» News: TomTom CeBIT: GO x30, NC 8, HD Traffic Options

[jonstatt]

Apologies. I did a reversal. The new TMC receiver with the 920T has a straight plug.

[DarrenUK]

Tomtom have no excuse not to release the new firmware at least for the x20 range, as they are identical to the x30's and don't need re-working. If anything, going by some of the recent releases of HOME, they seem to use current users as beta testers for their new software!

Assuming the new software works ok, then they should be promoting that and just let the x30's filter in as the stock of x20's runs out. After all they cannot claim that they are new machines except colourwise (whoah! flashback to mobile phone releases!).

I for one am very pleased that these new features do not mean my go520 has to become a paperweight. I am looking forward to the lane assist, as like many others the previous keep left and keep right arrows were not accurate enough for me and caused mistakes.

[Antti]

I am looking forward to the lane assist, as like many others the previous keep left and keep right arrows were not accurate enough for me and caused mistakes.

I'm not 100% sure if my info is correct but I think that lane assist requires the new maps as well. IMHO TomTom is pushing it too far if this is the case since that would mean you need to buy new maps every 3 months to stay "current" (as if those maps were spot on).

[anchor]

It appears as there will a considerable premium to pay for the extras on the 930.

From the only UK site I could find that lists a price for the 930, it will cost about £469.

http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/1042/tomtom-go-930

In contrast, the 920T can currently be found for about £290.

The question is, are the new features worth an extra £179 for the average user; I doubt it.

[Andy_P]

Tomtom have no excuse not to release the new firmware at least for the x20 range

They aren't under any obligation to do anything of the sort!
I think it's quite amazing how they have (obviously struggled sometimes) supplied newest software to every old machine. Not a lot of companies bother to do that.

[stingray]

TT should release NC8 for the x 20 FIRST coz we've only just laid out for the lastest TT product! No excuses especially as x30 are exactly the same. What on earh are TT thinking?! Makes one lose faith.

[ZeroCool]

those prices listed are unrealistic, until the product is properly launched I doubt you would be able to make a accurate guesstimate to the pricing.

Re the point about TomTom needing IQ data from new models, dont you know that all TomToms have the ability to record usage data and have done for years!!! Everybodies unit will at some time have asked them if its ok to collect this data or not, and if you pressed yet they you will have already been contributing.

I always have pressed yes on several of the units ive had and hopefully it will pay dividends when I get a new unit after the realease of the x30s

[Antti]

Tomtom have no excuse not to release the new firmware at least for the x20 range

They aren't under any obligation to do anything of the sort!
I think it's quite amazing how they have (obviously struggled sometimes) supplied newest software to every old machine. Not a lot of companies bother to do that.

Correct but if they don't want alienate their best clients (the ones that buy high end) they will release NC8 and the rest for at least 920 users and very likely for the whole x20 series.

Regarding the potential customers, I would imagine that 930 will be popular in eastern europe and russia since none of the pervious TomTom's didn't cover those areas. I guess there are customers that are willing £ 469 for unit like that and they actually don't have many options if they want to navigate in Russia or Eastern Europe.

[sraffe8283]

Dear All,

I see that TomTom are now releasing Navecore 8.

Is there any chance that they will release the rest of Navecore 7 so that my 910 will have the complete software?

sraffe8283

[shadamehr]

It occurs to me that it would be in Tom Tom's interest to release NavCore 8 for x20 and lower devices sooner rather than later otherwise purchasers of the x30 will not benefit from enough user data for the IQ routes mechanism!

A very valid point indeed if you were/are referring to the HD Traffic, which does require current data, but the IQ Routes, no problem - they HAVE the data already (from us I should hasted to add - so some will say we are paying a premium to buy back information that we ourselves supplied, but that's life), as this is historic data amassed previously on roads and road usage, by us, the existing users (or at least, as I read it, those of us that agreed to send anonymous data). Now that we know where this data has come from though, and as we now know we are to be charged to make use of it, I wonder what TT will do if we all change our minds and elect OUT of sharing this data.

Of course, in some ways it is too late now though, as they HAVE the data, enough to offer IQ Routes - it would just be the ongoing reliability of it over time, that would suffer!

But for HD Traffic on the other hand, unless the userbase is widespread, the actual data is not exactly helpful, and at the minute, whilst Eddy Stobbart has a fair few trucks in the scheme, and another organisation is signed up too, that's not exactly going to measure a mass jam building up on the A1 now is it, like a hundred cars would in a small area.

So very valid what you say about it being well in TT's best interests to do all they can to make the userbase as big as possible, as fast as possible. In other words, open it out to x20 users VERY quick - but for HD Traffic, they have said they 'intend' to do this. It's just that it needs to be right from the off, not later on, else those x30 users who do make use of HD Traffic data, are not exactly going to have much data to depend on for a good few months or more....

Also, Tom Tom may want to quickly get out an announcement regarding x20 upgrades or stores may find themselves in a difficult situation regarding sales for the next 2 months shifting old stock while waiting for the new. If they intend to upgrade x20 users with the latest software, they should announce it so that consumers will still buy in the meantime.

True - given the quick introduction of the x30, there are going to be stores and warehouses full to the brim with x20 stock that still needs selling. You won't shift that over the coming months, if users aren't assured that a lot of the x30 software features won't work on what they are just about to part with their hard earned cash for, in terms of considering an existing x20 unit!

Are we sure the new TMC receiver would work on older units, or is there in fact a very subtle hardware change, which is the basis for the x20 to x30 transition. Interestingly in the UK I have found I get very good results with the revised TMC receiver (right-angle plug type) that comes with the 920. It held reception for over 80% of the time I drove over a 100 mile trip.

As I see the photos, the new RDS-TMC add on, if this is what we mean here, is a VERY different beast to the current unit - in that the current usb charging cable plugs into the new RDS-TMC adaptor, and then the new RDS-TMC plugs into the new x30 range via USB, NOT via a jack plug socket as current adaptors and devices use.

Indeed, it is not stated whether the new x30 series even have the old RDS-TMC style jack plug socket, but may do for backwards compatibility. I wouldn't bank on it though.

But certainly however, it means that in terms of using the NEW adaptor on the older x20 series, it will need to plug into our USB socket, and whether this only requires software update, as opposed to it being hardware based, is a very valid question indeed.

In short though, the whole way the RDS-TMS works is very different to the existing one.

I have never seen such a short product cycle 920 to 930 before.

Probably a fair statement, yes.

Might make for a nice price drop for anyone after an x20 series device though, once x30's are actually available to buy.

If the x20 is then certified as ok to upgrade to the software features of the x30 series though, this poses issues for TT...

In that conversely to what I said earlier about not being able to shift existing stocks, on the contrary, they might actually be making it hard for them to sell the NEW models, especially if the price is a lot higher.

So this worrying fact alone, is one to consider when wondering if TT will make the features available for x20 owners... Doing so might be a "shoot in the foot" policy for TT...

But interesting times lie ahead, for sure....

   Post has been edited by shadamehr (Mar 4 2008, 22:12)

[Andy_P]

Dear All,

I see that TomTom are now releasing Navecore 8.

Is there any chance that they will release the rest of Navecore 7 so that my 910 will have the complete software?

sraffe8283

What are you missing then?

[DarrenUK]

Tomtom have no excuse not to release the new firmware at least for the x20 range

They aren't under any obligation to do anything of the sort!
I think it's quite amazing how they have (obviously struggled sometimes) supplied newest software to every old machine. Not a lot of companies bother to do that.

I know that they have no obligation to, but look on these forums at how people with even the oldest Go model react when they hear that they have to wait for their free navcore upgrade. I didn't say they had to release it, just that they had no excuse not to, at least for the x20's.

1. New x30's are the same as x20's except colour. So they are capable of running the software.
2. You may need to upgrade maps at premium to use these new features. So what! No-one says you have to upgrade every time a new map comes out. The original maps I got on my machine are still fine for me, however I would upgrade if it meant using the new software. No map however new is going to be 100%correct. You still have to read road signs and diversions etc, otherwise you end up driving lorries under low bridges etc. People who still buy traditional maps don't buy them more than once a year.
3. Seeing as Tomtom have only just released the 920 in Britain, it would be a complete p*ss-take to supercede it with a machine which is exactly the same except for a bit of software and label it as a newer model. Tomtom can't afford to do this to existing customers, as they will stop buying map updates etc from them, and when a new machine that is actually different to the previous years model comes out, then no-one will bother because they will have already gone to another company that doesn't expect you to buy a whole new device for a fairly minor software upgrade. If you have something like a sat-nav you should expect it to become obsolite a few years after it is first released, not a month or two!

[jonstatt]

Well, I tried my luck and asked Tom Tom support. Didn't expect much, but this was the response to "Will the 920T get the "lane assistance" and "iQ route" functionality. At least it wasn't a no!

Dear Mr Statt,

Thank you for contacting TomTom Customer Support

There is a possiblility that the functionality that you refer to may become availablefor the 920 in the form of a software update in the future .

We regret that at this moment in time we do not have any further information to hand regarding timescales etc.

With Best Regards

The TomTom Customer Support Team

   Post has been edited by jonstatt (Mar 5 2008, 10:16)

[stingray]

I think NC8 is too late in release... this should have been implemented into the 920. I think that was a C~~k up on TT part as was probably their intention. Instead their marketing machine has taken over and..Bing! x30 and NC8! And a slight loss of confidence in some customers no doubt!

i hope for TT sake they know what they're doing!! NavCore8 should be aimed squarely at existing customers or at least at the x20 models. Having just purchased a 920 i most definitely won’t be upgrading unless I take back my 920!

   Post has been edited by stingray (Mar 5 2008, 10:34)

[jonstatt]

I am sorely tempted to take back my 920 as I am within 30 days. When a product is barely out 3 months and is then replaced, there is no compulsion for a company to do anything for its existing customers, but ethically, I think this is wrong, and customer loyalty must take a hit if Tom Tom don't clarify this situation soon.

Tom Tom is out to make money...yes...but it wants to keep customer loyalty too. There is a balance there.

[Bart]

I didn't say they had to release it, just that they had no excuse not to, at least for the x20's.

Oh, but they will release it for the GO x20 series. They have already confirmed this. And I doubt it'll take very long either. My guess is they will try to sell out their x20 stock first, and once that's all gone, then they will provide this update. As you say, the x20 is identical to the x30 in hardware, so...

I'm guessing (don't quote me on this though) this will happen in the summer of 2008. I'm also hoping before the summer holidays of course...

[stingray]

I am sorely tempted to take back my 920 as I am within 30 days. When a product is barely out 3 months and is then replaced, there is no compulsion for a company to do anything for its existing customers, but ethically, I think this is wrong, and customer loyalty must take a hit if Tom Tom don't clarify this situation soon.

Tom Tom is out to make money...yes...but it wants to keep customer loyalty too. There is a balance there.

I couldn't agree with you more. I too am within my 30days and for my 920T the countdown as begun.

[anchor]

I read this on an American site:

http://gps.about.com/od/newproducts/a/TomTom_IQ_Intro.htm

"The two new models are the GO 730, with a suggested retail price of $449, and the GO 930 with a price of $499. Both are to be available by the end of April, 2008".

$499 is about £253 at todays rate. If the price of £468.83 given by Handtec is correct; I know that there are map and tax differences, but this is another example of rip-off Britain.

[stingray]

I read this on an American site:

http://gps.about.com/od/newproducts/a/TomTom_IQ_Intro.htm

"The two new models are the GO 730, with a suggested retail price of $449, and the GO 930 with a price of $499. Both are to be available by the end of April, 2008".

$499 is about £253 at todays rate. If the price of £468.83 given by Handtec is correct; I know that there are map and tax differences, but this is another example of rip-off Britain.

i think that handtec price is wrong.. if the x20 and 30 are the same then they simply wont sell any unless they totally withdraw the 920 altogether. Now that wouldn't be a smart move so early in the products life! You can still purchase 700's in some places!

[jonstatt]

Oh, but they will release it for the GO x20 series. They have already confirmed this.

Hi Bart,

Sorry but I didn't think this was confirmed. In the articles on this website, it talks about the traffic HD software, but doesn't confirm that the "lane guidance" and "IQ route" capability will be added to the x20 series. If we have now reached the point of assurance, then I am comfortable again. I just didn't see this as "confirmed" yet. Apologies if I missed something.

Jonathan

P.S In reponse to another post above, the TMC connector as we have been calling it should still remain in the 930 as it is also used to connect an iPod with full control from the Tom Tom display interface.

   Post has been edited by jonstatt (Mar 5 2008, 15:27)