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TomTom for iOS Gains iPad Compatibility

notjustjay said:
Anyone have any thoughts as to how this compares with the Navigon app? I bought the latter based on the "one app for iPad and iPhone" ideal, as no one else had that feature at the time.
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- Navigon tends to be first-to-market on major features (including iPad support which came a few months after iPad release)

- Navigon uses NAVTEQ maps (Bing, Yahoo use this as well as many others) while TomTom uses (and owns) TeleAtlas maps (Google Maps switched to TeleAtlas after Nokia take over of NAVTEQ). You can read a comparison here. I prefer NAVTEQ personally, but that may be due to poor accuracy in my area by Tele Atlas -- the linked report shows Tele Atlas at about 6% better.

- TomTom started reporting speed information to German police a while back which upset their customers. Not sure about their current policy on this. It told local police where to set speed traps.

- TomTom lets you change the voice used for the text-to-speech guidance.

- Navigon was recently acquired by Garmin, so some things may be changing in the future (including free updates to maps as one use notes below). Typically GPS nav apps are going to periodically ding you for map updates. To date I have not had to pay for a single map update to Navigon (2+ years).

- Both offer live traffic and a host of other features. I personally love the live "lane assistant" on Navigon that animates the arrows into the lane you should be traveling in to make your next turn -- I don't know if TomTom has this feature.

- Navigon does a MUCH better job of interpreting your position when the GPS signal is weak. TomTom requires a stronger signal since the algorithm is not that good (hence the car dock they offered with built-in external GPS receiver)

jnuzzi said:
They also included another free map update. :D

I have read that Navigon is beginning to charge for map updates.

Edit: Here is the link to the article: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/garmin-demos-upcoming-mobilenavigator-for-ios-and-android-lates/
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As noted above... I bought Navigon when it first came out over 2 years ago. So far I have gotten free map updates at no charge. If this Engadget report is correct, it will be the first map update I have to pay for and it comes at about the 2.5 year mark. I believe that is par for the course for GPS navigation though. TomTom does own Tele Atlas though, so they could offer free map updates to trump Navigon and try to get users to switch. They were so late to the iOS GPS party comparatively that they lost a whole lot of market share and it might be a very smart move for them to offer free map updates for 3 years to get folks to switch over when it comes to re-up on the Navigon maps.
 
Krevnik said:
Don't even bother with a car kit on the 4 or the 4S. For two big reasons:


- The advantage in GPS accuracy is small to nonexistent with the car kit. The 4 and 4S have updated GPS chipsets that are comparable. The 3G/3GS definitely benefit from the car kit though.
- The car kit's power supply is only 500mA over the dock connection. With certain brightness settings, you will still drain the battery with the car kit. I power mine with a 1A low-profile car charger. Audio goes over Bluetooth to my car stereo (A2DP).


I've been using Magellan and TomTom on both an AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4. No real problems with GPS lock (other than a driver bug on the Verizon iPhone that got fixed with 5.0 for me). Handles multi-path GPS signal errors in downtown areas relatively well. Not perfect, but about as well as my stand-alone TomTom ever did. Never let me down during road trips either except when traffic was a minute or two out of date and I got caught in rush hour just as it was starting around a metropolitan area I wasn't entirely familiar with.
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Great post. Thanks for sharing. Very helpful.

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RobDee said:
Ok, Great stuff. So i just need a basic car kit with charger. Any recommendations?

I also need a wireless mike so I can take calls and talk to Siri.
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I'm pleased with my iTrip DualConnect with the free iTrip Controller app installed.

https://store.griffintechnology.com/itrip-dualconnect

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/itrip-controller/id326462758?mt=8
 
RobDee said:
Also, if I have data roaming switched off abroad, will TomTom still work with GPS only?
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On occasion I've even used it on my iPod touch without GPS, with my copilot manually scrolling the map display and telling me where to go...
 
stevet said:
I don't think it's been broken, sometimes you need to restore it after upgrading the app or OS. To do that go into:

TomTom Shop->Traffic and then select Restore Purchases

Steve
Click to expand...

You must have missed the whole episode.

Those of us who have been using the iOS 5 betas have been unable to restore our purchases for over four months. And that's fine - betas are unsupported, yadda, yadda.

But TomTom was SUPPOSED to be using that time to fix their app so that it would be compatible with iOS 5 on day 1. Instead, not only did they not have a compatible app on day 1, but inquiries to their tech support staff would return inapplicable canned responses. A couple days later when they finally realized what was wrong, they started telling everyone an update would be available "soon."

So they bungled it on just about every level conceivable.

This is not a 99 cent fart-noise app, either. This app costs real money. The fact that it doesn't have real support is inexcusable.
 
Does the GPS need 3G data on the road ?

Wondering if usingTomTom on the iPad on the road will eat up large chunks of data ? Or does it function on its own , so to speak ? The only reason that I ask is that it uses "assisted GPS", right ? So if I put 500 MB on for a weekend trip, it could get eaten up with just with the car ride alone ... ?
Thanks for any info &/or thoughts !
: )
 
Fossil guy said:
Wondering if usingTomTom on the iPad on the road will eat up large chunks of data ? Or does it function on its own , so to speak ? The only reason that I ask is that it uses "assisted GPS", right ? So if I put 500 MB on for a weekend trip, it could get eaten up with just with the car ride alone ... ?
Thanks for any info &/or thoughts !
: )
Click to expand...

You have not understood how the application works. It's not like the built-in maps application or Google Earth that download everything you access from the server, it's like a stand-alone GPS unit that contains all the road data and doesn't download anything while working (except for occasional updates), that's why e.g. the "Europe" version weighs in at nearly 2 GB.
 
I wouldn't actually be able to mount an iPad in my car without it either blocking half the windscreen or all of the heating controls and radio.

Clearly the solution is to buy a bigger car!
 
notjustjay said:
Anyone have any thoughts as to how this compares with the Navigon app? I bought the latter based on the "one app for iPad and iPhone" ideal, as no one else had that feature at the time.
Click to expand...

Haven’t tried TomTom, but I love the interface/features of Navigon MyRegion!
 
TomTom has got it right.... finally

I've used this app since it was released and it's had mostly interface shortcomings but the core gps functionality was good. But now... with v 1.9 and iPad graphics it's awesome!

Thanks TomTom.
 
Nice! TomTom's program seemed like maybe the best for iOS, but the lack of native iPad support kept me from getting it. I'll probably grab it tonight.
 
iPad in navigation

We are already using an iPad with a car cradle for navigation (sorry TomTom, it's an iGO) and we are enjoying it.
In 2007 I predicted in a mapping conference the death end of small screen GPS and the future of larger one like ebook readers (no iPads at that moment) with colour e-ink. Who's know?
 
So dumb question I guess, but does the GPS just work outside, but in your car? It can't really find me in the house.

I'm hoping this does work okay without a data connection...since that's really the whole point for me in buying a product like this (otherwise AOL's Mapquest handles it, or even Google Maps, if you've got a navigator).
 
Huh...I came back to this following a link in an email, but now that message is gone?

Anyway figured I'd report back that TomTom for the iPad is pretty great! You have to have airplane mode OFF for it to work...I guess the GPS reciever's shut down? But it's pretty amazing. Not perfect...I had a minor connection point between two roads missing, a destination on the opposite side of the street from where TomTom said, etc., but mostly it was amazing. The voice is clear and loud too.
 
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