When we heard that TomTom was updating its range with yet more enhanced navigation technology, we couldn't wait to get our hands on one of its new satnavs to test it all out. The 930T we have here is the top-end model, featuring both the new IQRoutes functionality and Advanced Lane Guidance.

Both features are designed to increase the efficiency and clarity of navigation, and of course you'll find all the usual features and extras that have made the satnav giant such a household name.

The 930T is nicely designed, with a sleek black finish and pocket-sized build. There are few controls on the exterior save for a power button, but the interface is so well designed that this isn't really a problem. On-screen buttons are large and easily accessible, and the massive range of features on offer has been effectively condensed into an intuitive menu structure.

Tapping the map view opens the main menu, from which you can plan a route in a number of ways, pair a mobile phone via Bluetooth, manage favourites, itineraries and maps and access music and media. The ‘Help Me' feature offers guides, advice and instant directions and contact details for emergency services, and a range of preferences offers full control over customising the interface and information provided en-route.

With satnav rivals improving in terms of navigation all the time, it's the TomTom community and online functionality that has kept it ahead of the pack. Here you can access weather forecasts, download additional voices, map corrections and POIs and chat to other users in the local area.

There's also a range of powerful tools built in, such as an FM transmitter for sending voice directions, media playback or both to a car stereo, remote iPod control and voice recognition so you can plan a route by speaking an address out loud. You'll also find full TMC information from the box, speed camera updates and a full car kit and USB mount/charger for connecting the device to your PC for updates and downloads.

Planning and navigating a route is predictably straightforward, and we were extremely impressed by the clarity of the directions, which includes text-to-voice for road names and locations. Instructions were well timed and provided just the right amount of information without being overly simplistic. The maps, while appearing a little basic, offered excellent clarity, while a combination of the directional arrows on the road and navigational icons that show you the distance to, and nature of, the next turnoff make it almost impossible to take a wrong turn.

In terms of the Advanced Lane Guidance, we discovered that this only really applies to motorways and major roads, where you're shown a representation of the current lane structure and confirmation of which position you should adopt. It's a useful feature to have, but isn't quite as ground-breaking as you might think given the press it received prior to release.

IQRoutes is the headline addition, though, and works by calculating a route based on actual average speeds on roads, compiled using anonymous speed profiles covering more than 10 billion kilometres of driven roads gathered by millions of TomTom users. Factors such as traffic lights, roundabouts and speed bumps are taken into account to more accurately predict a journey time.

To test this we plotted a few routes that were well known to us, with the 930T and again with a handful of rival satnavs to see how times differed. Although results varied, we typically noticed a 10-20 percent shorter journey time with the TomTom, depending on the distance travelled.

One issue we had with this new feature is that we weren't convinced it takes the time of day into account as well as you might hope. During one test we traversed a route that was typically very busy during rush-hour, and arrived at our destination quite a bit earlier than predicted. We think it's quite likely that people would want to use the feature to find a quicker way home from work, for example, in which case the potential for figures to become distorted by busy and quiet times of the day reduces its effectiveness somewhat.

The massive range of features, adaptability and usability of the 930T makes it the most desirable in-car GPS device on the market, but that doesn't necessarily mean we'd recommend you go out and buy it. At £399 it'll be out of most people's price range, and while there's precious little lacking here, we've seen rival devices that are perfectly capable, from a satellite navigation standpoint, for about half the price.

Verdict
The new features on offer with TomTom's 930T do offer added convenience but we think their impact will be relatively minor for most users. While it's difficult to imagine a more complete GPS device, you'll need to make good use of all of the extras, community and download services on top of navigation to justify paying this much, when there are perfectly capable alternatives around for quite a lot less.

Company: TomTom

Contact: +31 (0) 20 850 0800

Tags: tomtom bluetooth global navigation satellite system global positioning system ipod gps navigation roads and highways