Apple Teams Up With TomTom On iPhone Sat Nav

TomTom and Apple announced a specially designed car kit for the iPhone, combining two TomTom products, at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on 8 June.

The first product, the TomTom navigation application for iPhone, includes TomTom navigation software such as IQ Routes and maps; the second, TomTom car kit for iPhone, features “secure docking, enhanced GPS performance, clear voice instructions, hands-free calling and in-car charging,” according to a statement released by TomTom. Both will be released at an unannounced point this summer.

The TomTom navigation application for iPhone will be available for download from Apple’s App Store.

Both Apple and TomTom consider Microsoft something of a rival. In March 2009, TomTom filed a countersuit against Microsoft for patent infringement, arguing that the software giant’s Streets and Trips program violated four TomTom patents. Microsoft had sued TomTom in February for allegedly infringing on eight of its patents, including three centered on FAT, or Microsoft’s file-allocation-table technology.

Apple has made a number of high-profile announcements at the WWDC, although those awaiting an appearance by CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs, who has been on leave of absence due to health issues, were likely disappointed by his no-show.

Instead, the 2,500 MacOS X and iPhone developers, and 800 analysts and media types, had to console themselves with the expanded capabilities of the new iPhone 3G S (the “S” stands for “speed”), new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air systems, Safari 4, and the MacOS X Snow Leopard operating system.

The iPhone 3G S, loaded with the new iPhone OS 3.0, will have several new features when it rolls out on June 19. Priced at $199 for the 16GB edition, and $299 for the 32GB, it includes improved maps, video capture, a cut-copy-paste tool, new push notifications, hardware encryption, and longer battery life.

In addition, Apple has priced its iPhone 3G at a reduced $99 (£60).

Apple also used the WWDC to launch Safari 4, the newest version of its Web browser, loaded with features and tools designed to help it compete more aggressively against Microsoft, Google, Opera and other companies in the browser space. New features include Cover Flow, which allows users to flip through “previews” of Web sites, and Full History Search, which makes the user’s full Web site history searchable.