Moving from PND to mobile, how will Live services work?

[Six Drums]

Hi, I've been a TomTom portable navigator user for about 7 years now. I currently rock the go 2535 and I still like what it does for me.

By way of background usage- I have a nice permanent mount in my car, and I also have a suction mount which I use in the many rental cars I use for my job. I love being able to use the same navigator at home and away- it has all of my preferences and favorites, and I already know how to use the thing. I pay for the Live traffic service and have come to depend on it.

I have been contemplating modernizing a bit- using the TomTom apps instead. One thing that is holding me back- I don't quite know how Live Traffic and other features will work.

I want to put an Android computer in my car, with the TomTom app on it for navigation. I would also like to put the TomTom app on my Apple iPhone for use in rental cars when I'm traveling. Can I link both devices to the same TomTom account, or would I have to pay for two separate Live subscriptions?

Similarly- would my favorites be shared, or separated by device?

 

[mvl]

Each appstore needs its own LIVE subscription. Eg: all iOS devices can share a subscription (but you can't use more than one at a time), and each Android device can do the same with a second subscription.

Android has also switched to a new pricing model where navigation and LIVE are bundled into a single combined subscription cost. You can no longer separately pay for LIVE subscriptions and navigation.

Sharing favorites is something Tomtom is slowly rolling out to all its products. It launched on their PNDs a few months ago, but not yet live on iOS/Android.

 

[Six Drums]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Not the best news though. I can't buy a dashboard iOS computer since Apple hasn't offered one, and I'm sticking with the phone I have for a while. Simultaneous use would never be a problem- I'd either be in my car using the Android in the dash, or in a rental car using my iPhone. Too bad I can't use the same service.

Do I understand you correctly that the pricing for Android means I have to buy the app again every year or so? ...and that it is not the same way for iOS?

I am losing my enthusiasm for this idea. Keeping my 2535 until the bitter end looks like a better deal.

I understand that the GPRS data service currently supplying my traffic data will eventually be discontinued, so I guess I'll have to re-think the whole thing whenever that clock runs out.

I sure wish TomTom made an effort at marketing in the USA. It's like pulling teeth to get any of this info, and this forum (I've been prowling for a while) seems to have much better info than any of the official channels.

I had no idea favorites could be shared now- is this limited to certain hardware, or is it another service to buy? I haven't noticed any facility for that in the last few updates to my PND.

 

[Six Drums]

I just looked up the mydrive app- it looks like it could be great! I wonder how long they were planning to keep it secret. I've been wondering why I couldn't email a destination to my device for about 4 years now.

I don't see anything about support for anything but the most recent PNDs (which were also kind of a secret) even though I think every TomTom I've ever owned had either bluetooth, a cellular connection or both. If they all have a way to connect to a phone, why can't they support this feature?

 

[mvl]

- iOS requires a 1-time app purchase (around $50) for navigation, plus something like $20/year for traffic.
- Android is now about $20/year for traffic and navigation combined. Without paying you can use it (traffic and nav) for 50 miles per month as a permanent free trial. You pay if you need more than 50 miles.

The MyDrive app is the cloud-based favorite storage system. It requires extensive device/client software to support the synchronization. Everything is downloaded/shared real-time over the air, and Tomtom didn't retrofit the software for older models. So you need their latest generation of devices (launched in late 2013) to use it.