Short Version 21994 The price says it all The TomTom Car Kit is great it works perfectly and I loved using it In fact I wish I could keep the review unit that TomTom sent me That said would I ever spend 2 bills and change on it Mayyyybe but its unlikely A standalone TomTom GPS unit can be as cheap as 100 which is twice the price of the TomTom Car Kit 11995 TomTom GPS App 9999 for the iPhone its hard to justify buying both the hardware and the software when there are cheaper options for both more on that later Of course the product does serve multiple purposes as an incar iPhone charger Bluetooth and GPS unit All in all I was fairly impressed with the device and think those that arent turned off by the price might consider its purchase The convenience of an allinone device is compelling Hit the jump to read on Slightly Less Short Version The TomTom Car Kit as previously a blast to use Super easy to install I simply stuck the kit onto the dash plugged the car charger into the cigarette lighter and popped in my iPhone The first time around you have to pair the TomToms Bluetooth signal with your iPhone but after that it connects whenever you plug the iPhone into the kit Then I fired up the TomTom GPS application on my iPhone and it was just like any other TomTom GPS You type in your destination and it provides directions The directions were extremely accurate and the TomTom kit corrected any problems with the iPhone GPS On the iPhone if Im on a road parallel to another eg driving on a highway and theres a sideroad right next to it the GPS will go all over the place one second Ill be on the highway the next Ill be on the sideroad That problem was completely eliminated once I started using the TomTom kit Moreover the TomTom kit was quick todetermine what direction I was going which was another problem with the iPhones GPS system Finally I didnt ever drop the signal of the GPS I was pleasantly surprised that even if I was in a dead zone the GPS signal was rocksolid Overall the TomTom kit served extremely well as a GPS On top of the GPS features of the TomTom Car Kit it was great as an allinone car kit for your iPhone It charges your phone at a decent rate so youll never run out of battery The Bluetooth is very valuable its not quite as loud as I would have liked but its way better than the iPhones abysmal speakers and provides a great handsfree calling option The Car Kits suction cup sticks to the windshield extremely well which is nice because you probably dont want your precious iPhone to come crashing down while youre driving along the highway Why the TomTom Car Kit Probably Isnt Worth It Ultimately though the factthat the kit worked is only part of the puzzle The other major decision point for me was if I thought it was an overall good buy and if I was satisfied with its value proposition visavis other options for navigating with your iPhone Here are three reasons why Im fairly uncertain as to whether Id ever buy the TomTom GPS Kit for the iPhone First Google Maps Navigation When Google announced that their maps product for Android OS 20 was going to be completely free and provide navigation to all it spelled the end of forpay GPS It is only a matter of time before this comes out for the iPhone absolutely free and when it does there would be no reason to buy the TomTom GPS or any others for that matter Second the current Google Maps software is sometimes a better option than a iPhone solution I dont understand why GPS companies are so dumb Google Maps has been out for years yet search onthe GPS devices still sucks In fact its so bad that I am sometimes too lazy to use the TomTom device because of all the buttons I have to press to enter my final location There are three simple reasons First TomToms search is awful It doesnt have nearly as many cached locations as Google InNOut Burger in Fremont CA yielded zero results Searching for categories grocery or restaurant is unusable And I cant do specific searches such as chinese food or movie theater Second I have to type in the address Instead of 43349 Pacific Commons Blvd Fremont CA I have to type in CA Fremont Pacific Commons Blvd 43349 Last but not least I cant cut and paste in an address So if I use Googles far superior search I cant simply cut and paste the address from Google into TomTom Instead I have to memorize the address and plug it in Handsdown Google Maps is easier to use for finding locations than TomTom The third reason Im uncertain about the TomTom GPS Unit is that the price is way too high If a GPS unit costs 80150 for both the hardware and the software bundled together why the hell would I pay more than 200 for ONLY half the hardware and the software Thems crack prices Seriously it is ridiculous my iPhone is far more powerful than any TomTom hardware is and all I need on top of that is a and an improved GPS signal The Bottom Line If youve got cash to burn and like the convenience of the iPhone as a true allinone device then go ahead and buy the TomTom Car Kit It is great as a Bluetooth and the GPS actually works unlike the iPhones native GPS which is shoddy If youre however Id stay away Be patient wait until Google Maps Navigation comes out and then buy a 3050 so you can talk in the car