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TomTom GO 910
TomTom GO 910
pros and cons
- Wide-screen format shows plenty of information high-quality spoken instructions seven-digit postcode navigation and good street-finding make it easy to enter destinations
- Extra features like audio book reading, image viewing, MP3 playing and iPod control feel a little gimmicky windshield mount is small recharging is via in-car mount or desktop cradle only no flash memory card slot
- Editors' review
- Specs
One of the latest trends in satellite navigation systems is the use of wide screens. We have already seen one example in the Navman iCN 720, and TomTom continues the trend with its three latest devices the GO 510, 710 and 910. We have evaluated the top-of-the range model, the GO 910.
Design
Thanks to its wide screen and built-in battery, the TomTom GO 910 is a relatively large device: it measures 112mm wide by 81mm deep by 66mm high and weighs a relatively hefty 340g. It's quite deep, which bucks the current trend for ever thinner devices. The fascia is sleek as it's almost entirely occupied by the screen, which measures 4in. across the diagonal and provides 480 by 272 pixels of viewing area.
The main power switch is on the top of the device; the only other button a mechanical switch front and centre that helps you release the main unit from its cradle. All other user interactions with the device employ the touch screen.
The GO 910 attaches to a vehicle windscreen via a sucker-style mount. This connects firmly into a slot on the back of the GO 910. The mount has 3.5mm audio-out and microphone ports, as well as a connector for an external antenna and a port called the ‘TomTom Connector’. One of its functions is to connect your iPod to the GO 910 via an optional cable that lets you control your iPod via the GO 910 and, using the provided audio out cable, connect it to your car radio for louder sound output than the built-in speaker can deliver.
Power is also delivered via the windshield mounting section. There is a battery built into GO 910, but if you let this run down you need to attach it to the car mount to charge it again, or use the docking cradle to supply mains power. A charging port on the device itself would have been welcome.
The Go 910 moves freely on its mount thanks to a ball joint that holds its two permanently attached sections together. The mechanism works very well, but users whose vehicles have a deep dashboard may find it awkward to reach the screen.
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The product box contains a number of elements in addition to those already noted. Mains and car power cables are provided, as is a microphone, remote control unit and protective case for the Go 910 itself.
The GO 910 supports real-time traffic information (TMC) and you can get this two ways. TomTom sells an RDS-TMC traffic receiver to provide access to radio broadcasts which are free in many countries. This is listed at the TomTom Web site as becoming available in the third quarter of 2006. It requires access to the TomTom Connector and so can’t be connected at the same time as an iPod.
The alternative is to buy the information as an add-on via TomTom PLUS, a service through which TomTom sells a range of extras. In this case the information is delivered to a mobile phone which is connected to the GO 910 via Bluetooth. You also need a data connection on the phone in order to receive the information. Charges for this vary (the full details are here), but a year’s UK information costs €59.95 while a European subscription costs €79.95. You may also have to pay data charges.
Features and performance
The GO 910 is supplied with maps of Europe, the USA and Canada. In the UK it supports full postcode navigation, and also allows you to enter a street name or road intersection as a destination. Alternatively you can navigate to a city centre. The software defines 'city' pretty broadly: we used the city centre locator to navigate to Potter Heigham in Norfolk, a place even its most ardent supporters would struggle to describe as a metropolis.
Points Of Interest (POIs) can be found along a current route or searched for separately; in the latter case you can specify both the type of POI or choose ‘any’, and specify the distance you're prepared to deviate from your route. You can also search for POIs near your current location and near your destination.
The menu system uses large, clear icons with up to six at a time presented on-screen. Occasionally you need to travel several menus deep to get to the option you want, and it may take a while to find your way around.
The main screen, showing your progress during a trip, is very well constructed. The majority of the space shows your progress along the road, with a small strip along the top indicating the road you're on; '+' and '-' symbols discreetly located in the top left and right hand corners allow you to zoom in and out of the map.
A much larger strip along the bottom of the screen provides most of the non-map information, including the direction of the next turn, the distance to the nest turn, time to destination, estimated time of arrival and so on. There is also an indicator of GPS signal strength. Tapping this area brings up an overview map of the entire trip.
The spoken instructions are very clear, but the maximum volume could be louder in our view. The option to play the device sound through a car stereo is not available to all, though if you have a 3.5mm input jack this is certainly worth trying in order to boost volume.
Although it hasn't gone quite as far as Garmin with its nüvi 350, TomTom has chosen to add a number of extra features to the GO 910.
Bluetooth is built in, and you can use it for handsfree calling from your mobile phone or pair with a Bluetooth headset if you don’t want the spoken instructions to disturb your passengers. When using the GO 910 for handsfree calling, you can use the supplied (wired) clip-on microphone in preference to the built-in mic for greater clarity.
The GO 910 can obtain numbers from your phone and you can then use the touch-screen to make calls and generate SMS messages. The text-to-speech engine in the device can even read out SMS messages sent to your handset. We were able to make calls using our test handset, but not to generate or read out SMS messages as this feature was not supported.
The GO 910 has 20GB of built-in storage of which 12GB is free for your own use. You can store music and audio books in MP3 format and images as BMPs and JPGs. Images can be played in a slideshow or displayed in a 5-by-3 thumbnail grid. Music is organised in all the usual ways -- by artist, album, song and genre, and you can manage playlists.
Audio quality for music is reasonable but won’t challenge most in-car systems, although the 16-bit colour screen does a better job with images. Unfortunately the GO 910 lacks a slot for flash memory cards, so you can’t use it as an alternative viewer for digital images shot with a camera or phone while you're out and about.
To get music and images onto the GO 910, you'll need to connect it up to a PC via the aforementioned docking station and the supplied TomTom HOME software; this also transfers any extras you may have downloaded from TomTom PLUS, such as additional voices for spoken directions. You can also use TomTom HOME to back up your GO 910.
Conclusion
The GO 910 performs its core navigation task very competently. The wide-screen format is certainly an improvement, and the software is well implemented in terms of presentation and usability, with the exception of a rather deep menu structure. However, it remains to be seen how much users really want the extra features TomTom has added.