Holy crap! How did we miss this? If you pity the fool who does the regular Aussie Ken voiceover for your TomTom device, you can kill his jibber-jabber by downloading a suitable replacement - Mr. T.

In his own words: "When you ride with Mr. T, Mr. T gonna get you there in one piece". He also mentions that he'll get your kids acting right and you'll arrive at your destination safely, "or else". And when Mr. T says "or else", Mr. T means it.

You can pick up Mr. T's TomTom voiceover for $16.95 on the TomTom website. If you own a TomTom, you owe it to yourself to buy this.

[TomTom]

Satnavs have been fairly stagnant feature-wise since the SUNA traffic channel launched in Australia - each company has their own version of the same thing, so ultimately it comes down to a UI or design choice on the part of the consumer. But the new Go 730 and 930 from TomTom looks to change that with their iQ Routes technology.

Essentially, it analyses every possible route and works out the fastest trip, not necessarily the shortest, depending on speed limits, roundabouts, traffic lights and other stuff that will slow you down. Then it will recommend which route will take the least amount of time.

In addition to this new tech, both the 730 and the 930 let you enter your destination address by voice - simply say where you want to go, rather than keying in the details. The 930 stands apart thanks to the inclusion of world mapping (meaning you don't need to pay extra for maps on your driving trip around New Zealand (or Ireland, Europe, the US etc.) and a Bluetooth remote control.

Both models will be hitting shops in November, with the 730 costing $549 and the 930 going for $849. Or, if you want traffic straight out of the box, you can get a version of each for an extra $100.

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While I understand why people would want their GPS navigators to give them directions in the voice of KITT or Mr. T, I have no idea who in their right mind would want Kim Cattrall (the old one) from Sex in the City telling them where to go whenever they drive. Not only will her voice remind you of that horrible show every time you need to make a turn, but it'll throw in annoying non sequiturs like "This is the city, darling. Anything goes" or "Don't touch my Manolos" at random times for added irritation. Why, oh god can anyone tell me why? Hit the jump for the full release, if you must.

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A "leak" at a UK online retailer's site reveals a whole bunch of info on TomTom's Go 940 Live GPS system: it looks like the system comes with a GPRS unit to give it live traffic and fuel-price info and the ability to Google search. Yep, alongside the IQ routing and intelligent lane advice that the Go 930 and the new Pro units have is a TomTom HD Traffic unit using GPRS to garner local traffic info, weather conditions, and lets you Google for whatever info you might need on the road. That traffic info is gathered "via anonymous mobile phone monitoring," but whether its these units that do the uploading, or a different system, is unclear. The unit's available on pre-order in the UK for around US$800, with the Live service likely to cost US$10-US$15 per month, but there's no data on when it'll hit the US. [Handtec.co.uk via GPSLodge Thanks, Jay!]

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Tomtom has just come up with a suite of GPS systems for the "mobile workforce" dubbed the Pro series. The first units are the Pro 4000 and Pro 8000, and while the hardware is essentially unchanged from non-Pro models, there are a few tweaks. Firstly the software has a "menu lock" option, that's supposed to lower distractions and improve driving safety, the maps come with a free update that's to be used within a year, and there's a PIN lock to protect your data. Secondly the support package comes with a two-year extended warranty and a dedicated customer service line. The 8000 also has advanced IQ navigation, which plans routes using actual average drive times, and voice address-input and Bluetooth handsfree calling. The 4000 is out for US$330 and the 8000 for US$460. [Navigadget]

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I'm not entirely sure how I missed this the other week - maybe I was sleeping - but TomTom have launched their MapShare function in their Australian satnav products. For those not aware, MapShare lets you update your maps on the fly - incredibly useful if there's a road closure or a roundabout has been replaced with a set of lights - and then share your updated maps with other MapShare users through the TomTom Home software. TomTom actively checks and validates MapShare updates before they're pushed down to other users, and the information is shared with Sensis for the next iteration of their mapping software. Since it was launched in July 2007 in Europe and July, over 1.5 million changes have been verified by TomTom. Sort of makes you think that mapping software companies are falling behind the 8-ball. But the best part of this is that you can change any aspect of your map for your own pleasure - for example, changing "George Street Sydney" to "Gizmodo Road Sydney" or the "Pacific Highway" to "Nick Owns This Highway". It will never be approved for other users, but hey, who cares? I'd buy a TomTom just to be told that I own the road - wouldn't you?

In an interview with TomTom spokesperson Yann Lafargue, French site Mac Generation hit on a few interesting tidbits about 3rd party navigation software on the iPhone. During the interview, Lafargue confirmed that there was a version of TomTom software running on the iPhone but he does not know if they will ever actually ship the product. You would think that the major reason for not shipping would be the clause in the SDK agreement that states "applications may not be designed or marketed for real time route guidance," but Lafargue insisted that is not a problem.

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Welcome to special edition of Giz Explains: Following yesterday's rundown of the stuff you didn't already know about iPhone's 3G goods, today we're tackling its finding-a-Waffle House-at-4am-in-strange-places GPS powers. Why's the GPS gotta be assisted? Is it crippled? The answers to those q's and more.

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It looks like hopes for a more robust GPS app for the iPhone 3G, with say, voice turn-by-turn navigation--or just a different way of doing things--might be well and dashed. The SDK agreement has a curious little clause that would seem to ban TomTom (or anyone else) from working their GPS magic:

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If you were one of people who was all about GPS on the iPhone, you will be glad to hear that Tom Tom already has a version of their navigation software running on the device. Unfortunately, no other details regarding a release date, features or pricing have been released--but it stands a good chance of being the first, truly powerful GPS navigator for the iPhone-- if they can beat Telenav to the punch that is. We have heard that they are also hard at work on their own version. [Reuters]

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