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TomTom hasn't revealed an exact release date for its GPS navigation app for Android, but it did use Berlin's IFA exhibition to preview the forthcoming product.

Scheduled for release in October, TomTom's Android app will feature onboard maps to avoid the need for a mobile signal or a data plan.

This is becoming increasingly common - even the Android version of Google Maps allows maps of selected areas to be downloaded to the smartphone or tablet to ensure navigation is possible in the absence of connectivity.

We don't know how much the app will cost, but TomTom officials said the price will include 'lifetime' map updates.

(Just make sure that mobile data is switched off when you're taking advantage of international roaming - an automatic over-the-air update could prove very costly.)

Other features of the app include advance lane guidance, spoken street names, the choice of 2D and 3D representations, and TomTom's 'IQ Routes' that the company says provides reliable journey times regardless of the time of day.

Optional extras (via in-app purchase) include fixed and mobile speed camera alerts, and 'HD Traffic' (live traffic information).

"We want to make TomTom content and services available to as many devices and platforms as we can," says Chris Kearney, vice president at TomTom Asia Pacific.

"Bringing TomTom navigation to Android smartphones is, therefore, a significant milestone for us."

TomTom recently updated its iOS navigation app, which costs $74.99.

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Stephen Withers

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Stephen Withers is one of Australia¹s most experienced IT journalists, having begun his career in the days of 8-bit 'microcomputers'. He covers the gamut from gadgets to enterprise systems. In previous lives he has been an academic, a systems programmer, an IT support manager, and an online services manager. Stephen holds an honours degree in Management Sciences, a PhD in Industrial and Business Studies, and is a senior member of the Australian Computer Society.

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