TT720 for £277 and the GN360T for £250.

Which would you have and why?
Or if you have any links for reviews, please post them.

TT720 Advantages

- Voice Recognition
- Bigger screen
- Map Share

TT720 Dis-advantages

- Bulkier
- V.Poor customer service
- Pay for Speed Cameras & Traffic updates

GN360 Advantages

- Small
- Not paying for traffic updates

GN360 Disadvantages

- Speech pronunciation apparently not brilliant
- Maps don't lOOk as detailed
Old 28 August 2007, 04:13 PM
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Snazy
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I got the Garmin system with the rental car in the USA, and thought it was actually great, with the road name announcements etc making life easier.

All in all I reckon Garmin has come on leaps and bounds.

Now got it as part of the double din Kenwood DNX 7200 which is an awesome piece of kit, with integrated nav etc
Old 28 August 2007, 04:19 PM
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danfranklin1
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Got a TomTom 910 with 'world' mapping (recently took me as far eastwards as Poland's border with Ukraine - on entering Ukraine though the maps vanished, and a lot of Poland was a little sketchy due to lots of road building there recently). But works great through all western and much of eastern Europe. Also has US & Canadian maps pre-installed.

Downsides - the TomTom's bulky - also battery life is very short when it's not plugged into the cigarette lighter - on its own juice it only seems to last about 30mins before dying. Also, when I got the thing first I had to rebuild its OS - it was corrupt out of the box, which is a bit bad. If that happens you need to reset the unit using a pin to push a concealed button by the power supply, then re-download the software from the net. Overall though I like the unit.
Old 28 August 2007, 04:24 PM
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Chris L
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The quality of the TT maps has always swung it for me. Never found the customer service to be that bad either.

Incidently - check the Garmin traffic service - according to the website it is a subscription service (there is a US only version that is free).

The other nice thing that the TT720 has is a built in FM transmitter, so that you can tune it into your car stereo and use the car speakers for the instructions

Dan - Gaz is referring to the new TT 720 which is much smaller than the current 510/710/910 models
Old 28 August 2007, 04:35 PM
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Snazy
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Thats what I like about the Garmin on the 7200, the audio mute for the instructions.
Also the receiver for the traffic is about £60, with no mention of subscription for using it.

The maps on Garmin are more than useable these days, and the amount of instructions again is more than ample.
Old 28 August 2007, 04:45 PM
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Chris L
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Yep you're right - the Garmin website doesn't make that very clear. The TT720 also includes RDS-TMC traffic alerts as part of the purchase cost too (lifetime subscription like Garmin), so I guess there really isn't a lot in it. Personal choice...
Old 28 August 2007, 04:49 PM
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GazTheHat
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Originally Posted by Chris L
Yep you're right - the Garmin website doesn't make that very clear. The TT720 also includes RDS-TMC traffic alerts as part of the purchase cost too (lifetime subscription like Garmin), so I guess there really isn't a lot in it. Personal choice...
Yeah, it's very close between the two. One thing though, the TT720 seems to be: 79€ for the traffic. Unless i've misunderstood, whereas the GN is included.

I might just sway the TT way for the VPower POI someone did on here. Plus that and being able to read out the directions, which is great for keeping the eyes on the road.

Wander if it will get my voice over the exhaust note.
Old 28 August 2007, 05:06 PM
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Chris L
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LOL - if you look on the TT site - the cost of the traffic service is included for the TT720 - it is only extra for the older models
Old 28 August 2007, 05:23 PM
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Chris L
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I'm blaming you now Gaz! Just talked myself into ordering a 720!! Damn Scoobynet
Old 28 August 2007, 10:10 PM
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Snazy
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In a recent review by AutoExpress the garmin Nuvi 660FM came out the best of the bunch, even over the TomTom GO720

Have a looksie
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Old 29 August 2007, 09:11 AM
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Chris L
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There's quite a price difference though - the 660FM goes from £350 to £500! I've just ordered the 720, delivered for £280. In fairness, Gav was comparing the 720 to the 360T. I've never been able to fault TomTom - it has served me well all over Europe for the last 4 years or so.
Old 29 August 2007, 12:26 PM
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Snazy
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Yeah just noticed that Chris
Old 29 August 2007, 01:48 PM
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GazTheHat
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Originally Posted by Chris L
I'm blaming you now Gaz! Just talked myself into ordering a 720!! Damn Scoobynet


Ordered mine yesterday too, £280 delivered.
Old 29 August 2007, 04:10 PM
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I have a 720 - had it for about 2 weeks. Better than by previous 700 and 710. Main things of note:

The bracket for the windscreen is small and works very well - no button to push to remove, just a strong magnetic catch

But the power leads need to plug into the unit - which is good in that the windscreen attachment is small, but a pain in that every time you remove the TT you have to unplug it to.

My previous 710 used to last about 2 hours on a charge - this seems way less but not sure how much less

Voice recognition is good BUT you need a quiet environment. I find it easier to type the address in than go through the process since it is actually a bit of a pain at times.

Great in that the maps are built-in so my memory card with US maps on can also sit in TT rather than at home to get lost

The sensitivity to daylight (it now varies the image rather than do dark or light) is too much - a cloudy day changes it to night vision far too early

TomTom Home works OK - the new version 2.0 is out and does not seem to do that much

Quite fun downloading map updates, but I imagine it will be years before I ever find one relevant

I like it though, but it's not perfect.

Oh, and it takes longer to pick up the sat signals than my 710 did. No idea why though...
Old 29 August 2007, 04:19 PM
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GazTheHat
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Nice to read points from an actual owner. (Albeit some are not that good to read).

Hey-ho, the damage on the card is done. I'm sure it will be plenty for myself.
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