News: FM-transmitter for TomTom car mount Options

[Rob Ot]

Posted News:

FM-transmitter for TomTom car mount

TomTom presented an FM transmitter for the car mount of their GO x10 models at the International CES in Las Vegas.

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The yourNAV team

[Colin K]

I think that this is very exciting, and I hope that it works. I currently use an FM transmitter to play my iRiver MP3 player through the car stereo and it works a dream.

Colin

[Lee Sainsbury]

You can't listen to CD and have the spoken instructions? What a bloody waste of time. I think their time would be better spent in trying to resolve the issues with the TMC.

What a lemon!

[Downer]

Completely agree with lsainsbury. TomTom should spend their time making the TMC work adequately before introducing more solutions nobody needs.

How can it be useful to lose access to your in-car radio, tape or CD in order to use your stereo speakers to hear directional instructions, when the GO range already has a perfectly good speaker for that purpose - which is why you bought it in the first place!!!

FIX THE TMC!!!

[wildatheart]

I'm quite happy with the docking kit for my GO500; it interrupts whatever is playing on the stereo, for directions or phonecalls. Using this new device would feel like a downgrade..!

[Mick Random]

i think it's a goodie! and it says it'll do hand free calls via the radio too (maybe that was in 6.522?), great!

[Nick]

You can't listen to CD and have the spoken instructions? What a bloody waste of time. I think their time would be better spent in trying to resolve the issues with the TMC.

What a lemon!

Could this not work as traffic announcements and just break in when required leaving the CD and radio to play when not required by TomTom direction announcements. If the technology is already in the head units why not use it?

PS. I have added "tools4windows.net" to my favorites - Thanks Lee ;-)

This post has been edited by Nick: Jan 10 2007, 14:00

[Mick Random]

but that's not up to your tomtom, that's up to the radio/cd-player in your car.. if it will allow your tomtom to work as a traffic announcement source or not, then it would interrupt the cd playback if any broadcast was done from the tomtom. imho the built-in mp3 playback in the tomtom would substitute the cd in the car radio anyway, i don't see this as a major setback. just my 2c..

[dasher]

reckon that is spot on!

all you need to do is save the frequency the mount is using on the radios presets and when you need instructions flick to that station.

How often do you listen to ALL the instructions the TT gives when on a route, i tend to look at the map more than anything, by the time they read most of the instructions to you, you are on the junction already!!

the line about weak aerial signals i reckon is rubbish. Ive used a transmitter for an MP3 player in my own and a number of rental cars abroad and never had a problem.

Im looking forward this!

BTW: on first sight of the TMC and that STUPID aerial cable it had i was put off by it, the subscription to traffic i have to say i cannot knock it!

[daadoodoo]

wha? why are you claiming they won't sell the bluetooth device, when already some sites are offering it?

http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=135880

btw, is this FM transmitter an stereo one? It'd suck listening to mp3s with a mono FM transmitter.

This post has been edited by daadoodoo: Jan 10 2007, 19:58

[Andy_P]

But have you tried actually buying one?

I seem to spend half my life chasing internet suppliers who mysteriously go out of stock of an item just after I've bought it.

TomTom themselves have never had it in stock, so I doubt it's availlable.

[Nick]

but that's not up to your tomtom, that's up to the radio/cd-player in your car.. if it will allow your tomtom to work as a traffic announcement source or not, then it would interrupt the cd playback if any broadcast was done from the tomtom. imho the built-in mp3 playback in the tomtom would substitute the cd in the car radio anyway, i don't see this as a major setback. just my 2c..

Exactly, Its up to TomTom to use the correct procedure to interrupt the radio or CD I said "THE TECHNOLOGY IS IN THE AUDIO HEAD UNIT" . All they have to do is make the transmitter act like a radio station and we can listen to radio and CD with spoken instructions from Kate or whoever we chose - BLISS - I cannot imagine what in car audio you have if the TomTom built in MP3 player will replace it! Do you never listen to the news or local radio?

[Marlboro]

another resort is having a car stereo that has a phone mute input where all sounds are muted when there is an incoming sound comin from the phone jack of your car stereo ... my clarion has that so i can plug in a blue tooth or tomtom on it then enjoy music without worrying about missing a instruction from tomtom.

[Nick]

"Seamless integration of the GO and car stereo ensures your music stops for voice instructions and (hands-free) calls."

It looks like it should work well - This was taken from the TomTom site and states "car stereo ensures your music stops for voice instructions and (hands-free) calls."

If this works it will make the Bluetooth connect kit obsolete.

[Andy_P]

This was taken from the TomTom site and states "car stereo ensures your music stops for voice instructions and (hands-free) calls."

Nick - I think you have to be very careful interpreting quotes from TomTom!

Nowhere in that press release does it say that music from the car radio/CD will stop for messages etc. from the TomTom.
What you quote above is half a sentence.

Two FULL quotes (my bold text)

Turn by turn navigation instructions, hands free calls and music can now be heard in HiFi through the car stereo, without any unsightly cables cluttering the interior. The seamless integration between the TomTom GO and the car stereo also ensures that music stops when navigation instructions are played or (hands free) phone calls are made.

“This wireless solution using FM frequencies, allows drivers to be guided by clear voice instructions and hear their favourite songs through the car stereo for a more integrated and enjoyable driving experience.”

So they are talking about music from the TomTom.
As far as I know, "priority messages" can only work with a physical connection between the TomTom and the radio, and a radio that is capable of ducking its own signal when an external signal appears... OR the radio would have to be set to receive EON /TA and the TomTom transmitter would have to broadcast the RDS "TA" flag which is used to stop the Radio/CD/tape or raise the volume during a traffic bulletin.
Obviously this flag would need to be on only for navigation instructions or POI warnings if the TomTom wasn't playing music and on all the time if it was!

Somehow I don't think it is going to be that clever for the price! What you are going to get is exactly the same as the simple iPod type transmitters, that can ONLY be used onto an unused FM channel, and it's your choise between normal radio station or TomTom.

I hope I'm wrong, but that is the limits of the technology as I see it.

[daadoodoo]

Tomtom updated their product site. Now it claims the bluetooth kit will be released Q1 2007. You still think it's gone?

I still believe the FM transmitter won't be the most optimal solution. You cannot listen to the radio news while you have the tomtom connected. Neither listen to your CDs. The quality may vary depending on where your car antenna is. You might get interferences from a radio station, or some other car doing the same!. And I don't even know if the transmitter will be stereo nice quality sound or not.

After seeing how the TMC worked, I do not trust tomtom too much on FM receivers, and... errrrm... of course neither transmitters.

[Eric_T]

I could easily live without the Bluetooth Connect kit, if only TomTom would enable the bluetooth pairing of a TomTom to another device. You can then get any bluetooht car-kit that supports multiple "phones" and pair your TomTom to it.

The result would be the same : driving instructions & even telephone calls from the TomTom would get routed via the generic bluetooth carkit to your car stereo. Ofcourse that would almost immediately kill the sales forecast for TomTom's Car Connect Kit but since they can't seem to get that working properly anyway...

[Martin4Jay]

Would this be be better for the connection of the TMC? This is only my interest with this product.
Cheers

[daadoodoo]

Would this be be better for the connection of the TMC?

This thing got nothing to do with tmc, unless they included some extra miracle receiver gain control circuitry for the tmc, in the base, wich I doubt they did.

[Martin4Jay]

OK Many thanks
cheers