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TomTom GO GPS Navigator.

The TomTom Go Navigator from TomTom is a GPS navigation system for vehicle usage. The GO line, including the flagship TomTom GO 910, is jam packed with loads of features and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It's hard to find  anything I don't like about this "cool looking" device. The only drawback: Be prepared to use the TomTom GO forever. Once you've installed the mounting base, you're literally stuck with it.

Design of TomTom GO.

The TomTom GO 910 brings a wider 4 inch LCD display
(1/2 inch bigger than previous models),  It is a complete delivery, including the GPS hardware, the display and
cpu system, the car mount and external power supplies. It's weight is a little more than 10 ounces and measuring 4.5 by 3.6 by 2.3 inches, the TomTom GO is one of the smaller all-in-one devices I've seen to date.

The housing is a black case with a removable silver bezel surrounding a bright, 256-color touch-screen display. The TomTom GO looks like a TV screen and sits on top of a swivel mounting arm. Also included is a small adhesive-backed disc for securing the unit to your dashboard. It also has the Hands Free features common on TomTom GO's so you can drive and talk on your Bluetooth phone. The TomTom GO 910 also supports playing of MP3's, audiobooks and podcasts.

Testing.

Testing TomTom GO included short trips and long trips. The main screen shows the map with guidance data and other status information shown at the bottom. Tapping the lower right corner with your finger will bring of a screen with a smaller map of the entire route along with additional
information about the GPS status and routing data. Tapping the GPS area on the right of this screen will bring up the full GPS status display. Tapping Done will return you to the main screen.

There are other areas of the main screen that can be tapped as well. If you tap in the lower left corner where the next turn is being displayed you will hear the audio route instructions for the next turn. Tapping the upper left corner or the upper right corner of the display will cause you to zoom the map in or out respectively. Tapping anywhere else on the map will bring up the menu system for commands. All functions are obtained by tapping on the screen somewhere. There are no command buttons on the device. The screen buttons are relatively large and easy to hit with your finger.

The hardware.

The hardware consists of a 200 MHz processor, a 4" diagonal TFT color screen, 32 MB of RAM, an SD memory card, an audio system for voice prompts with built in speaker, the GPS receiver, a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery.  All packaged in a plastic case.

Below the GO's screen, there are only two buttons, one to power the device on and off and the other to eject the unit from the automobile mount. All menu and screen selection functions are activated via the touch screen,  which is responsive. The sound quality of the built-in speaker is very
impressive.

The software.

The TomTom Go arrives with 8 CDROMs in a box and a user guide.  On these CDROMs you wil find different configurations of states so that you can load a selection of several states of your choice. You can load more than
one set of maps but you will have to select one set to use at a time.

Navigation options include route creation to and from addresses, POI (Points Of Interest), or your current position, as well as recent destinations.

Zooming in or out on the map is as easy as touching the plus or minus icon on the screen, and you can set the level of detail displayed on the map to avoid crowding of POI icons and street names. You can even change map colors.
The TomTom GO also includes an internal clock and a battery meter.

The supplied USA maps cover the USA and Canada. Maps of Europe are available as well.

Running a Route.

Once a route is generated you can just let the unit do the work and follow the instructions. It generates reasonable routes most of the time and tends to do better than some other tools in the countryside where its maps are generally the best available. In the cities the maps of some other vendors are better.

Performance of the TomTom GO.

The TomTom GO performed superbly in the tests. Voice-guided directions were loud and clear, and the 12-channel receiver was extremely accurate with regard to the position on the map. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery, rated for 5 hours of constant use, gave just that, with about 10 minutes to spare.

Overall the TomTom GO is an excellent autorouting product and provides an easy to use navigation screen with good attention to user interface features.  The guidance was good. I found the autorouter quite fast and it did a good job
most of the time. The TomTom GO router has the ability to modify the computed route with avoids and roadblocks. The avoids are not remembered for future use.  The maps of the TomTom Go are some of the best available
(out in the country).

Author:   Bert Colijn

 
     
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