TomTom GO 940 LIVE surfaces, better include auto-pilot

Call it a hunch, but we'd say TomTom is gearing up to have some real fun at IFA. With the PRO 4000 / PRO 8000 units being outed yesterday and this newfangled GO 940 LIVE surfacing today (930 pictured), we get the feeling it's planning a Garmin-esque onslaught here in just a few days. Nevertheless, a pre-order page up at Handtec shows off this all new navigation system, yet completely fails at delivering any pertinent information outside of a price. And given that said price is pegged at £468.83 ($871), you probably couldn't care less.

[Via GPSLodge]

[aardWolf @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:01AM]

Actually, I could care less. And I do, I really do.

[John @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:53PM]

Sorry for being pedantic but this seems like the perfect message to correct an often-heard statement.

To say you COULD care less means that you actually care more than the minimum possible of caring.

That means that you care more than someone who COULDN'T care less!

GET IT RIGHT PEOPLE.

Saying that you could care less is just pure wrong for the meaning you are trying to invoke.

/Rant

[Ricardo Sampaio @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:11AM]

Looks very good, but im imaging some old guys saying, "the exit don't look like this, maybe the next one..."

[aardWolf @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:31AM]

Yeah... if they make it look too real, people might stop watching the road and just look at the device. :)

[GON @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:31AM]

Yeah what else is new?

[Engadgetier @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:39AM]

$800!! thats not in my budget. maybe it should have auto pilot =/

[tif @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:43AM]

Is it safe to assume that the data describing the lanes on these high-end devices is just as out-of-date as the maps on my low-end garmin? When will they figure out a way to update in a timely manner? When will they figure out that the streets in my neck of the woods are important to me even if they're not important to anybody else? It sounds like TomTom is onto something with the community updates, but I hear it's not powerful enough.

[Jon Doe. @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:49PM]

*rolls eyes* Yah because they can cover the US with 100% accuracy once every 3 months. You do understand that TomTom doesn't make these maps...right? Ditto with the POI's. All of that is purchased or licensed by one of only a handful of companies that take the time to try and keep track of this crap. Consider yourself lucky that TomTom allows you to mark up your maps for road closures, etc. The GPS in my Prius does not have this function and to update the maps and the software its a cool $300.
Instead I'm eyeballing getting a midrange TomTom for that price.

[Jeebus @ Aug 24th 2008 1:36PM]

With TomTom's MapShare, you will get the benefit of other user's corrections to the maps, and you can yourself enter corrections and upload them for other users. So yes, there's a good chance your map will be updated continously, unlike Garmin.

[Septimus @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:52AM]

At last, been waiting for this. Had a Garmin 255W to tide me over, and has been good but definitely upgrading to this.

[Mr Ford @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:54AM]

I love how engadget assumes that all of its readers are poor.

[Keith @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:11PM]

You don't have to be poor to be unwilling to spend ~$900 on a GPS device.

[Mr. Ford @ Aug 22nd 2008 7:36PM]

OK, let me rephrase. I love how engadget assumes that all of its readers are [unwilling to spend ~$900 on a GPS device].

[Boarderwoot @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:25PM]

how about they shave a couple bucks off the price and keep the ariel view like it was, investing the money in that woman with the sexy brittish accent to tell you what lane to be in.

[Kris @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:50PM]

The ariel view is still there and is exactly like it was. It just switches when you get very close to your exit (RTFA).

[Jon Doe. @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:41PM]

Screw new units. TomTom needs more voices. Its selection is pathetic at best. Mr T? John Cleese? Dennis Hopper? OK DH is a good one but the rest? WTF? No give me Majel Barrett Roddenberry a.k.a the voice of the computer in Star Trek, or Gollem from LotR, hell Ian Holmes would be a wonderful voice. Yes there is probably a ton of money for licensing, but roll it into the voice purchase.

[Engineer @ Aug 22nd 2008 5:08PM]

To address tif and then John Doe's follow up.

If TOM TOM really wanted to get the maps right they could have their
unit notice when it was way off of the nearest road driving at a high
speed (say 25mph minimum) and record the route data (like waypoints or
routes in non-navigation GPS's). The minimum speed would be so that
they don't map all of the mall parking lots or drive thru's in
the world. Heck the unit could even tell you that you are in uncharted
territory and ask if you would like to save/share, etc the data. You
could type in the road name and other data if you wanted (so that the
unit could navigate to addresses in the new area). Then if they used
"map share" in a pseudo-democratic way and would only publish the new
map data once they had several confirmations of the new data from
different users (or release it as "uncertain" to be beta tested).

Statistically they would always be refining there maps since new
construction in well traveled areas would get a number of
confirmations rather quickly. As a business decision they would
eventually have better maps than the ones they are buying and could
stop buying them....

Maybe an invasion of privacy but what isn't these days.

By the way I agree on the voices. I would like to be able to add my
own messages sometimes. Like when your destination is "home" I would
like to change, "you have arrived at your destination" with something
more personal or "turnaround when possible" with "Your lost you
idiot. You need to listen to me. Turn around NOW."

[Raj @ Aug 22nd 2008 9:27PM]

A similar feature is already available in navigon gps and it came last year. They are just catching up on this feature.

[dvheil @ Aug 25th 2008 12:04PM]

doesn't look like they're doing so well with the new features....I've never seen any green pastures on my way to the Holland Tunnel.
Any other New Yorkers seeing this?