TomTom Car Kit Announced for October

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.macworld.com/article/143043/2009/09/tomtom_price.html?lsrc=rss_main' target='_blank'>http://www.macworld.com/article/143...l?lsrc=rss_main</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Are you lost? I don't mean metaphorically, I mean literally: are you at this very moment stuck in an unknown location, scratching your head and wondering if you should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque? Well, if you don't mind waiting a bit-and forking over some cash-help could be on the way. TomTom has announced that its car kit for the iPhone will ship in October for $120 (or &euro;99 if you live on the other side of the Atlantic from me)."</em></p><p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="600" height="360" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nn0lJFHXMB4&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nn0lJFHXMB4&amp;ap=%26fmt=18"></embed></object></p><p>Still no word on if software is part of this price, but TomTom did say they were going to bundle this with software so my guess is that this is stand-alone unit price.</p><p><MORE /></p><p>However in reading their <a href="http://iphone.tomtom.com/en-us/faq.html" target="_blank">FAQ page</a>, it doesn't say anything about a bundle, in fact it says that you have to purchase software through iTunes and car kit separately. It also mentions only the 3G and 3GS but there are still a lot of unanswered questions so since this kit has GPS built in, it may indeed work with 2G iPhones. If you want to be kept in the loop on the release, head over to TomTom and sign up for the <a href="http://iphone.tomtom.com/" target="_blank">email list</a>.&nbsp;</p>

[ptyork]

They are most definitely sold separately (http://iphone.tomtom.com/en-us/faq.html), making the "bundle" price here in North America $220. I'm still not convinced that this is going to fly given that this price is near the upper end of standalone GPS devices now. However, the dock does charge the phone, it has a built-in speakerphone, and it has 3.5mm audio out, so I suppose it isn't a bad deal for those without other solutions for these desirable features. It does also make it possible to pocket your GPS quite easily for walking directions. Time will tell. However, I'm guessing that both the app and dock prices will fall 25+% quite quickly as demand reveals itself to be lackluster.

Ironic that Garmin + AT&T also "released" their NuviPhone today. That combo is even less desirable to me, except for the fact that you get Garmin's awesome software...

[doogald]

I'd guess that one advantage to this is that you don't have to pay for updates to the maps, like you need to do with standalone units. (Unless, that is, they are planning to screw you by charging a huge amount for map updates later on. Which, as I think about it, is probably the case . . .)

[ptyork]

I'd guess that one advantage to this is that you don't have to pay for updates to the maps, like you need to do with standalone units. (Unless, that is, they are planning to screw you by charging a huge amount for map updates later on. Which, as I think about it, is probably the case . . .)

Yep, if you read the FAQ's, it certainly seems like they are planning on charging...