Is TT (and others) working on truly integrated and upgradable GPS as in-dash nav?

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Sep 26, 2010
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XL350TM
When I was in the market for a new car, I almost immediately dismissed the in-dash nav option because I knew that it would be inferior in terms of features vs a decent standalone unit but ironically would cost much, much more in terms of both the unit price and the map/traffic updates. To me, that's a no-brainer to not buy it just to have a better looking, integrated unit.

I always thought that it would be nice for all car makers to have an empty space in the dash so that various gps modules could be inserted and interchanged. Probably not feasible but wishful thinking on my part. Heck, I'd settle for a non-interchangeable one from TT in-dash w/ free lifetime maps/updates, but I guess that's another area where the car makers get huge profit margins, so probably a no-go either.

Just wondering if there is anything heading in the direction that I wish for or our we just going to be stuck w/ these relatively lousy 'worse features but more expensive' built-in gps?
 
Get used to it.
With the 2019 model year (or is it registration after January 01,2019?) all passenger vehicles sold new in Canada must be equipped with a back up camera.
Now you lost that real estate you wanted for your PND, particularly in a smaller vehicle.

When we got a new car for my wife five weeks ago I insisted that it be equipped with a 360* camera as she had 3 accidents this year alone.

As there seems to be nothing under 60K with such a system, except for the Nissan Rogue (right size) and Nissan Versa Note SL. Neither of us liked the driving position in the Rogue so we got the Versa that also had a bundled GPS which can only be updated by getting a new SD card from Nissan.

The days are gone when a GPS is a 6k to 10K package option on top of the line European imports.
 
In most systems in the USA, the navigation is replaced by the camera feed while backing up.

The problem is standardizing the interface. While there used to be a system standard (double-din), the latest thing manufacturers are doing is to so tightly integrate the dashboard electronics, and limit 3rd party capabilities to the appstores that manufacturers manage. But until things get more standardized, it becomes difficult to develop for so many appstores.

Tomtom is actively working on both adding apps to manufacturer's relevant appstores, and building the software to integrate key navigational capabilities into manufacturer navigation. The whole point of the new NavKit interface is modularity for in-dash use. And there is lots of evidence that Tomtom is (properly in my opinion) prioritizing in-dash requirements in the new interface ahead of any work specific to PNDs.

The indash procurement lifecycle is about 3 years from contract to car sale, and Tomtom disclosed a number of wins over the past two years, so I expect TT content to be rolling out to in-dash options more and more in the coming 1-2 years. In fact, based on recent announcments, it seems that a large number (maybe over half, though I didn't formally count) of the manufacturers in Europe will use TT in their in-dash offerings. So the coming years hold lots of promise.
 
DIN used to be Deutsche Industrie Norm and was changed to Das Ist Norm (that is standard).
In this context used, DIN (useless without a number) strictly refers to a physical form factor of dash openings for car radios. That particular one was accepted as a standard world wide and given ISO 7736 for a 2" x 7" slot. When manufacturers started to incorporate screens, they doubled the height to 4" and Americans colloquially called it 'double DIN', 4" x 7".
 
I'm guessing we may be seeing the precursor to these designs in the Bridge models. Though designed for fleet vehicles, these offer the flexibility in apps and user interface that should gain some traction in the market.
http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/bridge
 

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