Frost & Sullivan has selected TomTom NV’s TomTom GO portable navigation systems as its 2006 automotive telematics and infotainment product of the year.

Frost & Sullivan research analyst Shyamsundar Anandhan said that more than 1.5 million GO units have been sold since 2004, when the product line was launched. The products have a better than 50% share of the European market. “Initially, despite the increased need for navigation, the prohibitively high cost of embedded systems dampened penetration rates,” Anandhan noted, adding that the GO products are priced at one-third the cost of embedded systems.

Automakers are adopting the product, however, with a customized TomTom GO 500 factory installed on the Toyota AYGO. Opel partnered with TomTom to create a special edition Corsa.