TomTom for Android Slated for Summer Rollout

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Apr 22, 2007
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Android tablets and phones are everywhere in all sizes and shapes and less expensive than Apples products so to me anyway this is great news.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/45979/tomtom-for-android-launch-summer

TomTom for Android will be launching "fairly soon", Peter-Frans Pauwels, TomTom co-founder, today confirmed to Pocket-lint.

"Summer season is important for us," expanded the TomTom man, who said he couldn't put and exact date on the launch. "But I can confirm it is real."

The TomTom for Android app, which will probably look something like our mock-up above, will mirror the functions of the existing iOS app, but there will be some minor differences.

Just as TomTom for iPhone app is optimised for iOS, you expect the same for Android, so there will obviously be some differences when it comes to things like navigation around the app. Pauwels confirmed that TomTom for Android will offer the same feature set.

"iOS has been doing really well, so it will be interesting to see how it does on Android," he added.

As for the price, Pauwels couldn't enlighten us, but you can expect it to be priced in line with the iOS app. When it comes to other mobile platforms, bad news, I'm afraid. "Not at the moment" is the word from the TomTom CTO.

So keep your eyes peeled for the new app, which could be appearing any time soon.
 
In the winter, I have space to carry an extra gadget in my pocket when I go anywhere (I'd never leave my Tomtom as a theft magnet in the car).

Hopefully this thing comes early in summer, one less device to squeeze into a pant pocket when I'm not wearing a jacket.
 
This is getting poo poo'd all over the Android forums and news sites and I think its an out of the park home run.

With Apple coming out with their own Nav to replace Google and TT taking aim at Android - Google for a change is under attack.

I would have bought an iPad mini this summer but now I can go cheaper with an Android tablet of my choice.

This is further proof that TT is not only going to survive but that they will flourish.
 
Porting to Android is a GREAT idea, but ...

Unless it's free, it may be DOA next to Waze ... which I've been using more often than my dedicated 2535 lately anyway.

Frankly, I think Waze will continue to kick their butt - now and against any Android Market app - unless they copy a whole lot from Waze.

With Waze I can be social, join groups, earn points. use home screen widgets, it LEARNS my route preferences, I get more frequent map & program updates, better traffic flow info, info about crashes (vehicles on shoulder ahead), included gas price info, and most importantly where the Police traps are! All on my existing Android phone TODAY for FREEEEEEEEE!
 
Ref Waze. I've looked at their maps, and oddly, some minor variances from reality that you find on Waze aren't duplicated at Google or Bing... they show up on TomTom maps. Hmmm....

OK, so like OSM, Waze is trying to do crowd sourced mapping, but where did their BASE maps come from before they had a 'crowd' to begin with, one wonders???
 
Maps: no one is perfect

Honestly, when I REALLY don't know where I am/going, I have BOTH running ... and believe it or not, their directions are both "wrong" about the same amount of time (2-5% maybe). Like telling me to go up .5 miles and make 3 rights, instead of saying to make a u-turn in 200ft.

Glad you mentioned Google & Bing ... forgot to mention the POI advantages Waze has over the rest of the competition:

TomTom = quarterly refresh (maybe)
User community = manual downloads, you get what you pay for

Waze = bounces your search against your Phone Contacts, YelllowPages, FourSquare, Yelp, Bing, AND Google. And real-time searches will always beat static, and infrequent, POI downloads.
 
Marina Wyatt (Tomtom CFO) disclosed in Tuesday's financial call that the Android app will be launched within 1 or 2 quarters (ie: Q3 or Q4 2012). This is the first hard timeframe disclosed by Tomtom so far.
 
TT is going to flourish, because... software

...and I think its an out of the park home run. ---
This is further proof that TT is not only going to survive but that they will flourish.

As an IT guy for a long time, the trend of software replacing specialized hardware started long ago and will rage on forever. When there's ample processing power and interfaces, it's usually the way to go. TT see's that light, I think.

And, judging by the price difference between the downloadable soft GPS ($38) and an equivalent piece of hardware, the trouble and expense of designing, manufacturing, selling, and supporting hardware looks to be worth several hudred $ per unit, maybe!

That said, those users (e.g. Win8, iPad) also expect to get regular and useful upgrades. Could anyone point me to where TT is laying out an Android version enhancement strategy?
 
That said, those users (e.g. Win8, iPad) also expect to get regular and useful upgrades. Could anyone point me to where TT is laying out an Android version enhancement strategy?

Tomtom for Android is brand new, in the months since initial release, it appears Tomtom has focused on compatibility and reliability fixes alone.

Tomtom normally doesn't pre-announce new enhancements, but they have routinely enhanced the iOS app, so I would assume the same will happen to the Android app. As a point of comparison, iOS app v1.0 was released with far fewer features than Android app v1.0, and Tomtom has steadily improved the iOS app so that it is now on par with their latest PND devices. I would expect the same progression on Android (assuming Apple doesn't buy TT first).
 
That would be good. In addition to getting regular updates and fixes, I'm suggesting full features as well: "Want to add route-planning with a specified arrival time?... Fine, that'll be $4.95, please. Click here."

These features could be selected and delivered in a manner similar to how they do Traffic for Android now. I'd suggest a features check list, much like a particular (hardware-based) model has today, but comprehensive with most major features, and a checklist to "Build your own GPS."...

- IQRoutes?
- Eco route calculator?
- Multiple stops planner?
- Plan a detour?
...etc.

This would also help reduce what must be cosiderable confusion when a potential user tried to figure out "what model" from a page like below. "What the heck are all the REAL differenceS," one can be heard to cry. http://www.tomtom.com/en_us/products/car-navigation/?WT.Click_Link=home_quick_link

Just some thoughts.
 
....Tomtom has steadily improved the iOS app so that it is now on par with their latest PND devices.

Can you now add user-POIs to the iOS TomTom app then?
 
....Tomtom has steadily improved the iOS app so that it is now on par with their latest PND devices.

Can you now add user-POIs to the iOS TomTom app then?


Don't know, don't have any iDevices. From what I can tell PNDs have a few more features in some areas, and the iOS App haw more features in other areas.
 

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