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TomTom GO LIVE 1000
Article by: Darren Griffin
Date: 27 Apr 2010
 TomTom also unveiled the GO LIVE 1000, TomTom's latest premium real-time service equipped device.
The GO Live 1000 sports a powerful ARM 11 500Mhz processor, a capacitive touch screen and introduces a new Webkit-based user interface.
The new user-interface looks particularly clean and modern and supports the integration of third party applications. The Live services are also subscription free for the first 12mths, including HD traffic and local search.
Much is also being made of a new routing algorithm which, it is claimed, calculates routes faster than ever and improves on their accuracy and relevance.
Another new feature is 'Park Assist' which provides relevant information on parking at your destination.
We'll bring you more details once we have had the opportunity to road test the new device which is expected this summer. For more information visit www.tomtom.com.
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| Comments
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 Posted by Darren on Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:23 pm |
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| Privateer Wrote: | | News Team Wrote: | | ... introduces a new Webkit-based user interface ... supports the integration of third party applications. |
Does this mean a complete 180° about-turn from TomTom so that they are resurrecting an SDK again?  |
Sadly not. Enquiring about this 'feature' it would seem little is know about what it will eventually realise.
It may simply be that they have a facility to author plug-ins such as Wikipaedia integration. The possibility that third parties will be able to author apps is a long way off if it is a possibility at all.
More concerning is news that it will be using a new version of HOME that is web based. TomTom plane to move to this solution across the board in time as it enables simple cross-platform support.
But what it does mean is the device will no longer be visible on the desktop as a drive and can only be accessed via the HOME service. It seems that support for third party apps may not be present on the GO LIVE 1000, at least not at launch. A very worrying move if true.
The good points are route calculation, it's almost instant, a test 2000km route taking less than a second to calculate and display.
TomTom have achieved this by calculation every possible route option from all start points to all destinations. This was achieved using a server farm that ran for weeks on end to perform the millions of calculations.
The resulting data has been compressed and the end result is a 1GB data file on the GO 1000 that it uses to produce the extremely fast routes.
Also with multi-touch being supported in the hardware, TomTom are promising that this feature will be implemented at a later date.
So some great stuff and some very worrying comments about the future availability of third party custom POIs.
Darren Griffin |
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| Posted by Darren on Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:30 pm |
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| Wazza_G Wrote: | | Question No.1: How much? or is it HOW MUCH?! |
No idea, not sue until Summer so no prices as yet
| Quote: | | Question No.2: How well does it perform? |
Very well, fast, nice bright display, much nicer than previous screens. new UI is very nice.
| Quote: | | Question No.3: What's the battery life? |
3hrs
Darren Griffin |
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| Posted by PaulB2005 on Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:34 pm |
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Are the web based HOME software and | Quote: | | very worrying comments about the future availability of third party custom POIs. |
restricted to the new models or will this also affect older models....
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| Posted by Darren on Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:38 pm |
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| PaulB2005 Wrote: | Are the web based HOME software and | Quote: | | very worrying comments about the future availability of third party custom POIs. |
restricted to the new models or will this also affect older models.... |
All very vague at the moment but this is the latest in a worrying trend by TomTom who seem to want to 'own' the whole shebang and don't want third party data on their devices.
We'll be doing our best to persuade them that this is a bad move, community websites owners from France, Germany, Norway etc are all as annoyed at this as we are.
Darren Griffin |
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| Posted by mikealder on Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:48 pm |
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| Darren Wrote: | | But what it does mean is the device will no longer be visible on the desktop as a drive and can only be accessed via the HOME service. It seems that support for third party apps may not be present on the GO LIVE 1000, at least not at launch. A very worrying move if true. |
If this is true and its locked down to the point it can't be hacked I very much doubt it will sell very well at all, the Home software has been a major bind to use since its introduction, I fail to see how a "new Web based" system would be any better when it can't even download the correct map versions map content to a device at the moment.
I can see why they want to lock out users from messing around (all sounds a bit too Apple like to me), will have to wait and see - Mike
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| Posted by DennisN on Tue Apr 27, 2010 1:02 pm |
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It's beginning to sound like all the previous new devices - more hype. Parking information, I ask you! 
I do wish they'd concentrate on getting existing performance to perform! Or have they solved all the existing performances and they now work properly on the new device?
And not being able to see the device with Explorer? Not able to do an Explorer backup? Rely on Home backups? Goose pimples on the back of my neck.
Can't somebody persuade them to produce a device which does A-B and allows third parties to provide the bells and whistles. Live Search, with Navigate to and Live Traffic with Re-route are worthwhile, but most other stuff is not worth linking to (and degrading) the functions of a satnav.
Dennis
If it tastes good - it's fattening.
Two of them are obesiting!! |
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| Posted by NickG on Tue Apr 27, 2010 2:31 pm |
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Damn. I ordered a 750 just literally yesterday 
Edit: Hmm, I'm put off by a few things like their attempt to lock down the platform. Perhaps I'll stick with the 750.
I wonder how their route precalculation works when combined with HD traffic or IQ Routes information? You'd think that precalculating routes when they're also using IQ Routes and live traffic information simply wouldn't be possible. Personally I've never had a problem with the time it takes to calculate a route on any TomTom device I've ever used. It usually takes less than 10 seconds, which is fine by me.
Twitter: @nickg_uk |
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| Posted by Darren on Tue Apr 27, 2010 2:51 pm |
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The POI issue is very much an unknown at the moment with one person saying NO, another MAYBE and another still - YES.
This is a device preview and as it is not due until Summer there are a lot of features that have yet to be fixed so it would be premature to place to much weight on this as yet.
The mount uses a new magnet system which is very secure and makes dock/undock much simpler. The cable is separate but clips to the dock which seems to work well and as the device just drops on, works well.
The screen is difficult to describe but very clear and bright and the new UI offers features including a new editable custom menu layout.
More features:
Graphics Co-Processor
Natural Melody Speakers
3hr Battery
High Quality Mic
Volume linked to ambient noise levels using mic
Clock set to local time via GPS (at long last!
Local Search available in 33 countries
HD Traffic and Speedcams in 16
Full roaming across all LIVE countries with every device.
That's about all we have for now.
Darren Griffin |
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Some iPhone apps can do when they are locked down.
