Navigation hardware and software developer TomTom has relaunched its Android navigation app with a new look and feel while also including new features to better compete against Google’s Maps with Navigation and Nokia’s Here Maps.
TomTom Go Mobile now features up-to-date maps for more than 100 countries with support for offline viewing, live traffic updates, safety camera locations, points of interest, and syncing with contacts. The app also renders buildings and landmarks in 3D and provides alerts for known speed traps.
However, the key difference between the new TomTom Go and the aforementioned free alternatives lies in turn-by-turn navigation support. TomTom Go Mobile will offer users limited free turn-by-turn navigation per month (~60 miles) before needing to purchase unlimited turn-by-turn access. Users can upgrade to unlimited navigation at $20 for one year or $45 for three years.
The key reasons for the popularity of Google Maps with Navigation and Nokia’s Here Maps for Android lies in the inclusion of turn-by-turn navigation without additional fees. It remains to be seen whether TomTom can make a case for making turn-by-turn a premium option in its app when so many rely solely on Google Maps for real-time turn-by-turn, or Here Maps for offline navigation with free turn-by-turn directions included.
Those users that have already installed the old version will be able to upgrade to the new app with a year of unlimited navigation for just $0.99 and the old version will be fully discontinued on October 1st.
