TomTom on iPhone 3G continuing straight on?

The question of whether TomTom will be bringing its sat nav software to the iPhone 3G has taken some twists and turns over the last few days. Initial indications were that it already had the software ready to roll when the iPhone App store opens next month, but then scrutiny of Apple's SDK agreement seemed to rule out any software "marketed for real time route guidance". Bummer.

Now though, TomTom France spokesman, Yann Lafargue, has brought some clarity to the situation. Read on for more.

The good news is that he doesn't see the SDK agreement as a problem, telling the French Mac Generation site that "Apple is simply trying to protect themselves in case a customer having a problem." ie, Apple doesn't want to get sued if an iPhone tells someone to do a U-turn on the motorway.

The other good news is that TomTom has got a version of its Navigator software up and running on iPhone in the labs and, according to Lafargue, "first tests showed that it worked rather well."

The bad news (we had to get to that bit) is that it isn't actually ready for launch. "There is a whole set of things to confirm before talking about a commercial release," he said, before adding that TomTom's priority remains its dedicated in-car products. Boo!

[ Mac Generation - translated]