~ TomTom Places will be available in more than 25 countries by the end of 2012~
AMSTERDAM — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 18, 2012 — TomTom is rapidly expanding its unique local search engine, TomTom Places. The service has recently been introduced in Sweden, Austria, Norway, Spain and Ireland and is now available in 10 countries across Europe.
TomTom Places is available online, on mobile as a free app for Android or iPhone, and integrated into TomTom navigation devices and in-dash navigation systems. Beyond the search, it lets users call or directly plan a route to the place they have found, taking into account the latest real time traffic reports from TomTom HD Traffic.
“More than 50% of all local searches are now carried out on a mobile device,” says Rogier van Egmond, VP TomTom Places. “As a result, it’s very important to us that TomTom Places is quick and easy to use on TomTom products. People ask for directions to a nearby place rather than the address and that’s exactly what TomTom Places provides them.”
In the Netherlands, TomTom has strengthened its restaurant database by a new partnership agreement with IENS Independent Index. “It is within our strategy to make our restaurant content available on all relevant mobile media. Obviously, TomTom was always high on our list of potential partners. We're thrilled that TomTom users can now easily find good restaurants while they're on the road.” said Bas Lens Marketing Manager IENS.
In addition to geographical expansion, 20 million new Points of Interest have been added to the service in the last 8 months. While there were 5.5 million POIs in October 2011, there are 26 million today.
Notes for editors
Availability
TomTom Places is currently available in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Spain and Ireland.
People can access TomTom Places online, through their TomTom satnav or in-dash navigation system, or on the free TomTom app for iPhone and Android.
The trend in using mobile phones for local search
Last year, over half of all local searches were conducted on a mobile device. This figure is taken from an article by Brady Cohen: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/columns/12706.html
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About TomTom
Founded in 1991, TomTom (AEX:TOM2) is the world’s leading supplier of in-car location and navigation products and services focused on providing all drivers with the world’s best navigation experience. Headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom has 3,500 employees and sells its products in over 40 countries.
Our products include portable navigation devices, in-dash infotainment systems, fleet management solutions, maps and real-time services, including the award winning TomTom HD Traffic.
For the world’s most up-to-date route planner, including live traffic information, go to www.tomtom.com/livetraffic
For further information, please visit www.tomtom.com
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