Customer Reviews
NAV740 Review 
2008-05-02
I read the review in PC Magazine, I read the 2 reviews above. I thought the price was right so I went ahead and purchased it... After a week of using it, I love it. No problems so far. It is very simple to use, yes the interface could use a little tweaking, like the 1st reviewer stated. It has not locked up, or acted odd in any way. I loved the fact that I took it out of the box, turned it on, and there was my current location almost instantly. No loading maps. It's all already there. I love the 3D view too. You don't really need the supplied discs, nor do you need to hook it up to your computer. You can - if you want to copy your pictures, videos, or music to it, or just take out the SD memory card and put it in your card reader. I like the fact that I don't have to change batteries. I just keep it plugged in to my lighter socket in my vehicle. I'm happy with the price too. (Approx. $200)
Nav 740 - Medium low end price with many features 
2008-04-30
I have now had the Nav 740 for two months. I bought the Nav740 because I wanted to have a GPS device that I have learned to use before I take a trip this summer.
Why I bought the Nav740:
- It cost much less than a Garmin and Navigon with comparable features
- It had more features, such as, multi-stage trips, trip tracking log, set destination by longitude and latitude, etc.
- I had downloaded the manual before I bought the device from the Ingram V7 site and found the features to be what I was looking for.
- I had read that the basic software was based on a proprietary version of the same software that runds the Mio GPS units.
- The Nav 740 unit promises the largest Points of Interest (POI) database that I have seen advertised, something like 12 million.
- It has a removable battery
- It has a headphone jack which can either be used to listen to music or to amplify the GPS voice
- It uses an SD card with 2 Gigs, but I have read that a larger card can be used
- It has an external volume control
The unit has an opening menu of 4 touch "buttons" (software not hardware). One is the setting button for time, date,etc. Another is a calcuator. This is not so important to me, but it can be a help as it has three calculators - normal, scientific and conversions. It might help in a pinch.
Another button is for Multimedia. I haven't used it yet since I have other multimedia devices. I did not buy a GPS unit to play my multimedia.
The last button is for navigation. I find the choices offered with the navigation mode to be fairly well organized and I have used it often. You can navigate by entering an address, a recently used destination, a favorite destination you have programmed in, a POI, coordinates and Work and Home choices that the user programs. When entering an address you can go to the city center, a street intersection or a specific address. Not bad choices.
The Nav 740 has a nice 4.3 inch screen. It is plenty bright except with sunlight light shining directly on the screen. It's a good screen.
It is easy enough to switch between the map view and the options.
Some have complained about the sound of the voice. I find the two tts (text to speech) voices are very clear and the speaker is plenty loud. I tried the two English tts voices (Dave and Samantha) and found that the female voice cuts through the cabin noice better for me. Both are good, however, and work over anything but real loud radio or wind noises if I open the window.
I have found that recalculation is quite acceptable. It is not a supercomputer so that it takes a few seconds. It also has to sense that you really are going in a different direction.
There are three map views: 3D, oriented to North, and "Airplane view". I have used all three and find them helpful, although I prefer the 3D view. You can cycle through them with a tap of "button" on the screen. If I am not careful and the road is not smooth I sometimes hit the Route Options button but that is easy to get out of.
After two months of using it, the unit has only crashed once, and that is when I was going through a certain menu, and I was probably being too impatient. It has never stopped working when I have been navigating.
POIs have been helpful. I traveled to a city using the Nav 740 and since I had time to spare, I checked to see if there was a Starbucks in the area. It had one a couple miles away and took me there. It did not have the location down perfectly, but it was close enough to get me there.
Two cons:
I find that adding favorites to the list should be as simple as inputting an address list, just as the unit asks for to program the Work and Home button. It is a little more complicated. There is not reason for this. A simple programming change could easily make this simple.
When I try to move the map around with my finger, the unit does not do this smoothly. It either jumps back to the starting point or does something else that I don't understand. It's easy to get out of, but this could be better. Fortunately, this does not make or break the usefulness of the unit.
Over all comments.
A GPS unit, and I've looked at many of the current models, is not perfect. There are too many variables that the human brain is processing. I have found that you still have to keep your wits about you and not accept the GPS directions 100 percent of the time. That said, I needed to drive out of San Antonio at night in an unfamiliar area and I set the unit to go Home. It flawlessly talked me through turns through neighborhoods and got me home. I have tried other routes in the country and the unit wanted me to go on roads I would not have normally used. The driver still is master and commander of the trip.
Finally, I have appreciated having the Nav 740. It is good to know where I am and have options on where to drive. I find the unit easy enough to use and there are features that I still need to learn. I am satisfied. Before I bought this device I bought the HP 310 model and found it to be totally unintuitive. Having become a recent owner of an Apple iPhone and seen the ease of use and integration of addresses and map function and all the rest, I just say that if Apple ever decided to make a dedicated GPS unit, they would blow all the competition out of the water, including Garmin. That will be the next generation.
Needs tweaking, but overall very good 2008-04-29
I too got this because of PC Magazine's review and let me tell you I'm not disappointed at all. It's a great little GPS. Small enough to fit in my back pocket and it lasts most of the day on one charge. The thing I found and didn't expect is a full yellow pages listing which is great if you're in another city or even across town and don't know where the nearest starbucks, wal-mart, or gas station may be. Just ask your Nav740!
It always knows! It also uses the most advanced GPS chip on the market right now so if you can get a radio signal for your fav station you can also get GPS. I've had zero blackouts aside from when it's charging in a shelf in the back of my garage.
SO yes, it's great- but now for the negs.
1. It doesn't come with more than a quickstart guide. It should include a full manual but instead you have to download that from the internet. Ugh.
2. Adding something to your "Favorites" (think bookmarks) should be available from any listing. For example - bring up "Starbucks, 121 W. Anywhere drive, Mytown USA" and at the bottom it should have "Add to favorites".
It doesnt. The only way I've found to make favorites is to actually go there and then add them as a POI (point of interest) which automatically puts them into your favorites, and not the POI list.
3. If you have textured maps turned on you can get a stuttering of the Samantha text-to-speech voice. It's annoying and makes it sound cheap. There should be better buffering on the speech and a delay on the textures, if one has to be delayed. Using the Amy voice, which sounds somewhat like a college chick, seems to relieve the stuttering. Probably a lack of brain cells in Amy vs Samantha, lol. (Forgive the "Self absorbed college girls" joke. Nothing is more annoying than college girls these days.)
4. No case. Something that costs over 200 bucks should have it's own case. It's a small gripe but that's not the point. Safety first!
5. No mini-usb cable for connecting to PC.
It's covered in the instructions but they don't include one so you have to run out and get one if you're going to update.
That's about it. Even with the complaints I wouldn't have chosen any of the other options in the sub 300.00 range. This is a powerful and very user friendly item. Heck, even my grandfather can use it. Now that's saying something!
Save your time and money -- Don't buy V7 NAV 740's 
2008-04-09
PC magazine rated the V7 NAV 740 GPS device as a winner. I bought one. Biggest mistake I have made in years. The instructions were unclear, the battery failed to charge, the unit worked somewhat for a few days and then failed completely. The V7 phone customer support was awful. People that could not speak English and did not know their products. V7 internet support was the same only this time the same people used Email. It appears V7 products are unreliable, poorly designed, and poorly made. One would have to be a fool (like me) to believe the hype and be stuck was trash. Moral: If you want a GPS system buy from someone other than V7.
Needs Fixed 
2008-07-21
I received it on time but no book with it. I had trouble downloading the book and had to contact them. They then let me download the book. I find it hard to program and it appears the battery on it won't work. It will not work unless plugged in. After it is unplugged it loses all information and it has to be reset every time including time zones and all settings. As a result when I stop at a gas station it has to be completely reprogrammed each time. It is slow starting up and I never know whether it is right until I drive for about 4 minutes.
jst ordered nav 740 gps 2008-06-22
thanks to pc magazine and alot of self-research i decided to order nav 740 gps i'm yet to see how it is..i had a fine drive 400 gps and it's the worst unit ever made..
Good GPS unit. 2008-06-14
This is the first GPS I have had. It is very easy to use and seems up to date with its maps, roads that have only been there for a couple of months are correct. I am happy with it overall.
Excellent GPS 2008-05-21
This is an excellent GPS. Very easy to use, very bright screen. The only thing I have seen that is a negative(to me) is that it doesn't always select the route that I would prefer. I believe that is a shortcoming with all GPS systems, as the othere I have used do the same.
Excellent 2008-05-09
My wife and I planned a vacation to the Rockies and decided to get a GPS to aid in our first "mapless" trip. Just returned and couldn't have been happier with the product.
The supplied instructions were terrible but it didn't matter - the device is so easy to use they weren't needed. The interface is terrific and the text-to-speech outstanding. I was amazed at how effective it was even in the "nameless" road environment of the Colorado mountains. Only one minor glitch, as it identified US 50 West as US 50 East (wasn't too hard to figure out it was wrong).
Relatively cheap, easy to mount and operate, and terrific interface. Our first "mapless" trip went over quite well and all paper maps we owned have found their way to the garbage - PC Magazine nailed this one - highly recommended.
