TomTom has announced that its GPS car kit for the iPhone will be available sometime in October. The TomTom already has an app for the iPhone that provides maps and routing capabilities, along with a restaurant finder. The TomTom iPhone app lets you access addresses in your iPhone contact list and then create a map to take you there. TomTom’s IQ Routes is also included; this unique technology uses historical travel data from millions of TomTom users to calculate the optimal route based on time and date.

Although the TomTom app is already available in the iTunes app store, the car kit will be sold separately and will provide performance gains and additional functionality.

The New York Times reports that a privately held bank called USAA is planning on providing customers with an iPhone app which will allow checks to be deposited using photos of the front and back of the check. Customers will no longer have to visit an ATM or bank branch to make a deposit. Once the photos of the check have been submitted electronically, the deposit is completed and the check can be voided or destroyed. In order to avoid fraud, the bank will be limiting this service to a select group of customers.

USAA is a small bank with a single branch in San Antonio, Texas. It serves mostly military personnel who may be stationed anywhere in the world. The bank has allowed checks to be deposited by scanner for the past 3 years, so deposit by iPhone is the next logical step.  If the service is successful, it may change the way that deposits are made in many other banks.