In the third quarter of 2007, TomTom will release two new models in it’s GO range: the 520 and the720. These new models feature a new, slim and stylish design. They are only 24 millimetres thick, and are the first GO’s without a rounded back. That’s even slimmer than the ONE XL! But that’s not all: the new GO’s also feature a large 4.3 inch touch screen, and in the mapping material a number of buildings are now displayed in relief, so motorists will get an even better impression of their surroundings.Speech
The first new application on the GO 520 and 720 is speech recognition. With this new feature, users now have an alternative way of entering a destination. Tapping out the address on the touch screen is no longer necessary, from now on motorists can choose to speak the name of the city and street out loud and the GO will do the rest. Speech recognition is not available for all countries (yet?) though… for now, only Dutch, Belgian, Luxembourgian, French, German, Italian, Austrian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Swiss and English speakers can use this feature.The new TomTom GO 520 and 720 also feature the possibility of recording your own voice clips, which can then be used as navigation instructions. So with this, a long awaited feature becomes a reality: users can now record their own voice, or be led by the voice of their children, family members or friends towards their destination. This means a big step toward more personalisation. Motorists can also view documents and photos on their PND. Bluetooth can be used to share positions, destinations and content with other GO users.
Map Share
With the new GO range, a new and unique map improvement technology has been introduced: TomTom Map Share. This new technology gives the user the ability to adjust their maps with a few presses on the screen when they notice changes in the road. It also provides users with the option to share map adjustments with each other, and so update their maps in a very simple and automated way. These updates are done via TomTom HOME, and can be done on a daily basis. TomTom Map Share ensures the most recent, up-to-date maps and local knowledge are available to the TomTom user.The GO 520 is shipped with the maps of the region of purchase, which are loaded into the PND's internal flash memory of 512 MB or 1 GB. The GO 720 features the maps of Western Europe, in its 2 GB internal memory.
Improvements
TomTom has not only added new possibilities to their devices, but also made some improvements to existing features. The GO 520 and 720 feature an improved hands free kit. A new design for optimal acoustics, filtering out surrounding noise, echo-cancellation and an automated answering function guarantee easier phoning for the motorist, and minimise the risk of him/her losing his/her concentration on the road.The GO 520 and 720 are equipped with an FM transmitter, with which music and navigation instructions can be played through the speakers of the headunit. The new units offer extended audio options for seamless integration with the car stereo and phone for the user. Drivers can play their favourite tracks via the integrated MP3 player, or by connecting their iPod to the TomTom GO.
Also new with the GO 520 and 720 is the use of a lithium polymer battery, which extends the ‘stand alone’ autonomy to a maximum of five hours. The use of this new type of battery also helps to keep the weight of the new GO’s low.
Safety
Another special novelty with these two new units are a number of improved safety options, with which TomTom wants to help their users.“Safety has the highest priority for TomTom, and we are industry market leaders in this area”, says Harold Goddijn, TomTom’s Chief Executive Officer. “Research has shown that our products have a positive effect on the driving behaviour and traffic safety. Our efforts are intended to enhance the safety of the driver even further. We are very proud this has been implemented into our TomTom GO range. As market leader, we feel it’s our job to value safety highly when developing new product innovations.”
Help me
The new safety options include a ‘help me’ button in the menu. Users can use this button to access links to useful locations, phone numbers, car maintenance information and other information (including medical info), and get assistance with a large number of different problems. The ‘help me’ button provides direct access to the most relevant car assistance services of a certain country. TomTom has made cooperation deals with a lot of services for this, such as: The British AA, the Irish AA, the Dutch ANWB, the Italian ACI, the Luxembourg ACL, the Portuguese ACP, the French ACTA, the German ADAC, the Finnish Al, the Danish FDM, the Swedish Motormännen, the Norwegian NAF, the Austrian ÖMATC, the Spanish RACE, the Polish Starter, the Belgian SOS Touring, the Swiss TCS and the Czech UAMK.The TomTom GO 520 and 720 both contain a complete database of important locations and phone numbers, like the numbers of emergency services, but also information on the nearest car dealer, pharmacy or police station which are all displayed very intuitively. The user can dial the phone number which is displayed on the screen, while the TomTom system pinpoints where the user is, both on the map, and in text, and even with satellite coordinates, precise up to one metre. In the mean time, or instead, the user can plan his route to the nearest location. This can be by a car or a pedestrian route. Thanks to the seamless software integration and TomTom’s handsfree functionality, the system also offers the possibility of directly dialling the number of a car assistance service via a handsfree connection to a mobile phone with Bluetooth connection.
Red Cross
In every TomTom GO 520 and 720, users can also find a list of first aid techniques, offered by the Red Cross. Info on, for example, what to do in case of a car accident, how to resuscitate, how to treat burn injuries and what to do with a choking victim are all available at the user’s finger tips, complete with illustrations.Apart from the aforementioned new features, a number of new options and settings with regards to safety have been implemented. Motorists can have their GO warn them to take a break during long drives. The GO can also warn the user when he/she enters an area with a lot of pedestrians, like eg; a school or a church, after which the driver can moderate his/her speed. Finally, the GO can also remind the user which side of the road needs to be driven on in any particular country.
I'm glad to see that the text to speech function has now been integrated into these models, and the use of speech recognition will come in handy. There is no word yet as to whether this will enable us to dial a phone number that is not in your contact list handsfree, but I would assume that you can.
In one of the gizmondo pics that Jolly Roger posted the link for, look for the one where it says about sending files etc to other tomtoms. On the screen is a button which says "send car symbol" and has a picture of the back of a car. I could be wrong but it looks like we might be able to get rid of the arrow and change it for something else.
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