Live in Australia? Have an iPhone? Do you use the iPhone's built-in Maps app, Navigon, or TomTom [iTunes links] to navigate? If you answered yes to all three of those questions, then I have some bad news for you: under the Australian Road Rule 8th Amendment, all use of the iPhone in your car is soon to be banned unless you buy a cradle for it, including using it as a GPS navigator.

An article from the Sydney Morning Herald initially makes it sound as though you won't be able to use such apps at all, especially after reading this quote from a spokesperson for VicRoads, the traffic authority for the Australian state of Victoria: "A phone will only be allowed to be used for its primary purpose. If it's a phone, it's a phone." But once you read farther down the article states, "Drivers will only be able to use mobile phones if they are placed in purpose-made cradles and operation is entirely hands-free." The language of the amendment itself also supports that interpretation.

So it's not the end of the road for iPhone nav apps in Australia, but if you want to continue using your iPhone for said purpose, you'd better go buy a cradle for it, because the fine for getting caught using your iPhone in the car without one is heinously expensive: AU$234! Even TomTom's iPhone cradle doesn't cost that much.

So far the new rule is only confirmed to be rolling out in Victoria, and not until November 9. But don't be surprised if other states and territories follow suit afterward.

New Zealand has a similar cellphone ban coming on November 1, but the NZ proposal is less draconian than the Australian version: the fine is only NZ$80, and the language in the proposal focuses on use of mobile phones for talking and texting, without making any mention of GPS or other uses.

The Australian law seems a bit of an overreach, but I fully support New Zealand's upcoming ban on talking and texting while driving (especially texting – I can't fathom why anyone would think it's okay to text and drive at the same time). I can't speak for Australia's roads, but the roads in New Zealand definitely require one's full attention. The iPhone in particular requires a lot of visual focus in order to use it as a phone unless you have a handsfree setup, and that kind of distraction from the task of driving could potentially lead to a fatal crash on our narrow, winding roads.

Of course there's a question of just how enforceable these laws will be in either country. Unless you're holding the phone up to the side of your head or using it at night, it's unlikely that a passing police car is going to see that your eyes are focused on what's in your hand rather than what's on the road. That's where common sense has to step in: is that phone call from your boss important enough to risk flying off the road? Probably not.

Thanks to reader Brian Rayner for sending this one in.

It's coming! Navigon, maker of the iPhone Mobile Navigator app [iTunes link], will announce a live traffic feature tomorrow that will be rolled out next month. The update is only for the North American version of the software.

Our readers have absolutely lusted after this feature for iPhone navigation, and now, after already adding text to speech in an update earlier this month, Navigon has pulled ahead of the pack again.

According to the company:

The system 'uses real-time speed data from over one million drivers across North America including commercial fleets such as trucks and taxis but also regular drivers with a GPS system. So if for example several vehicles on a road report slow speed, the system recognizes congestion and provides an alternate and faster route.

The feature also uses an intelligent fusion of information from traffic cameras, speed sensors and conventional traffic messages coming through a radio network. In addition, the system includes historic traffic data to assist with the prediction of road conditions when calculating a route. This includes information about traffic conditions on certain holidays or yearly events, allowing the driver to avoid taking routes that traditionally are congested on a regular basis.

Navigon has announced that the traffic info, which they call Traffic Live, will be available as an in-app purchase for US$19.99 for the first 4 weeks it is offered, then it will cost $24.99 as a one time purchase with no other month to month service fees.

The software, which will run inside the $89.99 Mobile Navigator software, requires iPhone OS version 3.0 or greater.

Navigon has been very aggressive with this product, raising the bar every couple of weeks with some substantial free updates, and now some significant optional services. It will be interesting to see how Tom-Tom and some of the other navigation providers respond. The AT&T Navigator [iTunes link] app already includes real time traffic, but it is available only with a $9.99 a month subscription fee.

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.

Navigon, as promised, has updated MobileNavigator [iTunes link] for the iPhone. According to the developer:

"The free update adds a couple of new features and enhancements to the MobileNavigator. NAVIGON's route planning function known from the companies PND line enables users to plan a route with different destinations ahead of time. Taking advantage of the iPhone's own functionalities, a call POI (point of Interest) function allows to directly call the number of a POI such as a restaurant or hotel by simply clicking on the number. It is also possible to save it to the user's contacts. Furthermore, the update provides an optimized volume control when navigating and using the integrated iPod function of the iPhone at the same time. It also allows to decide which POIs should be displayed in the map view."

I have tested the new functions and can verify that they work as advertised, except for the ability to save a POI in my contacts list. I've asked Navigon for the secret. Update: You hold the phone number in the POI list down for a moment, and a menu appears allowing you to save the contact, add to an existing contact, or send a text message to that number.

Navigon has also updated the GUI, and while en-route you can get time of arrival and distance to destination without having to click on the screen. The map also displays your current speed, the posted speed limit (if available in the database) and the distance to your next turn.

While the points of interest database is not as large as the AT&T Navigator app, which is web connected, it is reasonably up-to-date and complete. A shopping center near me which opened last November was there, along with the new roads that were built around it. The database won't be perfectly up-to-date, but frankly, even Google is behind on POI locations near me.

Coming in future updates to MobileNavigator is real-time traffic, and text-to-speech, so street names get announced when approaching a turn. I know those are biggies for many buyers.

The Navigon MobileNavigator is $69.99 until the end of this month, when it goes up to $99.99.

There is also an update coming soon for the excellent iGO Navigator, so it is interesting to see the competition forcing new features and innovations.

I just received a press release from ALK Technologies announcing their CoPilot Live [iTunes link] nav solution for the iPhone. It looks feature complete, and sells for US$34.99. We'll be reviewing it ASAP.

If you are looking for nav for your iPhone, it's a good time to start comparing, and there are more apps and the TomTom solution on the way.

Here are some screen grabs from the latest version:

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.

I love GPS. in the mid 1990s I had a Garmin unit that had no maps, just a bread crumb trail of where you were and where you'd been. I lived in England at the time, and thought I had a highly original idea to take it to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and walk across the Meridian line and watch the screen as the numbers dropped to zero longitude. When I got there, I was hardly alone. I was surrounded by other geeks doing exactly the same thing. Oh well.

GPS has come a long way, and AT&T has released their subscription based Navigator [App Store] for the iPhone. It requires OS version 3.0. It is fee based, and will set you back US$9.95 a month on your AT&T bill. It is loaded with features, and has voice guided turn by turn directions. It also offers:

• Automatic rerouting
• Updated maps with no additional charge
• Real time traffic updates
• Fuel Price searches and navigation to those locations
• Point of interest searches in all the usual categories like ATM machines, hospitals, restaurants, airports

The map gives you a 3D view from a position just above and behind your vehicle. On the setup page you can chose flat maps if your prefer. I found the maps easy to read but would have preferred a landscape view instead of portrait (there is no option to change the orientation). I saw a little lag when driving, but generally the response was fast.

The app really needs a 3G connection. It works on the EDGE network, but was slow to load graphics. If you are somewhere where you have neither you are out of luck. No maps are contained on the app and nothing is cached. In essence, the app is only as good as the AT&T network, and if you do a lot of driving where the network is weak or absent, you'll be navigating on your own.

I found the voice very hard to hear. This is a limitation of the iPhone speaker. It just wasn't designed to be played at a loud volume. On the highway, with road noise, good luck hearing that warning to turn. Of course, the directions are on the map, but the whole purpose of voice instructions is to keep you from looking at the map.

Other features are a high altitude view of your entire trip from beginning to end, a list of your turns on a scrollable page, directions to the nearest AT&T WiFi hotspots (nice), and the ability to set your default navigation method like shortest, fastest, traffic optimized, prefer highways or streets, or pedestrian routing if you're not driving.

I found the voice alerts were too frequent. Frankly, the app is a blabbermouth, and it kept reminding me of a faraway turn too often for my taste. It would be nice to be able to set just how aggressive the voice warnings are.

The big question for most iPhone users will be whether to wait for other nav apps to appear. TomTom is imminent, as is an app from Navigon. They both download the maps to your phone, so you are not dependent on the AT&T network. You only need GPS, and that signal is everywhere. You could also buy an inexpensive dedicated unit; on the low end that will cost about the same as a year of the AT&T subscription, and will certainly have a better speaker. Of course, there will be fees to update the maps, but in my experience you can use a GPS for years without doing that. Points of interest change, but the iPhone provides other sources like Google for up to date info.

I also think it is a bloody shame that the AT&T app has no access to your address book. Apple has walled that data off from 3rd party apps, (Update: Apple provides the ability, the Navigator app hasn't implemented it) and it is just senseless to have you type everything in again. You can copy and paste the data, but it is a needless pain. The AT&T app has this access when it runs on other phones like the Blackberry.

In summary, the app works, and is feature laden. I'm not sure it is the best option for in-car navigation, and you might want to wait for other solutions to appear. Of course, you can always get the AT&T app and cancel. It's a month-by-month charge.

So how is it like to drive with this app? My colleague Steven Sande did just that, and his report will follow soon.

Before you go, here are some screen shots to give you a look at some of the features on AT&T Navigator:

It looks like our European friends will get first crack at an advanced turn-by-turn navigation app for the iPhone/iPod touch. MobileNavigator Europe [App Store] requires the 3.0 software, and looks to be fully featured:

• 2D and 3D map displays
• Can be used in portrait and landscape format
• Branded UI features such as Reality View Pro, Lane Assistant Pro & "real signpost display"
• Speed Assistant with adjustable audio-visual warning
• Direct access and navigation to contacts saved in the iPhone's address book
• The latest NAVTEQ maps, 2M+ European POIs (points of interest)
  
• Navigation is automatically resumed after an incoming phone call
• Quick access to user-defined POIs in the area and along the route
• Take Me Home function with a single click

This software is the first of several apps coming for the iPhone. The TomTom app that will work in the U.S. has been demoed and coming soon. Garmin, one of the premier GPS manufacturers is going the other way, and will release their own phone with navigation built in, but the project has been troubled and much delayed. Telenav has pre-announced its iPhone offering and suggested that customers keep an eye on the company's Twitter feed.

The Navigon app is US $94.99 (!) this month only, then the price goes up (!!!). The Navigon website doesn't yet show a list of the supported countries, but it's displayed in iTunes and is quite extensive (Albania to Vatican City with Estonia, Macedonia, San Marino & Slovenia + more in between). The app supports ten different languages and will automatically switch based on the selected language for the iPhone itself. The download weighs in at 1.65 GB.

This quick release of high quality navigation software should set mouths watering for a release over here, but I'm a bit troubled by the pricing, as you can buy a pretty fully featured low-end navigator for only a few more dollars.

Update: Our readers have also mentioned Gokivo, with a continuing US$9.95 a month subscription, and Sygic, which provides turn by turn navigation in Austrailia and New Zealand.

Thanks to Gaspare for the original tip and our alert readers for more suggestions!