TomTom's New MapShare and GO 720
Anyone who's ever used a GPS device has been led down the wrong end of a one-way street, or to a "point of interest" (say, a gas station or fast-food place) that's no longer there. But GPS manufacturer TomTom today announced MapShare, a new feature will go at least some way towards correcting errors in the mapping software used on its devices. The feature will debut on the just-announced GO 720 device, which comes out at the end of July.
It works like this: Say you are led to said one-way street or closed McDonald's. Next time you get online, you can go to TomTom's site and upload the corrections. That information is then vetted by a team of fact-checkers at TomTom before being incorporated into TomTom's mapping software. Users connect their TomTom devices to their computers to receive the updates.
The new GO720 device is an even slimmer, curvier and lighter (7.7 ounces) version of TomTom's existing models, but still maintains a sizeable, easy-to-read 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen. We got to check one out yesterday and were impressed with the lesser weight and smaller size – about as big as a medium-sized sponge. Yes, it's compact enough to fit in a backpack front pocket, but not an actual pants or shirt pocket, alas.
Besides the MapShare feature, the GO720 has a Help Me feature that lets you send your location to 911 and well as find the nearest hospital or pharmacy with just a couple of touchscreen presses. You'll even be able to record your own voice to spit back basic directions at you (you know, in case you get sick of Gary Busey and other celebrity voices talking to you).
Pretty cool, but we expect that from TomTom, which consistently puts out the most innovative and easy-to-use GPS devices on the market. Unfortunately, they're not cheap: The 720 will set you back $499.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Oswald Fernandez @ Jun 5th 2007 3:23PM
I will see.