TomTom announce TomTom Navigator 5 for PDAs and Palm

MikeB

This time last year at CeBIT TomTom showed the range of products that had their new common navigation engine at the heart. At the time this appeared to be a much simplified, cut down version version of TomTom Navigator. And indeed it was. We were promised that the PDA version of TomTom Navigator using the common navigation engine would not be released until it had the full functionality of the current PDA products.

Today TomTom have announced TomTom Navigator 5 for PDAs. True to their word they have managed to cram virtually all of the old features into a new shining package.

Even better for previous TomTom Navigator users there will be a free downloadable application upgrade to TomTom Navigator 5. At the time of writing it is unclear if the maps will be updated, or what the charge for new mapping will be.

Click here to read our first impressions and the Full TomTom press release.
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Mike Barrett

mark1968 · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 9:45 am Post subject:

Excellent news - Free downloads!!!

Can someone tell me if they have left the avoid area feature in?
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MarkHewitt · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 9:47 am Post subject:

So much news to take in today!

Looks fantastic I have to say! :D

I'm particularly encouraged by the announcement that it will be a free download for existing TomTom3 users, which at the same time does make me concerned as I fully expect them to get money out of me somehow.. maybe it's to try and get me to subsribe to TomTom Plus?

Can't wait to give this a go :D

Dave · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 9:55 am Post subject:

Unfortunately we weren't able to get the PPC and Palm reviews released for today, but they'll be following by the end of the weekend.

DavidW · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 9:58 am Post subject:

I can't think the new maps will be a free download, and it may well be that you need the new maps to use the new postcode support.

I suspect, therefore, that most people will want to upgrade to the new maps - though how and how much is not yet announced.

I think TomTom's idea may be to step everyone up to the "common platform" software, which means they can drop support for the old TomTom Navigator 3 software. For example, if the upcoming Windows Mobile 2005 (or the upcoming iPAQ phone with a 240 by 240 square display) breaks TomTom Navigator 3, then if a free application upgrade is available, they can simply tell people to use their existing maps and product code with the new software, rather than spending any more effort fixing the old software.

David

Googlebot · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 10:18 am Post subject:

Dave · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 10:38 am Post subject:

AFAWK it's definitely with MRE which we can confirm. Not sure about map stitching across map segments.

Galman · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 10:52 am Post subject:

This is looking excellent. Thanks for the continous updates.
I noticed that the Dell Axim X5 wasn't mentioned on the compatible PDA list. Any chance you could confirm with Tomtom that the X5 will work, as like me, a lot of people have purchased the X5 Tomtom 3 package recently.
Many thanks
Keep up the excellent work

mark1968 · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 10:52 am Post subject:

mark1968 · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:56 am Post subject:

soweezy · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:58 am Post subject:

compatible PDA's doesn't include the Mio's or derivitives of ? Confused

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SW

Garmin Zumo 390LM

DavidW · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:33 pm Post subject:

The release looks like it's going to conform to TomTom's historic pattern of being some weeks after CeBIT, towards the end of April. After all, it's better that the code is ready for release than rushed out. The Pocket GPS World review of Go 5, which is going to be pretty much the same code on different hardware, is written using software acknowledged as a beta version. I suspect, therefore, that the product isn't yet complete.

Questions about specific features (such as avoid areas), map cuts, packages, prices and upgrade deals are likely to be impossible to answer in a definitive way right now unless TomTom themselves can be persuaded to reveal their plans - and that those plans don't change leading up to release. It has happened before in the IT industry - for example, Windows NT 4 was reportedly going to get Plug and Play and one of the release candidates had Plug and Play. There were too many problems found, so, with the release deadline approaching, Microsoft dropped Plug and Play from NT 4 and it didn't appear until Windows 2000.

I'm sure those members of the Team at CeBIT will be trying to get what answers they can from TomTom, though for now, an overall impression of what can be seen in the various (p)reviews and the like is probably the best that is available.

If specific features are important to you, by all means mention them in the hope that TomTom will listen - but definitive answers on many questions may well be impossible at this stage. As soon as the Team get hold of the final version then such answers will be possible.

What is clear is that a lot of features missing to date in any "common platform" release on the Pocket PC are, based on the Go 5 review, going to be in TomTom Navigator 5 - including route demonstrations, some control over routing options, itineraries, a compass and TomTom Traffic.

So far as the compatibility list goes, there's always been many more machines that the software has run on than are in the compatibility list. With Palms, there have historically been problems with machines not on the compatibility list - usually because the hardware isn't really capable enough. Pocket PCs, however, tend to work just fine, though TomTom won't promise to support you if you get a compatibility issue with a machine not on their list.

A notable exception so far as Pocket PCs go is the iPAQ rz1710, which TomTom regard as having insufficient RAM for TomTom Navigator 3 - one reason why the HP / TomTom bundle uses Navigator 2004 HP Edition, which is supposedly lighter on requirements. As the rz1710 is upgradable to TomTom Navigator 5 (which is based on Navigator 2004, not Navigator 3), that indicates it's resource lighter than Navigator 3. Hopefully the problems with an iPAQ h2210, Bluetooth GPS and maps on an SD card will disappear with the Navigator 5 software.

As it looks like the software itself will be a free upgrade, existing users will be able to try the software on your hardware before spending any money on any chargeable upgrade components that are made available, such as new maps.

David

a4ace · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:18 pm Post subject:

they have the entire european map on the go 700. is it one map or would it still be required to switch maps? if it is one map, would they make it available to PPCs as well?
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SpeedCam · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:18 pm Post subject:

Can some confirm if the map data will be available for download, as this is currently the biggest problem with TT V3. If not how will map updates be handled?

This would also indicate that if you already have the maps of western europe V3 they may still work with V5 ie I will not be required to upgrade my western maps.

Final question TomTom Plus, any ideas regarding pricing, if I'm an exisiting Traffic subscriber will I have acces to TomTom Plus, limited access or is it a completley new service?

Generally great news...

MarkHewitt · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 4:48 pm Post subject:

Well it seems there is not a free download for TomTom 3 users anyway.

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