I think we all knew that - if it could change the geometry, then we never need to buy another map from TomTom - the community as a whole could keep updating the maps.
Actually, what I (and most everyone else, including professional reviewers) got out of the initial reviews, press releases, ads, and general marketing on the product was that it would update the map geometry, but that there would be time limits for it (just like their is now with their weak implementation of Map Share). For example, you would receive map updates (real ones -- like POIs, road names, blockages, new streets, etc.) for a year from the date that you signed up for Map Share, and then after that you could continue downloading the existing changes (like if you reset your TomTom), but to get any future changes you would need to buy a new map, which included all the old changes.
This is what they're doing, but just with POI's, road blockages, and traffic direction changes. Had I known that, I wouldn't have upgraded to the v7 maps since the v7 maps and v6 maps are basically identical except that you can use Map Share with the v7 maps. Most major road changes or additions only come with every other map update, unless you're in a major city.
This got me thinking the other day - a new road was extended in my area to connect to another road. I reported it to tomtom using mapshare. It was so darn easy to connect the end of the road to the other road by using the touch screen. I mean really, how hard would it be to program the map to make the new change and at least show it on my tomtom? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
There is navigation software that does this -- DeLorme StreetAtlas 2008 allows you to draw in new roads and road changes on your PC in an automated fashion with an end result that looks just like the professionally produced maps, and then transfer these files to their all-in-one handheld GPS or your PocketPC/Palm PDA. Their maps are excellent, very updated, and they have 150 million POI's with accurate addresses and phone numbers. Their customer support is practically instantaneous via their forums (which paid employees monitor). Unfortunately, their routing on handheld devices is dog slow, or that's what I'd be using right now on my Palm PDA and would've never bought a GO device. However, their routing on PC is very quick and accurate, so I'm tempted to buy a UMPC, a $40 GPS receiver, and the $39 DeLorme software and just call it a day on navigation systems. Trust me, I can find other uses for the UMPC enough to justify the cost (which isn't that much higher the best GO device, which doesn't provide anywhere near the functionality).
It seems to me tomtom is more concerned about how to keep the revenue flowing in by selling "updated" maps. I'll be keenly interested to see if my reported update makes it to the new map versions.
/rant
DeLorme does it and for just $39 you get an entire upgrade -- software, features, POIs, and maps. They typically put out a full update every year. There's absolutely no reason for TomTom's map updates to cost $70+. And Map Share is just a misleading marketing scam that has done nothing but disappoint (and frustrate) the vast majority of TomTom's customers.
They need to either have Map Share start updating the maps, or they just need to let it quietly go away. In its current form, it's pretty much worthless to the customers, but TomTom sure is getting the benefit of us reporting map errors that they then turn around and make us buy via map upgrades for us to have it on our devices.
