TomTom 6 & HOME: Innovations galore

It's become a tradition: every year in March, TomTom presents a new firmware version for their PND's at the annual CeBIT fair in Germany. And this year is no exception.

Soon firmware 6 for the GO, ONE and RIDER will be released. Apart from that, TomTom will also release a completely new piece of software: TomTom HOME.

Firmware 6

The firmware that is now presented by TomTom carries version number 6.0 and is only suited for the new GO 510, 710 and 910. But currently TomTom is busy creating a version that will run on the complete PND range of the company, meaning it will also run on the GO Classic, GO 300, GO 500, GO 700, the ONE and the RIDER. A few things might still change, but nonetheless we're already able to form a good impression of what's coming.

TomTom firmware version 6 again holds numerous new and extensive features. But not all features will be available to all PND owners; some software novelties will require the availability of a Bluetooth connection by means of a GPRS compatible mobile phone, combined with a TomTom PLUS account, or the newest TeleAtlas maps.

In the table below we provide an oversight of the novelties and the specifications they require. Below we'll go a bit deeper into some new features and already show you a few new icons and screendumps:

	All devices	TomTom PLUS	New maps	GO 510, 710, 910
Fluid colours	v
Clock synchronisation	v
More/less menu options	v
Boot preferences	v
TomTom Buddies		v
TomTom Weather		v
Navigating to coordinates	v
Safety options	v
Entering owner details	v
Changing TomTom PLUS account		v
Ask ETA	v
Show direction with local name or exit	v		v
Show exit with name	v		v
Show maximum speed	v		v
Traffic	v*	v
Report safety cameras	v**	v
Automatic camera update		v
Download firmware updates	v**	v
Download maps	v**	v
Downloaden POI's	v**	v
Download voices	v**	v
Download QuickGPSFix				v
Docking preferences	v***
Specific GO x10-options as music, text-to-speech en iPod control				v
*: HOME 1.1 (not Classic); **: HOME 1.1 (also Classic); ***: Depends on device (not on ONE)

Fluid colours
In version 6, the menus look a bit fresher than we're used to. For the first time, fluid colours are used. The status bar will also show a bit more colour while navigating. A bit further in this special you'll find a couple of screen dumps which illustrate this effect very good.

Clock synchronisation
As soon as there is a GPS fix, the clock of your GO, ONE or RIDER will be synched to the correct time. This is repeated every hour, so small deviations will immediately be corrected.

More/less menu options
With this option, a lot of the options in the preferences menu are switched off. This option decreases the menu from a seven page menu to a three page menu.

Boot preferences
Here the user can determine what the PND should do when booting up. Options are pretty self-explanatory: 'Continue where I was', 'Ask for destination' and 'Show main menu'.

TomTom Buddies
Completely new in firmware version 6 is TomTom Buddies. This extensive, new feature was no doubt inspired by popular chat software like MSN Messenger and ICQ. In a similar fashion, users can see each others location on their units assuming they've added each other to their Buddies list. The Buddies are shown on the map, providing they are located somewhere on the map that is currently loaded on your GO, ONE or RIDER. Eg. If one of your Buddies is located in Belgium, and you've got the UK map loaded, you won't be able to see him, despite him being in your Buddies list. Of course it's also possible to plot a direct route straight to your Buddy.

The showing of the location of Buddies doesn't always happen automatically. Every time something is done online that involves Buddies, your own position is forwarded. If you don't do anything, this automatically means your position doesn't refresh on the unit of your Buddy.

If you want to know the most recent position of a Buddy, you can request a position refresh. This request is then sent to your Buddy. If your Buddy's PND is switched on, has a GPS fix and GPRS connection, his position will be sent to you. This also means that a user has to select himself the Buddy who's position he wants to see. Every time the unit is switched off, the locations are lost and have to be requested again.

TomTom Weather
The TomTom PLUS weather service has changed. Instead of only showing the current weather, the user can now also request the weather forecast for a certain location for the coming five days. By tapping onto one of the shown dates, a more detailed weather forecast is presented. This way, TomTom hopes to provide a more usable service.

Navigating to coordinates
Many users have been requesting this, and now their request has been fulfilled: in version 6, it becomes possible to directly enter lat/long coordinates and plot a route directly to those coordinates. In case these coordinates aren't located on a road, the users can choose to let the software calculate a route as close as possible to the entered coordinates.

Safety options
The safety options menu has two options: one is the known option for deactivating the map view when surpassing a certain self-selected speed. The other option is new: it makes it possible for the user to deactivate certain buttons while driving.

Entering owner details
With this option you can enter your personal details. These fields are 'free format', so they are not limited to only a name and an address. If you enter something in these fields, it will be shown when the unit boots. After touching the touch screen, the PND will then continue booting.

Apart from that, the PC application TomTom HOME 1.1 will also enable you to enter a 4 digit pin code for the GO, ONE or RIDER. This makes the unit less desirable for thieves, and it's also a long-time requested feature coming true.

Change TomTom PLUS account
With this option, the user can enter a different TomTom PLUS account and password.

Ask ETA
When this option is enabled, each time a user enters a destination, the requested time of arrival is asked. After entering this time, the PND shows how much sooner or later the requested destination will be reached.

Show driving direction with local name or exit
The newest TeleAtlas maps (version 2006) hold more useful information for the driver. The changes aren't big, but they make navigating a bit easier. Eg. Apart from the road number, the new maps also show the local/common name of the place. Because of this, road signs can more easily be used as a navigational help.

Show exit with name
With the new maps, exits are no longer numbered, but the actual name is shown. This makes things more clear and leaves smaller margin for error, eg. in case exits were re-numbered.

Show maximum speed
Lastly, the new maps also make it possible that your current speed is shown, together with the maximum allowed speed. If you drive more than 5 km/h too fast, the speedometer turns red. If you drive more than 10 km/h too fast, it also starts blinking.

Traffic
The Traffic part of TomTom PLUS has been expanded. Other info besides traffic jams is now also shown. Eg. road works, slippery roads because of snow, reported ghost riders, etc? The four screen caps to the right show a few examples of the notifications you may expect.

Report safety cameras
Another expansion in the TomTom PLUS services is the possibility of reporting safety cameras yourself now. A bit deeper hidden into the menu, there's the 'add camera location' option.

This option enables you to report a safety camera, or a mobile speed camera, by means of tapping onto the specific location on the map, entering an address, favourite, recent destination or exact coordinates. You can also enable as shortcut if you wish, and then the 'report' button is shown on the main screen. This way you can immediately report an (until then) unknown camera. The PLUS service also lets you choose weather your device updates its known safety camera's list automatically, or if you want to do the refresh by hand.

Downloaden via TomTom PLUS
The TomTom PLUS services offer several downloads for the ONE, GO 500, GO 510, GO 700, GO 710 and GO 910. Think new firmware versions, map material, POI's, voices, ringtones, etc? here. Not all of these downloads are free though.

Quick Fix
Another new downloadable PLUS service is the so-called 'TomTom quick GPS fix'. Once installed, the ephemeris data (position of GPS satellites) is no longer pulled from the GPS signal itself by your GO; instead it's now downloaded straight from TomTom's servers. This allows for a quicker GPS fix when switching on the device.

Satellite images
From now on, TomTom also offers the option of improving the maps by means of satellite images. Satellite photo's of Europe or the North American continent are used as a background for the overview-map. See the screen dumps to the right.

Maximum number of POI categories
The maximum number of POI categories has been raised from 39 to 100. This has been a been a long-time request of a lot of users, ever since the implementation of manageable POI's on the Classic.

TomTom HOME

Together with firmware version 6, a new application is launched: TomTom HOME. This free piece of software will enable all GO, ONE and RIDER owners to manager their device in a very simple fashion by means of their computer. Installing and removing firmware, maps, POI's, voices, colour schemes, itineraries etc? all can be done from within this one application. Also a complete backup of your SD card (or harddisk for those GO 700 and GO 910 owners) can be made using this software. And lastly, GO 910 owners can also use TomTom HOME to manage their photo's, MP3 files, audio books and iPod.

HOME is, as said, free, and will be maintained by TomTom. You will be notified of updates if there are any. There will be a version for PC and MAC, and a clear help/manual is present within the program.

HOME is very easy to use. After choosing the 'explore' option in the menu, all TomTom related affairs on your computer are shown in the centre of the screen. (firmware version, POI's...) To the right of this, a comparable screen shows you the contents of your PND providing it's also connected to your computer by USB cable at that time of course.

Installing new firmware, voices, POI's etc. could not have been made more simple. It's as easy as selecting the add-ons of your choosing in the centre of the screen, after that clicking 'install' and voila, all your selections are being installed onto your PND. Removing things from your PND is equally simple: select the things you want to remove in the screen on the right hand side, click'remove' and you're done.

Another big novelty and a long-time requested feature is finally implemented into HOME; the planning of routes in advance on the computer. You can even use the Traffic service to be notified of traffic jams or other road blocks on the route you've plotted out.

The new HOME application is wonderful. It's very easy to use, and managing your GO, ONE or RIDER becomes even more fun with it. This is a clear sign that TomTom really wants to make things as easy as possible for their users.

And finally...

It's important to note that we don't have an actual release date for firmware version 6 and the new HOME application just yet. But of course, you can depend on us to let you know as soon as they become available!