Tomtom GO 910 GPS

Best portable GPS for the money.

Strengths: Includes 20 million POI's. POI's can be edited, added, exchanged. 20 GB hard drive, Has all maps pre-loaded that other charge for.

Weakness: Still have to figure out how to add POI's to an existing category. Not a big deal.

I spent months researching different GPS's and found the 910 for less than $499. It's fast, recalculating routes is fast, and best of all, it's flexible. After a search on-line, I have downloaded and used a color scheme editor for making my own custom colored maps, add voices I download, and pretty much hack a lot of other things in the 910 to make it more personalized. Accuracy is very tight on...
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I spent months researching different GPS's and found the 910 for less than $499. It's fast, recalculating routes is fast, and best of all, it's flexible. After a search on-line, I have downloaded and used a color scheme editor for making my own custom colored maps, add voices I download, and pretty much hack a lot of other things in the 910 to make it more personalized.

Accuracy is very tight on this. I was also eligible to receive the new US and Canada (North America) DVD for free from Tomtom just by entering my serial on the website and paying $6 shipping and handling.

I did a test run with over 20+ waypoints in a itinerary plan and it handled it nicely and had calculated a route within seconds.

I like the MP3 jukebox, but it doesn't have equalizing controls. No problem. I have a Zune and prefer using it anyway, even in the car. The 910 will connect to a Ipod, perhaps I can convince TomTom to update the firmware to read from a Zune as well.

Alternate routing is great on the 910, and recalculating a route is done in seconds. I don't have much use for safety cameras in the U.S., but it does provide traffic conditions when you subscribe to the PLUS feature.

The bluetooth capability in the 910 is excellent and reads all my contacts straight from my cell and allows me to answer/dial up numbers straight from the screen.

I love that almost everything is controlled on the touchscreen. For models that have more knobs and stuff, just means its easier to get broke.

I also tested the life on the battery, and it well exceeded the 4 hours as stated by the manufacturer. But the 910 includes all kinds of accessories, including a cigarette lighter charger and audio cables to connect to your car stereo. The bluetooth will also transmit to a bluetooth adapter if you have one attached on your car stereo. In my opinion, this works better than FM transmitters, which don't work well in big cities like Los Angeles.

I was skeptical about the suction cup mount, but in my 2003 Camry, I have it fastened to the flat area near the console clock and it hasn't fallen off or become dismounted in days. I would like to see a permanent mount released so I can attach it anywhere I want on or near the console. 3rd party manufacturers will probably soon come out with one. But if you bought the 910 early on, TomTom is offering a free replacement for the newer mount that works a lot better. Just visit the website and see if your serial number comes up as a candidate.

Overall, I've looked at several "New Models" from Garmin and Magellan, to name a few, and the TomTom GO 910 has all the features and more already in it that others either charge up to $400 more or they don't have certain features that are already in this model.

The researchers at TomTom have really spent time on this and most of it is well thought out. I highly recommend this unit. Even if you have to be critical about every little feature, then compare those features to others and you'll end up looking at the 910 as a purchase.

By Keng612 - Mar 12, 2007

TomTom Go 910

Strengths: Easy to use. A lot of functions that other brands do not include. Fast processor and huge storage.

Weakness: Locks up after disattach from USB. Support has to wait for 48 hours. Battery life too short.

This is the only GPS unit provides US & Europe maps around $800 in the market. TomTom provides lot of features which Garmin not even have on their more expensive models. Fast processor. Allows to use your bluetooth cell phone to communicate the free traffic and weather services in US. Can use as a hand free speaker and headset for your bluetooth cell phone. Built in 20GB hard drive can store a...
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This is the only GPS unit provides US & Europe maps around $800 in the market. TomTom provides lot of features which Garmin not even have on their more expensive models. Fast processor. Allows to use your bluetooth cell phone to communicate the free traffic and weather services in US. Can use as a hand free speaker and headset for your bluetooth cell phone. Built in 20GB hard drive can store a lot of MP3s and photos. Display screen is slightly bigger than other brands. NO SD CARD SLOT since 20GB hard drive built in.

Strange thing is come with 20GB for MP3 why provides optional cable ($30) to connect & control iPod! Still finding how to connect the unit audio output to the car aux input.

Biggest problem is locks up everytime disconnect from the USB. Manual doesn't provide how to reset the unit. Have to go to Internet to find out the reset steps. Package doesn't come with detail manual. A lot of answer can be found from the Interent. Called TomTom for this issue and operators only pickup phone calls and issue service tickets. Then, send to tech in Europe and reply thru email within 48 hours. Still don't have answer on why unit locks up after disconnect from USB.

Battery can use around 2-3 hours. Use in car is OK but hiking may be a problem.

Since the unit has a lot of features, get to know the unit at home before actually use on road. Will be very dangerous to play with the special features while driving.

2 days after I bought the unit, I went to Circuit City and played with Garmin C550 and Navi 350. Although they are about the same price, features and options are not even come close to the TomTom Go 910.

Excellent product.

By nelsonwong - Jul 7, 2006

so far... quite an impressive little device

Strengths: Massive hard drive (20GB), Extensive map coverage, can hold my entire MP3 library and play it through the car speakers (via an included audio cable), good support software.

Weakness: Annoying menu navigation quirks.

This unit so far appears to be a great combo device for GPS navigation and an MP3 player for the car. The options are too many to elaborate but appear to allow great flexibility in planning and travelling routes. A little more experimenting will probably reveal many of its nuances. But as of now I'm quite pleased with this amazing little device.

By sojourner_man - Aug 19, 2006

TOMTOM 910

Strengths: Easy to use right out of the box!!

Weakness: Base mounting leaves something to be desired!

Bought it new from Circuit City, didn't have much time to price shop. First one out of the box was defective and was not able to acquire a Sat Lock. "Note to anyone purchasing a GPS - if you are in a store with a GPS display, make sure they are all working and acquiring satellites and the stores current lat/lon.) Second one worked flawless and I was able to acquire with in three minutes from...
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Bought it new from Circuit City, didn't have much time to price shop. First one out of the box was defective and was not able to acquire a Sat Lock. "Note to anyone purchasing a GPS - if you are in a store with a GPS display, make sure they are all working and acquiring satellites and the stores current lat/lon.)
Second one worked flawless and I was able to acquire with in three minutes from start up.
-Good-
Battery Time is/was about 3 hours.
Charted a course from Seattle Washington to Patuxent River, MD in 7 minutes.
Color display is sensitive to touch commands and works well.
Voices are selectable.
Auto-senses day/night and has various color schemes.
3-D view was very good.
Re-routing is pretty quick for a missed exit or street.
-Mediocre-
Constantly plotted courses and gave us three different routes along our 4 day journey to Maryland. Not a big deal but you cannot recall the other route. This happened when we went to sleep at night and turned the GPS on in the morning. We did not change the course on our own.
Voice has problem pronouncing some words - such as Avenue pronounced Avenrue, etc.. found about 10 words so far.
-Bad-
Mount is not very stable, have to recheck it to make sure the GPS is connected to the stem just to feel safe.
Cannot edit Favorites once they are inputted into the GPS. Have not tried this on a computer.

Overall -
Check your GPS right out of the box.
If you wear polarized glasses the display will look much more dim - this is true with "any" lcd driven screen whether on a laptop, digital camera, etc..

Notes-
I am very satisfied with this GPS and won't trade it for any other brand. I checked the rest and this one meet all my needs. Now to hook up my Cell Phone "Bluetooth" and start exploiting more features.

Sincerely,
mpkramer

By MPKramer - Jun 21, 2006

Superb technology - in an itty bitty little box

Strengths: Easy to use, rather quick boots, a lot of features, simple design, picks up signal even when near a window. Sound quality is also a plus.

Weakness: Battery life is weak (but holds its own, takes a long time to boot after unhooking from PC. Suction cup for windshield really isnt that good of a design.

The best part about this unit is when you pass your turn accidentally. If you don't turn around quickly, it will map a new direction to take. I've had to use the function where you have to plan another route because of construction and roads not being where they are a supposed to be. I was actually driving on a road, but it showed me driving on the grass and still told me to turn right even...
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The best part about this unit is when you pass your turn accidentally. If you don't turn around quickly, it will map a new direction to take.

I've had to use the function where you have to plan another route because of construction and roads not being where they are a supposed to be. I was actually driving on a road, but it showed me driving on the grass and still told me to turn right even though I was on grass.

I've been having problems with the suction cup falling off after about 3.5 hours of driving, and I don't know about you but I don't think falls to the dash are good for a hard drive. Someone should redesign the unit. I've actually had to have another suction cup sent to me because the cup broke free from the base and two springs shot out of it. One almost went down the vent! How nice that would have been having that rattling when I have the AC on?

This unit makes up for the flaws that are in the suction cup though, features are excellent, and anyone can use it. It takes a little getting used to, and you will probably want to go into the advanced features more than anything.

Sound quality is excellent as well, although the American computerized voice sounds like it has an attitude. The “Turn around when possible.” Sounds like “Turn around you dummy you missed your road!” This is just my opinion though… so I have it set to the lady from the UK which is very clear and easy to understand. I do plan on getting the John Cleese voice soon; I just need to figure out what 10 Euros is and if it will break the bank!

Go ahead an purchase this device, even though its made in China you won’t be disappointed.

By rallymaster - Aug 25, 2006