CES 2009: TomTom Intros Internet PND Unit

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, January 8, 2009

LAS VEGAS — TomTom is showing an Internet-connected portable GPS device at International CES, which could be the first such model from a leading supplier.

The Internet PND has had a rocky start. Magellan and Mio showed prototype Internet-connected PNDs last year, but failed to ship them. Dash Navigation also recently stopped selling a device that had been available for several months.

The only other brands offering Internet PNDs are TeleNav and Best Buy, which would make TomTom's unit the first mainstream model aimed at a wide variety of retailers.

The TomTom Go 740 Live offers live real-time traffic, live access to fuel price listings and live Google local search for a near unlimited point of interest database.

The device will not offer HD Traffic, a "probe" service from TomTom in Europe that gathers traffic data from GPS users and then broadcasts it back as traffic reports.

Traffic updates for the Go 740 Live are supplied by a third party, Inrix.

The unit has a SIM card modem. The Internet connection helps the 740 Live get quicker satellite fixes for GPS positioning, said TomTom. The Live 740 also takes into account historical traffic flow patterns to give users more accurate arrival times. TomTom also expanded its speech-recognition capability beyond address input to include about 130 commands. The device also offers Bluetooth hands-free dialing. It will have a service fee to be announced as well as a free trial period. Shipping and pricing on the Go 740 Live will be announced.