Last week, TomTom announced the release of their new MultiNet-R map format, which will feature real-time maps with incremental updates. Starting in 2014, updates are expected to be completed monthly instead of yearly. TomTom further promised weekly map updates starting in 2016. Sounds like quite a lofty goal, and if they manage to pull it off, it will be a heck of a boon for TomTom.
Of course, before you get too excited about the prospect, keep in mind that TomTom has promised updates like this before. In an interview with GPS Business News in 2012, TomTom promised monthly updates to their maps and “a commitment of 48 hours for key (map) features” coming in 2013. Clearly, that didn’t happen, but with the new technology, it might be a bit more likely.
According to their press release, the updates will not only happen faster but also won’t require an full map update; only the layer and parts that are changed.
