Thu, 24 Sep 2009 £100 TomTom Car Kit for iPhone 3GS now available to order (UPDATED)

Nick said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

I wonder if they will offer a version without the app. As like lots of other people i have already bought the TomTom app therefore i don;t particularly want to pay for it twice

mvn said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Is the application included? Some conflicting information on this between the apple site and the tom tom site. Also the tom tom site mentions an audio out cable, is this from the connector or just a reference to the existing iphone headset audio (which is not the best way of getting audio out)?

cardy said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Oh great!! £100 for a car mount. A tempting target for any passing spotty herbert who fancies his chances. You'll definitely have to lock this away every time you park up.

Nick - looks like you won't be paying twice for the app, as I read it you don't get the app with the car kit.

Mark Hattersley said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

The kit includes the app. Not sure how though. I assume that it includes an iTunes Code. We have requested a test unit from TomTom.

This quote is on the Apple Store:

"You get both the TomTom navigation app for your iPhone 3GS or 3G and the docking kit to hold your iPhone securely in place on your dashboard or windscreen."

niall said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

So what happens to people like me that just spent £60 on the app?

Do we get a discount, i should hope so.

niall said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

So what happens to people like me that just spent £60 on the app?

Do we get a discount, i should hope so.

Robin Benson said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Having just read all the above I rang the UK Apple Store and was assured that the info about the price including the app is incorrect. Price is only for the Car Kit. They're trying to get the mistake on the site corrected.

Seems like a pretty hefty price for a cradle...even with its extra features.

G4Shallow said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Looks like they have pulled it, probably due to the wrong wording or an over eager store employee ;)

I was led to believe that the app is not included and if it is what about us that have bought it already. On my iPhone it's really bad at keeping up with your actual position so the dock probably is going to be essential. £100 for the dock seems steep to me if it is in fact minus the app.

macbookmike said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Co-Pilot 8 is £25.99 for GB. £21 for USA

Stefano said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Looking forward to finding out whether it does, in fact, include the app or not.
Also, if it does, it would be nice to know whether you get just GB or Western Europe, which is more alluring.

Mark Hattersley said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

@G4 Shallow

Thanks for the heads up. We're trying to get TomTom to confirm but it looks like general confusion all round. We'll keep trying to confirm but judging by the kit's swift disappearance we'd now guess that the App is not included in the price.

Mark Hattersley said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

TomTom have just released a press statement confirming that the app is sold separately. So yes, £159.98 for both the app and cradle.

Somewhat steep but we'll test it out thoroughly and compare it before making any judgement.

cardy said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Oh great!! £100 for a car mount. A tempting target for any passing spotty herbert who fancies his chances. You'll definitely have to lock this away every time you park up.

Nick - looks like you won't be paying twice for the app, as I read it you don't get the app with the car kit.

cardy said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Sorry for the re-post guys, just refreshed my browser and it sent the comment again!!

Sean said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

I found a very similar cradle to the tom tom for £16 free p+p at www.morpethmobiles.co.uk which i ordered and just waiting for....

Michael Curtis said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

£160 is madness. I had £40 in mind making £100 in total. Why wouldn't I just go out and get a 'real' GPS for less than £160?

I can recommend the bean bag mounts. My wife has one for her Garmin and they're excellent.

Michael Curtis said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

£160 is madness. I had £40 in mind making £100 in total. Why wouldn't I just go out and get a 'real' GPS for less than £160?

I can recommend the bean bag mounts. My wife has one for her Garmin and they're excellent.

Hammy said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Get a real GPS.

Con said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

For a little more you can get a TomTom XL with IQ routes & full European maps.

With 3.1 could you trust the iPhone to stay awake long enough to be of use?

Andy said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

One advantage of the iPhone software is that if you have multiple iPhones in your household you only need to pay for and download the software once (yes, this is legal, and covered by iTunes TOS). Plus you can take your 'TomTom' app with you when you leave the car, and I don't remember of hardware TomToms can make phone calls or play your vast iTunes library of music…

That said however, I do think £100 is way too steep for what is essentially a charging cradle. I get perfectly adequate GPS reception in my car without whatever additional support this cradle will provide, and I have a bluetooth headset if I want to make a call.

If this had been £50-£60 it would have been expensive but reasonable. At £99 it's a joke.

Frits said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

I hate the TomTom more and more; I have sent it back twice, reporting a long suffereubg with NO GPS reception; they send it back twice "can;t find anything wrong they say. It still refueses to receive GPS, apart from every now and then a spurt which stops after 5 minutes or so. Just pray you get one hat works, their service is non existent.
This is my second TomTom the first one was fine...!

Chris Jones said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Frankly I don't see this as anything more than a hands-free mount with a TomTom badge. I use an in-car bluetooth kit for my iPhone, and I use a TomTom Go for sat nav.
Which is great for those times when you're finding directions AND taking a call simultaneously... I dare say that they will sell loads of these mounts to the early adopters, but I think that the bottom line here is that the iPhone excels as a communications device, and the TomTom excels as a nav unit. Combining the two seems like a step backward... and with a combined tag of £160 you are seriously better off considering a separate Sat unit.

Pedro said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Absolute p!55 take! Why would I spend more for less functionality? With competing apps that squeeze better gps performance out of the device at a fraction (literally) of the TomTom price, you'd have to be bonkers to buy this lot. Even more so for a solution that doesn't allow navigation and calls at the same time. Absolutely ridiculous!

nom said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

way way too much

haven't got the app and at £100 I won't be getting the cradle either

the in-built Google maps does me fine thanks

stupid pricing from Tom Tom but it's clearly to try and keep their hardware business viable (which it isn't now that phones have gps)

eddy said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

£100 for an iphone car kit or dock is unjustifiable.
I dont think tom tom are being reasonable recommending that much as a retail price.

Jan said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

The pricing is truly nuts ...

Kev said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Haha madness!!!

Stefano said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Yes, the price, for each component, I think, is a bit unrealistic. If we just don't buy it they will be forced to see the light...As many have said, at that point you might as well buy a dedicated GPS and forget about the fact that it would have been really neet to let the Iphone do that as well.
But, we have all allready paid dearly for the iPhone. TomTom should consider that...

Dave Giles said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

So the earlier price of 99.99 including the app was withdrawn and has been replaced with 99.99 + app. Plus it's another product that costs a bit more in the UK, nothing new there.

Mvn said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Their pricing makes it clear, if you want a decent sat nav purchase a real one. Unrealistic pricing, assume this will drop if nobody purchases!

Dave Giles said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

So the earlier price of 99.99 including the app was withdrawn and has been replaced with 99.99 + app. Plus it's another product that costs a bit more in the UK, nothing new there.

Jenna Layton said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

The price will drop and good point Dave, when will the UK stop getting ripped off. I for one won't buy it just for that reason.

Stu said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

At half that price, I would have hesitated before buying it! I think they have shot themselves in the foot with this one.

Larson said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

Give it 6 months and pick one up off thiefbay although it will no doubt be a chinese rip-off.

Dave said on Thu, 24 Sep 2009

£100 FOR A PHONE HOLDER?!?!?!?!

I don't care if it has a GPS in it - TomTom can **** off.

YWN said on Sat, 26 Sep 2009

geez.. 100£ for app and 100£ more for craddle please.. that's 200£, which would be smartly spent on an actual GPS device they are cheap and work pretty well ~.~

rodney bentham-wood said on Sat, 26 Sep 2009

buy the Navigon app - its great

rodney bentham-wood said on Sat, 26 Sep 2009

buy the Navigon app - its great

Bruce Robinson said on Sat, 26 Sep 2009

Concur, Navigon is a great system. Sorry for short message but just can't stop laughing at reading the Tom Tom pricing for a phone cradle. It just shows that folks in the commercial world still have a sense of humour. Best laugh I've had for ages.

Raven said on Tue, 29 Sep 2009

Co-Pilot software is much cheaper - £25

Mike said on Wed, 30 Sep 2009

This is the Which Magazine summary for the TomTom for iPhone:
Pros: Good basic sat nav functionality

Cons: CoPilot Live is cheaper, GPS reception patchy, lacks advanced functions, car kit expensive

Innersparky said on Mon, 05 Oct 2009

I agree with the comments above £99 with the app i could understand but £99 just for a glorified car mount is daylight robbery! wake up and smell the coffee tomtom.

Ben Rector said on Thu, 08 Oct 2009

Looks like Tom Tom have made a real hash of the launch of both the app & the bracket. Was really looking forward to getting Tom Tom for my iPhone as I've heard some great reviews of it & have used a Tom Tom many times. £99.95 for a bracket is a bit harsh to say the least...at least include the app for that price otherwise it'd be cheaper to buy a standalone Tom Tom unit.

MMX007 said on Wed, 14 Oct 2009

Tomtom can F***|< off with this kind of joke. We joe public are not stupid. Tomtom can stick this up on their ceiling :)

There are much better navigation Apps available for £25 on the App store.