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TomTom $99 GPS app heads to iPhone

The latest entry into iPhone land navigation features IQ Routes, which taps into the actual experiences of other TomTom drivers to determine the fastest route.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
2 min read

A hundred-dollar makeover can turn your iPhone into a GPS device.

GPS specialist TomTom announced Monday that its new $99.99 iPhone app is now up for sale at the iTunes store.

TomTom for the iPhone comes with features typically found in standard GPS units, including voice directions and full maps of the U.S. and Canada. Maps for Europe, Australia, and New Zealand are available at varying prices.

The app uses a new technology called IQ Routes, said the company. Instead of suggesting the quickest route based on travel time, IQ Routes taps into the actual experiences of other TomTom drivers to determine the fastest route to take. TomTom said this technology lets people reach their destinations quicker up to 35 percent of the time.

In addition, the software can suggest alternative routes if a turn is missed or a road is blocked, the company said.

"With TomTom for iPhone, millions of iPhone users can now benefit from the same easy-to-use and intuitive interface, turn-by-turn spoken navigation and unique routing technology that our 30 million portable navigation device users rely on every day," said Corinne Vigreux, managing director of TomTom.

The company will also offer a car kit, so that drivers can attach their iPhones to the front window or dash.

TomTom

The new app runs on the iPhone 3G or 3GS and requires iPhone OS 3.0. Compatibility with the iPod Touch and older iPhone models should come soon, said TomTom.

TomTom first announced its new iPhone app at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference on June 8 (see video demo).

TomTom's new app will battle for a spot on your dashboard with several other iPhone navigation products--AT&T's $9.99-per-month Navigator, the similarly priced Gokivo app from Networks in Motion, and Navigon's MobileNavigator, now on sale for a flat fee of $69.99 until August 31.