Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone
Navigon briefly cutting price on its popular Nav app
Gee, we were just saying how competitive it is getting in the iPhone nav department, and Navigon has gone and cut prices for holiday travelers.For 10 days only, beginning today (November 20-30) Navigon's iPhone app, Mobile Navigator [iTunes link]will be on sale for U.S. $69.99 instead of $89.99 providing a $20.00 savings. In addition, Navigon's Traffic Live feature is also on sale for $14.99 instead of $24.99. Traffic Live is a one time charge, not a continuing cost.
That's a significant saving for this very popular app, and puts it under similar featured apps from TomTom ($99.99) and Magellan ($79.99).
In my tests of the Navigon app I have found it accurate, and it has a superior user interface that is easy to use. Of course you shouldn't be looking at it while you are driving, and the text to speech does an excellent job of helping you keep your eyes on the road.
The Live Traffic feature will route you around major traffic congestion and adjust your ETA times.
It's nice to see prices heading south on some of these GPS packages. Now you'll be able to head south (or north, or any direction really) for less money and with more features. Have a safe trip.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael said 12:46PM on 11-20-2009
I'd love to get this but just cannot justify spending that much money on a GPS app for the iPhone,
Navigon should slash prices in HALF , they get more people purchasing this.
I have already removed half of the apps on the iphone because of slowness , and the Apple Genius says the phone is fine and the OS is fine just all the apps on the phone, well WTF is the sense in having a 16 or 32 gig phone when you go to use it and the phone gets slower and slower. Upgrade? for what every summer Apples going to come out with a new device, not getting stuck in that mess.
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macserv said 12:54PM on 11-20-2009
Agreed on the price of these apps (though I like the price of the lifetime traffic). Can't back you up, however, on the slowness you're experiencing... There's no reason (I can think of) that installing a whole lot of apps should cause your iPhone to run more slowly.
mark said 1:38PM on 11-20-2009
The point of having a 16 or 32 GB phone is to hold more music,
pictures, and movies.
Goose07 said 5:22PM on 11-20-2009
You've hit the nail on the head Michael. I love my phone like a newborn child. However wanting to throw it out the window over slowness because of apps which is he phones supposed best feature is not good parenting...
Yes I realize the best feature is the phone.
lens42 said 3:38AM on 11-22-2009
I'm no iPhone expert, but it really sounds like the "Genius" at the Bar must be wrong. We all know the iPhone cannot multi-task (with a few exceptions for phone calls) so how does having lots of apps on the phone impact speed when only one app at a time is running? They just told you some BS to make you go away. I suggest comparing the speed of various tasks to that of other iPhones, and arm yourself with some quantified information before going back to state your case.
mr. Obsession said 12:53PM on 11-20-2009
Man, Navigon is playing to win - dropping the price *right* after TomTom finally releases a decent version.
Love. It.
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lens42 said 3:47AM on 11-22-2009
You'll love it even more when all these apps are under $20, and even that may not save them from Google Navigation. I know some have said that Google Nav would not work for them because it requires a cloud connection, but that will be only a temporary disadvantage. What's to stop a Google Nav. phone with sufficient memory from getting a big chunk of the country in a WiFi download? The answer is nothing. It's brutal, but only a few Nav companies will survive this, and those will have to do what Google is doing.
John Doe said 12:58PM on 11-20-2009
Who do I contact about getting my $20 back since I bought the app a little more than a month ago...
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THJ said 2:07PM on 11-20-2009
Send an email to sjobs@apple.com asking for a price adjustment.
Noah Ramon said 1:07PM on 11-20-2009
Bought Navigon right at the end of September. Ah, well, sucks to be me. On the other hand, just got live traffic for the cheaper price!
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Mystic said 1:10PM on 11-20-2009
In my tests, any app that uses Navteq maps is a complete waste of time. It doesn't matter how good the graphics, UI, TTS, etc. are when the map data is so inaccurate and out-of-date.
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naturlichfrisch said 1:37PM on 11-20-2009
Hmmm do you have a link to your "tests?" I found several reviews with "tests" that say otherwise like this one:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10296457-233.html
I've found Navigon to be pretty excellent in my daily use. I would definitely pick it up now at this price.
runciter said 2:58PM on 11-20-2009
Interesting as I find Tele Atlas maps to be rubbish, but Navteq maps have been spot on. One of the reasons I shun all Tele Atlas based products. These lower prices could just be the start of a money grab before(if?) Apple approves Google maps turn by turn.
Tim said 1:43PM on 11-20-2009
I don't mind the price drop, but I feel somewhat cheated in that the Live Traffic $19.99 price was advertised as a sale price that would go to $24.99 after 4 weeks, so I bought it. Now 12 days later it's $14.99. Deceptive trade? Call me a sucker, I believe them when they said the price would go up. Fooled me. Ha Ha!
Oh the pain of purchasing an iPhone/iPod app.
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BeyondtheTech said 2:20PM on 11-20-2009
Are any of you guys using the free BargainBin app on the iPhone? I'm not affiliated with the program or the developer(s), but the Push Notification feature for price drops works so well, I've saved a ton of money over the past few months. I never grab anything that's new on the App Store unless it's at an intro price, and with the way I grab stuff and how much of it I actually grab, I barely have enough time to enjoy it, so I patiently wait for a price drop.
I saw Navigon go to $69.99 last night and I was tempted, but I'm actually happy with my purchase of CoPilot for now.
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dsjohny said 2:24PM on 11-20-2009
If you purchased with a credit card, your credit card company may offer protection on price changes. Amex certainly does.
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RCook said 2:38PM on 11-20-2009
The only downside to Navigon is the size. If you don't use it constantly it's a resource hog and it isn't the fastest app to load if you need it quickly and don't currently have it installed. Yeah I have an 8gb 3G, woe is me but still. Also as to the speed, on a 3G (
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Travis said 3:27PM on 11-20-2009
Seriously paid full price yesterday after waiting months to purchase... Sometimes you can't win.
This is what I hate about the app store. The prices fluctuate too much and it's too easy to get screwed. They should be locked in at some point like Albums and Movies --- too much control to developers. Imagine if Apple allowed record companies to fluctuate their prices.
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Ry said 3:55PM on 11-20-2009
Although I'm inclined to have sympathy with those of you who have recently purchased it at the higher price and are upset that it's so much less right now at the discretion of the developer, I don't feel that anyone got screwed. It was obviously worth the money at the point when each one of you bought the application so why wouldn't it be worth it now? I paid for the original Edge iPhone for full price before they dropped the price 4 months later but I didn't feel screwed. I knew what I was paying for when I bought it and was satisfied. It still sucks when that happens, but I never feel like I got screwed. I personally own a Navigon standalone unit (which the touch screen on it sucks and it crashes from time to time probably due to Win CE) and I own Navigon on on two iPhones and it's personally been excellent for us over here in Germany. I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of the app.
nicleT said 4:22PM on 11-20-2009
Thanks for the hint TUAW, Navigon is mine now.
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