Tom Tom GO Personal Navigator Source Code Released

Fofer writes "TomTom, makers of personal navigation software for PDA's and cell phones, also have a standalone device called the TomTom GO. Early reviews are excellent, with its sleek design and unique 3-D interface. Unlike other standalone GPS units, this one runs on Linux. It uses an SD card (optionally prefilled with the entire U.S. map) and 11 voices to choose from. More available here for free (in OGG format, no less!). There is also Mac support provided by a 3rd party. The big news is that this week, TomTom finally released the kernel they used, source code, patches, etc. of the device under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This is one sweet looking device and I can't wait to get my hands on one and start tinkering. Hmm... Ogg/MP3 jukebox anyone?"

Comments

No big deal

[Linker3000]

Most, if not all, of their software and maps seem to have been released under the 'Find me on Kazaa' licence ages ago.

so what exactly do we get???

[advocate_one]

lots of code for the kernel, modules, busybox etc. but what I want to know is, do we actually get the source code to the application itself?

Re:so what exactly do we get???

[discord5]

lots of code for the kernel, modules, busybox etc. but what I want to know is, do we actually get the source code to the application itself?

Most likely not. You see, if they release the source for this program there is no incentive anymore to buy the device, and any geek with a compiler and a handheld will be able to run this without Tom Tom ever making a dollar.

I like open source software, and I am all for someone developing an open source GPS-program, but these people need to make money. The community should be happy with the fact that they actually sticked to the rules and released the patches to the software they used, unlike some companies.

We'll never get rid of closed source software, but if both open and closed source software can benefit from eachother (eg Linux & Tom Tom), I still find the product a lot cooler than some windows CE box.

Nice slashvertisment.

[grazzy]

I'm glad to see OSDN puts some requirements on their slashvertisments now.

Related to linux: check.
References to other open source software: check.
Playing with phrases like "cant wait to get my hand on ..": check.
Posted by anonmyous user without email or homepage: check.

Valley Girl

[morcheeba]

Like oh my god, they already have a totally tubular voice - Zappa, American Valley Girl. so, like gag me with a spoon, why would I ever want anything else?

It had better have that valspeak attitude, too - "take that bitchin' right slider up there". It should, of course, base all directions on local malls (go to the point, then up the boulevard, then to the mulitplex, and then you're almost there) even if that's not the fastest way to go. (it's all about the style!)

Not sure at $900, it's such a great value?

[King_TJ]

At first this excited me because I thought "Hey, cool! A small, stand-alone GPS solution that could be mounted in people's cars and not cost a fortune!" But then I saw the $900 suggested retail price. I'm currently using a Garmin Streetpilot in my car, and we paid somewhere around $850 for it, over a year ago. It comes with a surprisingly usable "pillow mount"; (Basically like a black, nylon beanbag with a stalk sticking out of the top, center of it to snap the Garmin unit onto it. You can just plop it down on your dashboard and it stays put. No messy tape or velcro needed.) It also uses SD flash memory with a USB port for attaching to a PC to download new map data into it and do firmware upgrades to the unit itself. The speaker for the voice synthesizer is integrated into the lighter plug adapter, which usually ends up putting it in a better place for the driver to hear it clearly, and can get plenty loud too.

This might be cool if you really do need the GPS to be "hand held", but if you're downloading *street maps* into it, the obviously use I'd see would be for driving with it. Therefore, I think it needs to be priced more like $400-500 at most, so people will considering cutting holes in their dash and installing it to look like original factory equipment....

Re:foreign o the US contingent

[Richard5mith]

The TomTom Go has a five hour battery life and is easily usable on foot. It's about the size of a Blackberry and fits in the hand without any problems.

Re:foreign o the US contingent

[pluggo]

I know, this may be foreign to the US contingent of the /. crowd, but where is the handheld version?

At least I pretty much never use GPS in a vehicle; even when I want to get to a specific address (not an easy feat in Japan), I would use maps to get to the general area, then get to the actual point (like a geocache or an address) on foot.

Just curious... why would using a GPS on foot have anything to do with being from the US or not?

I used to work at Circuit City... we sold in-car, handheld, CF (maybe SD too, I don't remember), and USB GPS devices. Many people use them to go hiking or in just the same manner as you described just above (especially the customers who navigate in Chicago).

Anyway, the article has pics of the device in someone's hand, makes several mentions of how small it is (one pic shows it next to a RIM Blackberry), and mentions the optional car mounting brackets.