TomTom sets out plans to beat fall in PND sales

Darren

TomTom is taking steps to halt the fall in sales of dedicated personal navigation devices which have fallen victim to the popularity of smartphones and navigation app.

Starting with an advertising campaign on radio stations and via social media networks, the Dutch navigation company is hoping to turn around the continuing fall in PND sales but it's hard to see how this can be turned around now.

Fewer customers see the benefit in buying a dedicated device when their smartphone can provide the same functionality. Most smartphones come bundled with free navigation apps and both TomTom and Garmin have smartphone apps that replicate, and in many cases, better the user experience thanks to internet connectivity for services such as Google Search and Traffic.

TomTom are investing heavily in the fitness market, one of the few areas which is enjoying year on year growth, and they continue to focus on securing deals with car manufacturers to get TomTom solutions embedded into the dashboard.

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Darren Griffin

marksfish · Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:34 pm Post subject:

Perhaps if they were to listen to their users and return to the units some of the crippled functionality of previous models, it may help with the decline. No 3rd party POI's, no backup facility, no Google search, unreliable traffic, etc.
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Garmin Drivesmart 51 LMT-D Europe

Wazza_G · Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 10:18 pm Post subject:

Poor quality mapping, poor battery life, poor traffic.

I dumped TomTom for Garmin and haven't regretted it for a moment.

The only downside I find is the odd way of getting POI's into the Garmin, but I can live with it.
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Be alert.. This country needs more lerts.

IanS100 · Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 10:52 pm Post subject:

aj2052 · Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 12:31 am Post subject:

Having both TomTom and Sygic on my Android Smartphone tomtoms routing seems dire consequently thus always use Sygic but unfortunately still stuck with tomtoms teleatlas maps which still hold incorrect street names that I repeatedly reported over 3yrs ago. surely they must also be losing out on smartphone sales and have to agree that they should concentrate on functuality instead of throwing money on advertising.
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Moto G5s Plus, Sygic 17.4.8

superref_63 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 31

think the new 6000 device is poor

keeps losing traffic which was the reason I bought it

xtraseller · Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:50 pm Post subject:

I have Navigon and TomTom on both IPhone 5s and an Android device (Samsung Galaxy Note) - plus a Garmin 3598D and TomTom 6000

Without doubt the smartphone apps provide an easy and seemingly low cost route in to GPS for the occasional user

For me however (3-5 trips per day, 50,000+ miles year) the fuss of the smartphone app and inconvenience of setting it up (compared to the snap-magnetic fixes of my two PNDs) make my Smartphone SatNav use nothing more than gadget fun for me - I could not do my job so easily without the PNDs

What they need is to stop focusing on price, but function - and bring real value features to these PNDs - built in Traffic (as TomTom), 8 Hour plus Battery (so no messy leads over dash - your phone could never compete with that), improved lane guidance (my Garmin has superb active lane guidance, it just isn't available on virtually any road currently - this dispite the same feature working on hundreds of roads on their Navigon PNDs and Smartphone Apps), and vastly improved directional guidance (visual / spoken) in terms of next and up coming manoeuvres

Custom POIs, Google / Bing Local Search, etc. should of course come as standard

That would encourage me and many people who would spend £150 - £400 on a device and updates to keep with the units

A radio ad may lead me to their website - where I would turn away because they are offering nothing new
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TomTom Go Live 6100, 600
Garmin DriveLux 50, D-Smart 70, NuviCam, 3598, 2699, 2798
Mio Navman 695
Nexus 6p, Apple iPhone 6sPlus and Microsoft Lumia 950xl running TomTom, Garmin, CoPilot, Navigon, Sygic, Here Drive, Google, Waze, MS Maps

K13ehr · Lifetime Member Joined: Jul 12, 2008 Posts: 286

If Tom Tom were to drop it's prices to a sensible level where they can compete with the others, they would gain more sales in the smart phone app arenas, if they also actually did a proper map update every quarter as they say they do, it seems a waste of well designed and well known brand name to let it go slowly down hill, they seem to live in a place where Tom Tom will only get better, and take no account of the swift changes being made in technology every day.

©2014 How about a sat nav in a wrist watch, just basic, left, right, etc input by a stylus.© 2014

Send cheques to .......

DennisN · Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 4:47 pm Post subject:

K13ehr · Lifetime Member Joined: Jul 12, 2008 Posts: 286

That's why I stick with my one XL V4, it just works.

I just put my 710 on Ebay today, I have no idea why I bought it, it doesn't do anything my ones don't do.

badgerdid1 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 20, 2014 Posts: 1

I bought the tom tom start20 and soon sold it because of the removal of itineraries etc and bought an old 520 instead, i will not buy a new one now until im sure these things are available.

So i say its tomtoms own fault why i wont and maybe many more people looking at forums etc, wont buy a new unit.

IanS100 · Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 9:29 pm Post subject: Re: start20

Kar98 · Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:23 am Post subject:

Have they considered not putting out half-assed products and not pretending a product has never existed a month after launch?

st1967 · Lifetime Member Joined: Nov 28, 2003 Posts: 189

I must be the odd user here then? Never had a PND, I started with an old Compaq Ipaq with plug in GPS unit. I swapped over to Windows Mobile at the dawn of the smartphone and have used them ever since. Latest version is best ever and the traffic is perfect.

I did have a few years with a Honda built in satnav which was actually OK, and just ordered a new Lexus that is coming with their horrible Satnav (0 cost option) but will probably use it just so I don't have to have cables. Although very old fashioned looking it has some nice features, google streetview, push your trip details to the car before you get in it and also your next turn shows up on the speedo dials. It even has built in speed cameras but don't know where they get their data from?
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Samsung S22 Android, Google Maps & Camera Alert

IanS100 · Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:04 pm Post subject:

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