When the iPhone OS 3.0 update was introduced, Apple opened the door to 3rd party turn-by-turn apps. They brought TomTom up on stage to show off the app that they were working on. I was impressed by what I saw and thought that this might be a chance to carry one less device when I travel. I'm very fond of my Garmin Nuvi 765T and the chances of a Garmin App for the iPhone are slim. It seems that Garmin would rather compete with a phone of their own (Garmin, look at the Palm Pre. You guys just don't stand a chance against iPhone and Blackberry). So an iPhone app would have to be really killer to make me give up my Nuvi. I'm also a fan of Navigon GPS units too. Actually it's not so much about their hardware that I'm impressed by as much as it is their software. I fell in love with the Navigon 3D Reality View, which pops up a photo realistic image of the road signs you're going to go under so that you're in the right lane. Not long after the TomTom announcement was made, Navigon announced that they would have an iPhone app too!
It's a race!
In many cases first to market can definitely get you a leg up on your competition. If you have a really good app, then it makes it that much harder for your competitor. It's pretty clear that Navigon wanted to be first. Why you ask? Two reasons: for one they are offering their app for an introductory price of $69.99 until August 15th. Then the price goes up to $99.00. This of course creates a sense of urgency. The second reason is that they state right on their App Store page that a free update is coming with additional features. I would argue that a few of those features should have been in the first release. What was the hurry? Oh yeah, right. That whole get it out first thing. I remember now.
How does it work?
Now let's get to the app itself. First off this is the biggest and most expensive iPhone app I've ever purchased. It weighs in at a hefty 1.2GB! Let's just pray that updates aren't as large (which they probably will be). The reason for the heft is all the maps! You get the US, Canada (including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands). Since most of this weight is data, the app should run at a reasonable speed and it does. I was pleasantly surprised by the responsiveness. It was certainly much more responsive than my previous Navigon 2100 unit.
From the main screen you can choose to enter an address, search for a Point of Interest (POI), Take me Home (goes to your predefined Home Address) and show your current location on the map. The Navigon app offers one more way of getting to an address that I have been wanting for years and that is directly from an address stored in your Contacts! Although you can enter an address, it's a multi-screen process just like stand alone GPS units. It seems a bit odd to have to enter the City, then next screen, enter the street, then next screen enter the address… It seems like there wasn't a lot of thought put into that aspect of the user interface to make it more of an "iPhone experience" instead of a typical GPS experience.
The app works in Portrait or Landscape mode simply by rotating your iPhone.
Entering information is straight forward and fast by comparison of stand alone GPS units. The POI search is also good. Great category choices and they display on the map as you drive. I also like have a search bar at the top of most of the screens.
A couple of other sweet Navigon features
In addition to the 3D Reality View that I like so much, you also get automatic speed alerts if you go over the speed limit by a preset amount. By default it's 10MPH over on the highway. The Navigon app shows your current speed and the current speed limit on most roads.
What's the downside?
The biggest challenge that all GPS navigation apps are going to have on the iPhone is how to handle an incoming call? Since the iPhone doesn't allow background processing for 3rd party apps, when you receive a call and take the call, the Navigon app closes. This means that you wont be getting any alerts or directions while you're on the phone. So you could easily get off route. Luckily once you end the call, the Navigon app automatically relaunches and picks up where you left off. It will take a few seconds for it to figure out your current location and re-route you if you missed your turn.
UPDATE: Although the above statement is true about the iPhone not allowing the Navigon App (or any other 3rd party app) to run in the background, there is a workaround. If you receive a call, you can go ahead and answer it. Then using either the speaker phone or bluetooth, you can hit the home button to return to your apps. Once you're on the home screen you can relaunch the Navigon app while your call continues in the background. Apple's built-in apps DO run in the background including the Phone app!
OK this was expected, but the next thing I found out wasn't. In this current version there is no TTS (Text To Speech). So instead of saying "Turn right on Main Street", it just says "Turn Right." This is quite a throw back. I haven't seen a GPS that didn't announce the names of the streets in years. Again, I'm sure this will be added at some point, but it's kind of a disappointment here and the one that I was the most shocked by.
Also there is no live traffic updates! This seems like a big miss too for a device like the iPhone with all of it's internet capabilities.
Other considerations
Like all GPS units this one is no different in that it keeps your iPhone's display on all the time you're using it. Well of course that means that your battery will drain quickly. So you'll definitely want to have a car charger for your iPhone while you're using this app. The other thing you're going to want is a mount of some type. It's dangerous and stupid to hold the iPhone the whole time you're driving. So you'll want a mount that keeps the iPhone nearby so that you don't have to look down at it and take your attention away from the road. Here's a mount that goes on your windshield. Here's one that goes in your cigarette lighter adapter and charges the iPhone at the same time. Here's one that goes on your dash, and here's MY FAVORITE kind that attaches to your Vent.
See it in action here
This is one of those kind of apps that it really helps to see it in action. So I prepared this short video of a test run with the Navigon MobileNavigator App for iPhone.
The Bottom Line
While I love the idea of having a GPS with turn-by-turn directions in my iPhone, I would have to say that this app feels rushed. Don't get me wrong, it does work as advertised and never crashed on me (yet). However, no TTS, no 3D terrain maps yet, no POI phone dialing and although you can listen to the iPod in the background, it doesn't mute it when voice directions are being given, (many of these features that are coming) seems like they could have waited a bit to get this out.
Let us not forget about the price! I hadn't really thought about what these apps would cost? I'm sure that there is some licensing of the maps and R&D that have to realized. However, $69 (let alone $99) feels a bit steep for a software based GPS. Keep in mind that Navigon 2100 units were going for $99 all day long and refurbished units were going for $69. Now I realize that the 2100 was US only and didn't even include maps for Canada. However, you were getting all the US maps AND the hardware for $99. Here's a NEW Navigon 2000S going for $99, complete with a mount and car charger For the $69 (soon to be $99) iPhone App you don't even get a mount or iPhone charger here.
Speaking of maps, if you want the Navigon MobileNavigator for Europe it will set you back $139.99. I'm hoping that Navigon takes advantage of In-App Purchases and lets me buy maps as I need them instead of having to have multiple apps installed.
What else could be improved? There is an option for Day or Night display. Seems like you should be able to set this on auto just like the regular units. After all my iPhone knows what time it is. it also felt a little odd that I had to manually key in my Home location. Shouldn't I be able to choose it from a Contact? It would also be neat to be able to do route planing on your computer and just sync it to your iPhone/Navigon app. Lastly, it would be great if they could some how take advantage of background notifications to at least alert you when you have a turn coming up while you're on the phone.
So yes, there is definitely room for improvement! My buying advice is to wait until the TomTom app comes out to compare. Granted you might miss the introductory price that Navigon is baiting us with, but who's to say that the TomTom app won't be cheaper anyway or have their own introductory price? If you love the Navigon UI and don't mind waiting a bit for the missing features, then go ahead and get this app. It does work!
Download Navigon MobileNavigator North America here from the App Store (now $69.99):
About Terry White
Terry is the co-author of The Best Selling "The iPhone Book" 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions. He has been active in the industry for over 25 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit, Inc., Michigan's largest Macintosh Users Group, host of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and a technology writer - Terry White Tech Blog.
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