TomTom GO 930T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic Receiver
by TomTom
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: TomTomBrand: TomTom
Edition: Electronics
Model: GO 930T
Publisher: TomTom
Studio: TomTom
Music Label: TomTom
Product features:
- Drive anywhere in the United States, Canada, or Europe with turn-by-turn spoken instructions, including street names
- Receives up-to-date traffic information at regular intervals, and automatically adds updates into your routing
- IQ Routes Technology gives you the fastest route every time by using actual average speeds of travel on your route to calculate your trip rather than only posted speed limits, so you'll always travel the smartest route
- With TomTom Map Share technology, you can instantly modify street names, street direction, POIs, road speeds, and turn restrictions on your own device
- Makes driving even safer with Bluetooth hands-free calling (compatible mobile phone required) and added safety features for easily accessing local emergency providers
- Bracketron UFM-300-BX Nav-Pack Weighted GPS Dash Mount/Carrying Case
- NAVGEAR Universal Dash Mount
- TomTom 2009 U.S. and Canada Map Update for GO, XL, and ONE GPS Navigators
- TomTom USB Car Charger for TomTom GPS Units (micro USB compatible)
- TomTom Remote Control for GO 500, 700 (9D00.015)
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of TomTom GO 930T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic Receiver
Customer Review: Pretty good, not disappointed, but still room for some improvement.
Summary: 2 Stars
Like it overall, but it takes some getting used to to really understand it and a few features aren't as good as one hopes. It's a decent value for the money; I thought comparable units from Garmin were far pricier.
It dost most things well, but has a few oddities and things to be aware of.
The voice recognition for spoken addresses is generally very good. The only time it let us down was one time where I was looking for "W. California" street. I spoke "West California Street" and it didn't even come close; the suggested list was all sorts of things that didn't resemble it at all. So then I just said "California Street" and it did find that, but "California Street" is an entirely different area 2 miles away from where I needed to me on "West California Street". I only knew it was wrong because I had Google-mapped it beforehand as well.
The lane instructions so far are confusing. We haven't used it to navigate a complicated intersection like it claims it's good at doing, but when we just drive down the freeway and our route has us driving for many miles on the same freeway, the unit keeps telling us repeatedly "Ahead, keep left". What I believe it really means is "stay out of the right lane which is exiting shortly". But it's very annoying, especially when you can see in the corner of the screen that you have like 10 miles to go before changing roads, so the constant and repetitive "keep left" is very irritating.
The default computer voice is terrible. The optional voices that you can download are much better. The default voice tried to pronounce the street name "Margarita Road" and completely butchered it into something not sounding anything like "Margarita". It did the same thing with the city name of "Escondido"; whatever it repeated back to me in directions was completely whacked.
There is also a strange glitch or trap that is easy to fall into with browsing the route. If I put in a route and then I try to browse the route, it seems that if I touch the screen a certain way or zoom in, it somehow resets my destination point. Twice now I have been led completely off course to a wayward destination because of this. Basically, if you browse the route, don't do anything other than browse the screen shots or it'll do something you don't want it to do.
It misleadingly announces "you have reached your destination" when you are blocks away. What it seems to do is when you have made your last turn on your route, it doesn't matter if your address is right where you are or if it's six blocks ahead - either way it says "you have reached your destination". You always have to look back at the screen to see that while you have no more turns to make, you still may have to go several more blocks before truly arriving at your destination. It seems that you *always* need to mitigate what it verbally tells you with what the screen says because if you go on what it literally tells you, it'll be misleading.
The maps generally are OK except one time it had me turn down an unnamed alley that was bisected by a small canyon/ravine and didn't go through but it believed it was a through alleyway. I submitted a map correcton for that. Another time it told me to make a left at an intersection where a left turn was not permitted (and it was not a recent prohibition either; the sign had been there for years). I submitted a correction for that as well.
The last thing it fails rather miserably at is big shopping centers and apartment complexes. In a big apartment complex it sent me essentially to the building where the leasing office was instead of my friend's apartment even though the street number was her exact building. Another time at a 4-way intersection where there was a huge shopping mall on each corner, I was at the northwest corner and it said "you have reached your destination" when the destination was really a restaurant at the southwest corner and a good 1000 feet further down the road. Probably has something to do with the USPS numbers for the street vs. the actual physical location.
Oh it also doesn't do a good job at guessing what direction you are facing when starting out a route. Sounds trivial but if it tells you to "turn right ahead" when you're really starting off in the opposite direction, that's a problem. Again, it seems that you always have to take the verbal instruction and mitigate it with what the map shows on the screen so that only then you really know what it's trying to tell you to do.
But all of that happens in the minority of times (except for the nagging "keep left" instruction on freeways which is nearly all the time).
The user interface is pretty intuitive, the general features for the money is good, and it does seem to get us there more often than not. The other day the integrated bluetooth in our car failed and so we used the bluetooth on the tomtom and while we used it for only one call, I was pleased that it paired up easily, transferred the phone book, and the user interface with nice big touch-screen buttons for dialing and answering were good.
I would advise that anyone who gets a nav unit, tomtom or otherwise, play with it a LOT before you first really need it. Never make the first time you use a nav device the time that you are in an unfamiliar place. Take it with you to the grocery store, the gas station, on your commute, etc. and try it out on your familiar routes first. You can only know what it does right/wrong/well/not-so-well if you compare what it tells you to what you know is right/wrong from your usual route(s). That way when you are in an unfamiliar place for the first time with it, any oddities in its communication you know how to interpret properly.
EDIT: 11/2010
Growing increasingly disappointed with this model. As time goes on, it seems to have a hard time finding a satellite signal, sometimes taking up 5-10 minutes to do so. The battery life is now abysmal and it's virtually useless without plugging it into the car charger.
It also let me down a bit this past weekend. I had to go to Bonelli Park in San Dimas, CA. This park is HUGE. It led me to some back-entrance to a parking lot and not the park's main entrance. In addition, it told me to use this back entrance which was an exit-only with those "do not enter severe tire damage" spike things. Should have taken me to the main entrance (which was a good 2-3 miles away). I ended calling my friends on the cell phone and having them help me get there. Then on the way home to San Diego (I know my way from there but wanted to get the estimated travel time), I put in the route. Got my ETA and turned it off. Around Irvine I turned it on again to get an updated ETA. Even though I was on the route suggested, it decided to recalcuate the route. It got stuck in 'analyzing roads...' for a good 5 minutes before I gave up. Turned it on again, cleared the route, and re-entered the route and it was fine.
Between the poor battery life, inability to deal with locations that have a large footprint (e.g.: the park), and freezing up and trouble finding a satellite signal, it's become a very frustrating device to use.
I'm also annoyed that TomTom has cheaper models now with lifetime traffic. With the 930T the subscription is $60/year which is very expensive IMO. I feel like I've been shafted. This was an expensive higher-end model and they want $60/year on top of that to continue traffic service? If the new ones have lifetime, that should be extended to these expensive older models too. Shouldn't be a technology problem either; it's a business model problem.
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Description of TomTom GO 930T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic Receiver
TomTom's software means ground-breaking new technology for the ultimate driving experience. Switch on and go right out of the box. Just enter the address on the touchscreen or use voice address entry and start driving anywhere in the United States, Canada, or Europe. TomTom guides you door-to-door with turn-by-turn spoken instructions, including street names. Ground-breaking new technology for the ultimate driving experience. Click to enlarge. |
 Sleek and portable form factor. Click to enlarge. |
IQ Routes Technology gives you the fastest route every time by using actual average speeds of travel to calculate your trip rather than posted speed limits. You'll always travel the smartest route. Advanced Lane Guidance uses photorealistic images to bring even more clarity to complex multi-lane exits so you can be more confident on the road. Enhanced Positioning Technology gives you uninterrupted navigation, even in tunnels or highly built-up areas.
TomTom has the most accurate maps, and with TomTom Map Share technology, you instantly can modify street names, street direction, points of interest, and more on your own device.
The GO 930 T receives up-to-date traffic information at regular intervals. Automatically adds the update into your routing, calculates your new trip time, and suggests alternate routes.
And with the "Help Me!" menu, added safety features enable you to easily access local emergency providers. The GO 930 makes driving even safer with Bluetooth hands-free calling.
The TomTom GO 930 is the ultimate car navigator.
GO 930 T Features
- Maps of United States, Canada, and Europe with TomTom Map Share
- Bluetooth Hands-Free Calling
- Spoken Street Names
- IQ Routes Technology
- Advanced Lane Guidance
- Enhanced Positioning Technology
- Voice Address Input
- FM Transmitter
- iPod Ready
- Includes RDS-TMC traffic receiver and one year subscription to TomTom Traffic*
*Subscription valid for United States and Canada only
All TomToms Feature
Plug & Go--Works right out of the box.
Preloaded Points of Interest--Easily find millions of gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and more on your route.
30-Day Latest Map Guarantee--Up to date, off the shelf.
TomTom Map Share--Modify your own map and benefit from others' verified changes with TomTom Map Share.
Help Me! Emergency Menu--Easily access local emergency providers, such as police, fire stations, and hospitals.
TomTom HOME--Always up to date.
Traffic Ready--Optional RDS-TMC traffic receiver accessory keeps you up-to-date on traffic events to minimize potential delays.
Fuel Price Service (optional)--Know more, pay less.
Why TomTom?
TomTom believes that personal navigation should be as easy and safe as possible. TomTom develops smart technology that gives you straightforward solutions, innovations to make life easy.
Easy to Use
- Award-winning navigation software
- Plug & go
Best Maps
- 30-Day Latest Map Guarantee
- Modify your own map and benefit from others' verified changes with TomTom Map Share
Best Routing
- QuickGPSfix
- Traffic ready
Leader in Safety
- Help Me! emergency resources menu
- Safety preferences menu
What's in the Box
GO 930T device, windshield mount, USB cable, adhesive disk, car charger with integrated traffic, and user guideAbout TomTom
Founded in Amsterdam in 1991, TomTom has established itself as a global leader in navigation by being an innovative company with a strong brand, clear customer focus, and high-quality products and services.TomTom is a leading navigation solutions provider with navigation products sold in 30 countries and in over 20 languages. To further its commitment to car navigation, TomTom acquired Tele Atlas maps in 2008 so that the company can continually provide the most up-to-date maps and intelligent routing.
TomTom has its own mapping company!
Did you know that every year, roads change by up to 40% in high-growth areas? Tele Atlas manages this by using the world's most comprehensive systems to identify and incorporate these changes into our maps with unprecedented levels of speed and accuracy. All TomTom devices benefit from the Tele Atlas advantage--more coverage, more points of interest, and more freshness and accuracy.
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