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    TomTom expands free daily map updates to all its GPS devices

    TomTom expands free daily map updates to all its GPS devices

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    TomTom has added its Map Share feature, which lets users make and share daily changes for navigation, to all its GPS devices.

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    TomTom GPS unit
    TomTom GPS unit

    TomTom, that venerable maker of dedicated GPS systems, is rolling out daily map updates across the board. Map Share is a crowdsourced program that lets users update information on blocked roads, speed limit changes, or other restrictions. Changes that users make on their own devices then get shared as daily updates elsewhere, depending on the level of permissions recipients set (so someone can have their device only accept verified updates, for example, or updates from a subset of users.) It's been available to selected systems, including the iOS app, for some time, but now it's being added to the Start, Via, and Go lines. As before, Map Share is only good if you've updated your paid TomTom map in the last twelve months.

    TomTom has adapted to the growing smartphone and tablet market in recent years, even licensing its data for use in iOS 6, but today's update affects users of more traditional standalone devices. With Apple, Google, and Microsoft all pushing their own navigation systems pretty aggressively, we wonder how many such customers will still exist by the end of the year.