TomTom does great satnavs. Everybody knows that. Any product that has the ability to get John Cleese to tell me where to go gets bonus points in my book.
But what really sets TomTom apart from the other satnav manufacturers is TomTom Home, their PC suite of software that lets you plan your trips in advance, manage your points of interest and upload not just John Cleese to your GPS device, but a whole raft of other funny voices as well.
Well, TomTom Home just got a major upgrade, turning it into a user-generated content utopia. It now works on both Mac and PC, and offers the freedom to change your welcome image, upload your own points of interests as well as download other users POIs and rate other people’s content.
But what makes this really exciting is that you can create your own map and overlay it onto the map in your satnav. This could be anything from a walking route to a scenic drive you enjoy. It could also possibly be used to rectify any mistakes in the WhereIs mapping, a feature that is already available in the European version of the Home software.
And if you’re thinking that your wallet is about to be in for a pounding, you can rest easy – the service won’t actually cost you a cent. Well, user-generated content won’t cost you. I’m sure they won’t stop charging for Mr Cleese’s witty commentary on your driving abilities.