5. Mounting The TomTom Go 700 In An Automobile, Uh Oh

• Go 700 GPS (Vehicle,...
• • DealStopStores
  • $99.00
• • Tech for Less Store
  • $195.20

I have found only one fairly significant flaw in the Go 700. Connecting it to the windshield mounting bracket is a pain in the you-know-where. The first photo below shows the mounting bracket. The area circled in red is the place where the GPS is supposed to hook in. The second photo shows the two little hooks on the Go 700 itself (again circled in red). To fix the Go 700 to the mounting bracket you insert the GPS's little hooks into the hook receptacle on the mounting bracket. The third photo shows how the unit and the mounting bracket are supposed to hook together. To disconnect the Go 700 from the mounting bracket you press the button on the front and lift up the case back side first. See the fourth photo.

The hook receptacle on the TomTom Go 700's windshield mounting bracket

The hooks on the TomTom Go 700's case

How the TomTom Go 700's windshield mounting bracket and case should hook together

Disconnecting the TomTom Go 700 from its windshield mounting bracket

All of this works fine when the bracket isn't connected to my windshield. But I want to leave the mounting bracket on the windshield and attach and remove the GPS at will. Maybe I don't want to leave the device sitting in the car all the time, vulnerable to thieves or the hot sun. Maybe I want it in the house when I'm setting a route.

"Lots of luck," as they say. Attaching and removing the Go 700 with the mounting bracket affixed to the windshield is the stuff of a fine situation comedy. The bracket's suction cup holds it to the windshield as if it were attached by ten screws in ten holes drilled in the windshield glass. It's not going to come off. That's great, but no matter how I position the part of the bracket that holds the GPS, I have a devil of a time getting the Go 700's hooks and the hook receptacle on the bracket to line up. I admit I've had a few successes, but most of the time I fail miserably with no attachment at all or with only one set of hooks mating. Detaching the device is a little easier, but I've often had to go through the same steps to get it off the mounting bracket.

The TomTom Go 700 affixed to its windshield mounting bracket and linked to a number of satellites

The only way I can consistently attach or remove the device is either by removing the bracket from the windshield or by removing the part that holds the Go 700 from the rest of the mounting bracket. The latter solution is no fun either. It's difficult to remove the device mounting part and even more difficult to get it back in place.