Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal let it be known that TomTom was going to open up an API for third-party developers. Yesterday, Pocket-Lint gave us more details, including the news that TomTom would develop its own app store, possibly by years end.
This is all made possible by the WebKit-based operating system powering the new TomTom GO LIVE 1000, which was announced for Europe the other day. The WebKit foundation should make it easier for developers to port apps to multiple platforms.
And it will be developers who will make the TomTom app store succeed or fail, in more ways than one. I can foresee quite a few bad apps that offer nothing but added distraction in an environment where we’re already unfocused enough. But there are also plenty of opportunities for intelligent apps that provide exactly what you need, when you need it, delivered in a safe manner. Theoretically, we should also see more user-customization options, like the much (geek-) loved geo-RSS feeds used with the Dash Express.
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apps for a TomTom?
That is almost as weird as that graphic with 2 red hands – perhaps symbolizing that way TomTom apps ruin your GPS
I don’t believe they’ve stated they are definitely opening an app store, but instead indicating they’re looking at it. It may come to pass, but they’ve left themselves an out if it doesn’t.