Wow, this is a crap deal. How disappointing. Bad form, guys. I hope someone sees the market opportunity and steals your cake.
Agreed. I've heard licensing the map data represents a healthy chunk of the cost so I doubt you'd ever see a competitor sell just the app for less than $50. Still, you've hit the head on the nail that this is TomTom trying to compete with the iPhone instead of complement it.
Voice navigation is not in Google Maps. Also, I think many (but perhaps not most) would argue that it has better algorithms for determining the route to take. It also doesn't rely on having an Internet connection, since you're downloading the entire map with TomTom, so it would work even out in the boonies.
Yes, all of this. Also, apparently the GPS chip inside the iPhone isn't "good enough" to do turn-by-turn navigation, so the cradle that TomTom sells has a chip inside it that is better suited. Now, this might be a big fat lie, since the app will work without the cradle albeit not as well if the marketing literature is to be believed.
"When the going gets tough, the tough get empirical." -- Jon Carroll
