UPDATE: Read my TomTom GO 730 review and my TomTom GO 930 review.
TomTom is announcing two new products today — the TomTom GO 730 and 930.
The new x30 series incorporates a couple of new features — lane separation / complex junction details being one, but perhaps most exciting is the integration of historical average speed data for improved routing.
NOTE: Originally this post mentioned two other models that would include a traffic receiver, a 730T and 930T. I’ve been told now that those models have not been announced. It would not surprise me to see them at some point in the future though. Who knows, maybe they changed their mind because they are getting close to bring high-definition (HD) traffic to the U.S.
TomTom IQ routesTM
TomTom is referring to their new routing as IQ RoutesTM. The data comes from MapShare users, not the TeleAtlas database. MapShare users can opt in and elect to share anonymized speed data. If you have “fastest” selected as your routing preference, the new TomTom units will use this data to calculate the quickest route based on historical average speeds rather than the posted speed limit, taking into account whether it is a weekday or weekend. This just begins to give us a glimpse of what is possible with MapShare.
Lane separation and complex junction details
This feature will display the number of lanes and their direction, lane dividers, and the lane to follow, as shown in the detail below.
At complex junctions, the new TomToms will display an image similar to Navigon’s Reality ViewTM. As shown in the PR image below, it will feature an image of the junction/exit, signage, and a 3D arrow showing the lane to follow, in addition to the lane information discussed above.
TomTom GO 930/930T extras
The TomTom GO 730 and 930 series include the same feature set except for these upgrades on the 930:
- European maps are also included
- Enhanced Position Technology (this is a sort of dead reckoning to maintain accurate positioning information when satellite lock is lost)
- Remote control
Voice address input
Both the 730 and 930 series will include voice address input, which was introduced on the TomTom GO 920, but was missing from the 720.
Availability and pricing
TomTom expects these units to be available on April 29, 2008. Gotta love that specificity. Pricing seems fairly aggressive, especially once vendors start discounting the units:
- TomTom GO 730 – $449
- TomTom GO 930 – $499
About Rich Owings
according to tom tom website, the 930 model includes real time traffic module.
I’m just adding the 730, 730t, 930, and 930t to electronicsleader.com today. We are eagerly awaiting arrival on these units but are not expecting them until the end of April at least. If the release is anything like the GO 720 release I wouldn’t hold my breath. Once they are finally available though they do offer options not available on any other GPS. My Garmin tried to take me on a bad route to the airport the other day becuase it was not taking into account that highway traffic speed on I-75 in Detroit is about 85 (not the posted 70). TomTom’s new IQ routes feature should help to solve this problem. More once we actually have a unit.