TomTom GO 930T Car GPS Receiver

First let me start by saying the seller, buyingnselling2u was fantastic! Great low price and superfast delivery wit payment through PayPal. An outstanding transaction. Now, on to this !@#$%&* GPS navigator.

I have been a Garmin user for years, but it was time for a new GPS. I figured let's go all the way and I shopped for and purchased a new top of the line TomTom 930T GPS. It is supposed to have everything, including a built in traffic receiver, the latest N. American and European maps, hands free calling, speech input, voice output, ...... everything.

My concern started as soon as I unpacked the unit and it's accessories from the box. This is a unit that is supposed to sell for almost $600 and they don't even supply a protective carrying case or even a vinyl sleeve. Then, I found the supplied suction cup windshield mount to be very small and cheap. I'm afraid of breaking it and have already started shopping for an aftermarket mount.

My annoyance continued as soon as the unit powered up. First, the maps were way out of date. My street has been on the maps for seven years, but TomTom couldn't find my driveway! So, I knew the first thing I needed to do was to download the map updates. At least it's free. The N. American and Europeam map update took almost four hours to download through a high speed DSL connection. And of course I started at 9pm. Once updated, my street appeared, but the house numbering was completly backwards, so TomTom now tells me I live a quarter-mile down and on the other side of the street. At least my middle-of-the-road Garmin knew where I lived! I have contacted TomTom customer service, with no response after three days (so far).

Also, the unit had a lot of difficulty linking up to my bluetooth enabled phone. I have a Motorola Razor and AT&T service and TomTom couldn't find the phone six inches away! After an hour of repeated attempts, it finally linked for hands free use, but not for traffic data transfer.

Other little annoyances include the voice prompts tell you distance in yards. Maybe the British think we Americans think in yards, but everyone I know thinks in feet. And, so does my old Garmin. Also, all the neat toys that are advertised come "at additional cost." Extra voices, traffic service, daily fuel price service have no trial periods and must be purchased through TomTom Home. The brightness of the screen, even when set on 100% is not adequate for use on a sunny day. I have to drop the unit down onto my console to see it and then the type is too small to see.

At this point I would not recommend this unit to anyone looking for a state of the art GPS reeciver. This unit comes across as just an expensive toy unless you're willing to spend a lot of money for annual subscriptions to TomTom services. Next time, I'll go back to Garmin.