TomTom goes upwardly mobile
It has been a busy few months for TomTom, the company behind a range of standalone and handheld- or smartphone-based navigation solutions. Late in May TomTom changed from being privately owned to publicly quoted, an exercise that raised €125 million (~£84m). Meanwhile, new product announcements are coming thick and fast.
TomTom MOBILE 5
The smartphone-based TomTom MOBILE 5 (for Windows Mobile and Symbian Series 60 handsets) navigation solution is now available. The product -- which comprises a Bluetooth GPS receiver, a memory card containing software and maps, an A/C adapter and a cigarette lighter cable -- costs €299 (~£200), or €79 (~£53) for the software upgrade from TomTom MOBILE.
The new software offers updated street-level maps and new features including: the ability to plan and review a route before starting a journey; ‘itinerary planning’ catering for multiple waypoints and destinations; and full seven-digit postcode-level navigation for Great Britain and the Netherlands. The latter is important because, when coupled with a house number, it allows for precision navigation without the need to enter a full address. It comes into its own on the smartphones for which TomTom MOBILE 5 is designed (see here), as data entry can take longer than on handhelds with their touchscreens. TomTom MOBILE 5 can also pick up addresses from a phone’s Contacts database.
TomTom GO
The company is also making headway with the TomTom GO, a standalone navigation device aimed at car drivers. Early versions have been a big success, and have been augmented with the RIDER, a ruggedised implementation suitable for motorcyclists, which is due for launch later this summer.