Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review
Navigon scores with MobileNavigator
While many have been waiting for the TomTom hardware/software combo for the iPhone, Navigon has delivered a very appealing app for the iPhone running version 3.0 of the OS.MobileNavigator [App Store] has a striking on-screen display, with many features lacking in some of the other products that are out there. Unlike the AT&T Navigator and the G-Map apps, MobileNavigator allows you to access your address book for destinations. It works in landscape or portrait mode, and can warn you if you are speeding. It does not have any traffic info, and you can't call any phone numbers that are in the POI (points of interest) data base. A take me home function is done with a single click.
All the maps are loaded on your device (1.29 GB) so going out of range of an AT&T cell site is not a worry. If you get a call, the guidance stops, but resumes automatically when you conclude the call.
Maps can be 3D or 2D, and the 3D maps look great and closely mimic what is on the road in front of you. The voice directions are quite clear, in contrast with the AT&T app, which is garbled and pretty much a waste.
So how is it on the road? Pretty nice. I got a quick GPS lock. If for any reason you lose GPS, in a tunnel for example, you get a red bar across the top of the screen.
You can display POIs along your route, and many of the icons have company logos like Best Buy, most of the gas station logos, even Quiznos.
If you are navigating the next street to turn on is at the bottom of the screen. If you are not navigating, you see the street you are on. At the top of the screen you get the arrival time if you are navigating. Touching that part of the display will give you your speed, and another touch gives you the distance. Many streets alert you to the speed limit, and if you go go over, you can set a warning.
Intersections on highways are handled very well, with nice big road signs and clear directions of where to go. The voice directions come at the opportune times, and do not nag, the way the AT&T app does.
At my location, southern Arizona, the maps were complete and there were far more POIs than provided on the G-Map application.
Here are some of the negatives:
While the software gives both a day and night view, it is not automatic. It would be nice for the app to figure out approximate local sunset and sunrise, and adjust the display accordingly.
The time estimates vary wildly in accuracy. I suspect that they are based on a simple calculation of distance and the speed limit. If you are stopped at a long light, or are stuck in bad traffic, the time estimates do not seem to update.
If you are in 3D mode, the only way to zoom in or out of the map is to go to 2D mode and use the usual iPhone finger pinch or stretch. That seems nuts. I should be able to zoom a map in any mode.
You can't call a POI phone number as none are listed, but that is being fixed in an update.
Using the contacts in the iPhone address book is a bit of a train wreck. It works fine on some addresses, but on many it simply fails for inexplicable reasons. I have a friend who is on Valley View in Las Vegas. It's an old address, yet the Navigon software suggested dozens of streets that had absolutely no relation to where I was trying to go. I'm sure this can be fixed, but clearly address book access is something the other nav products don't have, so it would be nice if this one worked more consistently. Check in the gallery of images to see how Navigon interpreted my request.
The MobileNavigator is feature rich, and while there is an FAQ on the Navigon website, a PDF or built in help screen would be more appropriate.
So what should a person do who wants turn by turn nav today? At this point, the TomTom is not yet released. The AT&T app works fine, but has an unintelligible voice, and is a monthly fee. The G-Map app is a bit rough, and is very weak in POI count. If you get both the east and west coast version of G-Map, it costs the same as the Navigon.
Knowing that more things are coming, and there is always the free built-in Google Map app (no turn by turn voice). There's also Mapquest, and we've heard rumors of "very competitive" features coming in an update. If I had to choose today I would go with the Navigon knowing that an update is coming soon and already detailed. Navigon has been in the GPS game for a long time, and has a great track record. The Navteq maps are solid, and are current. If I had the AT&T app, which is paid for month to month, I'd think seriously about switching to the Navigon app. It's selling for 69.99 until August 15 when it goes to $100.00. At that price, it gets closer to standalone navigators, but you are carrying another device.
The Navigon MobileNavigator also includes all of Canada, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico which is a nice bonus if you need it. For today, with what is available now, the Navigon is the way to go. I don't have any hesitation about using it for long or short trips. I'd like to see traffic info and gas prices added, but those will require a data connection. With a few tweaks and fixes, the Navigon goes a long way toward keeping the promise of having a full featured turn by turn navigator on my iPhone.
Check the gallery of screen shots:
Gallery: Navigon MobileNavigator
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Beanie said 12:44AM on 7-25-2009
Thanks for the review!
How does it handle when you are listening to iPod music? Does the voice interrupt or does it talk over the music?
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u07ch said 7:27AM on 7-25-2009
In the original version the instructions come out over music; in the new european version they released yesterday it drops the volume. They also added speed camera notifications and the articles mentioned call a POI feature.
If you have an fm transmitter or similar car hook up it works really well.
Skeuomorph said 7:19PM on 7-26-2009
Just purchased a "Griffin WindowSeat" windshield mount and a "TransDock micro" charger/fm transmitter for this today.
She talks at the same time as the music.
The GPS software has its own volume control which makes it like a mixer. I left it on max, and she talks louder than the music, which is perfect. (I would not want the music volume changing all the time.)
Ken M said 1:15AM on 7-25-2009
Can this software be installed on multiple iPhones (i.e. can both my wife and I install the software on our iPhones), or do we need to purchase two copies in order to do so?
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Galley said 5:13AM on 7-25-2009
From what I have read, yes you can share it between iPhones on the same account.
BeyondtheTech said 7:12AM on 7-25-2009
Yes, iTunes purchases can be shared between authorized devices. I don't think this is the case with AT&T's TeleNav, since it's a monthly charge, and it's likely tied to one device for authentication. That knocks it out of the race for me, since I have 4 iPhone devices in my family and I'm not about to spend $40 a month per device for GPS navigation.
nsi said 1:42AM on 7-25-2009
I really don't understand the amount of attention Navigon gets. I found it incredibly mediocre. I've purchased too many nav apps from the App Store and the only one worth any money is Sygic Mobile Maps (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=321334290&mt=8). G-Maps is a joke as far as I'm concerned and I'm sorry I spent $20 on it as well.
Navigon has horrible faults: the interface is not car friendly, and tries too hard to mimic the iPhone's native interface. I know we're not supposed to operate a GPS while driving but sometimes you just have to. You need big, simple, easy to access buttons like a normal, proper GPS unit has. With Navigon you have to click a tiny area to get more tiny buttons.
Probably more serious is the lack for any sensical re-routing (alternate routes, avoid part of the route, avoid next n miles, travel via x route, etc.). It is absurd for anything calling itself a "turn by turn gps nav" to not have these features that are by now basic.
The only things I will give Nqavigon is the smoothness of the display, and the POI database is probably the best out of the three apps. Everything else Sygic does better, but somehow, no one is paying attention to it.
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ranova said 11:45AM on 7-25-2009
what? sygic interface better? Have you not tried the god awful keyboard in sygic?
Top 5 iPhone App design mistakes:
http://www.akomarov.com/top_5_iphone_design_mistakes/
#5: overblown\changed interface
Its better to keep the iPhone interface somewhat integrated.
Navigon is great, it just needs TTS and traffic!
nsi said 4:32PM on 7-26-2009
Using the wrong keyboard is a decidedly minor problem (and yes, I agree it is weird). Lacking re-routing options and having a dumb, inappropriate interface are catastrophic flaws.
If Navigon had designed the iPod app's UI you would be navigating down three button levels to jump the next song. Sticking to iPhone UI practices doesn't mean it has to be badly done.
Tozzo said 2:34AM on 7-25-2009
Agree with nsi - I've tried both Navigon and Sygic and found Sygic much more intuative with better functionality. One thing I'm missing in both is the traffic information...
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Jon said 5:32PM on 7-25-2009
I tried Sygic, but it's just downright awful in my opinion. I am used to a Garmin though (Until it was stolen from my car), so maybe my expectations were high? I was driving on a regular street in Vermont as I approached the interstate, and yet it's instructions were to "turn right".. Very confusing.. There was a street JUST before the interstate ramp, so was I turn on to that? No, it wanted me to go on the internet. Would have been more useful if it said "Take ramp on right" or better yet "Take ramp on right to I-189"
But hey, what do you expect for $80.. Oh wait, a LOT more!
CaptCaveman said 3:33AM on 7-25-2009
I've not had a chance to take Navigon for a test drive yet. But I can say that what I've seen so far I'm not impressed.
First off, no option to turn off U-turns. The ATT app loves to have you make U-turns. Personally, I hate making U-turns.
Next, it couldn't find the address for my house. Well, actually it doesn't recognize my street with the street name. Only the generic county name. I happen to know what number the county gave to the road only because I live on the road. Everyone else (including the post office) calls it by name, county road number.
The POI seems a bit on the weak side. For some reason when I test POI on nav devices I use a major store. Best Buy, Pizza Hut, etc. Something that it should have a ton of listings for. Then I go for the more obscure businesses in the area. It simply didn't have a listing for Best Buy. Its just not there.
Perhaps this will make up for everything with outstanding routing. But from what I've been reading lately this will only happen if it has faith in the iPhones GPS which it seems to be having a hard time finding on some devices.
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Skeuomorph said 7:25PM on 7-26-2009
My first search was for BestBuy as well. I searched the state, and it didn't find any. I searched Nearest, and it didn't find any.
But when I searched using the town name I know the store is in, it found it instantly, and navigated there as well as anyone familiar with the area.
svartling said 5:41AM on 7-25-2009
The update is released for Europe versions today.
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Eric L said 11:25AM on 7-25-2009
check out the reviews in the app store. looks like many people cannot get a GPS lock. That's quite a leap of faith for me to plop down $70 if I don't know if the app will work or not.
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Eric L said 11:27AM on 7-25-2009
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VKM said 12:33PM on 7-25-2009
I've been waiting for the TomTom release because I expect the extra-gps-chip mounting bracket to be of major significance.
For the reviewers of the Navigon and Sygic; how are you actually mounting/using the iPhone? Laying it on the dash? One-hand-holding by the windshield?
Navigon has one advantage I do like, that may/maynot be on the TomTom version: USA and European maps. Since I alternate my work-weeks in the USA and Germany, it's valuable to have one GPS that does both.
If
(a) TomTom actually does release their product soon and
(b) It has dual map capability, then I'm going to get it.
If any of those two conditions don't happen soon, I'll see what mounting-bracket ideas are here and get the Navigon and expect value-added updates/enhancements as they go along.
VKM
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Skeuomorph said 7:26PM on 7-26-2009
My first search was for BestBuy as well. I searched the state, and it didn't find any. I searched Nearest, and it didn't find any.
But when I searched using the town name I know the store is in, it found it instantly, and navigated there as well as anyone familiar with the area.
Skeuomorph said 7:31PM on 7-26-2009
(Sorry for the dupe post, 1Password filled in the email/password along with the comment box and submitted.)
You were asking about Windshield mounts.
I just bought a Griffin WindowSeat for my wife’s car and my truck and find it to be an incredibly sturdy mount compared to others I've used.
BestBuy had a series of odd third party mounts, vent/cupholder/beanbag, but the grip was 'universal' and ugly.
The Griffin has form fitting brackets for iPhone, Touch, and iPhone 3G(s), and mounts to the windshield plus includes a sticky plate to perma-mount to dash or other flat surface instead of windshield.
Urbz said 12:49PM on 7-25-2009
1- Nice of you to mention Canada as an afterthought when there must be a few CANADIANS that read the site regularly, such as myself. Would it kill you to add in "It supports all of Canada, for travel to that country or for all you Canadians" rather than "[Canadian maps are] a nice bonus if you need [them]"?
2- I'm tired of nobody mentioning xGPS. It doesn't have all the features as the Navigon GPS app, but the price is right (FREE!!) even if you must jailbreak it. Is everyone so desperate to replace the need to learn their streets with a GPS that tells them when they pass a Best Buy? I use GPS as much as the next guy, and when I started driving not too long ago it helped to teach me where I was going, the streets, my directions, etc. Still, $70 or $100 for an applications whose basic features can be easily mimicked (including downloading maps that you need rather than all of NA) by jailbreaking for free seems absolutely ludicrous to me. Except for the guy here who posted about using it both for his and his wife's iPhone... then it seems like a good value (think standard GPS units for $35!).
Just my $0.02...
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