GO 920T: worth the re-investment?

It's odd really: usually with the introduction of a new range, manufacturers cunningly market their high-end model first. This way they can seduce eager and impatient buyers to purchase the most expensive unit in the range. In the months that follow this introduction, the models with fewer features and lower price tag are put on the market, which the manufacturer hopes will convince the more budget-minded consumer. An ancient principle…

No so for TomTom this year. Because ever since the launch of the 720(T) last July, the patience of the high-end consumer is running low with regards to the release of the top-of-the-range GO 920. This is that case in our region at least, because last November we received word that the 920 was available in the BestBuy stores in the United States.

But… every disadvantage also has its advantage, because if the GO 920 is already available in the US, what is keeping us from doing an in-depth review on the unit? Nothing of course! So yourNAV now presents the review of the TMC version of the TomTom 920, which will probably not be available in our regions before mid-December.

Under pressure

Because of the surprising introduction-sequence, the sales of the 920 could face a lot of pressure. No doubt a lot of the interested customers will have caved in by now and already bought a GO 720(T). It's fair to assume that those customers will be unavailable to TomTom for a while. Or are they? Are the extra features and accessories of the TomTom GO 920(T) so special that they justify a new investment?

Since the GO 920 is largely identical to the GO 720, we will limit ourselves in this review to the most important differences: the pre-installed maps, the accessories and the new Enhanced Positioning Technology (EPT) with which the position of the device can be determined in areas with no GPS reception. For all other features we would like to point you towards our previous review of the TomTom GO 720T: GO 720: TomTom's new 'do-it-all'?

New outfit

The first thing we notice when we unpack the box, is that the GO 920 is brought to the market in a new 'outfit'. TomTom used a metallic design for the unit's exterior. Not a necessity by any means, but we do think it looks very classy.

Once we've reached the bottom of the box, our desk is covered with parts, lots of which we already know from the GO 720 of course: the car mount with suction cup, the 12/24 volts car charger and the docking station for charging and connection to the PC are no surprise. The supplied RDS/TMC received isn't either, since this is the 'T' version of the 920. Of course the usual leaflets and a CD with the HOME software and manual in PDF format also aren't missing here.

Something that is completely new is the supplied remote control, including a car mount. TomTom has opted for Bluetooth as a means of communication this time, and this seems to work perfectly in our tests. Via a large, 4-way navigational pad and three smaller separate buttons, all functions of NavCore 7 are easily accessible. Apart from that there's also a plus and minus button, meant exclusively for adjusting the volume. A small led on the top lights up in a blue colour when the remote control is active, and red when the batteries of the RC are almost drained.

It has to be said: we believe using this remote control in the car is almost a must. Especially with those modern cars with their large angular windscreens, operating the device whilst driving is not easy and sometimes even downright dangerous. Using the RC is not only safer, but it adds to the ease of use, because all those different (sub) menus on the GO cannot only be browsed forward, but also backwards. Very handy, and not possible when operating the device directly with the touch screen.

Maps

The GO 920 is shipped with almost all the maps TomTom could find at their regular map supplier, Tele Atlas. This means that Europe is covered in detail for Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, The United Kingdom, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain (including the Canary islands), Czech republic, Vatican City, Sweden and Switzerland.
The major roads of neighbouring countries are also included: Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and Belarus. For navigating outside Europe, the complete map of the United Stated (including Puerto Rico), Canada and Guam is also included.

All this mapping material (Tele Atlas 2007.7) comes pre-installed into the 4 GB of internal (flash) memory of the unit, which leaves about 700MB free space left on the device, since NavCore 7 also uses some space. For those who want or need more space, the purchase of an extra SD/MMC card will be required.

EPT

As already stated, the 920(T) hardly differs from the GO 720(T) when it comes to hardware. Things like the dimensions (118x83x24 mm), weight (220 grams), the 4.3 inch screen, the SiRF Star III chipset, the (unfortunately) passive car mount, text-to-speech, hands free phoning, TMC support and the built in (but hardly usable) FM transmitter are all exactly the same and mentioned in detail in our 720T review. But apart from all that, there is one novelty the 920 has that no other GO device features: Enhanced Positioning Technology (EPT).

EPT is TomTom newest positioning technology which should enable the device to calculate its position, and continue navigating, even if the GPS signal is lost. Think navigating in urban areas, with high buildings, or through tunnels and beneath bridges here.

In the very first GO, which is now commonly named the 'GO Classic', TomTom also tried to do the same with their Automated Satellite Navigation (ASN). This solution was largely in software though, and turned out to perform below standard. In the 920, hardware solutions like an accelerometer and a gyroscope were built in, and TomTom firmly believes this option is a much better solution.

During our tests, we've tried EPT under different circumstances, and even though the SiRF Star III chipset does not easily loose its satellite fix, we found it's handy to still have EPT around as a backup.

At the start of every route, the system needs some time to calibrate itself, but in practice the user doesn't even notice this. Then, when entering a tunnel for example, the system will flash the 'EPT' icon in the status bar of the unit (see photo to the side). Despite the colour of the route data and distance to next turn changing from white to light grey, the cursor continues to keep up with the movement of the car. The voice commands also remain unchanged.

During our tests EPT proved to be reliable. When the speed changed inside a tunnel, the cursor on the screen adapted nicely to the new speed, and in the case of trickier situations like exits from a tunnel, EPT proved to be a handy new feature. We also found that EPT still works when no route is planned. The question remains of course whether this new feature justifies the expense of buying a GO 920.

Price

Since the 920 ships with a lot of extras, we were very curious about the price, and it seems TomTom has a nice surprise for us in petto: the recommended retail price is € 499 / £ 359 for the GO 920T, so this means including the RDS/TMC receiver. This is a very competitive price! Especially so considering the GO 720T is still selling for about € 420 / £ 300 at the moment. The difference in price is almost entirely created by the very handy remote control. This means all those extra maps and EPT come free. On the other hand, we wouldn't be at all surprised if the recommended retail price of the 720 was lowered substantially very soon… which means the release of the 920(T) is also good news for those who believe a 720 is all they need.

TomTom expects the GO 920(T) to arrive in the (online) shops in mid December.