Posts Tagged ‘turn-by-turn’
My favorite Turn-by-Turn voice GPS Navigation App has just been updated with a slicker, smarter interface. The 1st big change is that App has been cut down significantly in size. The North America version used to weigh in at about 1.7GB. Now the update is about 44MB in size. How can it get so small you ask? The good folks at Navigon took a brilliant approach in letting you selectively download the states/providences that you need. This is AWESOME! If i'm never going to drive through Alabama or Arkansas then why have those maps taking up space on my device? You can pick which states to download whenever you want. You do have to be in Wi-Fi to download a state, but once it's downloaded you won't need a data connection at all to use the App. I downloaded Michigan (36.9MB) in a matter of just a few minutes over my WiFi/Cable connection. The next thing I noticed was that the new app launches SIGNIFICANTLY faster. Perhaps this is due to the weight loss 
I'm not a fan of GPS apps that require a constant data connection as the maps are in cloud. Navigon's new approach is a perfect blend between the flexibility of only loading what you need AND not requiring a data connection to use the App once the maps are on your device.
Nice and clean UI
I'm a User Interface (UI) freak and have never been blown away by any GPS navigation system. I'm not saying that this new interface blows me away, but it's certainly WAY cleaner than before and probably will send several competitors back to the design boards. The menus are animated, but not in an obnoxious way. I like the little pull downs to quickly access things you need while navigating. Most of all I like not having to dig through several menus to find the things that should be at the top level. Great job!
The same In-App purchases are available and yes it will allow you to restore the ones you've already purchased. In my case I got the Lifetime LIVE Traffic, Panorama 3D view and Radar Info. They've added a new one called FreshMaps XL that gives you a 1 year quarterly Map update with not only new/changed roads, but they promise tons of POI additions/updates. It's only $14.99 but I'll pass on it for now since this update includes the latest maps for free!
There is one gotcha with this update! The 1st and only problem I've run into so far is that you lose all your saved Favorites. That really sucks since there is NO WARNING! When you fire up the new app they're just not there anymore. I'm hoping that this is just a bug and that they can fix it so that anyone else that's upgrading will be able to either keep their Favorites or back them up and restore them. Navigon shame on you for not warning us about this or allow saved Favorites to come into version 2.0. Otherwise, this update rocks!
UPDATE! The Favorites ARE there! They just won't show up unless you download the Maps/States that they are for. Makes sense, thanks goes to David Lumsden for his troubleshooting help in the comments below! Now I'm even happier about this update!
Price drops until November 30th:
Navigon North America is now only $39.99 
Navigon USA is only $29.99
Navigon My Region is now only $19.99
East
Central
West
Get the Navigon North America App for only $39.99 here from the <-My favorite Turn-by-Turn GPS Navigation App
Get the Navigon USA App for only $24.99 here from the
Navigon is celebrating their birthday with a Half Off Sale on their iPhone/iPod touch GPS Navigation Apps. My Region Apps normally go for $24.99, however for a short time they are only $14.99 each!
Now you can get: MyRegion US East – covering: (AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, IN, KY, MA, ME, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, Ri, SC, TN, VT, VA, WV) On Sale for $14.99
MyRegion US Central – covering: (AL, AR, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, NM, ND, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX, WI, WY) On Sale for $14.99
MyRegion US West – covering: (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY) On Sale for $14.99
Need a little more? Say two regions? No worries, just buy the main region you need and you can expand your coverage with an in-app purchase of up to two additional regions. So this way you can start with the main region you need, but add on later and only if you need to. This is the kind of pricing that I felt these GPS Navigation Apps should have had all along! So don't hesitate. Jump on these Sale prices while the getting is good. Also if you have an iPod touch or you just want a great Car Kit to go with your Navigon App, check out this one by Magellan.
My setup above is:
- The iPhone 4
- The Magellan Premium Car Kit
- A GPS beanbag friction dashboard mount
FAQ: Yes, all of the Maps are built-in to the App. No, you don't need a data connection while you're using it (except for the weather, parking and Google POI search). No it does't require your data plan (except for the 3 things I just mentioned). No it doesn't require a Car Kit unless you're using an iPod touch, which doesn't have a GPS (the car kit does). No, there are no monthly fees. You buy the App and you're done.
My favorite iPhone/iPod touch turn-by-turn GPS navigation App just got better. The 1.6 update brings iOS 4 compatibility, which of course the big news here is that it continues to work in the background if you receive a call. That's right! You'll continue to receive voice directions if another App is running in the foreground. Also once you end your call the App will take about 1 second to update the screen with your current position. That's not all. Navigon also updated the maps to the latest versions and they've added weather info for both your destination and while you're in route as well as available parking at your destination.
I took it for a test spin
Over the weekend I took the New updated Navigon App for a test drive and without even having to plan ahead, I received a call while navigating. I took the call over the hands-free bluetooth in my car and the voice prompts continued. Once I hung up from the call I was immediately returned to the app. If you want to still see the display while you're driving you can just use fast app switching in iOS 4 to go right back to Navigon and continue talking.
My setup above is:
- The iPhone 4
- The Magellan Premium Car Kit
- A GPS beanbag friction dashboard mount
FAQ: Yes, all of the Maps are built-in to the App. No, you don't need a data connection while you're using it (except for the weather, parking and Google POI search). No it does't require your data plan (except for the 3 things I just mentioned). No it doesn't require a Car Kit unless you're using an iPod touch, which doesn't have a GPS (the car kit does). No, there are no monthly fees. You buy the App and you're done.
Navigon also put there Apps on Sale! Get the Navigon Mobile Navigator North America App here from the
If you don't need the whole country (or you live/travel in a different country, check out their cheaper My Region Series and their other Apps here 
The competition between all of these apps has been great and as result we (the consumers) just keep winning.
