Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, App Store, App Review
Holy Grail of turn-by-turn arrives: Navigon updates GPS app with text to speech
Users have been begging for it, and now Navigon has updated the Mobile Navigator [iTunes link] app to read street names to you as you drive. I've tested the app around town, and it worked well, and the speech is clear and easy to understand. Here in Arizona, a lot of the street names are Spanish, and in most cases, the app pronounced them correctly.
It meant that I could drive around getting navigation instructions without ever looking at the iPhone screen, which is a real safety improvement.
Navigon has also added good iPod control functions. You can add new playlists or tracks, and listen while you are using navigation. This is an option that must be turned on, so if you want the function, be sure to do so.
I also like that the app now knows when it is night time and switches the display accordingly. Again, this is a feature you can use, or disable.
When I updated, the old version of the app was completely replaced, and the new app is 1.44 GB, so make sure you have the room and the time to get it downloaded.
Other features added to version 1.2.0 include the ability to email a destination to another Navigon user directly from the app. If the person gets the mail while on an iPhone and taps the location, it will launch the Mobile Navigator app and set the app for the forwarded destination.
Navigon has said the app would be US$99.00 the first of September, but the price is $89.99 instead, keeping it just under the $99.00 TomTom app, and reflecting, I think, how competitive navigation apps are getting with each other.
The company has also announced a car kit available in October, but few details and specs are known. This is the second update to Mobile Navigator since it has been released. Navigon says more updates will be coming. Traffic info and weather data would be nice.
In my view, with text to speech, Navigon has pulled ahead of the pack. I'd still like to see more points of interest in the database, and of course multi-tasking would be nice, but that is an Apple issue, not a Navigon issue.
I like this app, and it has been aggressively updated. Check it out if you are looking for nav, and if you already have this app, get on with the update.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Larry said 3:16PM on 9-10-2009
I bought Navigon when it was $69 on sale and have been extremely happy with it ever sense. Why anyone would bother with TomTom's App is beyond me.
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Mystic said 3:19PM on 9-10-2009
Because they use TeleAtlas instead of Navteq, that's why.
tekkenshihan said 3:22PM on 9-10-2009
Because Tom Tom has some amazing features that you are not going to get with Navigon. (for instance the shortest route feature that uses statistical data from it's users to find the "true" shortest route)
And because Tom Tom could turn around and fix all their issues with an update and make it a better, if not comparable app to Navigon.
I am going to give Tom Tom a while to work out the kinks. If one or two updates later they don't seem to be keeping up with Navigon then I will buy the Navigon software. But I would like to see where Tom Tom takes their app once their hardware is released in October
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oh my said 3:26PM on 9-10-2009
Photos of the car kit on their flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/navigon/
With the 1.2 update, it nearly makes the iPhone a perfect GPS device.
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Patrick said 3:30PM on 9-10-2009
I've been using the Co-Pilot app that has turn-by-turn voice.....it's only $35.
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liuping said 5:28PM on 9-10-2009
it does not read the street names, just tells you when to turn. They all do that.
Plus CoPilot could not find several addresses I entered and it was missing some streets in San Diego that have been here almost 10 years.
Thadd said 3:31PM on 9-10-2009
My only beef with Navigon is in the inability to paste addresses in from other apps or emails. It also seems to choke on most of the addresses in my contacts database, only being able to take me to the town, not the actual address (of course if I punch in the address using their City -> Street -> Number system it works fine).
If they could fix this, then it would be the perfect GPS app.
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RCook said 3:47PM on 9-10-2009
I have Navigon and the only issue I have with it is size. Can someone confirm that if I choose to not sync the app to make more room for music, etc. that I won't loose the app?
Basically only sync the app to my iPhone when I need it otherwise keep it off the phone to conserve space.
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oh my said 3:51PM on 9-10-2009
It should work just like any of the other apps. It's still yours if you want to take the app off your phone for a while and then re-sync it. Even if you delete it completely off your phone and computer, you should still be able to download it again for free since the iTunes store will have down as having bought it.
liuping said 5:29PM on 9-10-2009
You will not loose the app, but you will loose all it's settings and preferences.
bward74 said 3:44PM on 9-10-2009
This is a great Sat Nav. I just wish it had full post code entry, and more options to enter an address rather than having to start with the City then Road name. I would just like to enter a post code and house number, or enter the name of a POI. Also, and I think this has to do with the iPhone too, the GPS signal isn't strong enough sometimes, and the Navigon can lose track of where you are. Saying that, my other app Co-Pilot also suffers from this. Out of the two, the Navigon has been the most trustworthy with its routes, but the Co-Pilot has more options and better menu system.
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David B Turetsky said 3:49PM on 9-10-2009
iGo and Navigon are sharing time as my GPS apps. Have to say that I am very disappointed in TomTom for waiting so long to release its app. iGo has some serious benefits to users over Navigon, but I will continue to stack them up until there is a killer feature that sways one way over another. TomTom lost out since I already spent over $100 on GPS software.
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Jack said 3:55PM on 9-10-2009
Happy as a turkey on a shed!
(yes, that really means I'm happy)
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Ander said 4:00PM on 9-10-2009
Does anyone know if these map apps will work without a data plan? i know gps works regardless but wondering if its worth it to get this app without data
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Andre said 4:13PM on 9-10-2009
You don't need a plan. The maps are loaded entirely into the phone.
subs said 4:20PM on 9-10-2009
The holy grail of navigation software will be real time social traffic reporting and alternate routing around traffic.
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emil said 3:39PM on 9-11-2009
Agreed. I'm not forking over my hard-earned money until the details of how this will be made available are ironed out. I have a sneaking suspicion it might be an in-app subscription. $2-3 per month I can stomach, but much more than that on top of a $89.99 purchase price might start to concern me.
SIP said 4:23PM on 9-10-2009
I bought Navigon Europe hours after it was released and have been happy so far (other than the fact that the iPhone needs to be close to the windscreen for GPS reception).
We are still at 1.1.0 -- come on, Navigon, give us the 1.2 update!!
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ALan said 4:44PM on 9-10-2009
Oro Valley?
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lanejasper69 said 11:54PM on 9-10-2009
Wouldn't TomTom for iPhone be better? I don't know either way. Can someone supply some on-hand experience?
Thanks!
Lane
lane@faslane.net
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