And there was another of such announcements in June, when Pocket Lint published that:

TomTom for Android will be launching “fairly soon”, Peter-Frans Pauwels, TomTom co-founder, today confirmed to Pocket-lint.

“Summer season is important for us,” expanded the TomTom man, who said he couldn’t put and exact date on the launch. “But I can confirm it is real.”

Awesome news, right?

Not really, basically the same announcements have been made several times in the past. This is also the reason we have not picked up the rumor earlier because we had a hunch what will happen. Now it’s half of the summer gone and there is no hint that anything is going to happen soon.

We have gone through some of the possible reasons why there is no TomTom app for Android yet. And while we do not want to be negative about the outlook of finally installing our all time favorite navigation application on one of the awesome Android phones, but quite frankly we are not sure if it will ever happen. It should have been done years ago. If it happened, say in 2010 or earlier, the landscape of Android navigation apps would have been different. But now we have many other good navigation apps in the Google Play Store and also the free Google navigation. We know TomTom is considered by many the very best navigation app in the World, but the reality is that users have only so much patience.

If TomTom actually launches the app, we hope to change our opinion and conclude that the best navigation has finally arrived to Android.

The question in the title of this article is without a doubt being asked by millions of happy users of TomTom navigation and owners of Android phones and tablets. It makes no sense at all. One of the best navigations on the market and the fastest growing mobile platform in the world, it’s a natural match. Isn’t is?

TomTom navigation not on Android – possible reasons

Technical problems

There has been zero reports that there is be any technical issues with porting the TomTom navigation to Android. And even if there were, no one would believe. There are so many gps apps available for the Android from so many companies (even the smaller ones) that I’m 100% sure the technical side is not the problem. Just so we get this possible reason out of the way.

TomTom not interested in Android platform

Theoretically the bosses at TomTom in The Netherlands could have assessed the market and decided that Android is not going to make it so it does not make sense to invest into it. I think we all know this is also not true. And I believe they saw the charts that predict the growth of the mobile devices in the next few years and the market share Android is going to take.

The TomTom deal with Apple

Now we could be on to something. If you remember as far back as 2009, there was a lot of buzz when Apple announced the deal with TomTom, the news on engadget was that this will finally bring “real” navigation to iPhone. The bond is obviously still strong. The TomTom apps in iTunes are available for most of the world. And the news from February 2012 posted on bloomberg.com talks about something interesting:

TomTom, Europe’s biggest maker of portable navigation devices, rose to the highest in seven months after Rabo Securities raised its recommendation, citing strong automotive sales and a potential Apple mapping deal.

I don’t know about you, but this seems like a clue. There is nothing confirmed yet and there was a TomTom Places app for Android launched in November 2011 but if the TomTom and Apple will actually become more involved, this could be the reason why there is still no app for Android available.

We have to wait and see if speculation about the TomTom cooperation with Apple will actually stop TomTom coming to Android.

But there is another piece of news in case you missed it – TomTom Navigator 7 is available for the Windows smartphones. Is this good or bad news for the potential Android app? Only time will tell. If they did the navigation app for the Windows platform, they could just as well do it for the Android, right? Let’s stay optimistic.

We promised you a review of the TomTom Places Android app two weeks ago but unfortunately we were not yet in a country that is supported at the moment. This of course means that we couldn’t have tested it yet. Actually, we weren’t even able to download it from the Google Play site (ex. Android Market) because it is not available for our location. So instead of letting you wait for indefinite amount of time to get you some info on this app, we decided to do the next best thing: make the summary of reviews of the app collected from other resources.

TomTom Places for Android is good, but …

TomTom Places offers information about local shops, restaurants and places to visit when you are in a particular area. You can search by the name, category or keyword, and you can search in your own language even if you are in a foreign country where they speak a different language. The places included in the app are reviewed, you can check their opening times and see contact info. You can save your favourite searches so you can easily search for them in every place you go. And you can use the TomTom’s mapping, traffic and routing service for free.

If you are familiar with the Google Places (and I’m sure you are) you will probably say – it’ the same thing. You are quite right, it is basically the same thing. The main difference is that TomTom Places also show you local traffic which Google Places don’t and this makes it easier to plan how you will drive to the chosen point.

Why do we need another app like this if Google has its own app? TomTom released the app on markets that are not yet perfectly covered by the Google Places (that is why some of the biggest markets are not included – we don’t know if they ever will be for that matter).

So what do people think about the app? General consensus of users is something like: It’s a good application. It does what it is supposed to do. But where the heck is the TomTom turn-by-turn navigation?!

TomTom Places for the lucky few countries, turn-by-turn navigation for nobody yet

It seems we can’t speak about any revolutionary news here. TomTom Places Android app is obviously a good product, we wouldn’t expect anything less from TomTom. And it features their famous live traffic info for free, which is awesome of course. But it seems like the TomTom fans are asking one question and TomTom is answering something completely different. We all want the main dish: TomTom turn-by-turn navigation for our Android phones and tablets. All some of us got by now is an appetizer.

Here are some of the screenshots taken from the TomTom Places page on Google Play, where you can also download the app if you happen to live in the country that is supported at the moment.

In November 2011 there was finally some movement with regard to the TomTom navigation for Android platform. On November 29th 2011 the TomTom Places’ Android app was released for select European countries. The lucky ones were: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and The Netherlands. The app for Spain was released a few weeks later in December. They were all available in local languages. (Full press release with more details is here.)

This is certainly a good news and the users from these countries (or traveling to these countries) can enjoy the benefits of this handy tool (we will be doing a review of it in the near future once we get a chance to test it on the road). But where is the full TomTom Android app? Will there even be one? Is the Places app a sign that the full turn-by-turn navigation app for Android is in the making?
We have been waiting for it for a very long time, hopefully TomTom will answer our prayers soon. Unfortunately there is no mention whatsoever about the full navigation app in the press release about Places app.

TomTom is about to come to Android platform soon! This is an excellent news for all TomTom lovers who are waiting to have our favourite navigation software available on our Android phones and tablets.

Several websites report (thanks to many of our readers who have alerted us to some of them!) that TomTom Android application is definitely in the making. No specific dates have been set at this time, but in our opinion it will happen by the end of 2011.

The application as such will most likely be similar to that for the iPhone and users who have it on their iPhone are singing all the praise about it, so we can hope for the best also. We have to keep in mind that it is to some extent easier to do apps for iPhone as there is only one handset (although several generations of it) and one OS with different versions.

For the Android there literary hundreds if not thousands of handsets from different manufacturers with several versions of the OS and each manufacturer adds something extra to it. So we have yet to see whether the TomTom app for the Android will be equally available for all versions of OS and all manufacturers alike or will there be some limitations.

Another interesting info that came out is also this: TomTom has no plans to make an app (or anything else) for the Windows phone … one can only smile at that.

TomTom GPS systems are one of the most widely used navigation solutions in the world today. They are well renowned for their ease of use, accuracy, up-to-date maps, traffic information and traffic guidance to help you get to your destination as quickly as possible. As with any other navigation solution, TomTom GPS systems come in many shapes and sizes and you should know what your needs are to choose the right one for you.

TomTom GPS systems for car use

The lion share of TomTom GPS systems goes to car navigation. There are almost 20 different systems available that you can choose from. From the entry models, such as ONE 130•S, ONE 140•S and EASE series, through XL and XXL series, to the GO series. Each of them has its own characteristics and features and it is very important that you know what you will be using your TomTom GPS systems for, to choose the one that fits your needs best.

You should take into account the amount of miles you do on the road every year, the routes you take (if you travel similar routes every day or do you travel to different destinations all the time), the features you expect to have and the amount of money you are willing to spend on the device. The truth is, there are really no bad TomTom GPS systems, it’s just that basic models lack some of the advanced features that the more expensive models have.

Where to get TomTom GPS systems?

Before buying you should check out the characteristics at the official TomTom website. There you will also see the prices for each model. But you may also want to check around the Web a bit, as there may be some special discount offers available. Whatever you do, after you decide which one of the TomTom GPS systems is the right one for you check the prices and find the best offer.

With Android phones and tablets becoming more and more popular many people are interested in the possibility of installing the TomTom Android application on their device. We share the excitement and will provide you with the latest news and updates about the development of TomTom navigation for Android.

Current status of TomTom Android applications

In the beginning of 2011 there is still no TomTom Android application available. The information that can be found on the Internet is somewhat confusing, though truth be told, not very optimistic at the moment. It seems that the company has not yet published any final statement about producing their excellent products for Android OS.

If you are familiar with TomTom mobile applications, then you know the offer really great app for the iPhone and iPod touch which can be bought from the Apple App Store. Many satisfied users of this app will tell you that they would not trade it for any other navigation application. Especially their maps and IQ Routes, which calculate the fastest route to get you to your destination, are priceless when you are in a hurry.

With navigation applications becoming available also on Android phones and tablets many users are craving for the same TomTom Android navigation on their devices. For now we have to disappoint you – TomTom has not yet released anything for Android.

Here is a statement of the TomTom representative that he gave in August 2009 (source):

“We cannot ignore such a successful platform as Android. HTC is an important partner of ours and Android is becoming increasingly important too.”

“We spent so much time producing the iPhone software and we were later on the scene than we wanted but the standard of the service and the quality of the satnav is what was most important to us.”

“I do not question the opportunity that RIM might offer but we know that a satnav device needs to have a large touchscreen and voice commands to be able to work for turn-by-turn navigation. We come from a PDA background and we know what will work.”

As you may have noticed, this statement was given way back. What has happened in the meantime? Well, not so much. The “disturbing” thing is that there is TomTom available for Windows Mobile (and of course for Iphone).

What does the future hold for TomTom Android applications?

The important question is, what is the real reason for the missing TomTom Android application? Is it the technical problems? For Iphone you need one application and that’s it, because there is basically only one model. With Android (and also with WinMobile) there is a large array of devices that have to be covered. This could be a legitimate excuse if there were no other navigation applications for Andorid. But there are, many of them.

So does that mean TomTom has no real intention to produce the Android application any time soon? We can only hope this is not the case. We’ll be monitoring the situation very closely bringing you updates as they surface. And we all keep our fingers crossed to have a TomTom Android navigation app installed on our devices soon.