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    TomTom cuts prices on iPhone navigation app

    Consumer Reports News: December 16, 2009 11:04 AM


    There are great deals to be had on GPS devices this holiday season, as brand-name devices are seeing door-buster discounts online and at brick-and-mortar stores. (See "Best GPS for the holidays.") Now we're seeing price drops on iPhone applications, as well. TomTom has significantly lowered the prices on its applications, with the TomTom U.S.A. version 1.2 available now for just $50 and the U.S./Canada version 1.2 available for $70. (We paid $100 for our version 1.0 app to test.) Both discounts are good until December 28th.

    There are an increasing number of navigation applications available for the popular iPhone since it introduced OS 3.0. Having tested several, we have found the TomTom app to be among the best. The critical weaknesses in using TomTom on the iPhone, compared to a traditional portable navigation device, expose the shortcomings of the platform rather than software, including a weak speaker, limited battery life, GPS precision, and no included mount.

    We recently tested the TomTom Car Kit for iPhone that includes a larger speaker, more-sensitive GPS receiver, and Bluetooth connectivity in a mount, and also bundles a car charger. At $120, it is pricey, but it made a notable difference, enabling the combined software/hardware compete well with a dedicated PND.

    If you have been on the fence about which navigation app to choose, this price drop should help you make the decision. See our iPhone navigation app buying advice.

    Jeff Bartlett


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