TomTom for Android is now available

It appears that Google Play is only allowing download to devices that meet the screen resolutions currently supported, although I have heard rumors of people getting around that restriction.

FWIW, here is a link to a UK sales site that gives additional information - and sales propaganda, of course

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/android-app/

With best wishes,
- Tom -

Thanks for the update. Yes, it seems that access is restricted because when I searched for it on Google Play from my Galaxy Nexus I couldn't find it.

How does the app handle custom POIs? Can you just feed it your own OV2 files?

Yup, although I have now heard of several people who have been able to bypass that restriction, including a couple of users who are using a Nexus 7, and a couple who are using a Samsung Galaxy SIII.

As far as I can determine, the production release does not currently handle custom POIs. It looks like this did not make it into version 1.0, but I suspect that it will appear soon - or at least not too long after they deal with the screen resolution restriction issue - which I am willing to bet money will be their #1 priority, given the number of comments it has sparked.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

i had TomTom on my windows mobile 6.5 htc touch pro 2

I just took those POI's ( .ov2 , .bmp , .ogg ) from that map and copied them into the EUROPE map on the Android version.

( it is in TomTom, com.tomtom.europe, files, Europe )

When navigating I now see the poi's , they are where they were on my old tomtom however the .ogg files don't work, i don't get any audible warnings.

So i took the .ogg files and put them in the SOUND folder of TomTom
but that also didn't gave me the warnings in navigating.
maybe, different filetype than ogg ? I don't know.

but it's nice that the POI's work now only finding out the sound ( very important while driving ) !

Interesting. I didn't think that custom POI files were going to be supported in the 1.0 release. That's nice to hear, as I have several files from POI Factory that I find very, very convenient to have on my GPS, and I'm sure that other people feel the same.

I think that you will like the speed of the Android version compared to the standalone devices. Even on my Droid Incredible 2 - which is hardly the latest and greatest phone hardware - it recalculates routing much faster than either of my dedicated devices sitting right beside the phone. On the Nexus 7 tablet, the difference is like night and day. This is hardly surprising, as the Nexus hardware is probably two generations more modern and powerful than the CPU inside the dedicated devices.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

the images on the old tomtom where 22x22 i noticed that if i make the canvas bigger 24x24 or edit them to that size. they look better in the balloonshaped form that the new tomtom android version has.

something wierd, maybe because it is the first time i use this tomtom version.
it takes a lot of time to find cities in a country. for holland i wanted to go to Valkenswaard, but i only had cities from A to D, so no Valkenswaard. after waiting a while i got the V

could it be a bug, or maybe my sdcard isn't that fast, i don't know.

however, very happy with this android version, i finally have BRAM back ( the dutch voice i used to hear on the road )

One thing that you might want to do is verify that the names of the sound files match the names of the .ov2 files EXACTLY, including the capitalization. The Android operating system is a Unix-based OS, and file names are case sensitive in Unix.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

they are completly the same.

now i see, that in the root of my device, there are also tomtom folders, but i don't know if putting the sounds there will work.
because of the working poi's ( sign, and exact location on the navigation ) work in the folder EUROPE on the microSD card

in the root of my device, i didn't find the standard tomtom sounds of alarms or notifications though

best regards, dinny

Any chance you have an idea as to how they were able to bypass the restriction? Or is that delving too far into the dark side for this site?

x2.

I want to install TomTom on my Toshiba Thrive.
If there's way to get the .apk (installer file), I would assume (just guessing, of course) it will install on any device. Right now google play prevents me from downloading it to may Thrive

So that means if someone downloaded it to a "compliant" device, then retrieved the installer out of the download folder on that device, it *might* be possible to install it on a "non-compliant" device instead.

there is a great Free program for windows called "Wondershare MobileGo" it will copy all you apps, as well as all your photos, data, and anything else on your phone. No need to root it too. I use it all the time!

I saw that HD traffic was extra (in-app purchase), but did not see how much it cost. Anyone know how much?

I may have to try this on our Motorola Defy smartphones.

Unless I am mistaken, it appears that TomTom is charging $19.95 per year for the HD subscription.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

Thanks Tom,

Shooter

Anyone know how good the voice recognition is? I've been very impressed with the voice recognition that Google and Google Maps use on my android.

for smart phones google maps is more than enough

CoPilot premium is 10 vs 40 for TomTom

Now that some more time has passed, what are the opinions of TomTom for Android? Does it do a good job navigating?

The reason I ask is because we use GSM smartphones in my family (AKA: T-Mobile/AT&T). However, we often seem to find ourselves in recreational pursuits that get us in places with NO GSM coverage. As a result, ratheer than simply buying four new smartphones with a Verizon contract, I am considering buying some used smartphones and putting a small amount of airtime on them through Page Plus Cellular (a Verizon MVNO). I probably would lean towards a Motorola Android phone that has a genuine Motorola windshield mount available for it and essesntially use it as a de facto automobile GPS that happens to also be a cell phone backup in places that only CDMA (Verizon/Sprint) works in.

I have been sort of holding out for Garmin StreetPilot Onboard For Android, if it comes to the United States next year, but if it doesn't, then I am just wondering if TomTom For Android is the next best thing.

My personal opinion is that the TomTom Android app is definitely a version 1.0 product. I feel that there are several areas in which it does not measure up to the dedicated PND models.

However, the basic navigation itself is as good as that of the PNDs, and there are a few "new" things that are in the Android app, such as the ability to navigate to the addresses of the contacts in your phone's address book. (In the interest of full disclosure, there is a bug in that feature that affects addresses *in another state* where the street name includes *both* a compass direction and a numerical street name - for example: South 14th Place. TomTom is aware of that issue, and is working on a fix.)

The current version is also officially limited to lower resolution screens such as 800x480, and does not officially support the newer phones such as the Samsung S3 that have a higher resolution screen. However, TomTom has publicly said that adding this support is a high priority and they expect a release before the end of the year that will do so.

In the mean time, it is possible to side-load the current version on a high-resolution device and have it run quite well with no problems other than some minor cosmetic glitches in the screen display. I have been running version 1.0 for several months on my Nexus 7 tablet, which has a 1200 x 800 screen, with very satisfactory results. Since the Nexus 7 does not have an internal phone, I cannot get HD Traffic, but I knew that in advance.

As far as I can see, the Android app uses the same maps and other data as the dedicated PND units, so it's as good as the dedicated devices in regard to those areas. The processors in the phones are more modern than the ones in the PNDs, so the replanning if you go off course is faster. (In the case of my Nexus 7, it is much, MUCH faster.)

As I mentioned above, it definitely is a Version 1.0 product, with visible room for improvement. From the positive viewpoint, that also means that it should be visibly better in the future.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

Tom,

Thank you very much for the reply. That is very helpful. As as a way of comparison, even though I have some Garmin Automobile GPS units, I do have experience with the following Garmin smartphone options:

-Garmin Mobile XT

-Garmin Nuvifone

-Garminfone

One of the biggest issues I had with Garmin Mobile XT was the lack of spoken street names. It would simply say, "Right turn ahead." It certainly allowed me what I wanted at the time, though, and that was simply a GSM phone that would have Garmin maps stored right one the device and did not need cellular data for navigating.

The Garmin Nuvifone was a definite improvement. It did have spoken street names and even though it probably was more of a "feature phone" than a true smart phone, it had an MP3 player, a camera, etc. After getting it, I wondered why I put up with Windows Mobile as long as I did!

When the Garminfone was announced I knew I would get one. I also knew that it was too expensive for me. Thus, I waited and bought it used. It is also a great navigator, plus having the other Android features.

I guess the bottom line or me is I can continue to wait. I am optimistically hoping that the experience that Garmin gained with Mobile XT, the Nuvifone, and the Garminfone will give them a head start on Garmin StreetPilot Onboard For Android.

Just in case there is any ambiguity on this specific subject, the TomTom Android app does have spoken street names. In fact, there is a choice of "advanced" voices that will speak the street names, plus a larger number of "basic" voices that tell you only "Turn left in 200 yards", etc.

Personally, I prefer "Serena", a UK English voice, to "Samantha", a US English voice - so my audible directions are delivered with a British accent. "Advanced" voices are currently not available in other languages, although they are supposedly "on the list", but there is a long list of other languages for which "basic" voices are available.

FWIW, I also have the CoPilot Android app on my phone and on my Nexus 7 tablet. There are several things that I like about it, including that it also downloads the entire map of the US - so it needs no cell connection for navigation. However, the voice that it uses has the same effect upon my ears as dragging fingernails across a blackboard, so if I use the CoPilot app, it is with the sound turned off.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

I went ahead and purchased the TT app this week for my Samsung Galaxy S2. I have version 1.0.1. For $38, it is OK considering I have lifetime maps and HOPEFULLY TomTom will fix some of the bugs I mention below.

Here are my pros and cons so far:

Pros:
1. IQ routing
2. Maps are on the cell phone
3. Speed limits are shown (at least where known, and it is pretty extensive from what I've observed). This and IQ routing are the two things I missed the most in Google Maps.

Cons:
1. No speech to text (unlike Google Maps, I can't just speak a POI, address, etc., I have to manually type it in). The POI data base appears pretty good, you just have to enter your destination before you start. Like my GO930, it remembers previous cities & POIs I've searched.
2. The map rotates about 10 to 15 degrees to the left every time I stop (e.g., at a stop light). As soon as I start again, it straightens out
3. No simple "Exit" when I'm at my destination. I have to tap the screen to get the menu, tap "Change route" and then "Cancel route"
4. I should have expected it, but it is the dumbed down TT version, not what I'm used to with my GO930. There are fewer customization options.

I have not been anywhere yet where I would need ALG, but I assume (hope) it is like my GO930.

Shooter

Thank you brave souls who paid for this for keeping us up to date on how it's doing. I don't imagine gen 1 GPS devices were anything to write home about either. For now I'll have to stick with Waze and Trapster I guess.

I don't see it avaialble from the APP STORE for my Samsung S3 , either.

That's because the initial release does not officially support the high resolution screen of the S3. It can be sideloaded to get around the resulting refusal of the APP store to offer it, and works fine except for some minor cosmetic glitches on the screen - according to a couple of people I know who are running it on their S3 phones.

FWIW, I have it installed and running on my Nexus 7 tablet, which has a screen resolution similar to that of the S3. I see no real problems with the display, although there are a couple of very minor cosmetic issues that I might not even notice if I were not looking for them.

The one real gripe that I have is that the initial release does not take advantage of the large screen of my Nexus 7 - the fonts are the same size as those on my phone. Since TomTom says that this release does not officially support my Nexus 7, I cannot honestly complain about that issue right now.

TomTom has said that support of the high-rez screens of phones like the S3 are a high priority, and that they hope to release an upgrade "before the end of the year" that will do this. IMO, they probably have a lot of market pressure encouraging them to make this happen.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

CORRECTION: The map rotates to the right.

Today it rotated right up to 60 degrees a few times while I was driving. I'm not sure if it lost the GPS signal or what happened.

quote].....I have it installed and running on my Nexus 7 tablet.....[/quote]

Tom,

I am glad that you posted that because I am getting closer to getting a Nexus 7. I will probably get the one with cellular cennectivity even though I would typicaly use wi-fi day-to-day. I think the previous argument about having the ability to use a pre-paid SIM card from AT&T is a good one.

I hope to eventually get the (hopefully) forthcoming Garmin StreetPilot For Android Onboard for it. If that doesn't become available sometime after the first of January 2013, then I would likely get TomTom For Android.

Also, as a side note, I am in the search for a new smartphone. Again, I hope to get the Garmin StreetPilot For Android Onboard, if it becomes avaiable.

The other feature I would like about a newer smartphone is the ability to use BOTH CDMA and GSM here in the United States. It sounds like the Verizon iPhone will do that now.

I would prefer to get an Android smartphone, however. Since I am leaning towards a Motorola smartphone, that pretty much means a Verizon or Sprint Motorola Android that also has GSM for international usage. I just need to verify that I can get the GSM portion unlocked for use here in the United States.

Jim

I finally broke down and bought the TomTom For Android this morning. I was on the fence between Navigon and TomTom until someone from Garmin Customer Support told me that Navigon will crash on a Nexus 7! Anyway, has anybody here noticed that prices vary quite a bit on this? Earlier this week TomTom U.S.A. was $49.99, but this morning it was $19.99, so I will give it a try and report back here.

That's a great deal at $19.95.

I did install this on my Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and my youngest son's Motorola Defy. It is a little bit different than Garmin, but that is a given. I think it will be fine. Typically I will be using an automobile navigator, but I definitely wanted something that works independent of cellular towers.