The successors to the TomTom GO 520, GO 520 T, GO 720, GO 720 T and GO 920 T have arrived! These are the TomTom GO 730, GO 730 Traffic, and GO 930 Traffic while the GO 530 and GO 530 Traffic will not be sold in France.

The new models are strictly identical to the former ones (same dimensions and functions) and only several innovations differentiate them:

•    There is a black finish on the frame.
•    Advanced guiding system with a photo-like display of some intersections.
•    IQ Routes technology which optimizes trips and gives you the closest possible real travel times.
•    Menus are slightly modified with several color changes.

In this article, we are especially going to concentrate on the innovations of this new line.  We therefore invite you to take a look at the previous models’ tests for more information on the standard functions.  Also, at the end of this review, we will take a look at the advantages of the GO  930 compared to the GO 730.

Advanced guiding system

The first innovation in the GO 30 series is the advanced guiding system – a solution conceived by TomTom France – which enables seeing the road you need to follow more easily.  When coming to highway exits, the map temporarily shifts into a photo-real mode.  However, this isn’t really an innovation as Navigon has used it for more than a year with its "Reality View".


TomTom has not improved the system as there are the same limitations: only highway exits and a few speedways are included as well as only displaying a fixed view with only the road being displayed.  Therefore you shouldn’t expect to see buildings, trees or other distinguishing elements on the sides of roads.  While this system represents a small bonus, it’s not entirely indispensable for efficient navigation.  Moreover, it can be deactivated in the menu options.

IQ ROUTES

This is the real innovation on the 30 series. IQ Routes is a technology which enables taking into account the average traffic density on roads.  Other GPS calculate trips by using the maximum authorized speeds.  While these results can be satisfactory on highways and in good traffic conditions, they quickly degrade in the city or during rush hour.  To improve calculation, you will have to take into account traffic signals (stop signs, traffic lights, speed bumps, etc.) and the density of traffic.

And this is what IQ Routes does.  It uses the information sent by GPS TomTom owners that use Map Share.  Thus, each client participates in the evaluation of the actual traffic on the roads. TomTom will then have a map which contains not only the maximum authorized speeds but also the average speed of vehicles on the various roads.  This also takes into account if it’s a weekday or on the weekend.

This system offers two advantages:

•    Gives you a more precise estimation of trip times
•    Enables taking a faster itinerary than ones that use maximum authorized speeds

Otherwise you can deactivate IQ Routes so that you can judge its worth for yourself.  For example, here is a concrete example:  we leave from point A in the suburbs to go to downtown Paris.  Without IQ Routes, the proposed itinerary was 18.7 km in 28 min using the beltway.  The trip time was a bit unrealistic and we would have been more than happy with just the 28 min time it gave us.  With IQ Routes, trip time rose to 32 minutes for 14.1 km; however, we avoid the beltway and go directly into town via the road along the river.  In this way you can see how these options can be much more practical and closer to reality.

IQ Routes and the TomTom GO 930 Traffic

This example also shows the limits of the system: in our experience, we know that on weekdays the trip time can sometimes take twice or even three times as long depending on the hour of the day.  IQ Routes does not yet know how to take this information into account as it only makes the weekday/weekend distinction.  We should keep in mind that these are averages which do indeed improve estimates; however, it isn’t perfect yet.  Either way, the idea is there and it’s an undeniable plus to the driver.

Summing up IQ Routes, we can say that it mostly enables avoiding roads that constantly jammed and slow - a real advantage in large cities.

GO 730, Go 730 Traffic and GO 930 Traffic: the differences

Let’s now move on to the differences which exist between the 730 and 930.  While the latter only exists in a single version, the GO 930 Traffic with TMC, the GO 730 is offered with TMC and without.

For the rest, the Go 930 Traffic has a more maps (for the version available in France) with the addition of North America and some central European countries.

The GO 930 Traffic also offers a remote that enables complete control of the GPS and supplementary options such as the MP3 player.
Finally, only this high end version features EPT.  This system allows you to follow the vehicle’s direction even if the signal is lost (tunnels, high buildings, etc.) by using a gyroscope that detects variations in speed.  In practice, while EPT partially makes up for the lack of satellite reception, it still does not have its level of precision.  When we went into our ‘’1.5 km test tunnel drive’’ we measured a discrepancy of 300 m at the end.  EPT can help but it cannot entirely make up for a lack of signal over large distances.