European portable navigation device (PND) giant TomTom said today that it is bringing its Live service to its midrange-priced PNDs with the debut of TomTom XL Live in Europe. Previously only available on the TomTom GO x40 Live series of products, the XL Live will retail for €219 for a regional version and €249 for a European version. The company further said it is extending the use of all Live services to all available countries for a monthly fee of €9.95 per month.

TomTom Live’s services include:

• TomTom High Definition Traffic, which provides real-time traffic information en route, is now available in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
• TomTom Safety Alerts, which includes real-time safety camera reporting and sharing.
• TomTom Fuel Prices: fuel price information along routes or in a specific area.
• Online Local Search with Google, which can be converted into destination with driving directions.

Is it just me, or is the Safety Alerts feature a bit of a misnomer? Sounds like it’s more of a Don’t-Get-Caught-Speeding-or-Doing-Something-Dumb Alerts service, which doesn’t really sound so safe, per se. But that’s just me. On the other hand, I like to avoid getting speeding tickets too.

Anyway, TomTom says the XL Live also features its IQ Routes technology. IQ Routes calculates the most efficient route depending on the time of the week or hour of the day a driver sets off, according to the company. It is based on data derived from years of gathering anonymous historic speed measurements. If the device’s real-time traffic information differs from what would be expected, based on historical speed profiles, the PND automatically takes this into account, TomTom says.

The TomTom XL Live includes maps of 42 European countries, and includes a free three month trial of Live Services. After this period the €9.95 per month fee kicks in, or users can select a pre-paid subscription for six months at €59.95 or a year for €99.95.

Want all that but live on the wrong side of the pond? TomTom trotted out the Go 740 Live for North America earlier this spring. The suggested retail price is $399.95, but (shameless self promotion incoming) you can find it a little cheaper at some of GPS Maniac’s shopping partners.

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