Boy, TomTom sure has chosen the worstpossibletime to release its Car Kit for iPhone, and to make matters worse, its decision to not include the iPhone app is now set in stone. That's right, the hardware alone will set you back the cost of a TomTom ONE nowadays, and the $99.95 app works on the iPhone 3G and 3GS without it. So here's the question: is the car kit worth the extra $119.95? To find out, we got hold of a review unit for a sunny road trip around London. Surprisingly, the car kit uses Bluetooth to connect the GPS receiver and the hands-free function to the iPhone, even though there's a dock connector for charging. Bluetooth connectivity does have its advantages: according to TomTom it can work as a generic Bluetooth GPS receiver for any satellite navigation app -- including Google Maps -- on the iPhone, or any smartphones at all for that matter. TomTom even confirmed that the car kit could potentially compensate for the first-generation iPhone's lack of built-in GPS, but since its app won't run on anything but a 3G or 3GS we'll have to wait and see if that's actually useful. Meanwhile, the company is cooking up a compatible app for the original iPhone and the iPod touch, which could make the car kit more worthwhile. [Update: the app has now been updated to work with the iPod Touch and the original iPhone, but you'll need to get a separate (and slightly cheaper) model of the Car Kit for the iPod touch. Thanks, Philippe!] Read on for our hands-on impression and test videos.
Time to slip the iPhone in: ours fitted flawlessly in the cradle, cushioned by a soft round pad as well as a rubber overlay under the top arm to avoid scratches. On the left side of the cradle you'll find the volume switch for the rear-mounted speaker -- which is significantly louder and clearer than the iPhone's -- and its audio-out line jack, which is right next to a mini USB port for power. We almost missed the pinhole mic just below the dock connector, which worked fine for our driver when he took a call using the hands-free functionality. One of the more impressive features of this car kit is the flexibility of positioning the iPhone: the cradle can slide lengthways and -- for the sake of the app's landscape mode -- can also rotate 360 degrees freely, but it's detented, so your iPhone won't be spinning around while you do a few donuts on the tarmac. Flip over the car kit and you'll see the same EasyPort Mount as used with the TomTom ONE and TomTom XL, connected to the main body by a convenient ball joint. We found the suction pad to be very easy to use: a simple twist on the dial tightly secured the entire kit onto the glass or the supplied sticky disc for the dashboard, and releasing it was just a matter of untwisting the dial and then pulling the plastic tag like you do with most conventional suction pads.
So we're impressed by the car kit's hardware, but what really matters is its GPS performance. To see the difference we installed the TomTom app on two iPhones and placed them side by side on our dashboard: the iPhone 3G connected to the TomTom car kit, while the 3GS used its built-in GPS receiver and sat on a generic phone cradle. Sure, the two phones are different, but we know they share the same Infineon GPS chip, and we thought it would be interesting to see if the car kit can compensate the 3G's slower processor. In our first round of tests we drove around the motorway and intercity roads, and the only significant difference we noticed was that the car kit provided a slightly quicker positioning, shouting out instructions at more sensible times when approaching junctions. The 3GS sans car kit didn't do too badly, but had we driven any faster in the city streets we would have missed a few turns. See for yourself in the video below.
We had a feeling that the car kit would make a bigger impact on the smaller streets, so to prove this we ran a torture test in Central London: we left the route planner on and drove around small streets randomly to test the GPS' accuracy and speed. The result? Again, the car kit proved to be quicker -- even with the slower phone -- and more accurate most of the time. Depending on the complexity of the route the iPhone 3GS' faster processor may even save a further two or three seconds when used with the car kit.
Wrap-up
There's no denying that the TomTom Car Kit for iPhone can make your life a tad better, and it's also a much better looking iPhone cradle compared to a generic-style holder. For those often driving around small city streets you'll get a greater benefit from the car kit, but at a dear cost of $119.95 for iPhone or $99.95 for iPod touch (neither of which includes the app), it's probably worth it if you're still stuck with a GPS-less first-generation iPhone or any iPod touch, provided that you don't mind the lack of a compatible TomTom app for the time-being. For the rest of us, we'll just get a standalone TomTom device, thanks.
How is this obsolete? Many people are happy with their iphones and will want a good navigation app for it.
The apparent consensus that the Android has access to a better (and free) navigation app does not compel me to replace my iphone. There are about 100 apps on the iphone that I would not want to lose. If I want to add a decent navigation app to my iphone, the TomTom app will be sufficient.
It would be absolutely silly to buy this now. You should wait and see if the Google Navigation comes to the iPhone in the coming months before shelling out way too much money for something that may be completely trumped in the near future.
With all due respect to those saying "wait for the Google solution", the Google solution isn't going to benefit from the improved GPS reception of the cradle and louder speaker. I think the pricing is crazy but TomTom won't be the only solution for hardware and it looks like the iPhone will really benefit from something like this. Now, if this works with Google's navigation application then that's another story.
@Brazell 1- Stop posting Droid links. People who clicked on that link to read this article want to view comments about either the TomTom app or the iPhone. Nobody cares about what holsters they are selling for Droid, they care about the TomTom holster or else they would be on a Droid website. 2- Your website fails. All of the phones in the holsters are Palm Pres. Much better phones than the Droid IMO, not because of Android, I have the Hero and it's wonderful, but a) Droid is on Verizon, who charges outrageous prices for data, voice, and text, and b) it's really big and ugly.
@ Guest Stop posting about how much you hate Verizon and love your Hero. People who clicked on that link to read this article want to view comments about either the TomTom app or the iPhone. Nobody cares about why you hate Verizon or why you love your hero, they care about the TomTom holster or else they would be on an Android website.
Notice it's directly atop the news that the Droid equivalent is $30, and doesn't require a $100 app to make it useful.
I know I won't save any money on my bill with Verizon, and I know they're just as evil as AT&T, but something about this Droid thing is just so . . . attractive.
Well, the obvious answer is that they might not be sufficient to do the job. We wait to see how the Droid fairs in reality but suffice to say that the iPhone has all these functions and the review shows that it benefits from the added hardware. Hardware for this sort of thing is mandatory anyway since you'll want something to hold the device in view and to keep it charged, at a minimum.
I'd really like to TRY the new Google GPS system before I'm convinced about how awesome it is. My hunch is that it's going to be useless when you're in a bad cell coverage area and you need to find something that's not close to your existing location, but I'd like to be wrong about that.
Until I know for certain, my old Garmin StreetPilot stays in the car.
That's what I'm curious about. Can other apps take advantage of the more powerful GPS chip in the TomTom Car Kit? Cause honestly it takes quite awhile for the iPhone to get a sure position and often times it can't find it at all, stopping at the general vicinity which is nearly an entire town. For example, a rainy day like today in Columbia, it took 5 minutes for my iPhone 3GS to pinpoint my location and even still it's flakey going back and forth from a radius of 3 blocks to over a mile. Of course this might really become obsolete when the iPhone includes a more powerful/accurate GPS chip, but as of now, this is fairly nice to have. The price is problematic though, I'm definitely not shelling a benjamin over for a bluetooth speaker with a gps chip inside but no software.
Better, a sensibly priced solution from another manufacturer. I believe Navigon is supposed to have something coming soon and I can't imagine that other 3rd party device manufacturers won't be churning out alternatives. Given the way the the iPhone Navigation market seems to be taking off, expect everyone to try and cash in on it. TomTom won't be the only game in town for long.
"Mystic @ Oct 29th 2009 4:12PM The TomTom cradle paired with the future free Google nav app seems like the way to go."
I think you are right, Mystic. Great software (and free) with an enhanced GPS chip, charging, bluetooth speaker phone, and a direct connect (3.5mm) to your stereo. After awhile this will be cheaper than $120, too.
Hate to sound anti-Apple, but this is par for the course for things associated with their products - overpriced for what it is.
For the same price as this kit + app, you could get a Droid and a decent lunch. Or, buck up another $10 and get the Droid + a car kit.
Admittedly, the need to download maps on the move rather than having them all native is a minor advantage of the jeebus phone + TomTom, but I don't think it's worth justifying the additional cost when the vast majority of the time the Droid will get reception during navigation.
The TomTom/iPhone snail got served a salty beverage in Droid, and the TomTom stock price is showing a slow foamy death already already.
You don't sound anti-Apple, Perry. Because there is nothing you are talking about that has anything to do with Apple. TomTom sets the price on the app. TomTom builds the dock. TomTom sets the price on the dock. Tell me where Apple comes in, other than the pennies-per-unit licensing on the dock connector.
As far as overpriced, it's not, really. As I said before, a Jabra Bluetooth Handsfree kit for the car runs about $80. An external GPS reciever runs $25, An iPod/iPhone charger runs about $20. A TomTom One is about $100. That's about $225 retail, give or take. The fact that you don't have to plug all four of these things into your 12v makes $200 for app+dock seem like a convenient deal, if you drive a lot and already use an iPhone...
You're right, I put too much into Apple. This is a TomTom issue.
My point is that I seem find that accessories related to iProducts often seem to be overpriced due to the hype factor.
In this case, TomTom seems to be continuing a trend of Apple Fanboy exploitation - when you can find stand alone GPS units with docks for quite a bit less than this cradle + software.
@Jimmy Not to defend this clown (Perry) because he taking a jab at apple for being overpriced a day after an announcement (free navigation) that nobody knew about... so it is really dumb to start talking about overpriced apple products... Perry is a one trick pony. Seriously, you cant come up with ANYTHING more original?
That being said... He does have a point about applie being tied to TOMTOM... apple pushed this at their conference like 5 months ago, you can only buy it at the apple store... they have clearly aligned themselves with TOMTOM... here... even if its a minor alignment.
Google saw this and smartly decided to make a huge bet on Navigation being their "Killer APP" to drive sales to their phone.. which is genius.
To say that apple is agian being overpiced... yes is a pathetic and too often repeatable line... but I think Google just saw a huge void that people REALLY WANTED Navigation on these devices and Apple left it up to TOMTOM to deliver.
"As far as overpriced, it's not, really. As I said before, a Jabra Bluetooth Handsfree kit for the car runs about $80. An external GPS reciever runs $25, An iPod/iPhone charger runs about $20. A TomTom One is about $100. That's about $225 retail, give or take. The fact that you don't have to plug all four of these things into your 12v makes $200 for app+dock seem like a convenient deal, if you drive a lot and already use an iPhone..."
IF YOU DRIVE ALOT AND ALREADY HAVE AN IPHONE YOU WILL DEFINITELY HAVE A CHARGER and you will probably own a bluetooth. You don't need an external GPS, because the phone has one. You don't need a hands free speaker phone, because the phone has one...
And the app and dock will be $220, not $200.
Once the google maps with turn by turn directions comes out, this accessory and app will add about $20 worth of functionality to your phone (the windshield mount). I promise you that someone has probably already made a windshield mount that will charge the phone and has a speaker phone built in.
Get over it, this this is overpriced because they grossly over-speced it. If you get rid of the GPS receiver, you probably knock $75-$80 off of this thing and it ends up in the realm of reason.
If this program allowed you to download at least a road map (no satellite) onto your phone, it would be worth it. As it stands, lose signal and you will lose your maps pretty quick.
No, it's not free elsewhere because the free solutions do not include the maps on your device so you'll need a fairly reliable data connection. Google Navigation may cache your route in case of outages but if you need to deviate from your route then you are screwed without a data connection.
The external GPS antenna is a nice added bonus to this, but I hardly see how that makes this $120 holder when a typical GPS holder is $30 and external GPS receivers are $20 at most. I think this is kind of a rip-off even overlooking Google navigator.
Apparently you are not fmailiar with jailbreaking.
Jailbreaking DOES NOT allow us to "steal" software. Jailbreaking DOES NOT allow you to install apps from the regular app store free.
Jailbreaking DOES allow you to bypass the app store and install 3rd party apps that the greedy smug apple gods deem not worthy for us. And that's the whole reason behind it. Apple should not be dictating what is or isn't worthy to go on the iphone. They had their chance, but used their approval power to stifle competition and collude with providers (see: google voice fiasco).
It really has nothing to do with stealing software at all. Many of the jailbroken apps available still require purchase (paypal, usually).
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
posted October 29th 2009 4:05PM
OBSOLETE.
I'd rather use the $200 to pay AT&T an ETF!
They must really think no one is aware of DROID...
Also known as a "bag of hurt..."
How is this obsolete? Many people are happy with their iphones and will want a good navigation app for it.
The apparent consensus that the Android has access to a better (and free) navigation app does not compel me to replace my iphone. There are about 100 apps on the iphone that I would not want to lose. If I want to add a decent navigation app to my iphone, the TomTom app will be sufficient.
It would be absolutely silly to buy this now. You should wait and see if the Google Navigation comes to the iPhone in the coming months before shelling out way too much money for something that may be completely trumped in the near future.
@Franz: The Google navigation is coming to the iPhone as well.
@TomTom
FailFail.
@Franz: the general consensus is that you can get a better, stand-alone device, and save 100 bucks.
With all due respect to those saying "wait for the Google solution", the Google solution isn't going to benefit from the improved GPS reception of the cradle and louder speaker. I think the pricing is crazy but TomTom won't be the only solution for hardware and it looks like the iPhone will really benefit from something like this. Now, if this works with Google's navigation application then that's another story.
Hey engadget,
why dont you review my belt holster.
i dont really have one.
but you see my point.
Looks like a custom carrier logo... so I assume this works with jailbreak devices.
Google Maps looks set to be the future, this im not sure about!
i wouldn't want to use a 'connected' sat nav on an important journey, just too much risk of getting lost in a low service area.
I don't trust phone navigation for important (or distant) journey. We have trusted paper map for that. Of course, I print them out using Google map.
It was stillborn. :(
Google just made this completely worthless.
Wow, Google came out with cradle too? STFU moron fanboy.
@ Mystic... why reinvent the wheel?
http://www.onlydroid.com/cradles.html
+1 poor tomtom and garmin
@Mystic
Motorola has already announced a dock and car kit accessory. In fact it was shown in the hands on.
@Brazell
1- Stop posting Droid links. People who clicked on that link to read this article want to view comments about either the TomTom app or the iPhone. Nobody cares about what holsters they are selling for Droid, they care about the TomTom holster or else they would be on a Droid website.
2- Your website fails. All of the phones in the holsters are Palm Pres. Much better phones than the Droid IMO, not because of Android, I have the Hero and it's wonderful, but a) Droid is on Verizon, who charges outrageous prices for data, voice, and text, and b) it's really big and ugly.
@ Guest
Stop posting about how much you hate Verizon and love your Hero. People who clicked on that link to read this article want to view comments about either the TomTom app or the iPhone. Nobody cares about why you hate Verizon or why you love your hero, they care about the TomTom holster or else they would be on an Android website.
Why are you even having this review? Rubbing the wounds ?
Notice it's directly atop the news that the Droid equivalent is $30, and doesn't require a $100 app to make it useful.
I know I won't save any money on my bill with Verizon, and I know they're just as evil as AT&T, but something about this Droid thing is just so . . . attractive.
True, you won't save money on the Verizon plan, but at least you won't be paying out the (_!_) for a craptastic network.
except it's not "equivalent".
The Android Cradle has...
No GPS Chip
No Bluetooth
No Handsfree
No External Speaker
No Mic
and, I believe, no charging...
You can pay $100 or more for a Jabra Bluetooth Handsfree device. If that's your thing, this TomTom thing isn't a bad deal.
I don't drive much, living in New York City, so I'd never pay, but it could be useful to some.
If only the Droid was releasing on Sprint. Their plans are deliciously priced.
@ jimmy
Why would a phone that already has:
A GPS Chip
Bluetooth
Handsfree
External Speaker
Mic
Need a separate cradle containing all that hardware again?
@ChazClout
Well, the obvious answer is that they might not be sufficient to do the job. We wait to see how the Droid fairs in reality but suffice to say that the iPhone has all these functions and the review shows that it benefits from the added hardware. Hardware for this sort of thing is mandatory anyway since you'll want something to hold the device in view and to keep it charged, at a minimum.
What about the battery life?
Can the kit recharge the battery?Expecially when you use it?
Mine don't.
bye,Renz.
it does charge the iphone's battery
fail
after google navigation all of this is just FAIL. Period.
I'd really like to TRY the new Google GPS system before I'm convinced about how awesome it is. My hunch is that it's going to be useless when you're in a bad cell coverage area and you need to find something that's not close to your existing location, but I'd like to be wrong about that.
Until I know for certain, my old Garmin StreetPilot stays in the car.
The TomTom cradle paired with the future free Google nav app seems like the way to go.
That's what I'm curious about. Can other apps take advantage of the more powerful GPS chip in the TomTom Car Kit? Cause honestly it takes quite awhile for the iPhone to get a sure position and often times it can't find it at all, stopping at the general vicinity which is nearly an entire town. For example, a rainy day like today in Columbia, it took 5 minutes for my iPhone 3GS to pinpoint my location and even still it's flakey going back and forth from a radius of 3 blocks to over a mile. Of course this might really become obsolete when the iPhone includes a more powerful/accurate GPS chip, but as of now, this is fairly nice to have. The price is problematic though, I'm definitely not shelling a benjamin over for a bluetooth speaker with a gps chip inside but no software.
Better, a sensibly priced solution from another manufacturer. I believe Navigon is supposed to have something coming soon and I can't imagine that other 3rd party device manufacturers won't be churning out alternatives. Given the way the the iPhone Navigation market seems to be taking off, expect everyone to try and cash in on it. TomTom won't be the only game in town for long.
"Mystic @ Oct 29th 2009 4:12PM
The TomTom cradle paired with the future free Google nav app seems like the way to go."
I think you are right, Mystic. Great software (and free) with an enhanced GPS chip, charging, bluetooth speaker phone, and a direct connect (3.5mm) to your stereo. After awhile this will be cheaper than $120, too.
Hmmm, $220 for a 'car kit' and an app?
Hate to sound anti-Apple, but this is par for the course for things associated with their products - overpriced for what it is.
For the same price as this kit + app, you could get a Droid and a decent lunch. Or, buck up another $10 and get the Droid + a car kit.
Admittedly, the need to download maps on the move rather than having them all native is a minor advantage of the jeebus phone + TomTom, but I don't think it's worth justifying the additional cost when the vast majority of the time the Droid will get reception during navigation.
The TomTom/iPhone snail got served a salty beverage in Droid, and the TomTom stock price is showing a slow foamy death already already.
i can sense make a lot of with have already already.
I shall hang my head in shame and downrank myself.
You don't sound anti-Apple, Perry. Because there is nothing you are talking about that has anything to do with Apple. TomTom sets the price on the app. TomTom builds the dock. TomTom sets the price on the dock. Tell me where Apple comes in, other than the pennies-per-unit licensing on the dock connector.
As far as overpriced, it's not, really. As I said before, a Jabra Bluetooth Handsfree kit for the car runs about $80. An external GPS reciever runs $25, An iPod/iPhone charger runs about $20. A TomTom One is about $100. That's about $225 retail, give or take. The fact that you don't have to plug all four of these things into your 12v makes $200 for app+dock seem like a convenient deal, if you drive a lot and already use an iPhone...
You're right, I put too much into Apple. This is a TomTom issue.
My point is that I seem find that accessories related to iProducts often seem to be overpriced due to the hype factor.
In this case, TomTom seems to be continuing a trend of Apple Fanboy exploitation - when you can find stand alone GPS units with docks for quite a bit less than this cradle + software.
@Jimmy
Not to defend this clown (Perry) because he taking a jab at apple for being overpriced a day after an announcement (free navigation) that nobody knew about... so it is really dumb to start talking about overpriced apple products... Perry is a one trick pony. Seriously, you cant come up with ANYTHING more original?
That being said... He does have a point about applie being tied to TOMTOM... apple pushed this at their conference like 5 months ago, you can only buy it at the apple store... they have clearly aligned themselves with TOMTOM... here... even if its a minor alignment.
Google saw this and smartly decided to make a huge bet on Navigation being their "Killer APP" to drive sales to their phone.. which is genius.
To say that apple is agian being overpiced... yes is a pathetic and too often repeatable line... but I think Google just saw a huge void that people REALLY WANTED Navigation on these devices and Apple left it up to TOMTOM to deliver.
HUGE MISTAKE.
"As far as overpriced, it's not, really. As I said before, a Jabra Bluetooth Handsfree kit for the car runs about $80. An external GPS reciever runs $25, An iPod/iPhone charger runs about $20. A TomTom One is about $100. That's about $225 retail, give or take. The fact that you don't have to plug all four of these things into your 12v makes $200 for app+dock seem like a convenient deal, if you drive a lot and already use an iPhone..."
IF YOU DRIVE ALOT AND ALREADY HAVE AN IPHONE YOU WILL DEFINITELY HAVE A CHARGER and you will probably own a bluetooth. You don't need an external GPS, because the phone has one. You don't need a hands free speaker phone, because the phone has one...
And the app and dock will be $220, not $200.
Once the google maps with turn by turn directions comes out, this accessory and app will add about $20 worth of functionality to your phone (the windshield mount). I promise you that someone has probably already made a windshield mount that will charge the phone and has a speaker phone built in.
Get over it, this this is overpriced because they grossly over-speced it. If you get rid of the GPS receiver, you probably knock $75-$80 off of this thing and it ends up in the realm of reason.
If this program allowed you to download at least a road map (no satellite) onto your phone, it would be worth it. As it stands, lose signal and you will lose your maps pretty quick.
wow, $99 for an app that can had be free elsewhere? tomtom is gonna be priced into irrelevance.
No, it's not free elsewhere because the free solutions do not include the maps on your device so you'll need a fairly reliable data connection. Google Navigation may cache your route in case of outages but if you need to deviate from your route then you are screwed without a data connection.
Blimey, this isn't a difficult concept.
The external GPS antenna is a nice added bonus to this, but I hardly see how that makes this $120 holder when a typical GPS holder is $30 and external GPS receivers are $20 at most. I think this is kind of a rip-off even overlooking Google navigator.
Wow so $99 for the App, then $129 for this? Are they crazy? I got a Garmin Nuvi on sale at Best Buy for $99 a year ago. And it's dedicated!
This is why people just Jailbreak their phones and steal this software.
Apparently you are not fmailiar with jailbreaking.
Jailbreaking DOES NOT allow us to "steal" software. Jailbreaking DOES NOT allow you to install apps from the regular app store free.
Jailbreaking DOES allow you to bypass the app store and install 3rd party apps that the greedy smug apple gods deem not worthy for us. And that's the whole reason behind it. Apple should not be dictating what is or isn't worthy to go on the iphone. They had their chance, but used their approval power to stifle competition and collude with providers (see: google voice fiasco).
It really has nothing to do with stealing software at all. Many of the jailbroken apps available still require purchase (paypal, usually).