Advice on which TOM TOM 900 to go for!

[athanatos]

Hi,

Im looking to buy a Tom Tom Go, my very first sat nav, and I am looking at the 940 and 950 because I want the maps of USA and Canada and from what ive read its better to pay a bit more now and get all the maps on rather than having to pay later.

Im struggling to decide between the two though. There seem to be more good reviews written on the 940, especially since you get 3 months free triall for the LIVE services as oppose to one month with the 950, but there dont seem to be that many for the 950, especially recent reviews, possibly because it hasn't been out that long so not been tested as much.

From what I have read the main differences between the two are that the 950 unlike the 940, doesn't support an MP3 player nor does it have an FM Transmitter so you cant connect it to the car stereo. The MP3 player isn't really that much of an an issue to me as I dont own an MP3 player and thats what the car stereo is for. From the few reviews I have read, the 950 has an improved speaker and volume so it should be easy to clearly hear instructions from the in built speaker. The biggest difference is the new eco-routes function which the 950 has for calculating the most fuel efficient route and some additions to the HD and Live services i believe which would only really be useful for someone who does extensive driving daily, which I certainly dont.

However its slighly disappointing to see that TOM TOM havent included these features on the 950 also since its suppose to be an upgrade, not a down grade.

The reviews I have read on the 950 have mostly said that if your not a regular driver and money is an issue, then the extra cost to buy the 950 isnt really worth the extra functions, as the 940 supports all the other functions. However, the price quoted for the 950 in most of the reviews I have read has been ?299 or more so its understandable that you would think twice about paying that, but the price has now dropped and on Amazon is now ?251. The 940 is going for about ?240, so not much difference now.

Im just wondering if anyone has used either of these models, or both, and has an opinion on which of the 2 models to buy. The price of the two arent that different now so the cost factor isnt an issue. Is it better to buy the latest model in order to be up to date in terms of maps and operating systems or are there known operating issues with the 950.

Any thoughts or advice is much appreciated.

Thanks

Costa
Cardiff, Wales

 

[mvl]

(First off, as a disclaimer, neither model is in the US so everything I wrote below is what I learned from reading member's posts on this forum)

You pretty much have the feature differences understood, with a couple of additional points:

1) The 940 supports the RDS-TMC antenna from earlier Tomtoms, so if you choose not to pay for LIVE services, you can use an old antenna as a free backup (in Europe). The 950 appears to not support this antenna, instead you need to buy a RDS-TMC mount which is harder to find and more expensive.

2) The 950 specs say it has a better screen that doesn't wash out in sunlight.

3) Tomtom has been releasing about one bugfix app a month for the 950, and very few (if any) updates on the 940. So there's a better chance that the 950 will be a more reliable unit (software-wise) in the long run.

I use the music player a lot, so if I were choosing, I'd pick the 940. But everyone has their own priorities.

One more point to think about - if you travel a lot to the US, you may want to consider a 930. The PLUS/GPRS traffic service on the 930 is the only traffic service that works on both continents with only one subscription.

 

[mikealder]

You can still connect a 950 to your car stereo via one of two methods:

1/ Aux Line Out 1/8" jack socket only found on the accessory mounts
2/ A2DP Bluetooth assuming your car/ stereo supports such a feature

To be honest I wouldn't bother connecting a 950 to the car via Bluetooth as you will only hear the navigation instructions, A2DP is best employed for streaming music which the 950 can't do, using Bluetooth for Navigation instructions is akin to feeding pigs on a diet of strawberries IMHO.

If/ when TomTom update the 940 to Navcore 9 (which is the next logical step) it will be a superiour device to the more recent additions to the model range, this is a rather strange thing to do as normally newer models have more features/ options than last years offering.
I see no visible difference between the 940 or 950 when they are sat next to each other in the car so the clearer screen isn't something I have experianced. On the contrary the Navcore 9 on the 950 introduces fancy transitions fades/ wipes/ disolves between the menu screens which is a waste of processor resource looking like MicroSoft PowerPoint on Steroids (ever sat through a presentation created by someone who has used every transition available) - A little unfair perhaps, but this was my imediate reaction to menu transitions and I don't like it.

Don't take the above as being totally against the 950 it is a very capable device, if you don't want/ need the mp3 player or the flexibility the FM Tx option offers (I drive Hire cars quite often where I need the FM Tx, in my own car I have the use of various Bluetooth connections available) the 950 will serve you well - Mike