TomTom has premièred a number of new products in Hanover: the new x30 series with NavCore 8 and an external HD Traffic receiver.
In 2007, TomTom mainly gave CeBIT a miss, but this year they are back in Hanover. Today, one day before the official opening of the fair, the company announced a number of new consumer products, the most important of those being: the new GO x30 (Traffic) with NavCore 8 and an external receiver for TomTom’s HD Traffic technology.
GO 930, 730 and 530
Only a few months after the ‘old’ top of the range model, the 920(T), became available in the shops, the range is already ancient history. TomTom announced their new range for the year, the x30 series. The short period between the two launches can probably be understood a bit better if we mention that the new series is 100% identical to the GO x20 range. The company has chosen to only update the colours of the GO 930, GO 730 and GO 530, by dropping the silvery look and replacing it with classy black. This means real novelties can only happen in software this time, and in the supplied RDS/TMC receiver of the Traffic versions.
Advanced Lane Guidance
The TomTom GO 930 (with Tele Atlas maps of Europe, US and Canada), 730 (Western and Eastern Europe) and 530 (with regional map) are shipped with the newest version (8) of TomTom’s NavCore navigational software. The biggest innovation this new software version brings is without a doubt Advanced Lane Guidance.
As other PND manufacturers have done before, like Navigon eg., TomTom now also offers help with navigating in difficult situations, particularly on motorways. For this, about 800 meters before the turn/exit, a static image of the layout is shown, on which the lane which should be taken is clearly highlighted. The road signs above the road are also indicated as realistically as possible. All this is completed by a new symbolic display in the status bar of the lanes which should be chosen.
IQ Routes
A not so noticeable, but nonetheless important expansion to NavCore 8 are the so-called IQ Routes. This new TomTom technology should make for more accurate travel-time calculations. For this, real-time average speeds on roads are used by means of the statistical data which TomTom receives from its users (anonymously). In calculating the routes, factors like days of the week and time of day are added to the equation. Even not so obvious information like the number of traffic lights, the number of roundabouts and speed bumps are used in this calculation to make sure the end result is as reliable as possible.
For other novelties and more details with regards to NavCore 8 innovations, including our very first practical experiences, please read our exclusive
‘NavCore 8: IQ Routes and Advanced Lane Guidance’ special.
The TomTom GO 930, GO 730 and GO 530 will be in the shops from the beginning of this April. The devices will also be available in a Traffic version. These units come with the RDS/TMC antenna shipped in the box. TomTom have not released any prices of its new PND range.
HD Traffic receiver
The HD technology which was introduced by TomTom in the Netherlands in November of last year will soon also be available to the owners of both the new GO x30 series and the GO 920, 720 and 520 owners. TomTom will release the necessary external receivers for this very soon now.
The HD Traffic technology uses anonymous, mobile phone generated data which is combined with existing traffic information sources. This way, TomTom is able to determine more accurately where certain slowdowns are taking place and how long it will take to travel from point A to B. The HD Traffic series is currently only available in Holland, but later this year Germany and The UK will follow. France is planned for 2009.
The TomTom HD Traffic receiver will be for sale as a power adapter plug, in which a SIM card with GPRS modem is built-in. This accessory also features a lithium-ion battery, so it will continue to function even if the power source is (momentarily) switched off. (like eg. when operating the car's ignition ). The unit will sell for ¤ 99.95. This includes 6 months of HD Traffic subscription including a live data connection (GPRS). After this period, this service can be extended at any time for ¤ 9.95 /month.
For the owners of a GO 920 or 720, TomTom will soon release a software update which will make these devices HD Traffic compliant. Later this year, a comparable software update will follow for other TomTom navigational devices.
It is to be expected that there will also be special versions of TomTom devices available in the shops, which will include the HD Traffic receiver in the box.
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shadamehr
Posts: 169
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Posted on: March 4, 2008 22:05 h |
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It occurs to me that it would be in Tom Tom's interest to release NavCore 8 for x20 and lower devices sooner rather than later otherwise purchasers of the x30 will not benefit from enough user data for the IQ routes mechanism!
A very valid point indeed if you were/are referring to the HD Traffic, which does require current data, but the IQ Routes, no problem - they HAVE the data already (from us I should hasted to add - so some will say we are paying a premium to buy back information that we ourselves supplied, but that's life), as this is historic data amassed previously on roads and road usage, by us, the existing users (or at least, as I read it, those of us that agreed to send anonymous data). Now that we know where this data has come from though, and as we now know we are to be charged to make use of it, I wonder what TT will do if we all change our minds and elect OUT of sharing this data. 
Of course, in some ways it is too late now though, as they HAVE the data, enough to offer IQ Routes - it would just be the ongoing reliability of it over time, that would suffer!
But for HD Traffic on the other hand, unless the userbase is widespread, the actual data is not exactly helpful, and at the minute, whilst Eddy Stobbart has a fair few trucks in the scheme, and another organisation is signed up too, that's not exactly going to measure a mass jam building up on the A1 now is it, like a hundred cars would in a small area.
So very valid what you say about it being well in TT's best interests to do all they can to make the userbase as big as possible, as fast as possible. In other words, open it out to x20 users VERY quick - but for HD Traffic, they have said they 'intend' to do this. It's just that it needs to be right from the off, not later on, else those x30 users who do make use of HD Traffic data, are not exactly going to have much data to depend on for a good few months or more....
QUOTE(jonstatt) Also, Tom Tom may want to quickly get out an announcement regarding x20 upgrades or stores may find themselves in a difficult situation regarding sales for the next 2 months shifting old stock while waiting for the new. If they intend to upgrade x20 users with the latest software, they should announce it so that consumers will still buy in the meantime.
True - given the quick introduction of the x30, there are going to be stores and warehouses full to the brim with x20 stock that still needs selling. You won't shift that over the coming months, if users aren't assured that a lot of the x30 software features won't work on what they are just about to part with their hard earned cash for, in terms of considering an existing x20 unit!
QUOTE(jonstatt) Are we sure the new TMC receiver would work on older units, or is there in fact a very subtle hardware change, which is the basis for the x20 to x30 transition. Interestingly in the UK I have found I get very good results with the revised TMC receiver (right-angle plug type) that comes with the 920. It held reception for over 80% of the time I drove over a 100 mile trip.
As I see the photos, the new RDS-TMC add on, if this is what we mean here, is a VERY different beast to the current unit - in that the current usb charging cable plugs into the new RDS-TMC adaptor, and then the new RDS-TMC plugs into the new x30 range via USB, NOT via a jack plug socket as current adaptors and devices use.
Indeed, it is not stated whether the new x30 series even have the old RDS-TMC style jack plug socket, but may do for backwards compatibility. I wouldn't bank on it though.
But certainly however, it means that in terms of using the NEW adaptor on the older x20 series, it will need to plug into our USB socket, and whether this only requires software update, as opposed to it being hardware based, is a very valid question indeed.
In short though, the whole way the RDS-TMS works is very different to the existing one.
QUOTE(jonstatt) I have never seen such a short product cycle 920 to 930 before.
Probably a fair statement, yes.
Might make for a nice price drop for anyone after an x20 series device though, once x30's are actually available to buy.
If the x20 is then certified as ok to upgrade to the software features of the x30 series though, this poses issues for TT...
In that conversely to what I said earlier about not being able to shift existing stocks, on the contrary, they might actually be making it hard for them to sell the NEW models, especially if the price is a lot higher.
So this worrying fact alone, is one to consider when wondering if TT will make the features available for x20 owners... Doing so might be a "shoot in the foot" policy for TT...
But interesting times lie ahead, for sure.... |
