Jan/Feb 2006

Equinux, a US-based software house specialising in products for the Apple Macintosh, says it has been requested by Belgian-based navigation systems developer TomTom to stop using the brand name TamTam.

It had been selling software under this name to allow Mac users to manage their TomTom software from Apple Mac computers in the same way that PC users can already - uploading maps, voice commands and address information to the TomTom Go classic satnav system.

Equinux says TomTom considered there was a danger that users might confuse the two names - a risk perhaps more likely in the US than it would have been in Europe, since the pronunciation is more clearly differentiated here.

When we closed for press Equinux's Web site still carried a promotion for the TamTam brand, but juxtaposed with a notice explaining the dictum from TomTom. The system was no longer in the company's online store.