TomTom for iPhone for iOS

By TomTom $24.99 Editors' Rating

Editors' Review

shelbybrown Aug 20, 2009

TomTom U.S. & Canada is the third full-feature turn-by-turn flat-fee navigation app with built-in map in the App Store that covers the entire U.S. and Canada.

Like the first two apps, Navigon and iGo My Way, the TomTom app will turn your iPhone 3G or 3GS into a decently dependable driving navigator. However, like the other two, it's far from perfect.

The TomTom app takes about 6 seconds to load on my iPhone 3GS, which is very fast (the other two apps take about 15 seconds), and displays a very easy-to-use interface with big buttons. It also offers a quick and convenient way to enter an address or to find a point of interest (POI) from its very large database of POIs.

After almost a week of use, I found that both the map and POI database are slightly outdated. It once couldn't find an address and twice showed me POIs that were no longer in business. During this recession, however, it's not exactly the app that's to blame.

Good news is, like the Navigon after itsfirst update, you can tab on a POI to dial it up, and I would highly recommend doing this before you decide to go there, just to make sure that it's still in business.

Similar to the Navigon, the TomTom can also pull addresses from the phone's contacts, which is a very convenient feature. However, while the Navigon is very good at reading contacts' addresses, the TomTom is very picky. It seems to only understand addresses that have a ZIP code. Take the ZIP code out and it will ask you to enter the address manually. This means more than 60 percent or so of the addresses in my contacts won't work. This is sort of strange as the app won't require a ZIP code when you type in addresses manually.

The TomTom takes very little time (a few seconds) to pick up a GPS signal on my iPhone 3GS and its navigation is accurate enough. Once in awhile it would probably lead you to a location that's slightly off from the actual address but that happens with every GPS navigator I've used.

Of the three apps, the TomTom has the largest selection of voices, including many languages from English to Danish, Thai, and Chinese. With English alone, you'll find 11 different accents, both male and female. Still, like the other two apps, it doesn't have text-to-speech where it can read you the name of the street that you're supposed to turn into.

The TomTom's map view, unfortunately, is not as good looking as that of the Navigon or the iGo My Way. The streets and freeways are rendered into a somewhat messy mixture of moving colors and lines, making it a bit confusing to look at.

The TomTom shares my biggest disappointment with the other two apps: no real-time traffic update. If anything, that makes the iPhone different as a mobile GPS navigator from other GPS navigators is the fact it is an Internet-enabled phone that already have real-time traffic builti-in with the Google Map. I just don't see why this feature is not included.

Overall, though not perfect, the $100 TomTom GPS app, like the $80 Navigon (which will also cost $100 starting August 31) makes a great addition to your iPhone 3G(S), especially if you travel frequently. Next month, TomTom will release its car kit for the iPhone app that charges the phone and adds hands-free calling.

Depending on how much the car kit will cost, it might be the game changer for TomTom. Check back soon as we'll let you know if the kit will make the TomTom a clearly better choice than the Navigon.

Full Specifications

What's new in version

General

Release August 19, 2009
Date Added August 19, 2009

Operating Systems

Operating Systems iOS, iPhone OS 3.x
Additional Requirements Requires iPhone OS 3.0

Popularity

Total Downloads 54,977
Downloads Last Week 0
Report Software

Related Apps

Field Trip logo

Field Trip

Free
Field Trip
TZ iBoat - Marine Navigation logo

TZ iBoat - Marine Navigation

Free
TZ iBoat - Marine Navigation
AllTrails logo

AllTrails

Free
AllTrails

RoadBreakers

$1.99
RoadBreakers

User Reviews

2.5/5
2 User Votes
5 Star
4 Star
3 Star
2 Star
1 Star

Developer's Description

TomTom for iPhone gives you the smartest, most efficient navigation route any time of day. Using iPhone's innovative technology, TomTom for iPhone lets you tap your way from A to B. Scroll through the menu, or pinch to zoom in and out on a map using the iPhone's multi-touch display. Rotate from portrait to landscape to get an easier view of the road ahead. Find an entry in your iPhone contacts list, and TomTom for iPhone will get directions. Choose a restaurant, call to reserve your table, then find your way there. You can even see how your speed compares with the speed limit at a single glance.

TomTom for the iPhone comes with features typically found in standard GPS units, including voice directions and full maps of the U.S. and Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Promo image for CNET Shopping

Get the best price on everything

Shop your favorite products and we’ll find the best deal with a single click. Designed to make shopping easier.