So, now that the app is out (or will be in a few short hours anyway), what's the scuttlebut on when we should expect to see the car kit?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
TomTom Car Kit
- Thread starter Maverickster
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
does anyone know if the audio out is provided with basic audio jack or does the mount have a full interface connection? my car is provided with a full iPod interface. i dont have a normal audio-in port.
From the looks of the image, it has a cigarette lighter charger and a 3.5mm jack on the side.
well this kinda messes things up. there are countless iPod interfaces build into factory cars and aftermarket units. those cant use used with this accessory. this is prolly not a big deal to the mass majority of people. but it does present an issue for those with an Alpine FullSpeed, Ford SYNC, or similar setup. having to use the 3.5 jack defeats the purpose of having the ipod integration.
You're not going to be able to run audio and the GPS application through the same port at the same time, so it wouldn't matter anyways. The 3.5mm jack is the only logical way to get audio output.
Why not? AT&T Nav accomplishes this just fine. When run through my FM transmitter, I can listen to my ipod, then it pauses when while GPS lady gives directions, and picks back up again when she's done.
i think the issue might be the audio out plus control interface via the dock connecter plus the GPS, speaker, and phone integration with the car kit also going through the dock connector at the same time.
although the picture dose not show the car kit plugging into the phone's own 3.5mm jack. could we assume the car kit gets it audio from the dock connector?
Wait...so we know *for sure* that you can't run the ipod simultaneously with the TomTom App and have both feed through the 3.5mm audio-out jack in the dock at the same time (as described in my above post)? Where is this documented? The materials I've read have indicated that this should work.
--Mav
"should work" and "will work with this product" are two different things.
the car kit as pictured shows that it only provides audio out via the audio jack on the side of the unit. from the WWCD presentation, this is only for music playback, at least that was my impression after seeing it again.
problem is, many cars are equipped with iPod specific interfaces or USB interfaces used to not only pull music from the iPod but to control and charge the device from the dash unit. the car kit does not appear to allow this as it does not seem to show a iPod interface or USB cable, only a power cable.
the concept of an app running with iPod playback is not the issue. i guess the real question is (assuming tomtom could and did build a UBS interface in to the mount), can two "accessories" be used at once? in this case, the car kit and car stereo are both accessories. the car kit is "needed" for better GPS reception and the car stereo would be used for playback of music, control of the iPod, phone hands free, and GPS voice guidance. i cant answer this.
O.K., for the record, I ran the TomTom App whilst in the middle of iPod playback last night on my FM Transmitter and it worked as expected -- iPod playback paused to allow for voice guidance and picked up again thereafter. I didn't try this using the 3.5mm audio-out though. I will tonight.
As for what you're describing in your second paragraph there, my understanding of the car kit is that this should be possible, albeit not through the 3.5mm audio-out. As I understand it, the plug located just below the 3.5mm audio-out is mini-usb. Although the car kit will apparently come with a car power adapter to plug into that mini-usb port, it seems logical that it would also be capable of being used for the more "traditional" data purposes you're describing. If the connection to your car stereo requires something other than mini-usb, there are a boatload of adapters and cables out there that should be able to get you from point a to point b.
--Mav
the new tomtom video shows that the USB plug is for charging and the audio jack is what provides audio out. this removes ipod interface integration with many car stereos. i am guessing the USB charger cable only has a 12v car plug at the other end.
this is sad
this is sad