TomTom local search available on PNDs & smartphones

Official press release
TomTom announces that their local search service TomTom Places will be made available on its portable navigation devices (PNDs), iPhone, and smartphones running on Android. 

TomTom Places combines our business listing and enhanced POI database with our map database. By linking business address information with map geocoding information the result is relevant business categorisation.

This means people can find what they are looking for in the listings and find these locations in the real world. Examples are hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, cash machines, medical support and auto mechanics.

Lucien Groenhuijzen, Managing Director of TomTom Places says: "Local search is key to providing relevant information about places for people so that they can navigate freely to wherever they want to go. We give people more freedom to discover and enjoy new places along the way, using platforms which encourage a seamless navigation journey from the home via the internet, to in-car devices and on foot using their smartphone."

TomTom Places aims to connect the location of the business with the searcher. Businesses will be able to enhance their own listing information and measure the conversion rate.

The free add-ons will be available as standard on new connected portable navigation devices and for download onto existing connected portable navigation devices and iPhone's in the summer. The Android application will be made available later in the year. Initial plans cover Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Portugal, followed by a progressive roll out to other countries covered by our LIVE Services.

The website with multi-language search support is available now. Languages currently supported are English, Dutch, German, French, Danish and Portuguese.

The Android application will function as a search engine and will display a route description to the destination via the same TomTom map as used by the online route planner. It will not function as a turn by turn navigation application.