Jamie Condliffe - 

TomTom was already a big player in digital mapping, and then it went and signed up to work with Apple on the new iOS maps app. Good news, then, for anyone who uses a TomTom provided service: their maps are soon set to update every single day, for free.

TomTom, you see, has a dedicated pool of users who share information about road changes and closures with the compnay, which allows them to keep their maps updated on a daily basis. The same’s also true for short-term incidents, like repair works or burst pipes on a trunk road.

Such frequent updates have in the past been a premium product for TomTom, but it has now announced that it plans to share the data across each and every portable device which uses its navigation systems. Presumably, that includes iOS devices, too. TomTom’s Managing Director explains:

“Roads change all the time. Overnight, roads can close or traffic can be diverted, having a big impact on people’s journey times. With Map Share, drivers can update their own map themselves straightaway. Plus, we have an active community of drivers who share around 250,000 road changes with TomTom and each other every month. We are pleased to expand our community, because the more people who use Map Share the greater the navigation experience for all our customers.”

The system has already started rolling out, and will continue to do so until all devices offer the feature. [PocketLint]