TomTom to Launch First Navigation Solution for SmartPhones

MikeB

TomTom MOBILE enables pocket-sized navigation for smartphones

Amsterdam, 23 June 2004 ? TomTom, Europe?s leading personal and in-car navigation solution provider, today unveiled it is bringing navigation solutions for smartphones to market. TomTom MOBILE, which was first demonstrated at CeBIT in March 2004, will be launched across Europe for Series 60 and Microsoft Smartphone handsets in late Summer 2004.

?By extending navigation technology into the smartphone arena, TomTom furthers its mission to bring leading-edge navigation solutions to a wider consumer audience.? said Harold Goddijn, TomTom?s chief executive officer. ?As consumer interest in-car navigation grows, TomTom MOBILE enables smartphone users to turn their phones into a personal companion that will safely get them from A to B stress free.?

Smartphones are powerful mobile devices with next-generation features, such as e-mail and large colour screens, as well as more information capability than traditional mobile phones. The increased processing power and memory size of smartphones enables them to bring new experiences to mobile phone users. TomTom MOBILE will support popular smartphones from companies such as Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and HTC.

TomTom MOBILE will feature TomTom?s award winning navigation software pre-installed on MMC cards, requiring no installation or configuration. The solution will also offer wireless portability for effortless in-car fitting using the smallest and lightest GPS receiver on the market (Bluetooth?enabled with rechargeable battery).

TomTom MOBILE?s on screen and voice instructions mean that the driver never needs to worry about taking their eyes off the road or worry about touching the phone to enter information. 3D mapping, turn-by-turn voice instructions, night and day settings, automatic re-routing, customisable points of interest (POI), postcode look-up and excellent street number coverage all add up to an impeccable navigation experience. Naturally, TomTom MOBILE offers continued visual instruction during voice calls.

Drivers will also have the option to receive traffic information via GPRS. Real-time alerts will be sent straight to the driver and offer an on-screen, bird?s eye view of any traffic incidents or general traffic jams for any given journey.

The product has the backing of mobile operators and handset manufacturers who are keen to increase customer take up of the latest mobile phone technology.

?We are proud and excited to offer our solutions on the leading Symbian OS and Microsoft platforms and look forward to continuing this collaboration into the future,? continued Goddijn.

TomTom MOBILE will be on sale in late summer in UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the Nordics.

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About TomTom
TomTom BV is a global provider of personal navigation solutions for mobile people.
TomTom provides innovative, easy to use navigation products built on world leading hardware and software platforms.
TomTom BV was founded in 1991 in Amsterdam and has offices in The Netherlands, United Kingdom and USA. The company?s products are sold through a distribution network of top retailers in more than 15 countries.
To learn more about TomTom, visit: www.tomtom.com.
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Mike Barrett

clawrence · Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 8:31 am Post subject: P900?

Is TomTom going to release a navigator for the P900?

MikeB · Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 11:36 am Post subject:

TomTom did have a demo of Navigator on the P800 working at CeBIT this year, but there is nothing in the announcement about the SEP800/900.

This will not be released with the Series60/Smartphone software. I am afraid we will have to wait for a later announcement regarding this platform.
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Mike Barrett

alix776 · Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 11:44 am Post subject:

very cool should be good ill have to get smart phone as well now then arrrrgggghhhhhh
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currently using aponia truck navigation on windows phone. Good bye IOS don't let the door hit you on the way out .

Oh the joys of being a courier.
device Lumia 950 xl

Ipaq · Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2004 1:41 pm Post subject: Its about time!

Its about time!

A freind of mine has been using Mapopolis on his Orange SPV (Original) for a while now, I cant beleive it has taken the makers of TomTom this long to bring it to the market. Confused

Darren · Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:51 am Post subject:

The issue with Smartphones is the stability and speed of the OS. I've been using the Mapopolis Smartphone Beta client for a while now with my E200 and a BT GPS and it crashes and locks up the handset so often that I'd almost given up on it.

The very fact that it's still in Beta with no update and no sign of a full release indicates the difficulties manufacturers are having with the Smartphone OS or at least the hardware. The E200 is the only model currently able to utilise a BT GPS and it's crippled by the appalling MS BT Stack. Whilst the 2003 OS is better than earlier versions it's still very slow and prone to lock-ups even when doing basic things liek navigating the menu or accessing contacts, adding GPS Nav to this base is naturally fraught with difficulties!

Having said that, MS Smartphone's can be great, web browsing, Outlook integration, POP mail and Media Player etc are great but it's got some way to go until it's stable and because the customisation is down to the phone manufacturer and service provider this added layer means updates are slow to surface.
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Darren Griffin

Ipaq · Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 12:33 pm Post subject:

Hello again,

I asked if his locked up often & its only now & again when searching for street names, as far as the GPS goes his is a wired mouse as he has no BT but no problems yet with that. The connection is the same as for the XDA.

All experiences I have had with BT have not been that reliable, I use a BT USB dongle (class 1) in my Pc @ home to sirf the net with my 2210. Great most of the time, but not 100%, I am no expert but maybe this is whats causing the the majority of your errors???

Darren · Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 12:40 pm Post subject:

Very possibly, I don't have access to an XDA compatible GPS mouse so using BT could be the cause of some of the problems,
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Darren Griffin

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