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March 19, 2009 10:22 AM PDT

TomTom unveils map-updating service

by Bonnie Cha
(Credit: TomTom)

On Thursday, TomTom introduced a new plan for delivering map updates to its customers. Dubbed TomTom Map Update Service, the subscription-based service brings quarterly map updates for a one-time fee as low as $39.80 or $9.95 per map release.

The service is available starting today. If you subscribe, you will be alerted to new updates when you connect your GPS devices to your PC and the TomTom Home service (the company's free desktop software). From there, you'll be able to download the maps, which reflect all road changes that have been verified by TeleAtlas. The update includes whichever map or map set comes standard on the device.

As with all things, there's some fine print in terms of pricing. The cost of the update varies depending on TomTom model and the age of the map currently on the device, so it could be more than the advertised $39.80/$9.95 fee. You'll be given an estimate when you connect your portable navigation device to TomTom Home.

The Map Update Service joins TomTom's other map-update offering, TomTom Map Share, which allows users to make updates and corrections right on their GPS devices and then share them with the TomTom community. The company also has a 30-day latest-map guarantee, which entitles customers to a one-time free map download if a new map becomes available within 30 days of first use.

Bonnie Cha is a senior editor for CNET, covering smartphones and GPS. When she's not testing the latest gadgets, you can find her chasing after her crazy lab or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California. E-mail Bonnie.
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by pkscout March 19, 2009 11:34 AM PDT
I wish I had gotten a TomTom. Garmin does annual updates for over $70, and the maps are usually still a year old when you do the updates. Quarterly updates seem like a dream world to me. I hope TomTom does an iPhone app so I can drop Garmin. The device is nice, but the company leaves a great deal to be desired in the customer service arena.
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by Bowen88 March 19, 2009 3:55 PM PDT
Magellan is worst. They wanted more than $80 for an update for an unit I bought only two months prior.

I wish these companies would realize that if they would just make the updates more reasonable more people would pay for them.
by viper396 March 19, 2009 4:08 PM PDT
Both Garmin and TomTom rely on other vendors to provide the data for their maps. I bought my TomTom in December 2006 but it took nearly 18 months before the TomTom maps correctly reflected a new overpass that was built over a highway in my area. All I'm saying is that quarterly updates don't guarantee that street/road changes in your area will actually be reflected in each update. Too bad there is no way to do a trial and test a map before you purchase it.
by the_iceman March 19, 2009 5:35 PM PDT
Call me old school, but I don't need a GPS unit to drive places.
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by OldGrumpy March 20, 2009 3:35 AM PDT
A great idea. We just got back from a trip with our Garmin. Although I have added all map updates available for my unit, Garmin made more mistakes this time than ever before. Highways which appeared to us to have been in place for years were not recognized, and the location of sites such as restaurants was awful. Garmin seems to have reached it's limit; I'm ready to give Tom Tom a go.
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by March 21, 2009 8:10 PM PDT
DON'T leave Garmin. You'll be very sorry if you got to TomTom. Thier latest map guarantee is a load of bull - they do their best not to honor it and if they do you have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you just bought the unit. Sometimes they ask for a faxed receipt of invoice and then tell you that you can't get the latest map. Horroble GPS manufacturer. Wished i bought a Garmin. In my family there are 4 TomTom's because of me and I am sorry as each person whent through the same thing over the course of a year.
by tenor1977 March 20, 2009 6:19 AM PDT
I bought the lifetime quarterly updates for my Garmin. $120 and I don't have to pay for maps again.
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by March 21, 2009 8:07 PM PDT
TomTom does not publish 4 maps per year. They *may* publish 2 so paying TomTom for 4 maps makes no sense. Also, has any TomTom owner experienced the "Latest Map Guarantee" that TomTom offers. Regardless of how old the ap is on the GPS that buy, it ALWAYS indicates tha the map you got is the latest version. My TomTom Go 920 had a map that was almost a year old when I bought it and, as I was new to TomTom I never got the latest map. TomTom's software also makes usre you never see the "Latest Map Guarantee" more tha nonce yet they tell you that you can check for new maps as many times as you like in the first 30 days after buying one.
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by minnarue April 3, 2009 6:44 AM PDT
I have just purchase this service, they also asked for map upgrade fees which came to a total of almost $60.
After upgrade, I could not find the hotel address I usually stay in Louisiana and also my friend's home - these are not kept under favorites.
I ran mapshare, and I still could not find the addresses I want.
I called TomTom customer service and they told me there's a glich and sometimes the address will not be there and asked me to go to mapshare( I told her I did) - she kept running like a tape recorder with same instructions.
I told her this is suppose to be an upgrade and where is the address that used to be in old version?
Customer service said - NO REFUND!
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by L_H May 20, 2009 6:43 AM PDT
"30-day latest-map guarantee" is a joke... If you want the latest map you need to spend time over the phone... and surprise surprise "if TomTom deems that the preloaded map is more than 9 months old, TomTom reserves the right to refuse a free map update." So think again before buying a Tom Tom, you need to know their model/map history in order to have a NEW device with the latest map.
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by OldGrumpy May 24, 2009 7:31 PM PDT
After buying a Tom Tom because of their promise of quarterly map updates, I am sorely disappointed. The quarterly updates will not load into my Tom Tom. I have repeatedly tried to contact Tom Tom's tech support; the only thing they do is to refer me to their FAQ -- which I had already found were incapable of answering my questions. Tom Tom is very good about taking one's money, but not very good about producing that which I thought I had bought. Nor are they anxious to return money which their program said my GPS needed. Unfortunately, in my experience to date, Tom Tom is long on promises but very short on performance. I didn't think anything could be more frustrating than updating Garmin's maps; but I have discovered Tom Tom has surpassed them hands down.
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by aslkdhasdkhasdlhasD June 1, 2009 4:22 AM PDT
The map update service fails as well, I paid for the map update subscription and there is a new map available, but I cannot download it without paying again. Great deal Tom Tom!
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by TomTomJeff June 3, 2009 8:53 AM PDT
What is probably happening is that your TomTom account isn't properly linking up with TomTom Home software, which is causing the software to prompt you to pay for the map update subscription.

In your case, calling TomTom support (866-486-6866) should resolve this, as they will be able to verify that you've paid for the service and make the correction on your account.
by dralph01 October 8, 2009 4:52 PM PDT
I paid about $120 for mt TomTom One a while back and just now went to update my maps. Can you believe that they charge you over $70 for the update? That is almost what I paid for the device. A total rip off. They say $9.95 per quarter but they charge you for the whole year and then require you download some other software that cost over $30. Unreal!!!!
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by PCUser2008 October 8, 2009 11:56 PM PDT
I have owned a garmin. nuvi 370. I loved it until the maps came to be outdated and the fm traffic feature ran out. I paid for one six month subscription for the traffic which costed $64.00. Then it was time for the map updates that cost's $99.00. Man that is too much for me to be updating every 2 years or so. Now it sits in the glove box until i really need a Standalone GPS device. Until they come out with a good app for my Iphone, I will use that instead. But for now I am sticking with the worthless google maps app on my iphone 3G to guide me when i need directions. I the plus side is that it is free.
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About Miss Direction

Bonnie Cha is a senior editor at CNET.com, covering PDAs, smart phones, and GPS. Though she didn't grow up in an era where GPS was widely used or readily available, she really wishes she had. Perhaps then she wouldn't have gone through the horrifying experience of her dad putting the car in reverse on busy I-95 just to make the exit for Disney World. In Miss Direction, Cha answers your questions about GPS, discusses the latest industry news and trends, and shares her tales from the road.

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