TomTom GO 910 portable GPS system reviewed

You might wish you had sprung for a GPS device before this weekend's little trip to the in-laws, which may or may not have involved two hours of being lost in a pair of cul-de-sacs, but we figured you'd still like to know what you're missing out on. The TomTom GO 910 heads the GO series, and sports a 4-inch widescreen touchscreen, Bluetooth, MP3 playback off of the 20GB hard drive, and extensive iPod integration. Sounds like most of the features function well and as advertised. There's quick and easy rerouting, clear directions which even include street names read aloud via text-to-speech, and an easy to use remote for those backstreet drivers. The only problem the reviewer had with navigation was an outdated POI database that guided him to a stadium which had been torn down five years prior. The Bluetooth connection offers up traffic and other information over your phone's wireless Internet connection, though, while the phone does have maps for Europe, the US, and Canada, there's no live traffic info for the US yet. The other main caveat with the player is the price. At $799 you probably afford to pay a man to dress up as a princess and drive you to wherever you need to be, but we're not sure if he would take as kindly to an iPod connector cable.

[Thanks, Bob]

[omar @ Apr 15th 2006 12:55PM]

no offense engadget, but i like this review better

http://www.jacknjake.com/2006/04/09/fcking-tomtom/

it just seems more fun

[Deedas @ Apr 15th 2006 1:26PM]

What a coincidence. I was just thinking of driving up to Bestbuy to check out GPS units. Its a sunday and I probably won't get a reply before I leave but what would you guys say its the best GPS system? I took a quick look online and there are so many different brands. Very hard to choose really.

[Tim @ Apr 15th 2006 2:01PM]

(to 2) I've always been partial to the Garmin. A lot of my friends and co-workers have the Garmin system's. If your looking for the best, it really depends on what functions do you want. The color screen is nice for a few more bucks. Having more memory so that you can store more maps is nice, once again if you want to spend a few more bucks. The e-trex serries is easy to use and inexpensive. Not sure about mobile mounted devices, but I know Garmin has a good website for updates and such. Just my 2 cents.

[Jeffrey M Foster @ Apr 15th 2006 2:06PM]

"while the phone does have maps for Europe, the US, and Canada, there's no live traffic info for the US yet."

er, the GPS has maps, right? ...or are we suddenly talking about a phone that comes with the unit?

what ever happened to proof-reading? yeesh.

[Robert Turner @ Apr 15th 2006 3:07PM]

I bought a TomTom go from Best Buy & it failed twice. I took it back & bought a Garmin Street Pilot. More money but no problems.

Robert Turner

[william allen @ Apr 14th 2007 7:56PM]

I have the 910 and HANDS DOWN!!! IT HAS MORE FEATURES FOR THE MONEY!!! The price drop has made it way more affordable. It is easy to use and the updates are not hard to get and recieve. The Garmin products are confusing b/c they gain or lose features from one model to the next, while the TomTom kept adding features into their already user friendly model.

[Anthony Gentavoe @ Apr 15th 2006 3:16PM]

Cingular 8125 Smartphone: $300.00
TomTom Navigator 5 w/Bluetoth: $179.00
2GB mini-SD storage card: $79.00
ProClip for my Vehicle: $29.00

Having every device I will ever need in the palm of my hand instead of paying $800 for just for a GPS unit: Priceless.

[PEZ @ Apr 15th 2006 5:32PM]

Bunch of review whores. Take a hike if you don't appreciate where engadget gets their infomation from.

And ALSO - Why the hell would I give a shit about extesive iPod integration when this thing has 20GB of HDD space for MP3's?

And with a screen that big, how about video playback? I mean REALLY now.. it can be regulated because the GPS knows when its moving, and wont play videos for distraction - simple.

Happy EASTER! (FU politically correct people)

[PEZ @ Apr 15th 2006 5:34PM]

hey Gentavoe ...take a hike and go blow your stupid excuse for a post clear up your ass.

Thanks.

Now, THAT was priceless.

[arkowi @ Apr 15th 2006 8:59PM]

it is ashame the integrated ipod support does not allow playback of the ipod video on the screen. it would make a nice little screen for portable video playback. i AM thinking about getting the slightly cheeper 510 which has most of the same features.

[Mat @ Apr 15th 2006 9:10PM]

I just got Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 (with GPS antenna included) for $80 @ Amazon. It does a pretty decent job for a lot cheaper.

[Jeff @ Apr 16th 2006 12:49AM]

"I just got Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 (with GPS antenna included) for $80 @ Amazon. It does a pretty decent job for a lot cheaper."

Wake me up when you can stick it on your front windshield and have it tell you how to get to the nearest McDonald's.

[SASniper @ Apr 16th 2006 12:16PM]

I have a Tomtom GO 700, and it picks up traffic info in the US via Bluetooth through my T-Mobile phone's internet connection just fine ... so I can't imagine why the 900 wouldn't do it.

If you're using T-Mobile you need to get the "T-Mobile Internet" $19.99 package. Having just the "T-MobileWeb" $5.99 won't let you get any downloads, incl traffic updates.

Tomtom does need to update the POI and street database though ... it's at least 5 years old.

The other thing that bugs me is you can't search through all the POI categories at once. So if your looking for something you first have to know what catergory it falls under. Does a stadium fall under the 'Sports' category, or could it fall under the 'Convention Center' category?

[Byron Guernsey @ Apr 16th 2006 12:47PM]

How many people can relate to this- you decide you want to fork out the dough to buy something like a car GPS system. You start doing the research and find that a particular manufacturer (read TomTom) ranks fairly well in their UI and driving directions, which are important to you. So you do a little more research and find the model you want (like the 710 or 910), only to discover that its still vaporware and no one carries them, but the makers web site shows them alongside their other models with little indication that these aren't even shipping. Oh this frustrates me. It seems every product that I try to buy has a new version JUST ABOUT to ship.

With TomTom, local retailers seem to have back stock of the older models and it looks like its going to be a while before they clear them out. I don't know we'll see a launch until they clear the old ones.

I'm one of these people who keeps watching SonyStyle for their Portable Reader which was "availing this spring". That frustrates me too. If its listed in a web store-front, it needs to be available. If they put a coming soon link on the side of the page and highlight it, thats fine. argh!

[James Gilson @ Oct 26th 2007 11:20PM]

My tomtom 910 has locked up and I can't turn it off. Do you have any suggestions?

[Mat @ Apr 16th 2006 1:15PM]

"12. "I just got Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 (with GPS antenna included) for $80 @ Amazon. It does a pretty decent job for a lot cheaper."

Wake me up when you can stick it on your front windshield and have it tell you how to get to the nearest McDonald's."

Does it just fine! Looks like it has probably 95% of the local fast food places available with point to point directions (thanks to GPS).

[Kait @ Apr 17th 2006 4:08PM]

I read about the new devices awhile ago on Club TomTom - all the early independent reviews seem promising and I think the SiRF III chip set will be a big boost -- can't wait to get my hands on one of them and see how it works.

[Andrew @ Apr 18th 2006 9:47AM]

I've been using a GO 700 for awhile now and really like it. The 300 and 700 are currently available, while the 510 and 910 will be coming out sometime soon I believe. The mp3 capabilities of the new devices is pretty great, I could definitely see myself using that feature.

[Anthony C @ Apr 22nd 2006 5:45PM]

I bought a Go 910 the first day they had them at BestBuy. I needed it for two upcoming trips (one USA one Europe). After less than one week the GPS stopped receiving signals. I reset the device several times and it would still not receive any GPS signals. I tried TomTom online support, but they don't seem to be up to speed on their own devices. I ended up returning the unit for a refund (there were no more in the store). I'm a little hesitant to replace it with another Go 910 as it seems like a lot of people have been having problems. I also dont like the connectionb they use between the unit and the auto/desktop mount -- seems a little fragile. Maybe I'll reconsider if TomTom works out the bugs, or I'll look at the Navigator 5 Bluetooth instead.

Too bad, TomTom's maps and features looked great....

[Ton Veen @ May 4th 2006 7:03PM]

Having the TomTom One on our travel to the States we where very happy !. How often do we get lost or even wrong directions from locals ? We think its the best invention after the car, exspecialy this TomTom.
Here in Europe the TomTom is very populair, you will see the TomTom Go in any type in a lot of cars. It's the "wannahave" from tomorrow. There no bad reviews in any Gadget or Computermagazine over here.Don't forget at this point that Sony, Acer and a lot of other brandnames float on the succes of TomTom. When it came
out several years ago it was for a change afordable.
Me, using it with my work couldn't have a beter 'mate" in the car to tell directions it saves me a lot of time during the day with finding directions, because I've paid for it so I home early every day !(sorry BOSS)
Ok?hanges have been to the roads every day, shops and stores are comming and going. But for us it was a blessing with our vacantion in the US !
Yeah not more fights abouth mapreading, blame TT !
We don't need to go to the telephone book to find a Wallmart, Wallgreens, Outback, ATM, docter or whatever. But don't take my words, at least I'm very happy with it ;-) (my brothe and co-workers to)
T.Veen, Netherlands
(pardon my bad English)

[Navigation Blog @ May 23rd 2006 2:03PM]

it's amazing how fast the price has been dropping on those tomtoms

[AaronB @ May 25th 2006 3:55PM]

And equally as awesome that the 910 and 510 are finally being released into other stores such as Radio Shack across the country. Can't wait till the one next to me gets them in stock.

[Fletcher Previn @ Jun 7th 2006 11:11PM]

For an in-depth review, visit www.gpsmagazine.com -- pasted below is an excerpt from that review:
The Good
Phenomenal GPS reception
Rechargeable battery
Bright, sharp, touch screen display
Fast CPU
Integrated Bluetooth
Speaker Quality
Lots of Options
Form Factor
The Bad
Terrible Customer Support
Poor Mounting Hardware
Buggy firmware
Map inconsistencies
Bottom Line
TomTom’s 910 is an excellent GPS unit that performs better than any of its current competitors. It’s all the more frustrating, therefore, that TomTom shoots itself in the foot with the details like inadequate support, poor mounting hardware, and buggy firmware releases.
These kinds of issues show TomTom as the new kid on the GPS block. They have a potentially superior product, but need to get a few kinks ironed out. Once these issues are worked out, there’s very little wrong with the 910.
Even with its current issues, we’re still giving the 910 the Editor’s Choice award. If you’re looking for an excellent, easy to use, GPS unit for your, you’d be hard pressed to do better than the TomTom GO 910.

[Scott @ Jul 25th 2006 7:35PM]

Do not buy a TOMTOM GO 910 I bought one on a trip and had to take it back hours later because it froze up. The next one was returned the next day for the same reason, so I tried another it lasted two weeks and guess what same thing. Phone support can't help me so they want me to send it in. BS I am returning it and buying another brand. BAD BAD BAD!!!!

[Julian @ Jul 30th 2006 1:05AM]

Bought a Tom Tom Go 710. Looks the same but without the hard disk. While the GPS works fine, the car mount was hopeless. I would get it the car and drive and 2 kilometers down the road, the GPS was now facing downwards. Went back to the store to get a new mount and it still did the same thing. Gave up and exchanged it for a Garmin Nuvi 310. Does all the same things and has a much better mount. Don't get the Tom Tom.

[JWB @ Aug 31st 2006 1:37AM]

I love my TomTom 910. I tried a friend's Nuvi a while ago and the TomTom is much better in my opinion. The POI's have been very good in my usage and I love the text to speech. I don't think you can buy a better GPS than the 910.

[Michael Brienza @ Nov 6th 2006 5:44PM]

can someone recommend a first time gps buyer which reputable unit has the largest color screen, portable and lightweight with the most features, for $700 or less. thanks

[Penn @ Mar 15th 2007 3:28PM]

I just brought the tomtom 910, cause all six of my sibling have tomtom. I think is it a nice GPS but, there are few thing that I don’t like. First everyone knows about the window mount how it drops, call tomtom support team they send me the same exect mount (the one with the little tab). it droop on a very hot day the rubber ball joint just doesn’t hold up on a hot day. Second, the mp3 players some how doesn’t play all my mp3 song, just show file name that is.

Here’s my wish list for the next update “Show current street name and elevation (the Megillion have the elevation feature) which I found is nice, and Fix the MP3 program, also my most important feature is able to lesson to itune podcast. winkwink (TOMTOM Podcast).

Anyway thanks for your time if you are reading my comment.

[john newton @ May 26th 2007 12:31PM]

does anyone know how I can get my computer ( system is VISTA) to connect to my tomtom 710?
please

[James Gilson @ Oct 26th 2007 11:18PM]

My tomtom 910 has locked (frozen). What must I do?