The best thing about TomTom, and one of the reasons it has been so popular, is that it is incredibly easy to use. Out of the box, turn it on and away you go, it is a simple as that. The suction mount is worth a mention because is fairly low-profile, slipping into the back of the device. The power cable has a 90 degree plug meaning your TomTom can be mounted flush with the dashboard.

Design

The overall size and shape of the 930 is the same as that of the older 720 and 920 models. One difference is the color. The 720 had a shiny silver color, and the 920 had a matte silver finish. The new 930 features a shiny black finish. In many ways, looking at the 930 from the front resembles an iPhone… shiny black finish around a wide touch screen. That may not be 100% unintentional.  The remote control has also been changed to a deep black color to match.

The 930’s physical appearance is totally hot, but I worry a little bit that the more reflective shiny black finish might make seeing the screen a little more difficult in high glare situations. Probably not much, but it does happen with other shiny black GPS devices a little.

Active Lane Guidance

A popular new feature on GPS devices is lane guidance. Often, “turn right in one half mile” with an arrow pointing to the right doesn’t provide as much detail as you might need. On complex Interstate interchanges there could be four lanes continuing straight with three lanes splitting to the right. In thick traffic, how many lanes do you need to cross to get into the correct position? Do I need to be all of the way over? Which way does my current lane go?

This is what Active Lane Guidance (ALG) sets out to provide. Instead of a simple arrow pointing towards the right, you can see a small graphic in the lower left showing each lane, and which lane(s) you need to be in. Light blueish lines indicate lanes you don’t want to be in and white arrows indicate the lanes that will take you to your destination. Dividers are also displayed in the lane guidance section. At the right is a photo showing the feature in action. The road being driven has four lanes. The first lane and second lanes are separated by a barrier, and both continue on the current highway. The third lane can either continue straight, or turn off at the exit. (We know we want that exit because the line in this lane is white.) The forth lane also takes us to our exit, and is an “exit only” lane.

Static Intersection Images

When using a similar feature on other GPS devices (the NAVIGON “Reality View”) I was on the fence if I liked it or not. Initially I didn’t like the feature as the image is static and it doesn’t follow your progress and update as you get closer to the intersection. It did start to grow on me though. However the disappointment with the Intersection Images feature on the TomTom 930 was just how infrequently it appears. I drove through endless Interstate Interchanges going from one limited access highway to another waiting to see the Intersection Images and they never appeared. I double checked that the setting was turned on (it was) yet I couldn’t get the images to appear.

On the NAVIGON models the Intersection Images don’t appear on every multi-lane interchange either, however it does appear on most Interstate to Interstate changes. I resorted to using the ‘Prepare Route’ feature and simulating different routes before I was able to find some locations where the images appeared. (Los Angeles.) But I couldn’t get it to appear in any of the locations in Boston I tried, either driving myself or while simulating a route.

The intersection image starts to appear between 1/2 and 1/4 mile before the turn. You can basically think of it as similar to the Lane Guidance window in the lower left, but blown up much bigger, covering the entire screen. The image doesn’t change as you progress towards the intersection, however the ‘distance to turn’ field is still there in big print counting down.

IQ Routes

Saving the best for last, IQ routes is perhaps the biggest reason you might want to look at the new x30 series from TomTom. It is worthy of noting that this is an area where TomTom has previously…. how shall we say it… had the most room for improvement.  Most TomTom devices tend to be extremely conservative when predicting the time it will take to cover a given route, and the estimates tended to be even further off in remote areas. As I’ve said in the past, I’m thankful that TomTom devices get me places 20 minutes early, rather than 5 minutes late, but I’d still prefer a more accurate prediction to begin with.

So here is how it works. Within TomTom HOME there is a preference you can enable that allows TomTom to “gather anonymous statistical trip information”. It used to more fully spell out the function, adding “such as how long it actually takes you to travel a route”. As you drive a road segment, your TomTom device is recording how long it took you to drive each road segment, versus how long the device predicted it would take you.

If you opted into the service, the device would send that information back to TomTom. TomTom in turn aggregates that data and builds up more accurate time estimates for each road segment, for various days of the week. The data is then combined into the underlying mapping data on the device. Unlike MapShare, it is relatively easy to figure out just how well IQ Routes works. Let me tell you, it works. Overnight TomTom has gone from being one of the least accurate estimates of travel time to the most accurate. Combine IQ routes with a traffic receiver and you have a system that could rival the network information Dash uses.

TomTom NavCore 8

A few other extras pop up on this device. Speed limits, and speed limit warnings now appear on the bottom of the status bar. Typically just the road speed limit is displayed (when known) however if you are exceeding the speed limit by a certain margin the graphic will turn red. This feature is in addition to any audible speed alerts you might have setup. You can see in the screen shot on the right I was going just a wee bit fast in the 45 mph zone.

MapShare has also seen a few minor tweaks. You can now edit the speed limit of a road segment. In addition, the interface to edit turn restrictions has been improved and is more intuitive than it was in the past with arrows more fully illustrating the changes you are proposing.

Strengths

From the outside, the 930 Traffic is nearly identical to 920T. It has a 480x272-pixel, 109mm (4.3-inch) widescreen display and weighs 220g. Plus, it features TomTom Plus services -- subscription/data charges may apply -- and packs in the same ultra-fast interface.

To give the 930 Traffic some character, it's coated in a stylish black exterior, with a few cosmetic tweaks to its icons. Its destination input screen now features a handy dropdown box for quickly choosing your country of origin. Entering destinations can also be performed by voice recognition and the accuracy was impressive, even from a driving position.

Route calculations are now blessed with the much-hyped IQ Routes technology, which is based on real average speeds, rather than static maximum speeds by road type. Translation? The system will look at how many traffic lights, roundabouts, speed bumps and slopes are en route and select the optimal path based on this information. In practice, we tested four identical routes with and without the IQ Routes option enabled and while only two benefited from the technology, the efficiency was greatly improved.

Additionally, you can take advantage of the 930 Traffic's handy Map Share technology, producing up-to-date map corrections. There is now a Navigon-inspired advanced lane guidance system, kicking in primarily on motorway junctions and exits. When approaching a junction, the 930 Traffic displays a real-time graphic representation of the lane structure, with large flashing arrows indicating your desired lane. Additional lane icons are also used at the bottom left corner for smaller junctions. Overall, the feature is a useful driving aid, rather than a distraction.

GPS signal performance has also been boosted with its new Enhanced Positioning Technology (EPT). If GPS reception is poor -- entering tunnels or driving between high rise buildings, for instance -- the EPT activates to keep your signal strong. Voice directions were spoken clearly and its text-to-speech for pronouncing road names was clear. Its RDS-TMC receiver, which seemed to update more quickly than the 920T, was useful for informing us of any traffic problems along our routes. We had the option to manually or automatically re-route around any problems.

Weaknesses

Despite all its useful features, the 930 Traffic is still expensive. Plus, we expected the integration of the RDS antenna inside the car cradle by now. This would've ensured fewer cables to carry around. Additionally, the FM receiver is useful for piping voice directions via our car's speakers. When used together with the RDS receiver, the latter started to intermittently interfere with its operation.

Our last niggle applies to the screen. While it's hi-res, we still feel the map detail is basic in appearance. Still, its 3D map perspective, directional aides and text-to-speech were more than adequate for routing.

Conclusion

While the 930 Traffic's IQ Routes technology did not affect all routes, we were impressed by its efficiency on the ones it did. Plus, its advanced lane guidance is a key feature for those who struggle with motorway junctions. But there's no need to panic if you've already bought the 920T. The IQ Routes database coverage is still maturing and unless you depend on the motorways for travel, you'll be fine with the old model, which in its own right is an excellent device too.