TomTom just launched an innovative GPS navigation device. Now, with TomTom’s new GO LIVE 153 5M GPS device, users will be able to read reviews, or find and book a hotel, as well as check local gas prices and weather forecasts through TomTom LIVE’s other apps and services.
GPS navigation devices have typically been limited in their ability to tell you where you should go, unable to provide a way to choose between the three local motels and the five Mom-and-Pop restaurants in town. Services like Yelp and TripAdvisor solve this problem in useful ways, and TomTom is taking advantage: On Monday, according to PC Mag, the company announced the TomTom GO LIVE 153 5M, which combines the navigation power of TomTom with the reviews and information of related apps.
The GO LIVE 1535 M gives away its features in its title. The LIVE portion references the TomTom LIVE services, which connect TomTom devices to the Web and allow them, in the case of the 1535M, to access sites like Yelp, Trip Advisor, Expedia and Twitter. Right from their GPS, users will be able to read reviews, or find and book a hotel, as well as check local gas prices and weather forecasts through TomTom LIVE’s other apps and services.
The Yelp app, for instance, integrates right into your search results when you’re looking for somewhere to go. Pick a location (like “Near You” or “Near Home”) and a category, and Yelp delivers search results, much like most GPS devices already do. But Yelp’s search results also show you the reviews of each place, right in the search results; you can click through to read individual reviews, or call the restaurant. In one tap, you can navigate straight to the restaurant.
Trip Advisor and Expedia offer similar functionalities, as well as making it easy to see things like hotel room rates. You can set the 1535 M to tweet your time of arrival, and check in when you get there; I suppose this is useful for some people, but it doesn’t do much for me. Most usefully, when you do a regular POI search, all the travel services are integrated, so you can see that there’s an Expedia listing and a bunch of Yelp reviews for the hotel without having to go into the individual applications.
In addition, the GO LIVE 1535 M supports hands-free calling through a Bluetooth connection to your phone, voice recognition, a 5-inch touch screen, and lifetime map updates. TomTom Traffic is one of the best features aboard, featured as part of TomTom’s “Traffic Manifesto,” in which the company pledged to use its technology and user data to help drivers avoid traffic jams.
The LIVE services incur an extra fee, but they’re free for 12 months to buyers of LIVE products. The TomTom GO LIVE 1535 M will be available in October, for $249.99. The new travel apps will also be available for GO LIVE 2535 M owners, through a software update.