Review: Tomtom Go 930 Traffic satellite navigation

Top-of-the-range navigation

Written by Anthony Dhanendran, Computeractive

Larger Image

Verdict:

Good points: Jam-packed with features; good performance; loud and clear route instructions
Bad points: Not many people will use all the maps or all the features to justify the cost
Overall: This is one of the best sat-navs we've ever used, but the price remains very high

Rating:

4

Price:

£400

Satellite navigation, like most technology, is getting cheaper and cheaper – you can even pick up a Tomtom for little over £100 these days.

So at £400, the top-of-the-range Go 930 Traffic from the same company has to do quite a lot to justify its price.

There's plenty here, to be sure. In addition to the latest version of the navigation software, and the latest maps, it comes with some neat touches that show themselves while you're driving.

Advertisement

For instance, there's 'advanced lane guidance' which shows you which lane of dual-carriageways or larger roads you should be in – the display shows a number of arrows in the bottom-left of the screen, with some in white (to take) and others in grey (to avoid).

Then there's the traffic information – it comes with its own traffic aerial, and while we've previously been unimpressed with sat-nav traffic information, this time it was fast and accurate, and easy to use (it appears in a thin panel on the left of the screen).

The screen is well laid out and it's relatively easy to get back to the menus and set up routes, but we found it harder to plan a multi-stop route on this device than on, say, the Magellan Maestro 4200.

Then there's the FM transmitter, so you can hear the directions over your car stereo. The voices in the Go 930 are loud and clear, though, so it's not a big deal. It can link to your phone over Bluetooth for hands-free calling, too.

Then there's the new IQ Routes – Tomtom says that the device will take into account likely traffic conditions for your route (it has a database of average speeds) so that, for example, it won't route you down a rat-run at school-dropping-off time.

With maps for the UK, Europe and north America, the Go 930 Traffic contains almost everything you could want from a sat-nav, and it has a price to match. The question is whether any one person or family will use all the features. If you will, then it's absolutely the one to go for, but we reckon that most people will be better served by a cheaper system that does a bit less.

Manufacturer: Tomtom, no UK number

See more Gadgets

Reader comments

More from Computeractive

News

The latest home computing news

Downloads

The best PC tools, applications and more

Reviews

Independent opinions on new hardware and software

Step-by-step guides

Easy-to-follow projects with pictures

PC Help

Solve PC problems with our Q&A

Videos

PC projects demonstrated and product reviews

Articles

An in-depth look at how to get the best from your PC

Magazine

What's coming up in Computeractive

Forums

Get help with your PC problems from our readers

Competitions

Your chance to win computing prizes

Shopping

Great deals on products, services and more

NEW! Computeractive CD Rom 11
All 26 issues of Computeractive from 2008 on one CD-Rom.

Ultimate Guide to Disc Burning
Everything you need to know about creating your own discs.

Create your own calendars softwareCreate your own Calendars
The fun and easy way to create your own calendars!

Computeractive - Issue 280Computeractive Back Issues
Missed an issue? Click here to find a back issue

Find the Best Prices

Save money on hardware and software with our price comparison service: Best Prices

Advertisement

Free email newsletters

Techno babble demystified...

[Display all definitions]

Or type in any computer-related word and click "Go"

Blogs

Windows Watch

Windows Watch

Keeping an eye on the latest XP and Vista news

Outlook 2007 email controversy

One of the major changes in Outlook 2007 had nothing to do with the Ribbon but that Word was used to display...

Download Junkie

Download Junkie

Your daily dose of download discussion

Backup important data with SyncBack SE

Keeping certain files backed up helps to keep items safe in case anything disastrous happens to your computer, but although most of...

The test bed

The test bed

The hottest products, news and gossip from PCW's Labs

Why we may never see a Core i7 Apple machine

With the recent crop of new Apple desktop hardware - The Mac Pro , iMac and Mac Mini (all of which we...

Primary Navigation

© Incisive Media Ltd. 2009. Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in England and Wales with company registration number 04038503

Search computeractive.co.uk