The Best iPhone Navigation App

[lordhamster]

This is the standard TomTom fanboy mantra... "Navigon ditched their US customers!"

What really happened is that Navigon realized that turn-by-turn GPS was moving to smartphones in the future and the PND market would be dead a few years from now. Garmin realizes the same thing, they just came out with a terrible phone as an alternative to creating only software. They still support their PND users, and anyone who says differently is a liar.

It must be convenient to simply dismiss any opinions other than your own as "Fanboy Mantra".

Take a look at US based PND forums Ex (http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewforum.php?f=38)

You will see quite a bit of griping about poor to non-existent response from Navigon USA. Not to mention that the company has completely stopped releasing bug fixes for their US based PNDs.

So I stand corrected. Navigon did not stop supporting US PND users, they just shut down operations and left a skeleton crew in place. I'd like my high-end electronics to be supported with firmware fixes and support at least till the end of the warranty period.



BTW Before you call me a fanboy read my other posts where I say that I use Navigon more than TomTom in most cases... unless I need to avoid a part of a route.

 

[IronLogik]

I think they both feel iPhoney... Navigon adding pinch zoom-in and zoom-out for the 3D map makes it feel even more so. Both menus use the normal dragging/tapping/sliding gestures. TomTom feels like it should be running on an iPhone speed-wise, though... Navigon feels like it should be running on a Dell XPS.

I haven't found TomTom to route me any better where I live. It has mostly been the same as Navigon. I have seen some people mention that TomTom was clearly superior and they have pictures to prove it, so I won't disagree there, but without traffic IQ Routes can only do so much. If traffic is a subscription fee, Navigon will really start to pull ahead, in my opinion, since they only have the flat fee for traffic.

Maybe. But here's the deal that I see. I get sort of concerned when a company starts offering a continually updated set of information for a flat fee. It makes me wonder how they will continue to invest in making that information better. When it comes to traffic it is constantly being updated. But I can't see a $20-30 one-time fee being able to sustain traffic information in the long run.

Would I love to see TomTom also come out with a one-time fee traffic addon for their app? yup. But does it concern me that the traffic information might suffer somewhat? Yup. Traffic is something that doesn't really matter that much to me. I live mostly in an area where traffic is never congested. So regardless of app I don't see Traffic information being a deal breaker one way or another. If I'm traveling and I need to have traffic information no big deal. I'd pay for a month of service and call it good. I think there are quite a few people in this particular boat. If the traffic information is going to be superior in TomTom, but cost more, to me it's worth it. When I need it. Which won't be often.

Either way. We're going to see some falling prices on these apps. They're extremely pricey considering you can buy a hardware device for nearly the same price as the app alone. Never mind we're paying for the iPhone hardware, any potential docks we need for the car. It's actually MORE expensive to purchase the iPhone versions of these devices than a middle range PND. $50 for TomTom is a good price. My only thing is I might need the Canadian side of things. Living in Michigan Canada is about 2 hours away and if I were to ever need to go I might be needing it. But I figure by then the Maps application will support Navigation and I probably won't need TomTom's Canadian maps.

Those that want to argue that Google's POI database is awesome needs to reconsider. I've heard a lot of horror stories of someone searching for a particular location and Google having the wrong address or the location was boarded up. That will happen on TomTom and Navigon as well I'm sure. But it seems very problematic with Google's services. Which makes me hope that if Navigon is offering it on their next update that it is something you can filter.

I've also heard that TomTom's POI database is quite significantly better than Navigons.

 

[rWally]

I have a question.

Does navigon have a car kit that works with its app? I know tom tom has one and magellan has one coming soon. Will these car kits work with any of the apps or are they tied to their specific company's app?

 

[Vandam500]

I have a question.

Does navigon have a car kit that works with its app? I know tom tom has one and magellan has one coming soon. Will these car kits work with any of the apps or are they tied to their specific company's app?

Supposedly the TomTom car kit can work with any GPS app. I haven't tried it myself because of the ridiculous price for the kit.

 

[rWally]

Supposedly the TomTom car kit can work with any GPS app. I haven't tried it myself because of the ridiculous price for the kit.

Are the kits even worth it? They're supposed to boost GPS reception but is the 3Gs reception that bad to begin with? It would be nice to have a mount of some sort. Are there less expensive options out there?

 

[comatose81]

Are the kits even worth it? They're supposed to boost GPS reception but is the 3Gs reception that bad to begin with? It would be nice to have a mount of some sort. Are there less expensive options out there?

I have found that the GPS reception on my 3G is fine... for any of the navigation apps. There is lag, for sure, but CoPilot and Navigon compensate for that and I hope TomTom will follow suit at some point. I would not buy the car kit just for the improved GPS chip.

The kit also has a louder speaker, charger, and bluetooth. I would base my decision on buying the kit based on those features.

 

[lordhamster]

Supposedly the TomTom car kit can work with any GPS app. I haven't tried it myself because of the ridiculous price for the kit.

In My car I use the car kit, in my wife's I use a standard suction cup mount I got off amazon. Both work equally well. I really don't feel that the additional GPS chip is nessesary if you mount on the windshield. That being said, in my car I've mounted the TomTom kit in my dash board next to the speedometer. I can't say for sure how much it helps with GPS signal.

What makes the kit great IMO are the following aspects:

1. It works fully with Navigon as well as TomTom

2. It amplifies the sound of the instructions

3. It folds up really small for travel

4. It has a line out so you can hear music and instructions over your car stereo.

5. The design makes popping the phone in and out an easy one-handed operation.

6. The speakerphone is decent.

I'd say overall it is not necessary but a nice luxury.

 

[mhuntoon]

I haven't tried either Navigon nor TomTom (I'm too cheap), but I have been using CoPilot Live NA for the past few weeks and I'm VERY impressed with it here in the Greensboro area of NC. I figure that if it works well in the rural areas of a mid-market region, it should do exceptionally well in larger areas but I could be wrong as I haven't gone on any extended road trips with it yet.

I've also tried MotionX GPS (see the trend where I stick with the cheaper apps ?) but I simply didn't care for it at all. It was accurate, which is obviously the most important feature, but I didn't care for the UI. I honestly didn't give it much of a chance, though, so others may find better results with it.

I know the Navigon and TomTom apps are the big deals, but I'm somewhat surprised to read through roughly 3 pages in this thread and see CoPilot getting so little attention. I would highly recommend it to someone who is looking but doesn't want to pay more for the big names - as a matter of face, I have.

I like it so much, in fact, that I recently sold my Garmin StreetPilot c580 on eBay as it was redundant for me - I like less clutter. The market was bearing $100+ for that unit, which surprises me, so I wound up with the CoPilot app and roughly $80 after selling my Garmin. Then again, I paid about $450 for it when it first came out, so I'm hardly on the winning end just yet

 

[IronLogik]

I just went to the App Store to check prices again...

Did Navigon just get bumped out of the top 10? I'm seeing it at 24 here. Which is rather odd. TomTom US only is at 3, with the NA version at 13 (which is lower than it has been).

 

[comatose81]

I know the Navigon and TomTom apps are the big deals, but I'm somewhat surprised to read through roughly 3 pages in this thread and see CoPilot getting so little attention. I would highly recommend it to someone who is looking but doesn't want to pay more for the big names - as a matter of face, I have.

I was a huge fan of CoPilot for a while. But there were a few times where it just absolutely would not re-route me no matter how many times I used the "Find Alternative" or "Avoid Road" options. It would calculate, and then just show me the exact same route. The same behavior came up when I would try to avoid traffic.

One day, it actually did listen to me when I told it to avoid traffic. But the way it took me had me turning onto a road that didn't even connect to the road I was on. That was the end of CoPilot for me.

 

[comatose81]

It must be convenient to simply dismiss any opinions other than your own as "Fanboy Mantra".

Take a look at US based PND forums Ex (http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewforum.php?f=38)

You will see quite a bit of griping about poor to non-existent response from Navigon USA. Not to mention that the company has completely stopped releasing bug fixes for their US based PNDs.

Navigon support sucks, there's no doubt about that. They have no user manual and they seem to rarely reply to e-mails. But I work for a software company and we don't support or fix bugs in legacy software that has a lifetime warranty. That's just one of the tough decisions that gets made. It's not right, but if they have decided to go software-only, they probably have no money for development in those units. They are likely doing the bare minimum that they are legally required to do.

That is probably why they are plummeting down the iTunes "top apps" list in navigation.

I am no Navigon defender. I think their product is superior to TomTom's right now, but I am absolutely open to finding something better. I just don't think it exists right now.

 

[rWally]

In My car I use the car kit, in my wife's I use a standard suction cup mount I got off amazon. Both work equally well. I really don't feel that the additional GPS chip is nessesary if you mount on the windshield. That being said, in my car I've mounted the TomTom kit in my dash board next to the speedometer. I can't say for sure how much it helps with GPS signal.

What makes the kit great IMO are the following aspects:

1. It works fully with Navigon as well as TomTom

2. It amplifies the sound of the instructions

3. It folds up really small for travel

4. It has a line out so you can hear music and instructions over your car stereo.

5. The design makes popping the phone in and out an easy one-handed operation.

6. The speakerphone is decent.

I'd say overall it is not necessary but a nice luxury.

Thanks for the response. The line-out option is a must for me and the other features seem nice enough to make it worthwhile. Is the tom tom kit good for iphones with cases on them? I'd hate to have to remove my case every time I wanted to pop it in the holder. BTW, I have a very slim case so it's not too much thicker than a naked iphone.

Looks like Magellan is coming out with their own kit as well that looks nice. I'll probably wait and compare the two before pulling the trigger.

Speaking of Magellan, no one in this thread has brought up their RoadMate app. It's fairly new to the scene but how does it stack up against Navigon, TomTom, CoPilot, etc.?

 

[lordhamster]

Navigon support sucks, there's no doubt about that. They have no user manual and they seem to rarely reply to e-mails. But I work for a software company and we don't support or fix bugs in legacy software that has a lifetime warranty. That's just one of the tough decisions that gets made. It's not right, but if they have decided to go software-only, they probably have no money for development in those units. They are likely doing the bare minimum that they are legally required to do.

That is probably why they are plummeting down the iTunes "top apps" list in navigation.

I am no Navigon defender. I think their product is superior to TomTom's right now, but I am absolutely open to finding something better. I just don't think it exists right now.

Oh I totally agree. Navigon's current product spanks TomTom's. To me the #1 reason for this is lack of live traffic in TomTom. Which is silly since TomTom has been offering live traffic via bluetooth connections on their base PNDs forever.

Anyway, the argument began because someone called Navigon Shady. While Navigon may be 100% in their rights to all but kill all support on an 8 month old device, it does not inspire confidence in the company.

That being said, they seem to be doing a great job updating the iPhone app. Lets hope that they keep it up! They started as a software company and seem to be returning to those roots.

 

[Rigby]

It's not right, but if they have decided to go software-only, they probably have no money for development in those units. They are likely doing the bare minimum that they are legally required to do.

Keep in mind that most of the units that were sold in the US are still available in Europe. The same goes for the North America maps which can be bought (and updated) in Europe as well. You are of course right that support for the discontinued US PNDs will probably not have high priority for them anymore, but I doubt that map and device updates will be stopped completely anytime soon.

 

[comatose81]

Oh I totally agree. Navigon's current product spanks TomTom's. To me the #1 reason for this is lack of live traffic in TomTom. Which is silly since TomTom has been offering live traffic via bluetooth connections on their base PNDs forever.

Anyway, the argument began because someone called Navigon Shady. While Navigon may be 100% in their rights to all but kill all support on an 8 month old device, it does not inspire confidence in the company.

That being said, they seem to be doing a great job updating the iPhone app. Lets hope that they keep it up! They started as a software company and seem to be returning to those roots.

It doesn't inspire confidence and it is one of the reasons I was hesitant to get it in the first place. I just think that a lot of anti-Navigon people bring it up as a reason why X app is better... their decision in the US market should have some bearing on your decision, but so should what they are currently doing - updating their US software for the iPhone regularly. Maybe they will give up when they feel that they've made enough money, but they seem to be responsive from a development standpoint, if not through e-mail.

As for the traffic info, I think TomTom will take a hit as it looks like this service will be subscription-based. I agree with IronLogik that it doesn't seem possible to sustain this service with just a flat fee, but I don't really know the full details of their traffic licensing agreement. If that dries up, or they do end up abandoning the iPhone, I will sincerely regret my decision.

 

[lordhamster]

It doesn't inspire confidence and it is one of the reasons I was hesitant to get it in the first place. I just think that a lot of anti-Navigon people bring it up as a reason why X app is better... their decision in the US market should have some bearing on your decision, but so should what they are currently doing - updating their US software for the iPhone regularly. Maybe they will give up when they feel that they've made enough money, but they seem to be responsive from a development standpoint, if not through e-mail.

As for the traffic info, I think TomTom will take a hit as it looks like this service will be subscription-based. I agree with IronLogik that it doesn't seem possible to sustain this service with just a flat fee, but I don't really know the full details of their traffic licensing agreement. If that dries up, or they do end up abandoning the iPhone, I will sincerely regret my decision.

Perhaps they will end up subsidizing their traffic through ad revenue like Garmin does on their PND units? Who knows. For me traffic is the #1 thing I'd like to see improved in all of these units. With so many cell phones on the roads all GPS equipped, I think we are in for an exciting future.

I'd actually love to see Navigon add an audio warning on the map for traffic on my current road even if I'm not currently navigating to a destination. My old Garmin PND would warn me for example if I'm driving on I-271 (no destination) and there is an accident ahead.

Currently I use my Navigon program whenever I'm going anywhere that involves a highway, in the hopes of avoiding traffic. The other day it actually saved me from some nasty traffic when it auto-routed me around miles of backup on I-77. Of course I've also been stuck in traffic when it suddenly chimes in "Traffic ahead". haha But as traffic reporting improves, so will this.

I'd actually love to see Navigon do what Dash did in showing the crowdsourced data on the map.

 

[IronLogik]

I think that's actually going to be one of the neatest potential features we'll see in this devices. Much more responsive traffic information. If I lived in a major city I can see traffic information being absolutely vital. But by not sitting in traffic you save money and time. The sooner your PND/iPhone App gets the information the better it will be.

I fully suspect that once these applications finally hit some sort of parity in features it's really going to come down to a few very important things.

1. Routing
2. Maps
3. Traffic

Routing is already important, but will become even more important as it will eventually be one of the defining factors for purchasing an application or PND. Face it, features like iPod, landscape mode, lane assist, text-to-speech. These are all features we'll see in every single navigation application. What will eventually make one application superior is going to be the three things above. Who has the best routing? For anyone who is using it for planning trips, going to places you aren't familiar with, everyday driving, those routes are going to be important.

Updated maps. In places where there's a lot of development the accuracy of maps is going to be important. I don't think either of the two major applications (Navigon, TomTom) work hard enough on this yet. I wish there was a way that just the maps could be updated on the iPhone without downloading EVERYTHING. That way they could just update the appropriate tiles and spare people the 1+gig download. They could also push smaller map updates outside of major application updates.

Traffic ties in directly to routing in a way. And I don't know how TomTom does theirs. Do they license their information? Or do they have some in-house team providing the information?

If they're licensing it it might come down to some sort of acquisition in the future. By having it in-house they could potentially provide more up-to-date information. As major cities get more and more crowded the traffic updates can save a ton of fuel and time. Not hugely important in rural areas but I could see it being useful for long trips, busy areas/cities.

There's also the experimental end of things. What I'd love to see traffic-wise is the ability to tap a button on a road and submit a busy area to the traffic company/tomtom/navigon. This could provide much more up to date information.

Think about it. You get to a busy area, you tap a button on the screen which lets you report traffic congestion. Accident? Tap it. Etc. The information gets reported to the company and if enough reports come in for a particular area over a specific set of time then it sends out traffic information to everyone heading in that general area.

 

[comatose81]

I fully suspect that once these applications finally hit some sort of parity in features it's really going to come down to a few very important things.

1. Routing
2. Maps
3. Traffic

Routing is already important, but will become even more important as it will eventually be one of the defining factors for purchasing an application or PND. Face it, features like iPod, landscape mode, lane assist, text-to-speech. These are all features we'll see in every single navigation application. What will eventually make one application superior is going to be the three things above. Who has the best routing? For anyone who is using it for planning trips, going to places you aren't familiar with, everyday driving, those routes are going to be important.

Updated maps. In places where there's a lot of development the accuracy of maps is going to be important. I don't think either of the two major applications (Navigon, TomTom) work hard enough on this yet. I wish there was a way that just the maps could be updated on the iPhone without downloading EVERYTHING. That way they could just update the appropriate tiles and spare people the 1+gig download. They could also push smaller map updates outside of major application updates.

Traffic ties in directly to routing in a way. And I don't know how TomTom does theirs. Do they license their information? Or do they have some in-house team providing the information?

If they're licensing it it might come down to some sort of acquisition in the future. By having it in-house they could potentially provide more up-to-date information. As major cities get more and more crowded the traffic updates can save a ton of fuel and time. Not hugely important in rural areas but I could see it being useful for long trips, busy areas/cities.

There's also the experimental end of things. What I'd love to see traffic-wise is the ability to tap a button on a road and submit a busy area to the traffic company/tomtom/navigon. This could provide much more up to date information.

Think about it. You get to a busy area, you tap a button on the screen which lets you report traffic congestion. Accident? Tap it. Etc. The information gets reported to the company and if enough reports come in for a particular area over a specific set of time then it sends out traffic information to everyone heading in that general area.

Totally agree with this. I think eventually stuff like iPod integration, reality view, etc will be standard in all of these apps. It might not work exactly the same for each, but some version of these features will be available in everything.

As for map updates, CoPilot updates theirs in-app and the updates are quick even over 3G, so I imagine there is a way to only download/install certain tiles... Navigon and TomTom have to be able to do this. It's simple and it save a lot of aggravation.

For the traffic data, I can't agree with having users submit problems. The potential disaster that could create is enormous. You know some idiot is going to go around tapping the traffic alert button wherever he goes just for a laugh.

 

[IronLogik]

Totally agree with this. I think eventually stuff like iPod integration, reality view, etc will be standard in all of these apps. It might not work exactly the same for each, but some version of these features will be available in everything.

As for map updates, CoPilot updates theirs in-app and the updates are quick even over 3G, so I imagine there is a way to only download/install certain tiles... Navigon and TomTom have to be able to do this. It's simple and it save a lot of aggravation.

For the traffic data, I can't agree with having users submit problems. The potential disaster that could create is enormous. You know some idiot is going to go around tapping the traffic alert button wherever he goes just for a laugh.

There would clearly have to be safeguards in place. Which is why I mentioned that it would need a certain number of reports in a given timeframe. Being that each iPhone has specific number associated with it that would mean that one person isn't going to click the button 800 times and screw everyone over. You get one vote every x number of minutes type of deal. I can see it being abused in cases but it's pretty easy to rule out one particular person being an idiot.

A neat idea could be that you can report an issue, and anyone nearby could be able to confirm or deny. If someone consistently reports accurate information they get priority voting that requires less "other votes" thus making it more accurate. Karma type of system. You consistently report errors then you have bad karma and your vote barely counts.

 

[navguy]

I'd actually love to see Navigon do what Dash did in showing the crowdsourced data on the map.

Navigon has the option for people to share "Traffic Flow" data to help further improve INRIX's already good traffic data ... while it may not be as advanced as Dash's marketing blurb, but Navigon is doing the right stuff for a high quality product.

 

[lordhamster]

Navigon has the option for people to share "Traffic Flow" data to help further improve INRIX's already good traffic data ... while it may not be as advanced as Dash's marketing blurb, but Navigon is doing the right stuff for a high quality product.

While that Share traffic data is a cute feature, we have no idea of knowing what it does, where it goes or if it is even used.

Thats why I think it would be neat to have an option to show crowdsourced data on the actually map pages. Dash could display traffic flow on all roads (even side streets) provided someone with a dash had passed by recently. Problem was nobody had Dash units.

With all of these Navigon users out there, chances are much better someone may have traveled with the software running in my area. Would be neat to get some sort of feedback. Not necessary but more of a wish-list item. I can dream can't I?

 

[navguy]

While that Share traffic data is a cute feature, we have no idea of knowing what it does, where it goes or if it is even used.

Thats why I think it would be neat to have an option to show crowdsourced data on the actually map pages. Dash could display traffic flow on all roads (even side streets) provided someone with a dash had passed by recently. Problem was nobody had Dash units.

With all of these Navigon users out there, chances are much better someone may have traveled with the software running in my area. Would be neat to get some sort of feedback. Not necessary but more of a wish-list item. I can dream can't I?

that cute feature positions them to deliver on your neat ideas ... go ahead and dream, Navigon is in a position to deliver (tho i doubt highly they will, just want to say 'cute' and 'neat' and 'dream' a couple more times for ya)

 

[lordhamster]

that cute feature positions them to deliver on your neat ideas ... go ahead and dream, Navigon is in a position to deliver (tho i doubt highly they will, just want to say 'cute' and 'neat' and 'dream' a couple more times for ya)

So even in agreeing with me you still want to disagree.

 

[navguy]

So even in agreeing with me you still want to disagree.

... for now, but i reserve the right to change my mind

 

[GeekGirl*]

Love navigon