science

TomTom

TomTom is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand TomTom rather than just read about it. In short: TomTom N.V. is a Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom released its first generation of satellite navigation devices to market in 2004.

Key takeaways

TomTom belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect TomTom to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of TomTom from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

TomTom N.V. is a Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom released its first generation of satellite navigation devices to market in 2004. As of 2019, the company has over 4,500 employees worldwide and operations in 29 countries throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas.

History The company was founded in Amsterdam in 1991 as Palmtop Software, by Corinne Vigreux, Peter-Frans Pauwels and Pieter Geelen. The company focused on corporate handheld device software before focusing on the consumer market and releasing the first route planning software for mobile devices in 1996. Software was developed mainly for Psion devices and the company was one of the largest developers of Psion software in the late 1990s. Palmtop also worked with Psion in the development of EPOC32. Software was also developed for Palm and Windows CE devices. In 1999, Vigreux's husband, Harold Goddijn left Psion Netherlands, for which TomTom made software and where Vigreux was previously sales director, to join TomTom. He had previously invested in TomTom. In 2001, the company's brand name changed to TomTom, while its legal name was also changed by 2003. On 27 May 2005, TomTom listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, valuing the company at nearly €50 million. In September 2005, TomTom acquired Datafactory AG, a telematics service provider based in Leipzig. Datafactory AG employed around 30 people and realized a turnover of approximately €5 million in 2004 and a small net profit. In January 2006, TomTom acquired the UK company Applied Generics, forming TomTom Traffic. In 2008, TomTom acquired Tele Atlas, a digital map maker, for €2.9 billion. In 2010, they produced an advert saying You are not stuck in traffic. You are traffic. A photograph of this was widely circulated on the internet. It became a meme, often with different images and sometimes reworded slightly. On 11 June 2012, at an event for Apple's iOS 6 preview, TomTom was announced as the main mapping data provider for Apple's revamped iOS 6 "Maps" app, replacing Google Maps. In 2014, TomTom partnered with Volkswagen Group for joint research on Highly Automated Driving (HAD) systems. TomTom signed deals to provide its navigation devices to several carmakers including Volkswagen Group, Daimler, Toyota and others. In late 2015, TomTom extended its deal with Apple and signed a new contract with Uber, in which the Uber driver app uses TomTom maps and traffic data in 300 cities worldwide. In May 2018, TomTom launched new a portable navigation device, the TomTom Go Camper to cater to the requirements of caravan and motorhome users. In January 2018, the company faced criticism for announcing that it would no longer be providing map updates for some devices. It also said that "lifetime" meant the "useful life" of a device. In 2020, the company signed a deal with Chinese manufacturer Huawei to use TomTom's map data in Petal Maps, a replacement service to Google Maps for the company's smartphones. In June 2025, TomTom announced plans to eliminate around 300 positions (roughly 8–10%) of its global workforce as part of a strategic reorganization to “realign its organisation and embrace artificial intelligence”. The layoffs impacted roles in the application layer, sales, and support divisions. At the time, the company employed approximately 3,600 people worldwide.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with TomTom

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what TomTom claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to TomTom before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about TomTom ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of TomTom

In research: TomTom appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses TomTom in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: TomTom is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Auto parts suppliers of the Netherlands, Automotive electronics, Automotive navigation systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for TomTom outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study TomTom in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what TomTom means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain TomTom out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is TomTom in simple terms?

Why does TomTom matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study TomTom?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on TomTom.