TomTom's Car Kit for iPhone will be your co-pilot in October
By Donald Melanson 
posted Sep 4th 2009 2:31PM
posted Sep 4th 2009 2:31PM
Well, it just passed through the FCC last week, and it looks like TomTom itself is now finally getting a bit more specific about when its new Car Kit for iPhone will start shipping. While it's still not providing an exact date just yet, the company's newly-updated FAQ now says that the device will be available directly from TomTom sometime this October. What's more, the company also says that the kit (which also works with the iPod touch) will be initially sold without the TomTom iPhone app, contrary to what was previously rumored, although it's not clear if a bundle with the app will also be available at a later date.
[Via NaviGadget]
[Via NaviGadget]
No turn by turn in-built yet?
Even you iphone guys have to admit that this is weird.
There are other navigation apps out there, this is just a cradle for TomTom, which actually works fine without it anyway.
It doesn't strike me as all that strange. Nobody is really using openstreetmap.org so they have to pay licensing fees to TeleNav and the like. This either translates to paying a subscription fee (such as with Verizon's VZnav or AT&T's nav offering) or shelling out $100 for TomTom or similar. Nobody thought it was odd to pay $100 for TomTom on Windows Mobile, so I don't see why it's strange on the iPhone. When you buy a dedicated nav device, a good chunk of that price goes to the map licensing.
What do you mean "no turn by turn"? Buy the iPhone app, that is what this is designed to work with.
You're obviously not familiar with the iPhone. You get turn by turn directions via its built in Google app. This, however, talks and is designed to replace your built in Nav.
so now your iphone/gps combo can get stolen because car jackers can see that little ring smudge from the window mount...great.
That hand looks pretty menacing!
it is indeed a very good kit for your car
Move over, God.
God now got a job as my mechanic, in charge of periodic maintenance and emissions control.
i wouldnt trust god as
my mechanics. after all, he never blessed me with a very good emissions control.
Still no price?
They just want too much money for this crap. The app is $99 and this stupid thing will probably be another what, $100 stand-alone? No, I like the Tom Tom brand, but I can get a more functional GPS unit for less money (hell, I can even get a Tom Tom for less money. Methinks, they just don't get it.
I agree, you can get a decent garmin or magellan for well under $200.
Why would anyone pay that much for a limited application and a charging dock.
Yes, got to agree that this is not worth it for what they charge. Some convergent devices like phone+camera are priced higher than their individual sub-par components but at least one gets some convenience and portability. But why does one need to have the car's GPS integrated into one's phone if there's no cost savings and no technology advantage? What exactly does this thing do if someone calls you while you're driving and your GPS is giving you directions anyway? Does it have a pre-recorded message saying one is driving and to call back later? Or does one actually need to pick up the phone and tell the caller to get lost or you will literally get lost?
Geeez...I see why companies hire hand models now.
There is no conformation that this will work with an iPod Touch. None. Not on the FAQ, not anywhere.
I can see that it would work but why would you want it too? The bluetooth and other functions would be useless on an iPod, unless you can sync it to your phone, but you would have to still look at your phone to use all the functions. Otherwise this would be an expensive product to us iPod fans.
If this Carkit is the same quality like the Car kits for their navigation systems, I can see my iPhone flying around in my car ... no thanks; I'm gonna buy another holder!
my TomTom felt off the window all of the sudden and it freaked the hell out of my while driving.
This is DANGEROUS!
Than I bought a Non TomTOm car holder and now it works.
There's a USB port on the side, i sure hope this can charge the iphone, as well as having the maps stored in the base as to not waste my space on my phone, or cell data to use it... basically just using the iphone's screen and processor.
Can't you get a stand alone TomTom for $99.
The iPhone app is already that much, and with the car kit it just seems like a bad deal.
I still want it though.
Let's hope they put a Pass Thru on the dock connector.
A significant advantage of using this is that it also works as a handsfree kit for your iphone? Whether or not this justifies the price being higher than a standalone TomTom satnav I am not convinced. The question is what happens when when you receive a call whilst listening to turn by turn directions? Not necessarily a question of the iphone multitasking but about the drivers ability to take a (handsfree) call whilst navigating!
No you don't get turn by turn navigation in the google app that comes with the iPhone. You have to scroll through written directions and the app itself is not useful for navigation in a car (too small and doesn't have a direction up mode. Turn by turn refers to visual and voice guidance clearly directing you along every turn you make. The Maps App simply does not do all of this and what it does is very unclear.
As for the Tomtom app, it certainly doesn't work well on it's own! A vast majority of the reviews on itunes and elsewhere simply haven't done anything more than fired it up and driven a few miles. That much is obvious. If they bothered to use it for any length of time they'd notice that GPS reception regularly drops out and the app freezes and greys out saying poor GPS reception. Countless people are reporting this, myself included. I won't be buying the cradle as for the app+cradle price I can buy a dedicated unit. As it stands, the GPS chip in the iPhone isn't nearly good enough for decent car sat nav imho.
hello i agree with you i also contacted apple and they asked me for logs of my iphone ..
i keep getting low signal or cant kind gps..
TomTom realised that the GPS chip in the iPhone isnt that great - so they have a signal boost built into the car-kit, of course it remains to be seen how effective this is.
why do they think i would wait for that. i already have the tomtom app.
i bought the app cause i wanted to use it now, right? not sometime later this year. must be complicated making it. sounds expensive.
got at holder and a charge cable with fm-trans. of the internet.... cruisin today instead of later.
Why hasn't anyone mentioned that this is way over priced when compared to Co-pilot live for Android? For under $40 we get turn by turn, maps on SD, super fluid animations, text to speech, voice control, and cool ass lane assist.
And as for the background applications, on my last trip to Atlanta I streamed music the entire way with Imeem while using CoPilot. Granted, it killed my G1 deader than a doornail even though it was plugged into a charger. I need to get me a factory travel charger; the one for my old AT&T Tilt apparently won't charge the phone when it uses a bunch of radios (e.g. when the bluetooth, gps, and data connections are active). I am thinking it doesn't put out enough amperage for the G1
Somebody please make an iPhone car mount/cradle/dock like this! I've been searching for one that isn't huge, "universal", cheap, or ugly that passes through power AND audio and can be mounted on the dash. So very tired of my unstable DLO TransDock Direct that spins and wobbles and won't turn sideways without dropping my iPhone.