TomTom GO 930 review (Part 2 – the interface)

Welcome to part 2 of my TomTom GO 930 review. Today I’m going to show off almost 75 screen captures from the interface. If you are on a slow connection, then I apologize in advance!

As you read in my previous review (Part 1 – the hardware), the GO 930 has a massive list of features. In part 3 (later this week), I’ll show the device actually in use on the road, and will attempt to show off the really cool features (lane assist, traffic IQ and destination entry).

I’ll show you most of the features the easy way; with screen captures.

The 8 preference menu screens:

 

These 8 screens really give you an idea just how feature-rich the TomTom GO 930 is. Every part of the unit can be customized to your liking. Found a feature you don’t like? Turn it off. Don’t like the color scheme? Change it.

Audio output menu:

In this screen, you can select 4 different ways to output the voice commands from the unit. This works for all the voice commands, as well as the music through the media player. If you have a Car stereo with Bluetooth audio, or Bluetooth stereo headphones, you can even playback through that.

Being able to use the device with headphones makes it perfect for getting some music and navigation when walking around.

Phone menu

This section shows the various features the TomTom supports over Bluetooth. Not all phones will support everything listed here, my Blackberry 8800 did not support the message option, but I could import the phonebook. 

Voice Recognition

 

Voice recognition in action. If the device didn’t get a 100% match on your command, you get several options, and by saying the number, you select the one you meant.

Voices and voice command recording

This is great if you want to drive your husband/wife/son/daughter mad. Instead of listening to the boring default voice, you can actually record your own commands. It’ll take some time to record them all but the result is worth it.

Map selection

 

The GO 930 comes complete with detailed maps of North America AND Western/Central Europe. Here are the countries installed on the unit:

 

Destination Entry 

You’ll have a hard time NOT being able to tell the TomTom GO 930 where you want to go. You can enter destinations using several methods, including coordinates and even by just pointing to something on the map.

The pre-loaded list of points of interest (POI’s) is impressive. Most restaurants and retail stores I tried to locate were correctly stored on the device. You also have the option to load your own POI files using TomTom HOME (more on that later).

Mapshare

It’s a fact of life; GPS maps will never be 100% accurate. In the past years, all map makers have put a lot of effort into making their maps as close to perfect as possible, but with millions of miles of roads, you are always bound to find one little thing that isn’t right. This is where TomTom Mapshare helps; Mapshare is a community driven map correction feature. Fellow TomTom users mark things on a map that are incorrect. This includes missing streets, incorrect turn and direction restrictions, POI information, street names, and even entire highway ramps.

When you connect the TomTom GO 930 to your Bluetooth phone or PC (with TomTom HOME), you can automatically receive corrections made by others, and send your own corrections to the community.

I tried it out on a local street that mysteriously ended in the middle, and when I told the unit to process map corrections "made by some", the street was correctly displayed. TomTom HOME downloaded over 5000 map corrections to my device.

To me, this has to be one of the most powerful features on the GO 930; it doesn’t matter how snazzy your media player is, or how great your voice recognition is, without good maps you still won’t get from A to B.

Online services

 

Since the TomTom GO 930 can connect to the Internet using your Bluetooth enabled phone, you can remotely access several sources of information.

The online services are fuel prices, weather, TomTom Buddies and several TomTom update features (maps, POI’s, voices, GPS Quick Fix and color schemes).

TomTom Buddies

 

 

This feature is so impressive that it deserves its own section.

TomTom Buddies allows you to add fellow TomTom users to your unit, and track where they are. You are always in complete control of this feature, and you can hide your current location with just a few screen presses. Of course, a feature like this is great if you have kids, or if you operate multiple vehicles in a fleet.

Unfortunately I didn’t have a second TomTom unit at my disposal to test this feature.

Music and Media

  

The multimedia options are actually quite useful; there is even support for audio books and reading documents on the device. With the optional iPod cable you can control your iPod directly from the TomTom and send the audio through the sources I listed above. The coolest feature (in my opinion) is that the Bluetooth remote control can operate the media player. If you connect the TomTom to your stereo and purchase the iPod cable, then you have an amazing little media setup in your car.

Help me!

The "help me" feature really impressed me. I had expected the same stuff as most GPS units offer (a simple "you are here" screen). But the TomTom unit actually goes way beyond that offering everything from a first aid guide (in 12 languages), an automotive repair guide (also in several languages), a country guide with the local rules of the road, maximum speed and which side of the road to drive on.

There is also a comprehensive "drive to help" and "walk to help" section which can guide you to the closest police station, gas station, pharmacy, dentist and hospital.

It’s clear that TomTom put a lot of effort into this feature, as a driver or pedestrian I’d feel much more confident knowing I have access to this kind of information.

TomTom QuickGPSfix

If you have ever taken your GPS unit on a trip, you’ll know that the initial "fix" for a new GPS location can take up to 20 minutes. TomTom solved that problem with QuickGPSfix. This feature downloads the upcoming locations of GPS satellites using your phone, and uses that data to get a much faster "fix". When I took the unit on a trip (several hundred miles away) I got a GPS fix in under 20 seconds.

TomTom safety features

The GO 930 has several smart safety features built in; it will warn you when you arrive in a new country where they drive on the wrong/right side of the road. It can also turn off the display when you go to fast, or warn you if you are driving too fast. It can even warn you to slow down around schools or places of worship.

TomTom HOME

TomTom HOME is the desktop application that communicates with the GO 930. It allows for map updates as well as assisting in loading things like new voices, point of interest files and even has an option for making a backup of everything on the device. The application is extremely easy to use and really does make using the device much easier. As I showed in part 1, the GO 930 comes complete with a home docking base, so as soon as you plug it in, you are ready to use TomTom HOME.

 

 

 

 

Final thoughts…

As I said in the beginning of the article; the TomTom has tons of features, but you never feel lost, or stuck in the menus. Everything is presented in a neat and efficient way. Unlike some units I’ve used in the past, the TomTom is extremely fast. You can zoom through menus, or enter an address without the horrible delay found on some other brands.

The feature set is impressive; there really isn’t much missing. What I would like to see is some kind of interface with an online search engine. Even though you have a data connection, you can still only use it for a few features, and search is not one of them.

The next (and probably biggest) disappointment is the Bluetooth support. My last TomTom unit was the GO300, back in 2005, and I’m surprised to see that TomTom haven’t changed much with regards to Bluetooth since then. Here are just a few of the flaws:

• It only supports the Bluetooth "Dial-Up Networking protocol". Microsoft removed this from most Windows PDA’s last year, replacing it with the new "Personal Area Network" protocol. The result is that anyone with a recent Windows powered PDA can’t use the Bluetooth data portion of the TomTom. There are some "hacks" available that turn the dial-up networking portion on, but most users won’t be comfortable installing files from an unknown source on their phone.
• The Bluetooth setup menu tries to help you by listing the country, followed by the network, followed by a list of known configurations; but these configurations are only listed as "I, II, III, IV, V". For T-mobile, they list 4 different configurations, and none of them work, forcing you to manually setup the connection. How many of you actually know the GPRS APN you are on? Or what the correct dial string is for your connection?

It is entirely possible that you never get your phone working with the TomTom unit. Once you do get your phone setup, it functions fine, but I would have preferred a built in RDS/TMC traffic receiver. TomTom sell this as an additional accessory for the GO 930, but it costs an additional $129.95 (or $50 more with the TomTom GO 930T.

Other than my 2 complaints (Bluetooth and the poor windshield mount), my conclusion is simple; the TomTom GO 930 is the best portable GPS unit I have ever tested.

The TomTom GO 930 has a retail price of $499, which may seem on the high side, but once you forget about all the budget GPS units, and take a closer look at the features being offered, you understand that you really do get value for money.

You can learn more about the TomTom GO 930 and their other units here. The GO 930 can be purchased though one of their many retailers, online and in store.

In the next part of the review, I’ll give you a brief look at the actual guidance of the TomTom GO 930, but I can already reveal that it won’t disappoint.