TomTom for iPhone

TomTom for iPhone and iPhone 4 was the second iPhone GPS (Global Positioning System) application to come to the App Store. It was the first to come from a very known name in the stand alone portable GPS devices.

This iPhone application is simple and easy to navigate and use. TomTom is full of features and options that you can easily find many details about your route.


















Its integration with the iPhone contacts is nice, and the Advanced Planning feature is impressive.

TomTom lacked a fundamental issue with sound notification and the iPod music when running in the background.

However, this issue was resolved with the iOS 4 multitasking capability.

There is no option that allow you to control the sound that is being played in the background.









The landscape view for Tomtom for iPhone and iPhone 4 is clear, and you can use the plus and minus buttons at the top to zoom in and out. Tapping the bottom portion of this screen will trigger the voice notification.

When you start the iPhone application, you will get a big list of navigation options. The Navigate To button is probably the first button you would tap to start your navigation.


















You will have the option to go Home, pick a distention from your Favorite, enter an Address, select a Recent Destination, search by name from Point of Interest, locate a Point on Map, or finally select one from your iPhone Contacts.

















Once you select your destination, another screen shows up just before you start the route calculation. This screen allows you to choose your preferred route or the method used to go to your destination.

You can choose, the Fastest or Shortest route. You can also select if you are Walking or Biking to your destination.

Of course selecting walking or biking will give you a route that avoids highways, and other roads with no walk or side road for bicycles.

The last option which is Limited Speed, allows you to create your route taking roads of the specified speed limit that you enter.



When you finish selecting your Route Type, route calculation will start, and the Route Summary screen will appear showing you your route summary. It shows you the method used, the time and distance to reach your distention.

At the bottom of this screen, you can choose more Options before you start the route.












The route Options screen provide many ways of displaying your route.
Find Alternative will calculate another rout to the same destination. Just repeat this process by tapping Options, then Find Alternatives, and then the method, Fastest for example. A new Fastest route will be calculated again.














With Find alternative you can also add a middle destination by tapping Travel Via. This gives you the option to force a specific route by passing through a city or a destination that you want. Also, you can Avoid a road , or Avoid Part of Route if for example you know that a road is closed or there are construction in part of the route.

Tap Avoid Part of Route, and a step by step instruction displays all the roads in your route and allow you to select any road to avoid from your list.

TomTom for iPhone will recalculate your new route without the road you just removed.

From the Rout Options screen you can also display route Instructions. This screen shows you a step by step break down of how to get from where you are to your destination. This is pretty neat, and quick confirmation that you are going to where you want.

Finally, Map of Route shows you the rout of your trip, and then you can find a point of interest on the map to get an idea how far the point from your route. Tap the magnifying glass and enter your point by Address, or from your favorite or recent destination from the Find screen.

Back to the home Menu of TomTom for iPhone, the Enable Sound enables or disables the voice notifications.

The Night Colors will quickly switch between daytime and night time for better display on your iPhone screen. Also, 2D Map button allows you to switch between 2D and 3D.

Advanced Planning is one of the unique features of TomTom for the iPhone. It calculates the route between any two points. You select point A and then Point B, it then finds the distance and time it takes from point A to point B.





The Advanced Planning is a slick feature that you can only find in desktop map applications. Once you select the original location and final destination, you can enter the time you want to start your route, but entering time is unnecessary, so just tap Prepare Route to start the calculation.

The Route Summary screen will show up and you can see all the details about your Route, the time it will take to get from point A to point B, the distance, and the method of traveling. Again you can access the Options menu from here to select an alternative route, or get the instructions, or Map of Route just as was shown before.


Browse Map in the main menu allows you to find points on the map by either tapping on the screen to pick a point, Or by finding a location by tapping the magnifying glass, and then entering the point you want manually from the many options available in the Find menu.














Manage Favorites from the home Menu allow you add or remove favorite destinations. Tap the Add Favorite button, and then enter the address or your current location to your favorites.

Other options like the Call POI allow you to search for a name of a place, and get the phone number if you want to call a destination for example.

TomTom also provides an optional car kit, which is an iPhone accessory that mounts, charges, and improves your audio and GPS iPhone signal of TomTom for iPhone. It is an all in one iPhone car mount that cost $119.

TomTom for iPhone Settings:

The Change Settings button is where you modify your default TomTom for iPhone settings.





For example, you can set the location of Home, the Voice language, and the Map colors.

Moreover, you can choose to display streets names on the map, and what type of  POI you want to show on the map.

Also, you can select your distance units from Miles or Kilometers.

Your default route planning is also set up here.

For example, which roads you always want to avoid, and what method to use as default when you start your route planning.

Finally, you can tap the Reset to Default button to reset all your changes.

GPS iPhone Hack:

If you have a jailbrocken iPhone. Then you can install an iPhone hack from Cydia called Navigate From Maps, which adds a new button to the Google Maps application.

The hack will add a new button to the Google Map application that sends directions to TomTom for iPhone.

This iPhone hack will work with any already installed iPhone GPS application on your iPhone such as Navigon, Sygic, iGoMyWay or any other.

Go to Top

Return from TomTom for iPhone to iPhone GPS

Return to iPhone Tips and Advice Home