TomTom discontinuing Navigator ?

[GGW69]

Through conversations with a few folks I've learned that TomTom is apparently contemplating ceasing any further development on any products for PDA's. They are apparently no longer supporting Nav6 nor will they provide any further map/poi updates for Nav6. They had apparently begun development of Nav7/8 but have suspended that project until a go/no decision is made.

This decision is apparently being driven primarily by significant bootlegging of maps (their primary source of income with Nav software).

I have gotten this info second-hand, but believe it is reliable. Has anyone else heard anything along these lines?

[freddiemac1]

Interesting...

I had to call them to help me activate my maps on my fourth replacement tilt. In the course of conversation, I asked about new maps. And the answer was there were new maps but not for navigator 6....they were developing navigator 7 and were in the process of determining "viability." When I asked if that meant they were thinking of discontinuing it, he backpedaled and said they just want to make sure that everything works with such a wide variety of devices to support - palm, symbian, windows mobile.

With what you heard, it sounds like it could be a possibilty. Shame. It's a good program...

[californiarailroader]

I agree, it's an excellent program and I get a lot of good use out of it, I hope they continue to upgrade and improve it. The ONLY thing I don't like about TomTom Navigator 6 is that it doesn't have Text to Speech, it would be nice to hear "turn right on Yuba Street then turn right on California Street" instead of just "Turn right then turn right".

[whk]

Interesting...

I had to call them to help me activate my maps on my fourth replacement tilt. In the course of conversation, I asked about new maps. And the answer was there were new maps but not for navigator 6....they were developing navigator 7 and were in the process of determining "viability." When I asked if that meant they were thinking of discontinuing it, he backpedaled and said they just want to make sure that everything works with such a wide variety of devices to support - palm, symbian, windows mobile.

With what you heard, it sounds like it could be a possibilty. Shame. It's a good program...

They released new maps this past week for the Nav6 as well as all their other products.
Until you see this on their web site it is just someone's rumor.
http://www.tomtom.com/products/maps/?Lid=4
Bill

[GGW69]

Do you know if those truly are new maps? After installing TT on my Kais and downloading the free map for my metro area 5 days ago I've found a large number of outdated things including 1 year old streets not in TT and POI's 1 to 4 years out of date. I'd think that they'd want the map they give you for a trial to get you to purchase from them would be the most up to date.

[jwbrint]

Can anyone tell what the exact version is of the new maps? From what I can read about them is that they are version 6.75 but they done give the build number. I already have version 6.75.1409. Just wanting to know if they really are newer maps.

[graemesmith]

It doesn't have text to speech either but it is FREE! and I suspect the real reason TomTom are no longer going to support the PDA version. Very powerful - search for "KFC" and it will find all the nearest with clickable links to websites, phone numbers, driving directions from current position, from an input address from a contact etc. Everything you could want when you need to top up on Kentucky Fried Chipmunks.....or whatever you need to find.

Of course as it is "live" and downloads maps on the fly you better have an unlimited data plan. But it is cool driving along in Satellite View!

HINT - the CAB is not seperately downloadable. You have to download it direct to your PDA - last time I did it was about 1.5Mb. Though once you have the CAB in memory you can back it up to your PC.

[ardsar]

These are not new maps - they are the same as what i downloaded several weeks ago.

This has also been confirmed at the following site

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=400322#400322



"TomTom have today announced the availability of the v.7.20 maps from the Map Shop as well as the v.8.05 maps for the GOx30 users.

All existing map versions that were previously available from the shop have now been replaced with the new v.720 maps for all PND’s except the GOx30 series. GOx30 owners can now buy new map version v.8.05. Anyone contemplating a map purchase is advised that the maps are device dependent and therefore it is important that you select the exact device model you own to ensure you receive the correct map.

The 7.20 and 8.05 maps are based on TeleAtlas 2008.01 data.

The 6.75 maps will remain available in the Map Shop for NAVIGATOR 6 users and Automotive units (Eclipse, Daihatsu, Toyota) Note: Rider and Rider 2 users can now buy the new v.720 maps (premium maps) from the map shop."

[freddiemac1]

It doesn't have text to speech either but it is FREE! and I suspect the real reason TomTom are no longer going to support the PDA version. Very powerful - search for "KFC" and it will find all the nearest with clickable links to websites, phone numbers, driving directions from current position, from an input address from a contact etc. Everything you could want when you need to top up on Kentucky Fried Chipmunks.....or whatever you need to find.

Of course as it is "live" and downloads maps on the fly you better have an unlimited data plan. But it is cool driving along in Satellite View!

HINT - the CAB is not seperately downloadable. You have to download it direct to your PDA - last time I did it was about 1.5Mb. Though once you have the CAB in memory you can back it up to your PC.


The one big disadvantage of google maps is that it DOES require that live connection. If you are in a poor reception - or no reception area - it is hard to get those directions. For me, i would rather have it sitting on my device and just be dependent on the satellites....instead of BOTH satellite and cell tower.

[Raymongo]

I don't think the have stoped developing v7 because the new HTC Daimond comes with v7 intergrated in the rom. This can be found in several artical on XDA.

[GGW69]

There is much to like about google maps. As you mentioned, they are constantly updated, fairly accurate, have tons of useful info, allow you to click on POI's for info, to call POI, or link to POI website.

Unfortunately it doesn't have turn-by-turn capabilities (at least that I've ever seen) or allow you to keep maps on your device (besides costly when roaming, I seem to always find areas without cell service). It doesn't determine your direction of travel with an arrow, only shows a dot. These are the biggies. Some of the route planning and other things that TT or Garmin have are also useful but missing from Goog. Google's love of learning anything and everything about people for their own profit is also a bit disconcerting. Them knowing where I've been, where I am, and where I'm going is perhaps too much.

Telenav only works in the US, Garmin is coming out with their own phone to avoid the pirated maps/revenue issue...

[ardsar]

Darren Griffin from PocketGPS forum has written the following statement

"In Amsterdam last week I quizzed TomTom on this and whilst their future plans for PocketPC were vague, they did suggest that piracy had been major issue and 'if' any future releases were planned they would most likely only be in partnership with manufacturers. "
www.pocketgpsworld.com

Article is on the home page discussed under "HTC Launch O2 XDA Diamond in Germany with TomTom v7"

[jdmba]

Google does not offer voice guidance or turn-by-turn maps. However, Google does offer a traffic overlay which is free (TomTom charges) and does not require updates.

Oddly, it seems to take TomTom about 10 minutes or so to get a GPS lock. Google (with GPS turned on) seems to take less than a minute. I have never understood that :)

[whk]

Can anyone tell what the exact version is of the new maps? From what I can read about them is that they are version 6.75 but they done give the build number. I already have version 6.75.1409. Just wanting to know if they really are newer maps.

I called and the 1409 is the latest version of the map.

Tech support indicates that they have no plans to discontinue the Nav6.
Bill

[GGW69]

Oddly, it seems to take TomTom about 10 minutes or so to get a GPS lock. Google (with GPS turned on) seems to take less than a minute. I have never understood that :)Mine (Kaiser w/ TT) almost always gets GPS lock within about 30 seconds of starting the TT app. This is in US including MN, CA, NY, and GA.

[khaytsus]

Mine (Kaiser w/ TT) almost always gets GPS lock within about 30 seconds of starting the TT app. This is in US including MN, CA, NY, and GA.

Yep, same here, TomTom has a lock and is showing my location in at most 60s when I turn it on while driving. If I'm sitting still, it's less than that.

The Tilt does not seem to have much luck getting a signal when shielded from the sky, however.. Even sitting in a restaurant near a window I've found it completely unable to get a signal but it locked on in <15s when outside. I always mount my Tilt on my 'grip' mount on my dashboard so it has a reasonable view of the sky.

[californiarailroader]

Yep, same here, TomTom has a lock and is showing my location in at most 60s when I turn it on while driving. If I'm sitting still, it's less than that.

The Tilt does not seem to have much luck getting a signal when shielded from the sky, however.. Even sitting in a restaurant near a window I've found it completely unable to get a signal but it locked on in <15s when outside. I always mount my Tilt on my 'grip' mount on my dashboard so it has a reasonable view of the sky.

Do you have aGPS enabled? That will enable you to get a lock even inside of buildings, or anywhere that has little or no view of the sky.

[rboteler]

I hope they do move to navigator 7 at some point as I like the idea of things like map share that are avaliable on the go 720 tomtom models.

[Dils]

Looks like there will be TomTom 7 for Procket PC.

There is a news item on MoDaCo website.

http://www.modaco.com/content/pocket-pc-professional-news/268462/tomtom-7-coming-to-pocket-pc-soon/

[flashy]

i get a quick lock on tomtom, but poor refresh updates from the GPS chip, so its laggy as.

TOMTOM also dont support the kaiser, TYTN II, or the OEM Branded ones, so getting support is a pain (even though my bloody phone came with tomtom on a CD!)

My GPS Reception jumps all over the place too. very unreliable.

[whk]

i get a quick lock on tomtom, but poor refresh updates from the GPS chip, so its laggy as.

TOMTOM also dont support the kaiser, TYTN II, or the OEM Branded ones, so getting support is a pain (even though my bloody phone came with tomtom on a CD!)

My GPS Reception jumps all over the place too. very unreliable.

I am in Texas (USA) - none of what you say is true for me here. Must be a special thing where you are.
Bill

[ardsar]

Tomtom do support the kaiser - i've called them several times with no issues. If it was not supported, how can HTC sell Tomtom with their product?

[ardsar]

Direct from TOmtoms site

Why is NAVIGATOR 6 support for Windows Mobile® 6 limited to some HTC devices?
Answer
The reason why NAVIGATOR 6 is not supported on all Windows Mobile 6 devices is due to our global partnership with HTC, as a supplier of pre-installed Navigation Software for their GPS-enabled devices

[ajs007]

I agree, it's an excellent program and I get a lot of good use out of it, I hope they continue to upgrade and improve it. The ONLY thing I don't like about TomTom Navigator 6 is that it doesn't have Text to Speech, it would be nice to hear "turn right on Yuba Street then turn right on California Street" instead of just "Turn right then turn right".

I 'lifted' the Text to Speech from my TT900 to put it onto my PDA but the file size was huge - 700Mb as I recall.

The files are all contained within the single directory 'Loquendo' on the TT900 hard drive.

If TT drops out of the PDA scene there's a chance iGO will become more popular - especially with the new 3D version in 2008's release.

[GGW69]

Looks like there will be TomTom 7 for Procket PC.

There is a news item on MoDaCo website.

http://www.modaco.com/content/pocket-pc-professional-news/268462/tomtom-7-coming-to-pocket-pc-soon/
This was discussed several times earlier on in this thread.

It appears that TT are discontinuing the stand-alone version of Navigator and are conducting a trial with the Diamond and apparently 1 other non-HTC device of offering a version of Navigator that will be tied to specific hardware and cell provider that will allow them to maintain better control over distribution of the maps and upgrades.

If this is all true then that is perhaps good news for those who want TT on their PDA, don't mind purchasing a new phone/plan, and their carrier offers a phone they want with the new TT on it. If they are indeed discontinuing any support of map or other updates for current Nav users... ? Their likely reasoning is that users got the software for free and have to pay for map upgrades anyway so users are not really out any money - the current maps we paid for still work. HOWEVER, the issue they do not take in to account is users who may have based their PDA purchase decision on the presence of TT software on it and are now stuck with a multi-hundred €/£/¥/$ device, likely purchased within the past few months, which they can no longer get map updates for.