True, it's not the first app offering turn-by-turn driving instructions for the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS -- but it is from TomTom, an industry heavy-weight that is finally delivering on years of
rumor and
speculation. After starting with New Zealand a few hours ago, the iTunes App Store is now populated with region specific TomTom apps for NZ ($95), Australia ($80), US and Canada ($100), and Western Europe ($140). If that sounds expensive... it is; dedicated TomTom navigators start at $120. In other words, this isn't one of those knee-jerk 99 cent App Store purchases. Naturally, that price does not include the announced
TomTom iPhone car kit (rumored to cost
£113.85 (about $194) with bundled mapping software) that mounts and charges your iPhone 3G or 3GS while enhancing its GPS performance, speaker, and microphone. Our advice: wait for the reviews before dedicating your non multi-tasking iPhone to the dashboard for navigation duties.
Update:
Recombu took the software for a spin and seem duly impressed by their ability to navigate streets with an iPhone
taped to the dash (not a joke). They say that when a call comes in, the TomTom app "turns off but restarts as soon as you finish the call." Lame. See the video overview after the break.
Update 2: TomTom says the upcoming
car kit dock / windshield mount will also
work with the iPod touch and third-party apps -- it contains a faster, more accurate GPS chip than the one in the iPhone. Check a video of it after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read [Warning: iTunes link]
posted August 17th 2009 11:17AM
$99 seems steep since we already own the hardware. Does it have TTS?
Dont forget that AT&T charge you $9.95 a month for the privilege of using navigation software. I still use my standalone GPS from 3 years ago. 3 years at $9.95 equals $358.20
Im not saying TomTom couldnt of lowered the price, they could have, but you cant expect them to sabotage their main product line, standalone GPS's.
I use Sygic on my Iphone but will look into TomToms offering. Competition is always good.
Adderz, isn't the 9.95 fee for using the AT&T navigation? I think that's a free app, but you need to pay the monthly. if anyone is interested in getting a nav app, I really the MobileNavigation app from Navigon. It's $70 and works REALL REALLY well. I just used it all weekend long.
And so bigins another edition of KIRF. just hope its made by newman ;-)
I didnt reply to this post Engadget >:-(
@Adderz >> "but you cant expect them to sabotage their main product line, standalone GPS's."
The number of non-iPhone users vastly outnumber those with iPhones.
This is a neat product, for a very popular phone... but considering how many iPhones there actually are in the market... this shouldn't cut into their normal GPS units.
This might cut into the sales of their standalone GPS units when:
1) the person has an iPhone
2) they don't already have a GPS unit
3) they would even want to turn their phone into a GPS unit... some people still like to have a separate device... to loan to a spouse, a friend, etc
But, if the person still buys the iPhone TomTom software... TomTom still makes a sale!
@Adderz
AT&T only charges if you want to use their GPS software, which i believe is tele nav (anyone confirm?). You are free to use the GPS hardware with whatever software is out for the OS of your devise without a monthly charge. Ive had GPS on my last 3 phones and have never paid a charge to unlock it monthly or otherwise. So stop spreading FUD about AT&T when you dont know what youre talking about.
And now that i sound like an AT&T fanboi verizon does have an overall better network in the US, but not in my area.
"Im not saying TomTom couldnt of lowered the price"
COULDN'T OF? WTF is that supposed to mean?
Would you say that the iPhone GPS has always been, and will continue to be, in a world of hurt?
I have had TomTom 7 on my HTC Touch Diamond for a while now and have never been charged a monthly fee, sure the maps are expensive (painfully so), but that has been the only cost and that was a one off (thank god!). I suspect that it will be the same for this app, unless you subscribe to the live traffic updates and other services that TomTom offer.
Look on the bright side, for $99 you get the TomTom Maps and it includes the iphone holder which was used on the guy's dashboard for free!...
@op
This IS TomTom you're talking about. They're the Monster Cable of GPS devices.
I'm doing some work with TomTom - at the moment of launch, the TomTom iPhone app will not be compatible with text-to-speech. We're going to continue innovating the app, and we'll announce any new features and services by press release.
price = huge fail
I bought the Co Pilot Live app last week for about £26 and it works beautifully on my 3GS. Especially as it's jailbroken with Backgrounder installed.
its not that bad when you have jailbreaked.
if you have to ask about price, you cant afford it!
He compares it to a TomTom Go 520 which is $60 (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=208261614&listingid=24036440). That Iphone app is a steal.
"unless you have a really long conversation and get lost." lol
What if you want to text while driving?
Sprint Navigation came free on my Palm Pre.
Anyone here ever heard of a Google Map for the iphone? I've been using it to find my direction and never encounter a problem (travel from Texas to California to Vegas). Plus, you can view realtime via satellite view which no GPS offers. It's free so it's a winner in my book.
PhotoFre@k Ugh. Google Maps does not do TURN BY TURN VOICE DIRECTIONS which for a CAR NAVIGATION app is absolutely 100% essential for safe driving.
@chrise524 "What if you want to text while driving?"
What if you want to kill yourself? While you're at it go grab yourself a double shot of 60% alcohol whisky before you set off.
so how long till' someone hacks the source code a "YomYom" app for $1.99 releases to Cydia?
excuse the grammar, i'm drunk
...or even better a MotMot?
More like until someone cracks it and puts it up on xsellize, which will probably be this week ;)
it will be on appulo.us tomorrow guaranteed
More like NomNom!
@ mithinco
You killed the joke. Ship it!
I stand corrected, its already craked, and uplaoded ;) That was a quick one....
Nom Nom...you sir should get a prize for that...killer!
Only if it has a Pac Man avatar and pellets on the roadways to eat.
they already did u can download any app for free
what do nerds do when they're drunk? get laid? nope, they read engadget, damnit!
Thanks, that was the funniest statement of the day.
99 cent sounds about right for this
For that price I'd rather have a dedicated GPS
No kidding.
yeah standalone el-cheapo GPS for $99 is much better, you have to charge it every 4 hours with special cable, hide it every time you park and let some asshole take it when you forget to hide it ....
traffic cable alone costs more than $50 for Garmin
I think its a good thing in this case that the iphone can't multitask...
As an iPhone owner. No, this is actually one of the reasons why it needs to offer multitasking for 3rd party apps, even if it is just one, whatever, something.
So you are navigating away and a call comes in and you lose the map, have to reopen the app when you are done, wait for it to reconfigure and hope it has state saving otherwise its back to typing in where you were going.
This, radio style and geo-caching apps are 3 excellent examples where no multitasking is tedious.
Any iPhone owner who says otherwise is either a Troll or really hasn't thought through the situation.
Most other GPS units actually can take phone calls and such things while handling your navigation. This means that your $400 iphone+kit doesn't even have the same capabilities as a $99 bluetooth GPS unit from Wally World.
I was just refering to people thinking THEY can multitask by texting and driving at the same time.
iPhone has been multitasking since day one. With 3.0, selective 3rd party app can continue to run even when phone is put to sleep! I know for fact because I own one of the apps that does just that!
I'm glad it can't multitask. I don't want someone trying to follow their GPS and talk on the phone and drive all at the same time. That is an accident waiting to happen.
I've bought the software. When it is running/navigating and you receive a call the voice commands continue to tell you which way to go. When you have finished the call it takes you back to the map view and continues the navigation - what more do you want?
@Perry: quit trolling. Running while in sleep mode is not multitasking.
"So you are navigating away and a call comes in and you lose the map, have to reopen the app when you are done, wait for it to reconfigure and hope it has state saving otherwise its back to typing in where you were going."
If you take a call while the TomTom app is running, navigation will pick up right where it left off and automatically continue when your call is finished. However, if you want to make a call, you will have to exit the application and restart navigation.
Does iPhone OS not have a phone API? I'd like to think that if I wait there will be a v2.0 with built-in phone and audio controls...
I give it a week before I can dl it for Free. Jailbreak ftw.