FCC Releases TomTom For iPhone Data
2:37 pm, August 28th, 2009, Ed Sutherland
We may be getting closer to a hardware version of hands-free navigation for iPhone users. The FCC has released several documents plus photos of a planned TomTom Car Kit for the iPhone.
The kit (pictured above) includes a mount enabling the iPhone to be positioned either vertically or in landscape mode. Engadget also writes the kit includes Bluetooth and a dedicated SiRFstar GPS chipset.
The announcement may be welcome news to iPhone navigators who hoped an actual TomTom product would follow an iPhone app released earlier this month. The app, priced at $99.99 for U.S. and Canadian iPhone owners, competes with the likes of CoPilot Live ($34.99), Sygic Mobile Maps ($39.99), AT&T’s Navigator ($10 monthly fee) and Google Maps.
[Via iClarified and Engadget]
Posted by Ed Sutherland in Hardware, News, iPhone | Comment on this article
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TomTom Car Kit para iPhone já está em frase final de análises na FCC | MacMagazine, on August 28th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
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TomTom Car Kit para iPhone já está em fase final de análises na FCC | MacMagazine, on August 28th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Price?
monsterdaddy, on August 28th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Looks like a bit of a scam to have you pay them extra for hardware the iPhone can already do. Doesn’t the phone already have GPS? Why can’t Tom Tom just use that? They could charge a flat fee for the basic software and a limited number of maps. If you need a new map you go to their site and buy it. They can even use a couple pricing models: one for smaller maps and another for large regions (like Metropolitan Boston or all of Massachusetts). Every couple of years they update the maps, and you happily buy the new version.
This also opens up a new market to Tom Tom for pedestrian maps. It would be great for a NYC tourist who starts their day at Penn Station, goes to Battery Park, then the Intrepid, the Empire State building, and finally to the Ed Sullivan Theater to see Letterman. They’d know which routes to walk, if/what buses to take, how long to get there, and most important, how to get back on track after they get lost.
Sure, you could plan it out at home before you leave (just like with a car trip), but this lets you change on the fly, and give you immediate information on your location.
Smarten up, Tommy Boy.
imajoebob, on August 29th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
[...]Looks like a bit of a scam to have you pay them extra for hardware the iPhone can already do. Doesn’t the phone already have GPS? Why can’t Tom Tom just use that?[...]
Smarten up imajoebob. It does.
The extra hardware is for a better GPS receiver as the inbuilt one is not as good as it could be for turn by turn navigation. Having said that it seems to work OK for me.
GW, on August 29th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
In my opinion:
Another revenue stream for Ma’ Bell and her ilk. I’m sure the boys and girls in the “head office” won’t let this one get away with the proof of concept already in the market. Yeah, there may be the occasional map update offered with this service/application. However, for any monthly charge associated with a tax payer bought and paid for system (Military – GPS), I don’t see the value in the “value added” portion of this rip off.
My advice:
Make a one time purchase of less than $200 for a good hand held or mobil GPS navigator and leave this gimmick alone!!!
For the consumer:
Yeah there are trade offs (TCO, ROI, Initial out lay, etc) and only the consumer will be able to make their individual choices based on their needs, wants, and desires. Just make sure that your happy when the bill arrives (or continues to arrive every month).
Cheers,
Will
Will, on August 30th, 2009 at 10:39 am