Consolidated Statements Of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 28, 2012		Dec. 30, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010
Income Statement [Abstract]
Product	$ 1,566,975		$ 1,345,876		$ 1,090,420
Service	262,889		159,095		109,185
Subscription	210,249		139,094		94,332
Total revenues	2,040,113	[1]	1,644,065	[1]	1,293,937	[1]
Product	767,526		663,868		540,705
Service	100,286		71,470		52,013
Subscription	65,847		41,949		30,818
Amortization of purchased intangible assets	60,277		37,197		24,900
Total cost of sales	993,936		814,484		648,436
Gross margin	1,046,177		829,581		645,501
Operating expense
Research and development	256,458		197,007		150,089
Sales and marketing	313,692		266,804		215,127
General and administrative	195,802		158,375		118,352
Restructuring charges	2,227		2,288		1,592
Amortization of purchased intangible assets	65,430		48,705		32,739
Total operating expense	833,609		673,179		517,899
Operating income	212,568		156,402		127,602
Non-operating income, net
Interest expense, net	(16,357)		(7,277)		(669)
Foreign currency transaction gain (loss), net	(2,526)		1,053		(836)
Income from equity method investments, net	24,727		15,349		11,795
Other income, net	11,012		1,927		3,195
Total non-operating income, net	16,856		11,052		13,485
Income before taxes	229,424		167,454		141,087
Income tax provision	39,708		18,545		37,474
Net income	189,716		148,909		103,613
Less: Net expense attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1,344)		(1,846)		(47)
Net income attributable to Trimble Navigation Ltd.	$ 191,060		$ 150,755		$ 103,660
Basic earnings per share	$ 1.52		$ 1.23		$ 0.86
Shares used in calculating basic earnings per share	125,566		122,725		120,352
Diluted earnings per share	$ 1.49		$ 1.20		$ 0.84
Shares used in calculating diluted earnings per share	128,387		126,133		123,798

[1] Revenue is attributed to countries based on the location of the customer.