TomTom navigates way onto iPhone
Apple addicts get mobile
TomTom has switched its attention to the iPhone, launching a “turn-by-turn” navigation application for the 3G and 3GS models.
TomTom's adapted its satnav tech for iPhone users
The app’s routing information is based on IQ Routes, which TomTom described as a navigation system that uses “the actual experience of millions of TomTom drivers” to calculate the fastest routes and most accurate arrival times.
For example, if you’re planning a trip from London to Shropshire and John Doe previously told TomTom that a particular B road gets clogged around 10am - then the TomTom app will take that into account when planning your route.
Able to display landscape and portrait modes, the iPhone app will also automatically re-route you if you miss a turn, tell you about upcoming speed cameras and change the on-screen display’s colours according to the time of day – or night.
Points of interest and an option to switch the view between 2D and 3D are both included, TomTom said.
The firm’s also included an option to plan your route according to a contact’s address. The app even supports muti-touch on-screen gestures, TomTom added.
TomTom’s satnav app for iPhone is available now through Apple’s App Store, priced at £60 ($98/€69) – a price that includes maps of the UK and Ireland. It’s worth noting that TomTom’s app isn’t the only iPhone satnav option available: CoPilot Live includes many of the same features – yet it only costs £25 ($40/€28). ®
COMMENTS
So where's the support for people who've given TomTom money for years?
Why has TomTom now completely abandoned a pretty big user base by refusing to write or release a new version of TomTom Navigator to run on Windows Mobile / CE or on Symbian? The latest 'official' release I believe is Navigator 6 on Symbian (and it's so old it fails to work with the N95's internal GPS) and Navigator 6 on WinMo (apart from devices that had TomTom 7 preinstalled). Even TomTom's customer service people don't know why Navigator 8 hasn't been released (or Navigator 7 made available separately) - they'll rake in the money from people upgrading to new maps if they sorted it out!
@Co Pilot
I've used various versions of CoPilot on WM and now on Android and have always found it to be excellent. My brother has just installed it on his iphone and is also more than happy with it as far as I know. The new version is a bargain at £25.
I have heard that TomTom on the iphone will turn off when someone calls you! Can anyone confirm this as it sounds completely stupid!?
Navigon is great
I have another alternative, Navigon, installed on my iPhone and it is excellent. I have had no problems with GPS lock. I previously had a TomTom unit installed in my Landrover and had to have an external antenna fitted as it kept losing GPS lock. The iPhone has never lost lock inside the same vehicle with just it's internal antenna.
I have an Alpine head unit with USB connection to my iPhone so it charges and plays back through the in car system. The GPS voice over mutes the playback and I get to hear the prompts clearly. While the TomTom cradle looks good unless they have pass through on the iPhone connector it will be useless with my existing system.
Co Pilot
Do NOT buy co pilot as its rubbish, I got it this morning before I knew tomtom was out. and it really is shit
.
Its very hard to get a GPS lock and when it does its for seconds only. to start with
Installed twice and still no better. had in car from Doncaster to Wakefield and nothing.
I was able to get a GPS lock when I popped the iphone into my sunroof sun shield. then for a few mins it would work. I have a medion sat nav and that was in the car at the same time with no problems.
Do not get me wrong when its working as it did for a bit longer on the way back, its good. but also was not keen on the gps loosing which road it was on.
If they do the update hopefully it works
I have NO problems using the GPS on Google maps and that tracks smooth...
I had the iphone in the wind screen and if it could get any closer to the sky, it would have been outside the car.
another option?
I'm not convinced about the requirement for the TomTom cradle. tomTom stated that they had a higher quality GPS unit in the cradle because the one in the phone wasn't good enough. I've been using the Sygic MobileMaps app on my 3Gs, and have a Dension cradle that interfaces with the car stereo, emulating a CD Changer so I have near full control of the iphone from the steering wheel.
For me, the iPhone's internal GPS works fine, and with the Dension cradle, I really don't see the point of the TomTom unit, especially since it won't integrate as nicely with the head unit. The only benefit I can imagine that the TomTom unit offers might be to help with interference.
With the Dension unit, and the phone NOT in Airplane mode, I get that annoying bipbip-bipbip-brrrrrrrrrp of cell communication. Turning on airplane mode seems to disable the GPS. If the TomTom unit allows the phone to be operated as a satnav in AirPlane mode, then it might offer some benefit, but even then, unless it's interfacing with the stereo, then interference wouldn't be an issue anyway.
All I really need is, I suppose, for Apple to bring out an update that allows the GPS module to be enabled and disabled independently of the phone's network stuff. They did it withj WiFi in the 1st gen models, hopefully they'll do it again with the GPS.
