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Why I Prefer TomTom Over Garmin

I think TomTom knows that the PND is fast becoming a low margin commodity and has begun to focus on revenue producing services that they own and manage themselves.

TomTom has several revenue producing services in the works in addition to TeleAtlas and they work together to lower overall costs or increase value.

HD Traffic which is just getting started in Europe will cover Europe and the US in two years and will allow further mapping enhancements as TomTom will know where new roads are based on probe feedback. HD Traffic is also a revenue producer not only from TomTom users but from sales of the traffic service to other GPS makers and websites through TomTom Mobility solutions.

TomTom Work is another service that is sold to service providers and fleets. Each Work unit also becomes a probe for HD Traffic and adds to TeleAtlas data.

TomTom's free Mapshare feature is also a bonus for TeleAtlas data and along with the other services it corrects and adds to TeleAtlas maps.

Historical traffic info is also gleamed from all of these and added to TeleAtlas data for IQ Routes.

All of this allows TomTom to have some additional revenue streams and be the first to market with innovative products that will garner higher margins.