A new agreement has been forged between TomTom and Samsung that will bring the Wave 3 “Bada” smartphone access to the company’s GPS-related services.

Charles Cautley, Managing Director of TomTom Automotive and Licensing had the following to say about the new agreement:

Signing the deal with Samsung highlights TomTom’s ability to deliver the map and enhanced content needed to enable the location based services for wireless users. TomTom is excited to collaborate with the global leader in the smartphone market.

So what kind of features does the new agreement bring to the table? Here is a breakdown:

• Map coverage for over 200 countries globally, providing over 35 million kilometers of road network
• Points of Interest providing information that enables users to find the people, places and services they need, wherever they are
• 3D City Maps and 3D Landmarks adding a dimension of clarity and reality to the map, enhancing recognition and providing a visual orientation aid
• Enterprise Traffic delivering live road conditions, including the location and length of a traffic incident, helping drivers find the quickest route to their destination
• Speed Cameras providing a location alert for safety related cameras to promote safe driving habits and optimize the navigation experience.

For now, there’s no word on if the service will be free to use or when it’ll be available. While this is a fairly interesting announcement, it really doesn’t effect those of us in the States since Samsung hasn’t released its Bada OS this way. Of course this could all change in the future.

[ source ]

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The Dutch company is apparently taking all of that GPS-laden data from the navigation devices and turning them over to police and other local authorities for a profit. The good news is that the data is completely anonymous, but you have to realize that they’ve been selling this data without customer permission (or knowledge, for that matter). That can’t be good. Apparently, it only affects customers in the Netherlands too.

“When you connect your TomTom to a computer we aggregate this information and use it for a variety of applications, most importantly to create high quality traffic information and to route you around traffic jams. We also make this information available to local governments and authorities. It helps them to better understand where congestion takes place, where to build new roads and how to make roads safer.…

“We are now aware that the police have used traffic information that you have helped to create to place speed cameras at dangerous locations where the average speed is higher than the legally allowed speed limit. We are aware a lot of our customers do not like the idea and we will look at if we should allow this type of usage.”

Yes, I understand that TomTom’s business might be hurting as more people turn to their smartphones for navigation rather than these standalone devices, but going behind their back to sell this aggregate data is a big no-no in my books. For shame. Now it makes you wonder if others, like Garmin and Magellan, are getting in on the data-selling business too.

The post TomTom Caught Selling Customer Driving Activity Data appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

TomTom Navigation App with real-time traffic updates for the Apple iPhone version 1.3

I’m not much of one to use standalone GPS navigation devices, I can’t even recall the last time I needed one as I prefer to use the free Google Maps application on my Nokia smartphone.  But that’s not to say traditional GPS makers aren’t gonna go down without a fight.  TomTom, still one of the world’s leading providers of navigation solutions and digital maps, is shifting their focus to the world of smartphones. More specifically, enhancements for the iPhone TomTom app.

TomTom’s press announcement explains how full real-time traffic information will be available from the TomTom iPhone app (version 1.3), getting you around those nasty traffic jams rather than taking what is suggested as the fastest route. Need to stop at a dry cleaners, perhaps a falafel? You can find out by accessing the local search powered by Google.

Nifty pinch and zoom is one of the neatest advanced features added to the Version 1.3 list of enhancements, new map updates, automatic day/night mode, music fading, and the ability to save locations from other iPhone apps are also added to the TomTom app.

Existing users get the update for free. New customers can buy the app that includes US maps, for $59.99. If you want to add Canadian maps, the total price is $69.99. The traffic portion is $19.99 extra for 12 months of service.  Other versions available are for the U.K. & Ireland, Western Europe, Australia and South Africa.

The post TomTom iPhone app gets Google local search, real-time traffic appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

I still have a cheap Garmin nuvi kicking around, but I’ve found that it’s been collecting dust in my desk drawer lately. This is partly because the maps are a little dated, but it’s also because I don’t need to use a standalone personal navigation device (PND) anymore. Instead, I use my Nokia E71 with Google Maps for day-to-day navigation. Why?

The smartphone accompanies me on my daily journeys anyway, so I’m not carrying around any additional hardware to find my way around town. Further still, the Google Maps are much more up to date than the pre-installed Garmin maps I have on my nuvi. There really is no reason to use the Garmin anymore, unless I want a bigger screen. If that were the case, I could go with something like an iPhone or BlackBerry Storm instead.

Is the standalone GPS dead? The guys at TomTom and Garmin don’t want to believe so. Harold Goddijn of TomTom says that they’re “becoming more optimistic” and they they’ve seen “quite a good development in demand.” Even so, I have a feeling he knows what’s coming around the corner.

You’ll recall that the PDA market went through a similar situation when smartphones started to pick up in popularity. They told us how it would still be superior to have a standalone personal organize, but how many of us have standalone PDAs anymore when a smartphone can do that and so much more?

Source: Crunchgear

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