Rand McNally TND 710 - Anyone?

[jimby82]

Rand MaNally TND 710 - Anyone have this particular unit yet? Thoughts?

We stopped at the Rand McNally booth at the MATS this last weekend, where they had the TND 710 on display. Spoke with one of their field testers / drivers for about 20 min. or so. He seemed quite happy with the performance of the 710, but then again, I would not expect Rand to put someone in their booth who wasn't.

He indicated the routing was 95 - 98% accurate (or acceptable), but after some conversation, finally brought that number down to about 90% for "real world, working navigation." How would that compare to other units?

 

[greg334]

There is a whole long thread about this unit, which I hate to say this but search for it and ... wouldn't buy it.

 

[jimby82]

There is a whole long thread about this unit, which I hate to say this but search for it and ... wouldn't buy it.

Greg, I was asking about the TND 710, which appears to be an updated / improved version of the TND 700. (which I believe is the subject of the long thread. I may be mistaken, but cannot find a thread specifically concerning the 710)

The few reviews I am finding online seem to suggest the 510 / 710 series is faster in calculating routing than the previous 500 / 700 series. Wonder what else is improved.

So which unit would you suggest if not this one? Electronics change so often, and even software / firmware upgrades can vastly improve the functionality of once unusable products.

 

[greg334]

IT depends on what you drive.

There shouldn't be much difference between the two TNDs.

I have at this point a cobra 7750 I'm testing and a teletype 7400 in the box ready for testing. I tried to test a TT7300 but there was a problem with the camera inputs like the last one I had. I think the cobra is a better fit for many, the customer service was outstanding when I ran into problems.

I tend to use Map Point and S&T by the way.

 

[jimby82]

We will be driving a D or C strait.

What about the 700/710 did you not like?

How does the Cobra Unit compare?

I like the 7" screen. Just easier to see, I would think.

We both will have laptops with S&T. Google Maps and Earth are great tools also, unless you internet connection or cell isn't working. Also a Droid X with maps and navigation, and VZ Navigator.

 

[greg334]

What I didn't like was the customer service and the unprofessional approach to the entire product line in regards of support. I would think that bringing a product to market by a large company, they would have covered all their bases and approached it with some sort of idea that the customer shouldn't chase help. In addition there were serious issue with the products which left a number of owners going to another brand.

the cobra unit is easy to operate, passed 7 out of 8 tests without a problem (my 696 hazmat test it failed) and it seems to be a good little unit. IF you are with a company like FedEx, then the only thing they need to do is assist you in hazmat routing but other than they, cobra, Magellan and teletype will do good for you.

 

[the_hungaria]

i have the 710, and love it. It once in a while freezes up on you, but only when stationary for a long period of time. they just came out with an update to the software on the device and it makes the thing a lot faster, more responsive, smoother colors and all in all faster operation. i haven't frozen up since the update bt it's only been three days so far. For routing it's really good. a lot better than my 465t that I run in tandem with this one.

all in all i'd recommend it. It keeps track of your mileages, does a good job with the hours you have in a day, and a lot of other things. your mileage may vary, but i like it, and i got it last December when they had a sale going for 399 with free map updates for life.

It doesn't do traffic, but Google maps is better for that anyways. i give it a thumbs up.

i run a T/T right now, and am happy.