TomTom updates its Android app to make it, you know, work

We've journeyed with the TomTom Navigator app for Android and it's been great -- except for one brake-punching problem. Version 1.0 was only compatible with phones that happened to have a display width of 480 pixels (WVGA or FWVGA), which meant that our Galaxy S IIIs, Nexus 4s and other favorite handsets all had to be left at home. That issue has now been fixed in v1.1, along with some other, less fundamental niggles. In particular, you can now download the large offline maps to microSD rather than filling up internal storage, and TomTom also says map downloads can be completed with the app running in the background -- although there's no mention of downloads being resumable. One thing that certainly hasn't improved is the price -- if you want to travel across the USA and Canada, for example, you'll find that Navigator for Android is precisely $50 more costly than Google's offline offering or Nokia Drive for Windows Phones.

[Source: Engadget]

TomTom unveils location based services, portal to help put developers on the map

Thanks to a certain fruit company and its cartographic woes, many folks are aware that TomTom provides mapping services to third-parties. Now the navigation company is offering cloud-based services like map display, routing, traffic and geocoding to all, alongside a developer portal with the tools to program them. That'll pit it against rivals like Nokia and Google in providing location data for fleet management, traffic planning or geolocation analysis apps, for instance. Naturally, there's a fee to be paid for all those goodies, but to get you hooked, the company's offering a 90 day free evaluation of its SDK and API. Need directions to the PR? Take the first left, then head after the break.

[Source: Engadget]

TomTom finally hits Android starting at $50, not ready for all devices

As TomTom promised, Android users can now be guided offline by the nav company -- unless you happen to own a Galaxy SIII, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Nexus or a handful of other recent, popular smartphones or tabs. It said most models would be compatible by year's end, but if you do have one that works already, you'll get all the features that iOS users have enjoyed for quite a while: radar camera warnings (depending on your country), eco routes, contact navigation, free map updates and traffic guidance. The app is now available on Google Play starting at $50 for the US and Canada maps, an "introductory offer" that's 10 bucks cheaper than the same iOS version, so you might want to check the source before that price goes up -- if you've got the right device, of course.

[Source: Engadget - Read more there]