Oct/Nov 2008

You can get a wide range of value-added services such as live traffic updates, traffic and weather reports, speed camera alerts and a fuel price check with the latest version of TomTom's GO range of satellite navigation products.

The company has also refined its guidance system to take account of historical travel times on specific roads at specific times of day. This feature is embodied in its IQ Routes system.

TomTom is calling this new generation its TomTom LIVE range, and describing it as 'connected satnav', since the devices download new information wirelessly all the time they are in use.

You have to pay a subscription for this facility; currently the rate is £7.99 a month, with the first three months included free in the purchase price. As an extra incentive, TomTom is including a free fuel card worth between £30 and £50 for UK users.

 

The different components of the system have their own branding. For instance, there is TomTom's High Definition Traffic service, which delivers detailed live traffic information to your device every three minutes. If necessary, the device will automatically calculate a better route (if available) and adjust the estimated arrival time.

There is also TomTom's Fuel Price Search, which provides up-to-date pricing information from 12,000 fuel stations across the UK, and will guide users to the cheapest fuel stations along their route or in the area. TomTom reckons this system could save high-mileage drivers up to £250 per year.

Speed camera information is provided by a third-party supplier, Road Angel. Other features include Google local searching and a 'buddies' system to link devices together.

Analysts have commented in the past that satnav suppliers such as TomTom, whose products can be bought outright, will be seeking ways to squeeze more ongoing value from their products in future, boosting their revenue streams. The LIVE range seems to answer the question of how TomTom will go about it.

There are several models in the GO x 40 range, priced between around £300 and £450.

* TomTom has announced a formal map update service, though which satnav users can download new map releases every quarter for a subscription of £7.95 per quarter. The downloading is done on a desktop computer. If new maps are released within 30 days of first use of the system, the initial download is free.