Tomtom or GPS Software on iPhone 3G

Exactly.

An no TomTom has a digital compass (or any other compass) so it seems highly unlikely that TomTom would require a compass for the iphone.

If they have not released their software it is probably because they can't make it work correctly on the iPhone processor within the constraints imposed on Apps by Apple.

TomToms and Garmins all rely on stored maps. These are huge. Well over a Gig for North America. Can the Apple ARM processor dig thru that much data at the speed necessary, while handing everything else it does? I suspect it could, since the iPhone uses a 620MHz ARM processor and the Tomtom uses 400 MHz max.

However, the TomTom has its own operating system and on the iPhone they would have to live within Apple's.

If TomTom hasn't released it, you can bet they don't believe they could make money doing so. It would kill there sales of PNDs and cause a huge tech support backload.

There also is the issue of it running in the background, since the iPhone has other primary functions. The GPS location services, which any navigation app has to use, does run in the background, but he app itself can't per OS rules. Theoretically, it could utilize push notification (when or if it is ever implemented). However, this involves a significant delay which could interfere with "turn now" alerts and makes the app dependent on network availability - something that TomTom may not like.

My guess is that any turn by turn app would require both preloaded maps and background capability to work properly.

gilesjuk wrote:
Rubbish, I've done GPS on a crummy HTC Typhoon with a 200MHz OMAP processor.

The iPhone has a power VR 3D processor and OpenGL ES, it's better equipped than a Tomtom unit is.

Totally agree, all this talk about iPhone not having processing capability is a total rubbish. I've done GPS on a crummy Treo 680 attached to a Globalsat Bluetooth GPS. Treo had TomTom software and US maps (all same as in TomTom standalone units) loaded on a 2GB SD card. Screen, processor and memory wise old Treo doesn't hold a candle to iPhone and still TomTom was perfectly usable as a nav system with spoken directions.

The iPhone has a power VR 3D processor

Show me where...

http://techrepublic.com.com/2347-13636_11-210341-210674.html?seq=50
That chip with the apple logo, what does that say... ARM.

Of course it does, we're talking about the GPU not the CPU.

Anyone that hasn't been living under a rock would know that ARMs are pretty much the standard for mobile devices.

Here's where the PowerVR is mentioned, you think an iPhone would support OpenGL ES without any 3D hardware acceleration?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerVR#MBX

"With KYRO 3 (2D/3D AIB) products shelved due to STMicro closing its graphics division, PowerVR concentrated on the portable market with its next design <snip> and in use in many high-end cellphones including the Apple iPhone, Nokia N95, Sony Ericsson P1, and Motorola RIZR Z8."