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| offthegrid |
Posted - 12 nov. 2007 : 19:03:34
Updated 20110313 by gpspassion : TomTom HD Traffic launched in the USA, see details on page 5.
TomTom HD Traffic on the left - Google Traffic on the right
Updated 20110111 by gpspassion : Discussion with TomTom at CES 2011 following launch of HD Traffic in the USA, see details on page 4.
Updated 20080307 by gpspassion : TomTom launched a new HD Traffic receiver compatible with the x30 and x20 range of GO GPS systems. HD Traffic is currently available in the Netherlands and they are planning to launch it in the UK and Germany later on in 2008 and in France in 2009. No plans for the US so far.
Original Post : New service goes live this month with traffic info gleamed from Vodafone cellphone tracking.
http://www.tomtom.com/news/category.php?ID=4&NID=375&Lid=1
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 13 juin 2012 : 02:54:11
I believe TomTom will definitely gain millions and millions of probes here and elsewhere. |
| Kex |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 17:46:29
TomTom's press release is very informative:
http://corporate.tomtom.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=682065
After reading that, try this iOS 6 maps "preview" that a TomTom employee was kind enough to point out for me:
http://www.apple.com/ios/ios6/maps/
Of course, for the purpose of this thread, the question remains what effect all of this will have on HD Traffic, whether on an iPhone or not. We still don't know who's traffic data will be used, but are we assuming that iPhones are going to be traffic probes for HD Traffic? |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 07:26:40
Looks like a complete replacement for TomTom's nav app.
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| Kex |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 05:57:03
Thinking about it further. A smartphone today with Google maps and traffic is useful, but it does not actively direct you around traffic, making use of the traffic data and IQ Routes type data. So a TomTom navigation device is still useful to those users.
Also, if the only data being streamed to the phone or device is HD Traffic data, then that is very limited. The TomTom app might still be attractive for it's lack of need for mountains of data on lesser data plans.
Finally, the GPS signal on my TomToms is far more reliable than the cell signal for my phones (those can slow dramatically when using data in particular). For example: on a recent cross country trip, checking for poor road conditions, the better smartphone weather function was horrendously slow in some rural areas, making checking weather and road conditions ahead almost impossible and horribly laborious, despite the normally slick interface. In the same areas, with the HD Traffic bar present on screen (indicating an active AT&T signal, however weak it might have been), checking weather on the road ahead was somewhat cumbersome in comparison, but the results were almost instantaneous. Obviously much less data must have been necessary, so a weak cell signal was not enough to make the process laborious on the TomTom. The hardest part of the task was choosing appropriate points along the route to check. |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 05:53:33
This just touches ever so lightly on the possibility that Apple has taken a position in TomTom.
Imagine if Apple could solve TomTom's webkit issues?
http://www.wired.com/business/2012/06/with-google-gone-can-apple-successfuly-navigate-in-maps/
How much Apple has spent to push Google off the iOS front page isn’t clear. The Cupertino company has reportedly gobbled up several small map tech companies in recent years. And the new map app appears to rely for its data in part on Dutch GPS navigation maker TomTom, which has its own iOS app. But mapping traditionally doesn’t come cheap. In 2007, mobile phone giant Nokia spent more than $8 billion to buy GPS data and navigation software maker Navteq. |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 05:37:17
I'm wondering the same thing re the TT navigation app.
Here is an article that is just starting to get at the meat of things.
http://allthingsd.com/20120611/waze-unfazed-by-apples-move-into-crowdsourced-traffic/
Any way you slice it TomTom and Apple are the big winners. |
| Kex |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 05:13:48
Very intriguing indeed.
So can we assume that the phones would have to have GPS mode enabled at the time, but not necessarily be using a navigation function, to be useful probes for TomTom? I wonder what percentage of BlackBerry and iPhone users leave GPS location mode enabled all the time. It might be that security concerns and the desire to extend battery life might lead some to turn it off unless they are currently navigating with the device.
As you say: a drop in the ocean for Apple. I wonder how this will compare to the TomTom iPhone app. Does it mean that it no longer adds any additional functionality and iPhone users will simply not need to buy it?
I hope TomTom doesn't end up with Apple style pricing at some point, although I would currently pay more than the reduced pricing (introduced about a year ago now) just for a HD Traffic subscription. |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 04:53:24
The info from Blackberry would be gps probe info not cell triangulation so the data comes from all carriers and that'll be the same with the new iPhones and iPads. Between the 2 deals this is a huge deal for TT. Never mind that they also signed a deal with Samsung for their Bada phones which is smaller than these but shows the direction they are headed.
I agree that this is a huge boost for TomTom and a drop in the bucket for Apple.
Apple eventually buys TomTom. It just makes so much sense. |
| Kex |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 03:00:33
Really? I thought Apple wanted to ditch Google maps to be it's own map provider. If Apple teams with TomTom, this could bode very well for TomTom itself, and help drive future developments somewhat.
I'm not sure how important the BlackBerry collaboration you mentioned will be. Firstly, because, well, BlackBerry (which I really like) is not exactly thriving right now. Secondly, because I wonder if the information gathered only comes from AT&T BlackBerry devices, not those using other networks. Since TomTom's agreement for providing HD Traffic is with AT&T, I'm wondering if they could have managed to negotiate a deal for just data with the likes of Verizon without having to sell their children into slavery or something.
In either case, the traffic information is pretty darned good as it is, but the main advantage of traffic flow information from mobile devices, in my opinion, is the availability of data in places where most people already "know" where they're going, and don't care to use a navigation device for the journey. It's hard to explain exactly what I mean by this, but I came across a situation recently where a major turn delay could have been avoided simply by taking a longer way around, adding about one or two miles in distance, but shaving fifteen minutes in time probably. It was a case of a small rural road turning onto a very busy, major, homeward bound, commute road, during rush hour. Those wanting to turn left (away from the commute volume) were being blocked by a long line of traffic on a single lane road where nine out of ten cars were turning right (towards the commute volume). Those turning right couldn't advance out of the way of those turning left because of a traffic light on the main road, just one hundred feet away and in the direction of the commute, which kept blocking the flow on the main road when it was red. This in turn blocked those turning right from the minor road, and everyone gets stuck in the same line of traffic, so nobody can turn in either direction. I wouldn't expect most users to bother turning on a navigation device on this stretch of road (they would nearly all know exactly where they're going), but mobile phone data might have saved the day. Those are mostly turned on regardless, hence the advantage of mobile phone data compared to navigation device probe data.
Edit: after a quick search, this article seems to confirm what you're saying. This must be a huge boost for TomTom.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57450800-37/apple-taps-tomtom-for-new-ios-maps-app-data/ |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 12 juin 2012 : 02:19:48
TomTom signs deal with Apple to be the default map and navigation provider on the new iOS6 iphones and ipads.
TomTom gets access to millions and millions of probes and gains financial stability by virtue of this deal. |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 08 mai 2012 : 18:27:34
TomTom is getting new data from Blackberry phones.
There are I believe 15 or so million RIM phones in the US.
http://bit.ly/IZyESq |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 20 avr. 2012 : 07:41:19
Thanks Kex. |
| Kex |
Posted - 19 avr. 2012 : 18:38:26
I've read complaints about those issues elsewhere, but no, I have never experienced them on either of my newer devices. |
| offthegrid |
Posted - 19 avr. 2012 : 02:35:23
Kex do you have any issues with rebooting?
I like the Garmin 1695 and the stability but I have no doubts that TomTom offers significantly better routing and traffic. |
| Kex |
Posted - 17 avr. 2012 : 22:51:39
I haven't noticed any dramatic changes, offthegrid. The service continues to improve incrementally, in my opinion, and is still very accurate (probably more so than ever) despite some surprising omissions on some occasions.
I've found myself hopping off one freeway to take surface streets, then hopping onto another freeway before hopping back onto surface streets after just one exit, and then back onto my original route further down the road. The kind of avoidance I could only have dreamed would be possible just two or three years ago, all while maintaining three minute accuracy for the estimated arrival time.
Accuracy does diminish significantly on surface streets in my opinion, where the calculations may be relying on IQ Routes data more than anything else. Still, overall, I no longer have any hesitation driving into a traffic delay if HD Traffic indicates that this is still the fastest route.
Sometimes I get caught out, though, if the delay gets worse than at the time of the original route planning, and there are no longer any exits available to avoid the growing delay. This can happen if there is an accident that initially causes some delay, but the route is still calculated to be faster than busy rush hour side streets. Soon afterwards, as emergency services intervene, such an accident might cause traffic to come to a standstill, even if it's just for two miles. Two miles at 0 to 5 MPH is still a very long delay, and if there are no longer any exit options from the freeway, there's nothing left to do but watch the estimated arrival time get pushed back further and further.
I'll try and watch out for a pattern of late evening reporting and see if it seems any different from what I have been able to observe in the past. |
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