Filed under: iPhone, App Store, First Look
TomTom for iPhone now available in US
There's been plenty of hype and mystery surrounding the TomTom GPS navigation app for iPhone. Originally announced back in June, the app created by the popular GPS company promised to be the first of its kind... only to have competing apps from Navigon, Telenav from AT&T, iGO and others hit the store ahead of it.Finally, TomTom for iPhone [iTunes Link] has debuted on iTunes in the US today (already up and reviewed in its New Zealand incarnation) and is now available for purchase. Priced at $99.99, the app is a fully featured turn-by-turn GPS system that includes:
- landscape and portrait modes & pinch to zoom take full advantage of the iPhone interface
- voice guided directions
- integrated with your iPhone address book
- route options including fastest, most direct, etc.
- ability to find points of interest and call for reservations
Having just hit the app store, details are still coming in about the features of the app and news about the car kit's availability. TomTom's iPhone website doesn't seem to be updated often, but it offers a link to subscribe to news updates as they become available.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
ex said 1:14AM on 8-17-2009
isnt there already a app for that called Navigon It works in Europe, North America and Australia its almost the same thing got the exact same features
Reply
Greg said 1:21AM on 8-17-2009
A bit of competition and choice never hurt anyone.
Devon said 10:41AM on 8-17-2009
Navigon is quite slow on the 3G phone. I'm not sure what it's like on the 3G S. I wonder if this TomTom app is any faster. The Navigon takes quite a long time to load the maps and the UI is quite sluggish at times.
Aztec said 12:53PM on 8-17-2009
Lets say it cost 100,000.00 USD to develop this application. At $99.00 USD a pop, with Apple getting $29.70 (30%), they're making $69.30 for each sold App. They'll need to sell at least 1444 apps to recoup their investment!
- How much do you think this application cost to make?
- How much do you think it should cost?
ex said 2:39PM on 8-17-2009
i dont think it cost them 100 000.00 usd cause they already had all the maps and all
maybe they just used the same software they were using with thier own units and modified a lil
Aztec said 5:18PM on 8-17-2009
@ex
I genuinly think that $100,000.00 USD is a low ball number for marketing, application development, documentation, hardware and licensing costs for this application. How much do you think it cost them to announce this app at the Apple WWDC or to create the video AD on their web page? I'm sure they even have tons of pressure coming from investors that have seen TomToms stock go from a high in 2007 of $64 USD to about $8 USD. They really need to release a profitable product to survive as a relevant and profitable company. With this in mind, do you still think it cost less than 100K to make?
Official TomTom iPhone app webpage:
http://iphone.tomtom.com/
"How We Built an iPhone App for $4873.92"
http://www.gifterapp.com/blog/files/bedd9a6a1425818f49ef0645cc71044c-1.html
oliver hart said 1:16AM on 8-17-2009
Way too pricey. Why not pick up a dedicated unit? If it included the add-on hardware, great deal. App only, ripoff
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Greg said 1:25AM on 8-17-2009
A dedicated unit has less features, for a higher price.
Still, it is quite overpriced. Tom Tom is doing it because they want to offset the possible loss of income from people buying this instead of their units.
They're probably making more profit from this than their units.
John B. said 1:54AM on 8-17-2009
@Greg I'm sure their profit margins on this are way higher than those of their dedicated units. I don't know if they had to rewrite the software from scratch, but even if they did, it couldn't have been much for them. And I'm sure they got plenty of assistance (read: special treatment) from Apple. Beyond the map license fees (I'm assuming they don't create their own map data), the rest is gravy.
sodapop said 6:47PM on 8-17-2009
99.00 is too much for a device that already has dynamically updating maps, connection to the contact list/address book, driving directions, etc. 29.99 is a good price.
jshort81 said 1:45AM on 8-24-2009
HAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, I guess i’m cynical… can you tell me where to buy a dedicated unit that (even with extra equipment and setup) integrates or syncs to your mobile phone or contact list, plays your whole music library, is easy to control, has traffic, POI, Map Updates, as well as your email, text messages (and with them, the ability to copy and paste addresses/phone numbers etc) IN REAL TIME from the internet, plus route your calls’ audio, your music library and pandora radio wirelessly, to your car’s (or 3rd party) bluetooth (or plug in directly), can search the internet, and CALL HANDSFREE, your destination (or anyone you want), ….. etc etc etc….
At all, for any price… Now can you give me all that in ONE device which goes in your pocket when you’re done driving? And finally, can it integrate with all the other aspects of your life (in ways just starting to be tapped in the app store)?
If you can, I will seriously throw my 4-year old macbook (running snow leopard perfectly, and faster than leopard, as well as windows 7 natively) AND my iphone (which i’m using as a wireless two-way media center remote/multi-touch trackpad as we speak to control the high definition copy of transformers that i’m watching) {whew! take a breath}, into the trash… If you can’t, well then I guess I’ll just slip the phone in my pocket, and go to the dog park, where I can remotely check up on my puppy over my macbook’s built in webcam which I can access anywhere because BackToMyMac keeps track of my dynamic IP and automatically opens ports in my (old) upnp enabled belkin router…
Oh yeah…. all of this is not just possible, but the best implementation of it’s respective class, without any weird or complicated setup, and all reliably..
So……. let me know ;)
DJFriar said 12:50PM on 9-03-2009
@jshort: Actually, the high end TomTom units can do all that. In fact, all of their units have bluetooth for the cell phone connectivity. The high-end ones can function has hands free handsets, push music to stereos, playback images and videos, etc.
Josh Becker said 4:10AM on 8-17-2009
Any word on music playback with the car kit? The ability to play music which fades down for the directions and pauses for hands-free calling would be ideal.
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TUAWfan said 2:32AM on 8-17-2009
@JoshBecker: TomTom abruptly mutes the music, says its instructions, then unmutes the music again. I have not been able to tell if it is pausing the music, or just muting it. I also bought the MobileNavigator app which handles this better IMHO by lowering the music volume, and announcing over the top of the music, then raising the volume again.
Both apps allow you to control the volume of the navigation instructions, but TomTom does this better: just tap the bottom of the map and a large volume slider appears, then fades away after you adjust it. By contrast, MobileNavigator's teeny, tiny volume controller is several taps away, buried in a menu system.
I have not yet discovered how to mute MobileNavigator's voice instructions-- except to set the volume slider to its lowest setting. TomTom has a Mute menu item that's two taps away. I personally would have preferred it next to the volume slider which is only one tap away.
Both apps are a step up for me from my Garmin Nuvi in that I can finally hear the navigation instructions. The Nuvi's speaker is quite soft, while my iPhone's dock connector is hard wired into my car's sound system. Plus both the TomTom and MobileNavigator apps decrease or mute iPod volume while saying their navigation instructions.
I have not yet decided which app I like best, but I am leaning toward the TomTom for two reasons: the map interface is easier for me to read with very large type; and I prefer TomTom's menu system.
I'm glad I got both apps since they use different map databases. My thinking is that this may give me a better shot at finding locations that are missing in one or the other apps.
nzbullet said 2:46AM on 8-17-2009
It pauses the music and then re-starts it after the directions have finished. The review at iphonewzealand.co.nz tells you this.
pcdsim said 2:51AM on 8-17-2009
I wondered about that as well. They did mention during WWDC that you're able to play iPhone music while the app is up. The music will probably be using the headphone/auxiliary input on your car. The music will probably "duck" just like the 1.1 release of Navigon's app. TomTom's video demo of the car kit on their website didn't show any other outputs besides the micro?-usb charger. But what about those of us with an integrated car dock connector and no auxilary input? The TomTom car kit would block the car's access to the iPhone's music cause it would use up the dock connector. Sounds like a design flaw to me.
Maccadude33 said 1:33AM on 8-17-2009
I was excited by the cradle kit when it was announced back at WWDC, but since then, I realized that it's more of a niche product. Who would get an iPhone only to spend the same amount of money on a GPS enhancer and software? That's just my humble opinion speaking; I've done well with the built-in Maps app and Google Earth. I can't really stand listening to a robotic voice telling me where to go. Usually, I need a visual for directions, not audio. Sure, this might appeal to someone without a dedicated GPS system, but it just doesn't seem worth it, even if it offers better functionality and accuracy. I can get hands-free calling through Bluetooth or headphones, and I have an Incase Power Slider to extend my iPhone battery for use across two days. And who's to say that later map revisions and additions wouldn't be charged for either? There's no word on that yet, but I could see that becoming a reality. As nice as it would be to have this, I can't rationalize the paying the cost.
-MD33
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Antonio said 10:29AM on 8-17-2009
I hear ya! If TomTom would've released the app the day it was announced, I would have picked it up immediately. Now that I've had time to think about it, I'd rather get a dedicated unit.
Sorry, TomTom. Too little, too late.
A User said 10:50AM on 8-17-2009
Yes, Google map is free but it has terrible routing. Also, it won't reroute if you make a wrong turn or under road constructions. Constants remap your Google map while driving is not really a good idea.
hbzvi said 1:47AM on 8-17-2009
I want the bookendz or the iphone case. Thanks!
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