Finally: TMC for the TomTom GO!

Starting today, TomTom's RDS/TMC receiver for the GO 510, 710 and 910 is available for purchase in several European countries, particularly in Benelux and in Germany. It's also expected to pop up in British (online) shops any time now. Of course, this nifty little accessory needs no introduction: it enables the owners of TomTom PND units to pull free traffic information from the airwaves and calculate alternative routes in case of a traffic-jam. Many have longed for this accessory. The RDS/TMC receiver can be bought in Benelux for a recommended price of € 99.95 (£ 67). We're not quite sure yet how much the advisory price will be in the UK, but we do know that it will be a tad higher. But the price is the lowest in Germany: there the introduction price is oddly enough only a mere € 69.00 (£ 46)!

A recently conducted poll on this site told us that almost 70% of the respondents want this feature. The use of this free traffic info on traffic-jams, road-accidents and road-works seems to be very popular with customers, and all big PND manufacturers already offer such a RDS/TMC accessory. TomTom is the last manufacturer to do so.

Suction cup

TomTom's TMC receiver uses a very simple suction cup-installation on the windshield. The receiver is connected to a 120 centimeter long cable with on the other end a 2.5 millimeter plug, which needs to be plugged into the TomTom GO car mount. This means that, while TMC is in use, the iPod connect cable cannot be used. The aerial receives FM radio (RDS) signals. The software searches for a radio channel which broadcasts traffic info by means of a TMC signal. This info is then used by the GO and showed to the user. The user can then decide whether he or she chooses to re-calculate the plotted route around a traffic-jam or road-works or not.

Thirteen countries

TMC is available in thirteer countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, The United Kingdom and Switzerland. In a few countries (eg. the UK and France), basic information is free, but there are also paid subscriptions which offer extra information.

TomTom also continues to offer their own 'Traffic'-PLUS service. With a European Traffic subscription (€ 39.95 annually) traffic info can be received via mobile phone and a GPRS network. Besides basic traffic info, Traffic also offers warnings for hazardous weather conditions and special driving conditions. For a comparision table between TMC and Traffic, see here.

Should you want to use a TMC module with your GO, you have to keep in mind that you need to have firmware 6.51 installed, which became available last week. Older software versions don't support the TMC aerial. Click here for info on TomTom firmware 6.51.