Destinations tested: (Missouri-University of Missouri): I went to Dick's Sporting Goods, my gym, gas station, Work and Home.
Tested with: iPhone 3G - 16 Gig White.
Interface: Above Average (8/10)
It looks beautiful and is very sleek, no extra stuff that you would deter from driving, just the essential but at the same time it's very well thought out. (except maybe the street names)
Negative: It takes on average 23-25 seconds to open on my 3G.
Directions: Average (7/10)
The first time I used the "take me home" it took me to my nearest Blockbuster Video which is about 1.2 miles away from my home. When I re-started it, it took me home (the remaining 1.2 miles).
When I was going to the gym it took me to the right place visually but the voice assistance was telling me to do a U-Turn for no reason.
In another instance, the visual route had me driving in a lake instead of the road..
*Update*
I'm noticing that Navigon is either using previous routes OR using a better routing system than the first days I had it. In other words, it's giving my preferred routes to places I've been before.
It still does give me weird routes to new places though.
POIs: Average (7/10)
All the essential places are there like gas stations, food, etc... They are also marked with their respective logos (ie - McDonalds) on the map. Unfortunately it didn't have my gym or Dick's Sporting Goods (I used Macy's which was nearby as that destination). Also, as mentioned in other reviews, its very hard to see street names.
GPS Signal: Very Good (8.5/10)
When I first opened this app, it wasn't getting any signal ANYWHERE but after a few restarts, it worked fine. It hasn't lost it's signal since so I am most optimistic about this.
Music+Navigon Implementation: Excellent (9/10)
It's simple: Ipod runs in the background, Navigon runs in the foreground. Voice assistance will mix in with the music but you can adjust the volume of the voice assistance to where it blends perfectly. Only small, tiny, minor downside is that you cannot pick the voice assistance's accent/personality
Things I would change/improve
-Automatically go into Day or Night mode with the time, depending on geographic location and time of year. ie - 6 am to 7:59 pm day mode, 8 pm to 5:59 night mode.
-Improve POI's within your database.
-Add an option to pause audio when voice assistance is on.
-Add different voices/personalities to the voice assistance options.
-Export trip to text message or email option.
-Speed up the app's start, it takes roughly 25 seconds for me right now, which is unacceptable.
-Do not increase your price until you update your app substantially. I'd only pay $40 for it right now, sorry to be so harsh.
-Make all updates free or you will drown in the competition. You have a good product with plenty of room for improvement and you beat Tom Tom to the punch but with the proper tweaks, you can stay ahead. The ball will be in your court again once Tom Tom is released.
Overall, I'd give this app 7.5/10 with a chance to move to a 8.5/10 with a few updates.
The big question is: is it worth the money? I'd say not yet to be quite honest, I will be updating this review as time passes but $70 is alot of money for an iPhone app.
FYI, I'm using the Canada Drive Safe system so the voice assistance goes through my speaker system (along with the Ipod app running music in the background). It works VERY well.
*7/24 Update*
Review Update:
I found some more negatives:
-I have still been getting random "make U-Turn" directions.
-POI's are obviously getting worse, I went through a rather large shopping plaza today and Navigon's only POI was a gas station.
*Updated Rating from 7.0 to 7.5 as it's impressing me more and more with time*
Tested with: iPhone 3G - 16 Gig White.
Interface: Above Average (8/10)
It looks beautiful and is very sleek, no extra stuff that you would deter from driving, just the essential but at the same time it's very well thought out. (except maybe the street names)
Negative: It takes on average 23-25 seconds to open on my 3G.
Directions: Average (7/10)
The first time I used the "take me home" it took me to my nearest Blockbuster Video which is about 1.2 miles away from my home. When I re-started it, it took me home (the remaining 1.2 miles).
When I was going to the gym it took me to the right place visually but the voice assistance was telling me to do a U-Turn for no reason.
In another instance, the visual route had me driving in a lake instead of the road..
*Update*
I'm noticing that Navigon is either using previous routes OR using a better routing system than the first days I had it. In other words, it's giving my preferred routes to places I've been before.
It still does give me weird routes to new places though.
POIs: Average (7/10)
All the essential places are there like gas stations, food, etc... They are also marked with their respective logos (ie - McDonalds) on the map. Unfortunately it didn't have my gym or Dick's Sporting Goods (I used Macy's which was nearby as that destination). Also, as mentioned in other reviews, its very hard to see street names.
GPS Signal: Very Good (8.5/10)
When I first opened this app, it wasn't getting any signal ANYWHERE but after a few restarts, it worked fine. It hasn't lost it's signal since so I am most optimistic about this.
Music+Navigon Implementation: Excellent (9/10)
It's simple: Ipod runs in the background, Navigon runs in the foreground. Voice assistance will mix in with the music but you can adjust the volume of the voice assistance to where it blends perfectly. Only small, tiny, minor downside is that you cannot pick the voice assistance's accent/personality
Things I would change/improve
-Automatically go into Day or Night mode with the time, depending on geographic location and time of year. ie - 6 am to 7:59 pm day mode, 8 pm to 5:59 night mode.
-Improve POI's within your database.
-Add an option to pause audio when voice assistance is on.
-Add different voices/personalities to the voice assistance options.
-Export trip to text message or email option.
-Speed up the app's start, it takes roughly 25 seconds for me right now, which is unacceptable.
-Do not increase your price until you update your app substantially. I'd only pay $40 for it right now, sorry to be so harsh.
-Make all updates free or you will drown in the competition. You have a good product with plenty of room for improvement and you beat Tom Tom to the punch but with the proper tweaks, you can stay ahead. The ball will be in your court again once Tom Tom is released.
Overall, I'd give this app 7.5/10 with a chance to move to a 8.5/10 with a few updates.
The big question is: is it worth the money? I'd say not yet to be quite honest, I will be updating this review as time passes but $70 is alot of money for an iPhone app.
FYI, I'm using the Canada Drive Safe system so the voice assistance goes through my speaker system (along with the Ipod app running music in the background). It works VERY well.
*7/24 Update*
Review Update:
I found some more negatives:
-I have still been getting random "make U-Turn" directions.
-POI's are obviously getting worse, I went through a rather large shopping plaza today and Navigon's only POI was a gas station.
*Updated Rating from 7.0 to 7.5 as it's impressing me more and more with time*
