940 Live coming to US soon?

Joined
Jan 2, 2008
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Location
Fairfax, VA
TomTom Model(s)
920
The 740 can now be had for $298. Does this mean the 940 Live is coming to the US soon? I really
want the additional features the 940(UK) has to offer since I would be upgrading from the 920.
 
I have not seen any indication that the 940 is coming to the States soon, if ever.

That's not to say it won't hapeen, just have'nt heard anything yet.
 
Prior to the 740, Tomtom has always released their highest-end model when they released a model line in the US.

My suspicion is that they're trying to hold off since HD traffic isn't available in the US.

The 540/740/940 came out in Fall 2008 in Europe. I expect the 950 to be announced in the "new releases" promised for 4Q09.

I think the April American 740 release was just done to hold Americans off until the 950 comes out (my guess is October).

My suspicion is that the 950 will have American HD traffic, probably a CDMA/GSM dual modem like the Blackberry Storm has, and probably launched on Verizon. Verizon partnered with Airsage for the required HD cell-probe technology, is part-owned by Vodafone which runs Europe HD traffic, and a member posted that Tomtom support said they are testing more Verizon bluetooth compatibility.

Hopefully the 950 has more powerful hardware so it can support things like route optimization, better voice recognition, and better screen refresh.

LIVE services don't roam yet on the GO line (even within Europe), so you'll get no LIVE features if you move a 940 to the US.
 
There are a few users reporting their x40 devices are now roaming while moving around within Europe, the XL Live models were sold from the outset with roaming enabled, whether we ever see a true roaming capable 940 type device that will work on both sides of the pond is something I doubt will appear to be honest - Mike
 
Question,

If someone was to bring a 940 here to the US....would the " LIVE " services work ?


Now here's an idea for someone with a lot of extra time and money.

What if you:
1) buy an American 740 and a European 940
2) put the American Jaspar SIM card in the 940
3) copy the American app 8.312 onto the 940

Hmmm....
 
For what it's worth - yippie, Boston's been selected as a 2009 Verizon LTE pilot city.

Wonder if it's just dumb luck that Tomtom's North American headquarters is in the Boston metro area, or if Vodafone/Tomtom had a say in the city selection.

If anyone from Tomtom wants an LTE device beta tester, PM me... I live 20 minutes from Concord :)
 
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I still don't see a high-end TT coming to the States this year, but of course it's possible. If they're watching the sales trends (and I'm sure they are), it's gotta be worrisome that the bulk of sales are at the bargain end. Example: What percentage of pnd sales last month were under $200. 60%? 75%? Try a whopping 84% according to the NPD Group. That little 16% sales share for devices like the 740, nuvi 1300/1400 series and the new Magellan 4700 (among others) to fight over doesn't make that part of the market very attractive. Now throw Garmin's new 1690 in the mix and profits in that segment are probably going to be meager. IMHO, TT's making the right call by releasing low-priced entry level connected models rather than putting a lot of effort and money into a new model development. I'll be pretty surprised if they make much if any change to their basic hardware platform. The money's just not there like it was in up till early 2008. Now add mobile apps like Co-Pilot Live on the iPhone, just announced today in NA for a measly $35, including on-board Canada and US maps (which doesn't bode well for TT's mobile app when it's finally ready). It's no surprise that more potential buyers are questioning the advantages and economics of stand-alone navigation devices.
 
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I still don't see a high-end TT coming to the States this year, but of course it's possible. If they're watching the sales trends (and I'm sure they are), it's gotta be worrisome that the bulk of sales are at the bargain end. Example: What percentage of pnd sales last month were under $200. 60%? 75%? Try a whopping 84% according to the NPD Group. That little 16% sales share for devices like the 740, nuvi 1300/1400 series and the new Magellan 4700 (among others) to fight over doesn't make that part of the market very attractive. Now throw Garmin's new 1690 in the mix and profits in that segment are probably going to be meager. IMHO, TT's making the right call by releasing low-priced entry level connected models rather than putting a lot of effort and money into a new model development. I'll be pretty surprised if they make much if any change to their basic hardware platform. The money's just not there like it was in up till early 2008. Now add mobile apps like Co-Pilot Live on the iPhone, just announced today in NA for a measly $35, including on-board Canada and US maps (which doesn't bode well for TT's mobile app when it's finally ready). It's no surprise that more potential buyers are questioning the advantages and economics of stand-alone navigation devices.

In my opinion no matter what the economic conditions are every company needs a flagship device of some type or another. Whether its latter this year or before the next consumer electronics show this top of the line device will come out.
 
You make a good point Doctor. . . Yes there's a number of products considered "flagship" out on the market that really only exist for bragging rights, but generate few sales. But they do get consumer's attention.
 
The flagship lines are valuable for marketing and often make money from a components standpoint, because early adopters overpay for new features. Meanwhile, new features are introduced and refined and becomes the cool think for the mass market in the next cycle.

The early adopters are willing to pay a lot, and are the ones who publicize the device to their friends. I paid top dollar for an N97. Mikealder bought every last iphone nav app. And didn't dhn pay over $400 for his 720? Although it may not get much use right now ;)

Tomtom's issue in the US is that they didn't release the top of the line 940 here. For every two 740 owners I see on this forum, I see one who's sitting on the sidelines waiting for a true top-of-the-line to come out. I said way back in April that the 740's sales were going to stink - the early adopters wouldn't bite on a "second-best" device, and mass market was going to buy a 340.

Once Tomtom gets HD traffic working in the US and finally sell the 940/950, they'll start flying off the shelves. And if Tomtom marketing learned how Americans shopped, and gave the XL LIVE for free if buyers commit to a 2-year LIVE subscription contract, they'd fly off the shelves too.

Another angle: high-end purchasers research thoroughly online. Every Tomtom (except the $240 GO 740) sells for under $200 if you know how to comparison shop online. So that high percentage of sub-$200 devices could include a decent number of GO 920s.
 
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