TomTom navigates its way into your iPhone
GPS navigation device maker TomTom NV of Amsterdam and Concord, Mass., has fastened millions of its units to American windshields. Now the company is climbing into our pockets as well.
Smart move; it’s safer in there. Americans bought about 15 million Global Positioning System devices last year from TomTom and its competitors, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
But we also bought about 68 million GPS-capable cellphones, according to the NPD Group. Loaded with the right software, any of these phones can make a decent replacement for a $300 TomTom car navigation unit.
So in the name of self-preservation, TomTom will supply the phone software. The company has begun selling a navigation program for Apple Inc.’s iPhone. You can find it at the iTunes App Store, at the eye-watering price of $99.99.
Why so expensive? Because the TomTom application is nothing like the typical cellphone GPS software. For instance, AT&T Inc., the only US carrier to offer the iPhone, has a free GPS app called Navigator. Well, the app is free, but you pay $10 a month to use it. It links you to the online database for Navigator’s mapping data. Ask for directions to the nearest 7-Eleven, and Navigator downloads the answer over the AT&T network.
Most cellphone GPS services work this way, and for good reason. It means the phone’s limited memory does not have to be stuffed with a complete map of North America. Also, there’s no need for the consumer to purchase map updates that provide the latest road data, which can cost $90 each. With a network-based GPS service, the carrier takes care of everything, in exchange for your $120 a year.
On the downside, that type of GPS service becomes useless when you can’t get a cellphone signal. I once groped aimlessly through rural New Hampshire after driving out of range of Verizon Wireless. That wouldn’t have happened with a standard TomTom car unit, with its built-in map database.
TomTom on the iPhone works the same way. Installation is a bit of a drag, because it’s a 1.2-gigabyte download. That’s a pretty big slab of memory, especially if your iPhone has just eight gigs of storage. But at least you’ll have a GPS device that works, even when AT&T’s cell signal doesn’t.
I lodged the iPhone in a cupholder, but TomTom is working on a special iPhone mounting bracket. Due for release in October, it will feature a secondary GPS receiver for better signal reception, as well as an improved speaker for placing hands-free phone calls. TomTom won’t say how much it plans to charge for the bracket.
The iPhone came in handy during the long Labor Day weekend, when I drove to New York and Philadelphia. But finding my way into downtown Philly was tougher than it should have been. Like most GPS services, TomTom for the iPhone provides spoken driving instructions. But they’re limited to prerecorded comments like “turn left’’ or “bear right.’’ What I needed was “turn left on Locust Street’’ or “bear right on Fairmount Avenue.’’
A standard TomTom has text-to-speech software that can pronounce the thousands of street names stored in its map database. The iPhone edition doesn’t, so you’re stuck with generic directions that sometimes aren’t good enough.
I could also have used the lane marking system found on standard TomTom Go units. When you’re on a multilane road with confusing exit ramps, the TomTom Go will sometimes flash an on-screen image that pinpoints the correct choice. But this feature is missing from the iPhone version, leaving you to make your best guess.
The iPhone app also deprives you of MapShare, a TomTom service that lets users inform the company of errors in the database. This information is checked for accuracy, then sent to other subscribers as free updates. TomTom on the iPhone won’t let users submit or receive these MapShare updates. Instead, you’ll have to purchase map database updates. TomTom hasn’t announced pricing yet, but a complete North America map update for standard TomTom units costs $90.
Nobody phoned me during the trip, which was just as well. Remember, the iPhone doesn’t allow multitasking. When it’s a phone, it’s a phone. So if I’d taken a call, TomTom would have shut down until I was finished talking.
Though it lacks many advanced features, TomTom for the iPhone is still a decent piece of software. Despite its high initial price and expensive map updates, it’s not much different in cost from a network-based GPS service. If you already own an iPhone 3G or 3GS, TomTom software will cost you less than an in-car navigation unit. And it’s a much better fit for your pockets.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com. 
