Tom Tom on iPhone vs GO 740 Live in Canada

[s2ksimon]

I like tom tom's nav app for the iPhone except it drains my battery a lot and I find I get the error "gps coverage is poor" way to often. So the unit does a lot of re-calculating. However, on a recent trip to PA, i used my Google Search on it and it found almost everything in the area.

however, my friend has a GO 740 Live and he claims the Google Search does not work in Canada ?

is that because one is cellular based ? and GO 740 Live doesn't have that ?

 

[dhn]

No LIVE services work in Canada on any TT model or app.

 

[s2ksimon]

that's what I thought ? so how does TOMTOM keeps its Google Search's accurate ? from the satellite ?

 

[dhn]

LIVE models have an internal modem built in and a sim card, like a cell phone.

No carriers in Canada for LIVE services as of yet, if ever.........

 

[canderson]

If I lived north of the parallel, I'd find myself a good deal on one of the last 730s and skip the 740 altogether. More features that can be used vs. ones that can't.

 

[s2ksimon]

No LIVE services work in Canada on any TT model or app.

so why does the live Google Search through my iPhone version of TomTom Navigation ?

 

[mvl]

LIVE services require Tomtom to pay for content, and require an active cellular connection.

Tomtom doesn't disclose what licenses in Canada as far as LIVE content, although per s2ksimon, it appears Google POI is licensed. My guess is that Google gives away their POI for free or near free, as long as Google gets your email address and can tie search history of that email on its servers.

Connection is a different story. 740 LIVE services in the USA use a built in SIM card from Jaspar wireless. While Jaspar is a global rent-a-network, Tomtom only rented USA coverage, so the SIM card in the 740 will not work outside the USA.

You pay your own connection fee on an iPhone, so the above restriction of the 740 doesn't apply.