I got an email today I was approved as a beta tester for the new TomTom Online Route Planner Beta program. I've been looking forward to trying it out since I applied for the beta program some time ago. (Excuse me, should those read "beta programme"? ) It didn't take me 10 minutes from the time I read the email to clear out what I was doing and go online to play. route planner app
As you all have probably figured out by now, I'm more of a Garmin junkie than a TomTom fan. Not that TomTom isn't a great GPS device. I'm just used to hearing the interstate called a freeway instead of a motorway. Being primarily a European company, TomTom has been a bit slow to hire some native-born Americans to help them get the American terminology down. Having said that... TomTom continues to earn more of my respect every time I get a chance to play with a new GPS from them. They keep getting better.
I digress. What did I start out talking about? Oh yes, the new TomTom Online Route Planner Beta. Most of us who use a GPS also like to use some form of route planning software. Some of us have standalone programs like Microsoft Streets and Trips or DeLorme Street Atlas. Some prefer one of the online services like Google Maps or MapQuest. MapQuest has become so popular it's not uncommon to hear someone say, "I'll MapQuest It". Are we going to start hearing people say, "I'll TomTom it. " shortly? Well, maybe not anytime soon.
Putting the normal bugs of a beta application aside for a moment, my first impression of the TomTom Online Route Planner Beta was positive. The interface is simple and easy to follow, the map is detailed enough without being too busy, and the directions are easy to understand.
One positive point was I felt they succeeded in striking a good balance between enough information and not enough. Early versions of MapQuest pointed out every crack in the road and missing barn. Its directions were so detailed they became almost impossible to use. TomTom seems to be on the right track where that's concerned. I saw just enough information to keep me on track, but no more. The driving directions reminded me of the voice instructions you'd receive from any TomTom GPS.
Another great feature is the traffic service. Check the box to "minimise traffic delays" and it will add that to your route calculations. No, I didn't just accidentally misspell "minimize". There's that European thingy again. I had to play with it a lot to get it to find some delays worth mentioning, but they too were easy to understand.
The rumor is that TomTom plans to make this a part of their HD Connected Service which would allow you to plan your route on the TomTom Online Route Planner, and then send it directly to your connected GPS. Between this and the traffic delays feature, that puts TomTom already ahead of many of the other online route planning services.
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