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TomTom car kit appears in Apple's store, but it's not yet shipping

by Mel Martin Oct 21st 2009 at 1:36PM

The long-awaited TomTom car kit for the iPhone has finally arrived at the Apple store. The hardware/software combination hardware unit sells for US $119.95. [Sorry about the mixup. As noted in the comments, the app is an additional $50-$100 depending on your locale.]

The cradle is designed to enhance the TomTom GPS app [iTunes link], which has been available since July.

The kit provides secure docking and enhanced GPS performance with its own built-in GPS receiver. The car kit will charge your iPhone and give you for hands-free calling. The unit also has an audio out connector so you can play your music through your car audio system, however, the cable that enables this is not included.

The TomTom solution has been criticized by some for being too expensive because the car kit plus the cost of the Tom Tom navigation application is more than $200. One could easily buy a standalone GPS for less than that, although you have more hardware to carry.

The TomTom has also fallen a bit behind the best-selling Navigon application which includes a text-to-speech feature and has received generally better reviews from consumers.

According to the Apple Store, the car kit is not yet available, and there is no time estimate of a ship date. (Note: some of our readers are getting December 4 ship dates from the Apple Store.)

[Thanks to all our readers for tipping us to this story]

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The long-awaited TomTom car kit for the iPhone has finally arrived at the Apple store. The hardware/software combination hardware unit...
 

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test

October 22 2009 at 5:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tom

Great. Will it work with Navigon?

October 22 2009 at 2:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bruce Esposito

The link to the US Apple store is gone :-(

October 22 2009 at 10:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hansmarius

The norwegian store says ships within 3-4 weeks...

October 22 2009 at 8:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ht

i have Jabra SP700 ($60 AUS) for bluetooth/FM/handsfree and a cheap $10 cradle mount with my tomtom app. all up $70. pretty good :)

the tomtom cradle doesn't have FM transmitter....what a failure!!! 3.5mm audio out is butt ugly!! cables everywhere!!

sigh

October 22 2009 at 2:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tzohar

I have TomTom on my iPhone and it already works great. I also already have a Kensington mount for my iphone on my dashboard and a Griffin charge cable that also plays audio through the aux input. I can't conceive of a single reason why I'd want to pay $120 for this, but I guess some people might want to. Keep in mind, though, that MY setup cost me approximately $50.

October 21 2009 at 11:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
naturlichfrisch

The tomtom app worked so well when I was still at 3.0.1 but ever since 3.1 on my 3GS my GPS is a giant fail. anyone else have similar problems?

October 21 2009 at 7:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Randy

I really want this. Like now. But I'm going to hold out for some reviews first.

$120 *might* be worth it if it delivers on every selling point without a single hiccup. (that includes 100% compatibility w/ other iPhone Nav apps.)

October 21 2009 at 5:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan

All I want is an identical mount without the built in GPS. All I need for navigation is the built in map application.

October 21 2009 at 5:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Dan's comment
Vasquez

I would love a mount just like the TomTom, one that charges, and provides audio out, without having to plug and unplug multiple cables every time I want to use it.

October 21 2009 at 7:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mitch

@Vasquez ---

I have been using the DLO Ventmount along with a Kensington Liquid Aux.

The DLO Ventmount puts the iPhone 3GS (will work on all the models) front and center while the Liquid Aux charges the iPhone AND pulls out audio (connects to car stereo using 3.5mm plug).

I have been very, very happy with this combo.

October 21 2009 at 8:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
acesarewld

This product is so FAIL. I have wanted it, I have waited for it, I have listened to TomTom's empty promises. They said a date, then delay it. Then they say "October" - well there is just over a week left in October and still no REAL work on the product, no update e-mails (I subscribed on their web site), no dates, no availability, etc; and the rumors I hear don't have it shipping until DECEMBER!? WTF TomTom, why am I begging (and begging and begging) to pay for $120 for this thing?

October 21 2009 at 5:01 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to acesarewld's comment
Jimbo

Your tha FAIL hear terd.

October 21 2009 at 10:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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