If you are planning on long drives this holiday season, TomTom has a surprise for you.
The popular navigation systems developer has launched a stripped down version of their iPhone app, which now costs just half the original price.
Available at $49.99, the newly launched TomTom iPhone app has dropped coverage for Canada and only includes area inside US, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The iPhone app however continues to offer all other features like lane guidance, 2D and 3D driving views, voice navigation, etc.
The move comes at an interesting time when GPS navigation devices are feeling increasingly threatened after Google launched their free turn-by-turn navigation app with Motorola Droid and have promised to offer one for the iPhone as well. At present, the only light in the tunnel for the navigation app developers has been the prevailing deadlock between Apple and Google with respect to the approval of the latter's apps.
However, this need not be the only reason. With a credible name in the industry, TomTom's initial high price could simply be a price skimming strategy - A $99 iPhone app that does not even include any hardware costs is huge profit indeed. With the initial buzz having died down, this new verion of the iPhone app could reinvigorate the sale volumes.
TomTom has not indicated if there would be a corresponding Canada-only version of the app for Canadian users, though it would make a lot of sense if they would. The US-only version can now be downloaded from the App Store by clicking here (iTunes Link).
We would be interested to know from our readers if they see the new pricing competitive enough. Please tell us in the comments.
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