TomTom for Android to launch 'fairly soon' according to company co-founder

By Richard Devine
last updated

TomTom for iOS has been out for a long old time now, but there's never really been any traction behind an Android version appearing. There is now hope though, as co-founder of TomTom, Peter-Frans Pauwels, has told ​Pocket-lint​ that the app will be released "fairly soon." 

He couldn't put an exact date on the launch, but went on to say "I can confirm it is real" and that the "summer season is important for us." He also confirmed that the Android version would contain the same feature set as is iOS compatriot. There was no indication of price, but make no mistake. TomTom is a premium application that will come with a premium price. 

Many Android users would question the need for TomTom -- especially given the length of time without having it -- when we have a perfectly good, and free, satellite navigation system in Google Maps Navigation. Only time will tell on that one, but for many TomTom is satellite navigation so we're looking forward to seeing it land. 

Source: Pocket-lint

52 Comments
  • This navigation system would have to offer something way above and beyond what I get for free via Google Navigation Maps. Still amazed people are willing to shell out $10.00 a month for Verizon vz navigator which offers little more than what Google offers for free.
  • +1! My thoughts exactly!
    Google Maps & Navigation > pretty much any other Nav.
  • Dup
  • +1 Tom Tom is redundant redundant. Bye Bye Tom Tom. Tomtom needs someone equally desperate to partner with. How about Nokia or BlackBerry?
  • Qualcomm, Keyocera, AOL and ask.com want in on some of this action too.
  • Why Qualcomm? Have you looked at their stock recently? They are doing pretty well. They certainly aren't in the same league with those other companies.
  • My guess is that the only people that pay $10/month for VZ Nav are those that don't realize they have a free alternative.
  • because it RUNS WITHOUT A DATA CONNECTION. Drive into an area w/o cellular signal...or try using Google Maps (it'll cache a small area, but if you reroute or go out of the downloaded area, it needs data) on a prepaid plan w/o data.
    You're SOL. Most folks who just do nav in cities don't understand this... NDrive works ok for me and I'm on prepaid T-mo..no data except for wifi...and I pay $20/yr because I don't talk or SMS much either...
  • You can cache up to I believe a 50 mile area to navigate off line. plus how much space would an app like Tom Tom take up on your phone if all the maps were stored on your SD card? I don't need that.
  • You can eat those words now. :) Google Maps Offline was announced today.
  • I did try NDrive, Sygic Aura and Google Maps Navigation. Now I am using Waze because it is more useful. All these apps, TomTom included are very similar to each other, so I prefer an app that do more.
  • I will certainly buy this! I hope it is just like the one I had for my iPhone, i.e. the 'full' version, 1.5GB...
  • Why clutter up your phone with TomTom with inferior navigating when you have Free Google maps navigation which is clearly the best of anything available today and is available on every Android phone.
  • Does Google Navigation allow you to specify that there is a roadblock (wreck, closed bridge from icing, etc.) X feet ahead and route an alternate route around it? TomTom does that. That is the only reason I keep my TomTom One GPS in the car with me. I fire it up when I hit a closed road or wreck that blocks the road, turn around, and get home while everyone else sits there in a bad traffic situation. Google Nav is great... unless you hit a roadblock. If you try driving some other way, 99% of the time, it tries to get you to turn around and go back to the blocked way that it doesn't know is blocked. VERY frustrating.
  • actually yes it does reroute. there is an option for alternative routes to eliminate roads during navigation. btw google maps is coming out with offline maps
  • Based on my usage (frequent) it only reroutes if you drive off blindly in another direction and get lucky. When there are no "highways" in my current route, telling it to avoid highways doesn't help. I need "avoid an obstruction 100 feet ahead" instead.
  • For smaller destinations, Google's POI database has let me to the wrong destination twice when driving in unfamiliar cities.
  • Unless its FREE? . . . Then Why? Tom Tom is a $50 App on the iOS
  • I'd forgotten about Tom Tom completely. Jokers! How many years late are they?
  • i had a tom tom go and it was my favorite navigation system of all, but there is a new love in my hart these days and it is telenav and it gets even better i am with sprint so i get it for free.
  • Will this one work without a data connection?
  • Hopefully instead of just doing a straight port from iOS (like iOS devs like to do) they actually look at what Google Maps already offers and tailors the app to the Android platfoahahahahahahahahahAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yea I know, what am I thinking.
  • The advantage to having this would be for those people like myself that travel in areas that have spotty or no data connection. Being in the middle of nowhere without a data connection to download the mapping for your area can be stressful. If you always have a data connection then this is a waste as Google is very very good.
  • You can download maps in Google Maps.
  • Are you aware that you can download maps in Google maps too and it works just fine without data?
  • Yes, but when you're driving in areas you hadn't even contemplated driving in, then having the maps stored locally is the wiser choice.
  • I don't believe it can calculate a navigation route from downloaded maps. It still must contact the mother ship. There's the rub.
  • There are alternatives to Tomtom. My preference is Navigon. It works great. Sygic isn't bad either. Also look at Copilot. None of them need data once loaded.
  • Google Nav doesn't need data once the route is setup and cached. You need data initially but not for entire trip.
  • UNTIL you Re-Route.
  • mapquest app free! I use that over Google Maps
  • My sentiments are similar to the first few posts, why bother with anything else when you have google's navigation that free. well, as others have pointed out: it is only good while you have a decent data connection. what navigation apps would you guys recommend that has very good caching that will work in areas where there's no data reception?
  • Unless this app somehow makes my GPS on my GN connect faster, then I see no reason what so ever. The ONLY thing I could see was downloadable map areas so you do not need a data connection to begin the Nav. That way you could use it if you are in a poor to zero data connection area.
  • I have sprint, unlimited data, unlimited navi google maps... Its funny how most people r affraid to use data cuz they only get 4g.. ha ha ha ha
  • Do you have unlimited coverage? Have you ever left the country? Try using Google Maps while data roaming internationally... it will cost you more than buying a TomTom app four times. Of course, if your math skills are as accomplished as your spelling, you still may not get it.
  • FREE is the only premium charge the vast majority of people will be willing to pay for this. Too many other good options at ZERO cost. Sorry TomTom, it's no longer 2004...
  • I have a TomTom standalone and only pull it out for long trips when I don't want to have my phone tied up the whole time. I've stopped paying for the map updates because I can always supplement with Google Map & Navigation if my desired route or destination isn't shown in TomTom. But once the TomTom breaks, I doubt I'll replace it.
  • I have had 2 Tom Toms for many years. The units work ok but when I needed to update my subscription based traffic info it was and continues to be a nightmare with their customer service. I eventually replaced the units with Garmin's that provide free real-time traffic updates. There are several websites devoted to Tom Tom's poor customer service. It appears that they are not very customer or market focused. The article points this out: late to the party where there are better applications that already exist, come imbedded in the devices and are free! It is the sign of a company who's moment has passed . . . take a look at their stock: It will bump up with the press release about android then the investors will see it for what it is . . . Good luck with that!
  • That shipped sailed, also FREE happens to be in my price range. (Google Maps)
  • I seriously doubt their Android adventure pays off. Just as everyone else has said, they're too late to the party, and unless they have something innovative and ground breaking and at a reasonable price (ie-NOT$50), most of us will continue using Google, as it works just fine.
  • If it allowed me to download full states or region maps I would use it, especially on an old phone I no longer have a data plan on.
  • I have both Tom Tom and Garmin standalone navigation units and neither have been turned on for at least a year. Unless you live in a rural area where there are lots of dead cell spots and you need more than a 50 mile radius of maps cached, or need to be constantly re-routed (although I think Waze does that), I can't see any valid reason for purchasing an Android navigation app.
  • the only good thing I can see coming from this is the voice packs, like Vader, Yoda and Snoop Dogg. beyond that.. WHY?!?! Why would you even bother wasting the development money to port an app to a platform that comes with your competition for FREE?!
  • I think their best hope would be to get a deal with some of the carriers to include this preinstalled on phones. Otherwise I can't see many people using it and especially paying for it.
  • I don't see this going well. My parents had a Tom Tom and once my mom got an EVO, they threw that thing in the glove compartment and haven't touched it since.
  • This is great I paid the $29 on the itunes app store and had this on my iphone4 when I first switch from my DROID to the iphone, it works great. Very accurate and has all the lane guidance feature that Google Navigation does not. I switched to a Verizon Galaxy Nexus, and now have Google Navigation again, and I use WAZE for traffic, but I will pay for the TomTom applicaton as well.
    Its an offline app you dont need the data connection for it to run.
    and it works EXACTLY like the $150 GPS units you see in the stores.
    and it will be my georgeous 4.6 inch Nexus screen. Very cool indeed. $30 is my price range I am willing to pay. no more than that.
  • This is way too late for them especially now that Google will be rolling out a nice update to Maps allowing for offline storage.
  • I currently use CoPilot Live because it offers features that most others (including Google Navigation) don't - the ability to avoid certain roads in advance, re-route on-the-fly around incidents you come across that it knows nothing about (a detour), and the ability to specify a vehicle type (which changes the routing for sharp turns and low clearance). If TomTom doesn't offer something useful that the others don't have, their sales will be limited to some new-to-Android users, and those who are completely dissatisfied with the current offerings. Anyone who has already sunk money into a product their reasonably happy with isn't likely to spend big bucks on an alternative.
  • Co-pilot Live Premium here. I don't use it often but its nice to have when I need it. I have a wifi only device and an external GPS I pair with via bluetooth. No worries about data connection. They've run some good specials from time to time. Current price for the US is $20 but I paid less. I was walking by a display of GPS's this week wondering how many of those they still sell.
  • and does it work offline?
  • I had a TomTom (2 actually) before getting my OG DROID. As soon as I started using Google Nav, I never touched my TomTom again. There were, however, a few features that I really liked that have been missing from Google Nav. Most notably is rerouting around a blockage. While you can chose alternate routes, they almost always continue on the same path for a while. On my TomTom, I could say that the road was blocked ahead and it would send me on a detour. It's happened to me twice since I stopped using the TomTom (first a flooded road, second power lines down) and the best you can do with Nav is to pick a different road on your own and wait for it to stop telling you to turn around.
  • My sister had a Garmin device, but somehow became convinced it was a Garmin TomTom. She convinced my parents to buy a TomTom. I think her Garmin is better than their TomTom. And, except when I'm out walking and need to know if this street goes through to that street, I find the Garmin the easiest to use.