TomTom Launches New Routing and Lane Guidance

Today TomTom is announcing IQ Routes for its Go Series, namely the Go 930 and T730, which be available April 29th. IQ Routes uses average speeds based on historical data (instead of speed limits). It differentiates between weekdays and weekend averages (but not hour-by-hour so rush hour and mid-afternoon will be averaged together). This will provide both better routing options when you’re in the car, as well as more accurate estimates for destination arrival. IQ Routes gets its historical data from other TomTom devices on the road.

The company is also introducing Advanced Lane Guidance, which helps in metropolitan areas, where the lane you’re in makes a big difference as to whether you’ll be able to make your next turn. This feature includes 3D images of complex junctions, images of what the lane divider markings look like, and signpost information with route numbers and road destinations. MapShare will continue to be available on the new Go units, as well as voice address input, which actually requires the user to go through a menu to state the city, street number, street name, and so on, while also tapping the correct selections as they come up. We’re interested in trying this out, of course, but from what we can tell, you’ll still need to be looking at and tapping on the screen regularly to get the desired result.