equinux ceases sales of TamTam for OS X

Equinux today announced that it is ceasing development of TamTam--its software that enables Mac compatibility with TomTom GO GPS devices--following legal threats from the manfacturer of the device. The Dutch navigation-system manufacturer TomTom has threatened to file suit against equinux should it fail to make the wanted changes in the sales and marketing of TamTam, according to equinux. The company introduced "TamTam for Mac OS X" in 2004, offering the only solution for connecting the all-in-one navigation unit from TomTom to Mac users. TamTam allowed Mac users to load maps, voices, and firmware updates as well as perform backups for their TomTom GO.

Equinux said that TomTom made several unreasonable demands, including asking the developer to change the "TamTam" name as well as the application's icon, noting that the public may mistake TamTam's feet logo with TomTom's hand logo. Lastly, TomTom said that equinux cannot use "TomTom" in its marketing efforts. The demands essentially resulted a sales-ban for TamTam, according to the software developer equinux.

"Legally, we are not overly concerned about TomTom's threats. Nevertheless, we have decided to remove TamTam from the market, meaning we will no longer promote TomTom products," says Till Schadde, CEO of equinux.

Effective immediately, equinux is halting the sale of TamTam; however, equinux said it will continue to provide support for TamTam.

equinux, located in United States and Germany, is a developer of Mac applications for professionals and consumers. VPN Tracker is specifically designed for Mac users on-the-go, wanting a secure remote connection to their office network. iSale, the Apple Design Award winning and eBay certified user-friendly application allows users to easily sell products on eBay.

The company has posted a short FAQ on its website with a few more details for owners.

Filed under: software
Other story tags: Other Applications