TomTom GO 920 Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator
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TomTom’s award-winning software and innovative features mean ground-breaking new technology for the ultimate driving experience. Switch on and go right out of the box. Just enter the address on the touchscreen or with voice prompted address entry and start driving anywhere in the US, Canada or Europe. TomTom guides you door-to-door with turn-by-turn spoken instructions, including street names. TomTom has the most accurate maps. With TomTom MapShare technology you can instantly modify street names, street direction, and POIs on your own device. Branded points of interest and optional daily fuel prices service add even more efficiency to your travels. The GO 920 makes driving even safer with hands-free calling. And now, there are added safety features so you can easily access local emergency providers.
Features
- 4 GB internal Flash memory; 4.3-inch color LCD
- Pre-loaded maps of of the United States, Canada, and Europe from TeleAtlas
- Rechargeable internal 5-hour Lithium Polymer battery
- Bluetooth for hands-free calling, plus services and audio output
- NOTE: Please check with your wireless provider or manufacturer for Bluetooth compatibility
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 1 x 3 x 5 inches
- Weight: 0 pounds
Supporting Software issues
Oveall I get great use out of my GO 920 and the only negative experience that I have had is with the TomTom Home software. Since I have had my GO 920 TomTom has upgraded there Home software from version 2.0 to the current version 2.7. The only problem is that ever since version 2.5 my GO 920 is not compatible. TomTom knows of the issue but refuses to fix the problem. My dealings with TomTom support has been fruitless even though they had me try numerous work arounds which have not worked.
Finally TomTom support has actually came out and said the problem with TomTom’s Home software is due to an emulator issue. They are working on a fix which is supposed to be released with newer version of their Home software. Well just to let you know this is the same thing TomTom support told me when I upgraded from 2.5 to 2.6. Now at 2.7 I get the same response.
To me TomTom support is telling me that they will not support their older hardware so all beware if you buy older TomTom hardware as one day you will not be able to purchase new maps.
America and Europe in one
Overall a great piece of equippment. Takes time to learn how to use it. It asks one to enter city’s name first when looking for an address…maybe it makes sense to the engineers who’ve created it but to me it’s always a problem. US and Canadian cities are comprised of many little towns with myriad of different names…Maybe one day will learn how bypass it…The other thing is, it keeps on telling you how to get to the last chosen destination, over and over. Turning it off doesn’t help…Cannot find in settings how to change that. (e.g. I’d love it to reset itself evey time I turn it off or ask a question upon completion of a trip what to do: save it or reset, or other…) But I really like the icons and display among other features. Some will love it and some will hate it. You have to decide for yourself.
OK GPS but with issues
Bought this GPS in July of 2008 for my wife who has no sense of direction.
Pros: Big screen. Easy to use. Customizable interface.
Cons: Destination side not mentioned. Bluetooth can be flaky. FM transmitter needs more than 2 preset stations. Car power adapter broke after a few months replaced it with a generic USB adapter.
It has mostly worked well for her but the biggest problem is that when you are getting to your destination it does NOT tell you if it is on the left or the right. Extremely annoying since sometimes you will be on the wrong side and miss it but what gets me is that my OLD iQue 3200 would tell us what side of the road it is on. Another problem is sometimes it would refuse to sync with her cell phone until I synced it to the computer. This happens about 50% of the time now. Another issue is if you want to find something you need to know what city it is in.
It took me a while to figure this out. If you set the interface to show fewer menu options then the “Clear Route” button is removed. Making it VERY unintuitive to clear a route. The only way to clear the route then is to route to something else and press ‘cancel’, yeah, why didn’t I think of that? (heavy sarcasm)
The battery now needs to be replaced but with all the issues I will replace the unit with a Garmin or Magellan. If all the TomToms are not smart enough to tell me what side of the road my destination is then I need something better for my wife.
Quality issues
I won’t go into any details about the features as that has been well covered and I was pleased with the features and function while it worked. My problem is with quality. When I first bought my unit they had to send me 3 different units to get one that worked. Issues were with battery and charging – the second unit smoked when I plugged in the car charger. After that was resolved I had about a year and a half of good service then the unit locked up (which appears to be a common problem). I called customer service and after several phone calls and hours of updates, formatting etc. the unit still locks up on startup. Because it is out of warranty there is nothing they can do so it is basically junk. I can’t believe they won’t repair it for a fee – tells me a lot about their quality control. At any rate, I’ve now had my first and last TomTom product.
Update. I wrote the president of TomTom to express my displeasure with their policy and requesting that they consider repairing or replacing for a fee. Over a month and still no reply – tells me how they view their customers.
TomTom GO920
This is a standard navigation device. It does get you to the entered destination, although it frequently follows a convoluted path over which you have little control. I tried to go several times between identical locations during the same time of day and it found different route every time. Kind of fun if you want to explore the neighborhood, but not helpful if you need to get somewhere in a hurry.
The unit has a non-replaceable battery that died in about a year – just after the warranty expired. I don’t know if this is a bad luck or if it is by design, but be prepared that if you get a TomTom gadget, in a year you may have to buy it again. TomTom’s customer support sucks and I would never get another of their product.
Poor performance for high price
Not easy to use, cannot always easily guide you to where you want to go.
We had some frustrating times with this thing. After just two years the battery gave in and we customer support told me it was not worth changing it.
Although in once instance customer support patiently guided me through some updating issues, that was pretty much the only positive experience.
So, that was the end of it. I will not buy TomTom again.
TomTom GO920
I highly recommend TomTom GO 920; besides for US maps, it has pre-loaded European maps, and I am using it during my frequent travel to Europe where it works perfectly, everywhere; an additional purchase of this product made a perfect Christmas gift for my son and daughter-in-law living in Austria, and they are very happy with “their” TomTom;
One flaw
I love this unit, except when it rains. It doesn’t get a signal and we are stuck. Even when it is just overcast it takes a while. The options are great though. We are in Germany so I don’t know if the same problem exists in the states. We got this one because it came with Europe, not just Germany. Other than that we love it and are so happy to have a GPS!
Tom Tom Go 920
I have looked everywhere for a 920 at a reasonable price (mine was stolen a few weeks before my trip to Europe). For the price and the convenience of not having to get a separate Europe download, even the express delivery fee was very reasonable. It was still a few hundred $ less than if I get one from the store. And it worked very well when I used it in Germany.
APO Addresses should never purchase any TomTom
Individual living at APO or FPO addresses should never purchase a TomTom. The company does not support their product because of the address. I tried to go online and purchase maps and I could not because neither the UK or the US site do not recognize this type address. The company does not understand nor will it recognize the fact that individuals at APO or FPO addresses have to use this type address for their billing address (credit cards). Thus, all soldiers and Department of Defense civilian are letf out in the cold.
nice tool
It functions very well, but — the Brazilian map I purchased for the GPS is full of errors and street mistakes. Out of it the GPS itself is a very powerful and useful tool. Probably for EUA and Europe maps it will function better.
tomtom 920 two years down the road
I originally bought a tomtom 920 for a long winter vacation (Washington state>Reno>Mono Lake>Death Valley>Las Vegas>Page, AZ>Moab, Utah>Denver>Yellowstone>Washington state).
Worked fantastic. I can’t believe how useful a gps is. I liked it so much I bought a second one for my daughter.
Good parts: The 920 is very easy to use. Easier than some other I tried. Once in a while there are map errors, but I think that is the nature of life in this changing world. In general it does a great job of getting me where I want to go.
Bad parts: As I said, I’ve owned it for a couple of years now. The internal battery will not charge. I can leave it in the cradle all night, and once I remove it from the cradle, it has about a four minute battery life.
Power Cord: I went through a power cord every three months. They quickly fail. Since the internal batter is useless after a while it can be frustrating trying to wiggle the power cord to try to get it to work while you are driving.
I finally purchased a vent mount for the gps with a permanent power cord built it, built specifically for my model of car. That works fantastic, and has removed the need for buying a new power cord every couple of months. But it set me back an additional $100.
You will have to buy a new power cord quite often.
Good product, easy to use, could be mechanically more robust.
Horrible cutomer support
Device holds only one map at a time, and won’t even load my primary map as it says the file size is too large. However, worst part is complete lack of support from Tom Tom: on month three of emails and phone calls and they absolutely refuse to accept they have any obligation to help me because this fault is, apparently, impossible to have. Don’t waste your money.
Broke 1 day after warranty
Bought TomTom 920 on 20 July 2008. On 21 Jul 2009 the thing just won’t turn on. For the last week I have had to push the reset button for it to work, now the reset button has broken and it willnot turn on. Hunk of Junk!
If it breaks, you’re SOL and it’s trash!
After one year, after the warranty had expired, the unit would not turn on. It had sat on the shelf most of the time, when I pulled it out for a vacation and charged it up, it would not start. Tech support said they would not repair it, they wouldn’t even try!
If it breaks, you’re SOL and it’s trash!
Left Me Stranded:
Bought the TomTom Go 920 just a year ago and took it to Germany with me, worked beautifully. The device lived up to all the hype in all the five star reviews. Exactly one year from the date of purchase, during a drive through an unfamiliar part of Frankfurt, my TomTom started changing screens by itself and no matter how much I poked at the screen the darn thing just kept flipping screen randomly.
After I got it home (thanks to the paper map in the glove box) the reset feature did not correct the buggy behavior of my TomTom 920. Customer Service had me on hold for soooo looong I simply gave up.
Maybe I simply had a bad unit, maybe it’s simple fix, I dont know but that did it for me. I am switching brands. Garmin Nuvi, here I come !!!
Simply the best!
I used a Garmin for years, but the voice telling me “recalculation” was panicking me, while driving. Tom tom 920 is quietly re-calculating without annoying me and gives me the confidence of driving anywhere, knowing I can count on it. Is my “personal assistance” and I constantly update it. I rarely use the remote control, but I always have it handy. Great device.
920 gets lost at times, Hard to see big picture route
Have had the TomTom GO920 unit for 9 months. First time it drove us in a full circle in Versailes France! Took us off the freeway and right back on more than once. Not always clear where we are to turn.
Last time we were in DC, took us a complicated route where a much straighter and faster route was possible. Maybe we are too old to use such a fancy machine, it is hard to see the overview of where we want to go. We got this one because of other raters, and it had western Europe maps loaded. I still have not figured out how to really use the 4 gig card that I bought to use with it.
Once it turned on all by itself, sort of startling.
There have been improvements in the software since we got the unit.
Powerful unit, not well disciplined to work for me yet. We will try a Garmin next to compare.
DB in Portland
We love our TOMTOM!!!
We never needed a GPS until the military moved us overseas. It is a necessity for travelers in Germany that’s for sure. We actually like to get out because we know we won’t get lost for like 2 hrs. We have only used it in Germany so far, but it works great! Since it’s our first one we don’t know what it’s like compared to others. It took us about a year to decide on which one to purchase and we really could not be happier with unless it drove the car itself. I say for the price and the Europe maps included, it’s a great deal!!!
Tom Tom GPS
A pretty neat item. I purchased a refurbished unit and attempted to download new maps as the ones with the machine were 5 quarters old. Got a message saying insufficient space and had to abort and I have been unable to get the download again.
It takes time to familiarize yourself with a complicated device. So far I am quite happy with it and it should reduce the chances of getting lost when you are in unfamiliar territory.TomTom One Third Edition Auto Navigation System (Factory Refurbished)