Tom Tom's GO 930 is a high-end portable that offers a little bit of everything for its retail price of $499.95. Best of all, for the most part it does that little bit of everything well, too. Here's the breakdown:
THE PACKAGE
The relatively compact GO 930 is small enough to slip into your standard trouser pocket. Despite the small package, its bright 4.3-inch WQVGA screen is easy to see when suction-cupped to the dash, and if your eyes aren't as good as they should be, you can adjust brightness and colors. Included in the box are the suction cup mount (if you want to dash mount, you'll have to purchase the dash disc separately), 12-volt charger, home dock, device cable, remote, software disc, and user booklets.
EASE OF USE
Right out of the box, the GO 930 is extremely simple to operate. Initial satellite acquisition took a few moments, but on subsequent uses, start-up required mere seconds. Like previous models, the graphic user interface pops with intuitive icons that make inputting destinations a piece of cake for techies and greenies alike.
Menus for key functions are nice and shallow, the way we like it. But, if you'd like to change your preference in regard to brightness, routing options, voices, you name it, you can delve into a few submenus and quickly set the GO 930 to fit you and your routing style like a glove.
The touchscreen didn't spoil the party, easily registering inputting addresses on its QWERTY (or alphabetical, if you prefer) keyboard. Like any other unit with a 4.3-inch screen, big-fingered folks may find it frustrating. As an alternative to keyboard use, Tom Tom included a special feature for its flagship navi: voice commands.
To input a destination by voice, pull up the "Navigate To" screen and tap the icon for inputting by voice. I found the feature relatively accurate once I understood what format the address should be inputted in. You can also dictate destinations by city center, zip code or intersection. Although some errors do occur, I found it completely reasonable given today's state of voice dictation technology and personally prefer the voice command feature to the keyboard (even though my smaller fingers aren't prone to flubs).