Navigon MobileNavigator Europe has arrived

[digbyp]

Navigon MobileNavigator Europe has arrived at $94.99 or £54.99 and a whacking 1.65GB

http://appshopper.com/travel/mobilenavigator-europe

[KilGil27]

eh, tomtom please

[aerospace]

Hopefully tomtom and garmin have better price points. For $50 you can get a stand alone tomtom refurb, charging more just for software is nuts.

$29.99 Awesome
$49.99 Fair
$69.99 Steep but ok if it's good enough
$94 = Fail

[chimpboy74]

50 squid for all european maps seems Ok to me. However I note that it says this price is introductory only and is valid until June 30th. Wonder what it will go up to?

I am waiting on the tomtom. I have a tomtom already but reckon I can flog this for around 50 notes so wouldnt mind paying a wee bit more if i got the traffic and everything as part of the app.

[Jeremy1026]

Hopefully tomtom and garmin have better price points. For $50 you can get a stand alone tomtom refurb, charging more just for software is nuts.

$29.99 Awesome
$49.99 Fair
$69.99 Steep but ok if it's good enough
$94 = Fail

Tom Tom won't be much cheaper. To upgrade current Tom Tom' North America Maps on the 940 (first one in their list) costs $69.95, down from $89.95. Maps are expensive to put together, a lot of time goes into them. The sales of the app will factor in the cost of the maps, meaning higher (but easily justified) prices.

[HBK Carl]

i have been using mobile os sat nav for years and this price point is about right. I have been looking forward to seeing the first legit uk sat nav in the app store and this does look impressive, I'm waiting for some reviews on this as I don't think anyone should jump in and buy this just yet. This space is at the present moment in time the most active in the navigation industry and is sure to turn up some crackers! hold off guys, i'm sure there will be much more choice and an improvement in quality to come!

also

If anyone has bought this and would like to post a review that would be great!

[Rayfire]

Now we just have to wait for a US version

[willybNL]

So, I've bought it.

I don't think the other apps will be cheaper, so I've just taken my chance on it.

My experience up till now:
- Installation needs more than 2.5gb of space on the iPhone (while the app is smaller)
- App is quite fast (on iPhone 3G). If you turn while it's not telling you the route is re-examined quite fast. The time needed to start the app is faster than my Medion by Navigon starts.
- The maps: I don't know... maybe teleatlas/tomtom has better maps, because here in Nijmegen it already tried to send me (with my car) into a road that's bicycle only (next to station Nijmegen Heyendaal). But than again: it's not the first map that didn't try that one, but there is no real 'send to Navigon that this is wrong' button. There is however a 'blockage' button (in the menu).
- The menu is like Release Candidate 1... you need landscape mode to be able to read everything in Dutch, and some menu items aren't as clear (textual) as they can be. For example: there is a nice feature to alert you when your driving to fast. The option to set the speed is described like you need to tell the app how fast you can drive in the city... though, if you click in the menu it will become clear what was meant (only showing options below 30km/h was bit strange for out of the city as a max speed :P:P).
- 3D en 2D Graphics: not really spectacular: but ok, and clear.
- Voice: just fine, like all other Navigon devices. Sound is also just fine with the iPod on. (double click to get into the iPod like in all other apps... could be made more handy in this app as going into the homescreen means wait 20 sec. to start again, it will pickup where it left by the way).
- Speed cameras aren't in it yet. Lot's of other POI are in (and are calculated on where you are / are heading).
- You can force the app to say again what you should do by hitting the icon.
- It will always tell you how fast you can drive, but i didn't see a option that you can see how fast you're driving (except for in the menu in the 'gps-info'). It will warn you with a little icon + (optional) sound.
- Very nice: it integrates into the iPhone addressbook :D (so for everybody you already know: no typing anymore).

Ok... 4 out of 5.

p.s. I wonder why I can't write a review in iTunes, it keeps asking for my password (that I'm entering correctly, as I am able to do other things with it).

[Tunnelrunner]

@willybnl,

Thanks for the review. I'm not going to jump on either TomTom or Navigon until I see more user comparisons. 2.5 GB is huge but again, expected for what you're paying for. Two questions:

1) Does the voice prompt say the names of the roads/highways?

2) Do you get traffic updates like you do with Gokivo and Telenav (which unlike TomTom or Navigon, constantly pull in map/traffic data OTA)?

Thanks,
B.

PS: I thought I was the only one having problems posting a review in the App Store. Like you, after I enter my PW, it keeps prompting me to enter again and again until I just give up.

[golden3159]

The application menu is terribly ugly.

[ajnicho]

Anyone in the UK wanting to buy this, it might be worth going to Argos and getting the £30 Argos vouchers for £20 x 2. That way it will only cost you £40 and you will still have £5 left over.

[avaloncourt]

Now we just have to wait for a US version

Will there be a US version? Navigon pulled out of the US market when it comes to hardware GPS devices. I wasn't happy about that since I have one. I don't know if they'd bother producing a software version for the US since they don't want to be bothered otherwise.

[Randman]

Yes, a US version is coming this month though no price announced yet.

[avaloncourt]

Yes, a US version is coming this month though no price announced yet.

That surprises me that they don't want to support hardware and maps for the US but they'll keep managing maps and software for one device.

Edited to add: I see they're already doing this for Windows mobile and Symbian and might possibly release for the Pre. I guess they decided a non-hardware platform was best for them.

[Tunnelrunner]

That surprises me that they don't want to support hardware and maps for the US but they'll keep managing maps and software for one device.

Edited to add: I see they're already doing this for Windows mobile and Symbian and might possibly release for the Pre. I guess they decided a non-hardware platform was best for them.

More on Navigon withdrawing from the PND/hardware market:

http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com/NAVIGON-stops-PND-business-in-North-America_a1497.html

[avaloncourt]

More on Navigon withdrawing from the PND/hardware market:

http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com/NAVIGON-stops-PND-business-in-North-America_a1497.html

Thanks for pointing that out. I have to wholeheartedly agree with one of the comments posted there.

I do not know of any company that continues business and expects to sell in the US to current clients after pulling ths stunt.

I would have to put myself in that category. I have a one year map subscription on my Navigon GPS and Lifetime Traffic I paid for about 6 months prior to them making it free. I wonder if they'll let the map subscriptions run out and eventually abandon the traffic service. It's one thing to pull out of the US market but to come back in under a different approach. This has to really make a lot of people mad, including me.

Basically, it's like the people who invested in a Dash Express only to be completely screwed. Now RIM bought out Dash's interest and will be porting to Blackberry products leaving the hardware people swinging in the wind. I was one of the people who bought a Dash and, when I saw the direction they were going (plummeting), I returned it and got a refund. I had discovered that much of the Dash coverage map was falsified. There was no coverage and never would be. When confronted about this publicly they backpeddled but claimed the map was fairly accurate. Then one of their support people sent an email to me that came from their data provider (Jasper) informing them that there was no coverage at all and would never be in areas once serviced by Cellular One which now belonged to AT&T. T-Mobile provided most of Dash's data service via Jasper. I don't know if that support person sent that accidentally or if he was quietly providing me with information they were trying to conceal. I had absolutely no confidence in them at all. Others held on to a belief that Dash was going to stand behind the Dash Express and got shafted. The corporate support forum website still exists for Dash even though Dash has officially abandoned it. There are a lot of very upset and disappointed people there. I'm sure, just like me and the Navigon move, those people would never touch another Dash-based product ever again.

[andyhargreaves]

So, I've bought it.

....

Would you be so kind to answer some questions, as I am very tempted to splash the cash!?

- Does the app allow searching for an address by UK postcode? If you want to try, the postcode of a fairly well-known London address is SW1A 1AA.
- Is there an option for quickest/shortest navigation options?
- Do you have the option to select North-up map display rather than Heading-up?

Thanks very much!

Andy

[willybNL]

1) Does the voice prompt say the names of the roads/highways?


It did tell me to go on 'the Axxx highway'. But I did not notice something like 'go into the princestreet' or so. It just tells you to go left, right in some hundred meters (or another measurement if you like that) and sometimes something like 'take a [flauwe bocht] to the left and then go right'.


2) Do you get traffic updates like you do with Gokivo and Telenav (which unlike TomTom or Navigon, constantly pull in map/traffic data OTA)?


Nope... didn't notice that. The map is really really new however is you look at the build date (C) 2008,2009. There is no menu option or so to update, though they did tell you at sale the app will be updated with more info later.

I think we have found a bug in the appstore review system ;(

[willybNL]

- Does the app allow searching for an address by UK postcode? If you want to try, the postcode of a fairly well-known London address is SW1A 1AA.


mmm... after selecting the united kingdom, london the app crashed here... (1st time). Maybe because I hit 'London' in and hit next, while the app wants Londen.

There doesn't seem to be an option to type postal code . You can select streets or find it on the map and select it that way.
Strangely enough it does know all postal codes, because if I search for Whitehall place it will tell me London SW1A 2, London. It can even say (in the house number field) that the A3212 A400 and some things like the embankment place are very near that street.
I wonder if it's just me not finding the option to search based on postal code.

Edit: It does recognize Dutch postal codes, but they start with numbers. So I can type 6663 and it will give me all streets in this postal code. It won't take 6663 XX. With SW1A is just won't work (Not even London Sw1a), a lot of cities start with SW I noticed ;) Funny enough, if you type '1' it will give you a list of 'AB25 1', so I guess they implemented postal code search on numbers only.

Edit: well... I don't know why, but now I can search on SW1A 1... huh? So the answer should be YES, IT IS SUPPORTED.

see the screenshot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24039811@N04/3646537762/

Cut and Paste works by the way in these fields.


- Is there an option for quickest/shortest navigation options?


Yes.
It has 'profile' (car, motor, truck, bicycle or pedestrian). And 'sort of route' fast optimal short and beautiful*. Also a 'via' option is possible.

*) Note, my app is in Dutch, so I'm translating a bit here.


- Do you have the option to select North-up map display rather than Heading-up?


It has 3D (so heading-up) and 2D [by a tap] (what really looks like north-up to me, but it doesn't have like a N to say that, it's for sure not heading-up :D).

[allonym]

@willybnl

Thanks for the info.

Is there any possibility to add custom POI? Speed cameras is what I'm really thinking!

[willybNL]

Is there any possibility to add custom POI? Speed cameras is what I'm really thinking!

There isn't a real add a 'POI', but you can add favorites (screenshot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24039811@N04/3646569884/)

Btw: Well, they tell you in the app store there will be an update for the speed cameras.

[allonym]

There isn't a real add a 'POI', but you can add favorites (screenshot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24039811@N04/3646569884/)
Thanks again.

Btw: Well, they tell you in the app store there will be an update for the speed cameras.
Not on the UK store, unless I'm missing it. Good to know they're thinking about cameras though.

[willybNL]

Not on the UK store, unless I'm missing it. Good to know they're thinking about cameras though.

You're welcome ;)

Strange, in the Dutch store it's clearly there: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24039811@N04/3646583544/

[allonym]

Strange, in the Dutch store it's clearly there: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24039811@N04/3646583544/
Text on UK store is basically this:

http://www.navigon.com/site/int/en/products/navigation_software/iphone

[Tunnelrunner]

@Willy,

You can post your review to the App Store but apparently you have to do it via your iPhone, not the desktop. At least that's what happened to me yesterday.

[HBK Carl]

Anyone in the UK wanting to buy this, it might be worth going to Argos and getting the £30 Argos vouchers for £20 x 2. That way it will only cost you £40 and you will still have £5 left over.

i think you read my mind!

[speakerwizard]

Anyone in the UK wanting to buy this, it might be worth going to Argos and getting the £30 Argos vouchers for £20 x 2. That way it will only cost you £40 and you will still have £5 left over.

You sir are a legend, i have the vouchers now, im on the edge, could someone post a bit more about UK testing please :)

Edit:

ok, well i took the plunge, works really well all in all, very simple ui. The only small issue i have with it is the reading of uk postcodes, it only reads the first 4 digits and then you select the road, it isnt smart enough to ignore the rest of a postcode, this is also an issue with electing from the address book, if the address is all formated correctly and complete it wont recognise it, hopefully they will fix this in an update, all it needs is to ignore half the postcode and read the road name. Everything else is good though, i am happy with it.

[pol0001]

Currently installing it. But one thing was odd. I had to restart my MBP. Otherwise iTunes would always tell me that there wasn't enough space available on my iPhone. After the restart (with the same space available on my phone) the installation went through. :confused:

[delbrasil]

I bought it yesterday in Germany. Payed, downloaded, installed and tested. About Postal Codes. If you have a contact with the postal code, you can start navigation, by using your contacts in the main menu.

[randfee2]

and?!?! you like it? How the iPhone's GPS signal quality, what position does your holder have in the car?

[lovelost]

Installed and did a trial run from the north west of England down to central London this afternoon (about a 4 1/2 hour journey). Coming from a 2006 TomTom One, the "next gen" visuals and lane information with the Navigon app are revelations (although the newer TomTom platform and its iPhone app has this kind of thing too of course).

Apart from having to buy a cigarette lighter charger (my fully charged 8Gb 3G wouldn't have cut the whole journey: got the 20% warning of doom with about 90 minutes to go, and this was on around 25% brightness, 3G / wifi / Bluetooth all off, although push was on), I was impressed with the overall guidance and GPS responsiveness.

Niggles:

- couldn't shut up the voice alert ("beware" or something) when going 1-2Mph over the speed limit even for a brief moment. It's probably in there somewhere but if not I would be hitting silent mode for long periods on motorways (otherwise it will go off every 30 seconds or so)

- sound out of the iPhone built-in speaker wasn't nearly as good (read: loud and intelligible) as with my TomTom One unit, whatever volume settings globally and within the app (so this is an iPhone issue, not a Navigon issue. You could have your audio going through your car stereo I guess to solve this; don't know if it would work through Bluetooth). Guessing this must be a big differentiator between a dedicated unit and a PDA / phone

- installation size: presumably having all the audio files for every European language in the installer increases the overall size at least a little. Would submitting "Navigon - English voice", "Navigon - French voice," etc. reduce the installer requirements?. Many people will have problems freeing up the space to accommodate the installer (the installed size is quoted as around 1.5Gb but people are saying it needs more than 2Gb free to install?). Obviously mapping data takes up a lot of space the installer seems intuitively on the large size (might be wrong)?

- not immediately obvious re entering post codes etc., bit scant on help, but UK and French codes worked fine when entered. I agree that it doesn't take full UK post codes but in practice for me this wouldn't be an issue

- no live traffic news and subsequent re-planning, imagine this would be implemented soon as an in-app subscription feature

- ditto no speed cameras yet


Favourite aspects:

- lane guidance
- detailed voice guidance that annunciates the road names (like "in 300 meters keep right and follow the A12" or whatever, very useful)
- screen layout good for quick scanning
- not having to remember the TomTom when going from car to car
- push notifications will of course appear over the screen and not disrupt navigation; looking forward to keeping up with various kinds of information on the go without having to leave the app -- very driver-safety-friendly (another plea to approve Beejive :-) )


I guess for me it was more about stepping up from the old-fashioned satnavs; the TomTom app may well be just as good or better, and will have the added convenience of the iPhone-specific harness-cum-charger if you fork out for that too, which is a bit less Heath Robinson than a generic PDA holder and separate iPhone charger.

Overall am definitely happy with the application having been used to the old school devices. I wouldn't say this was flawed at all in comparison to TomTom products, odd that TomTom couldn't deliver ahead of these guys given their WWDC presence. Having spent money on this one, and being quite happy with it, it would take an amazing set of (greater) features from the TomTom app to convince me to fork out more for that.

[vinnyemmery]

great review but how does the post code feature work when you put the first 4 digits of the postcode in does it show you the names of all the streets in that postcode and you choose? like my audi satnav

[vinnyemmery]

was it also quick at re-routing if you took a wrong turn

[avaloncourt]

- couldn't shut up the voice alert ("beware" or something) when going 1-2Mph over the speed limit even for a brief moment. It's probably in there somewhere but if not I would be hitting silent mode for long periods on motorways (otherwise it will go off every 30 seconds or so)

If the iPhone app is set up like the hardware GPS units there is a setting in the general settings to turn off the over-speed warning. Yes, it is very annoying. I've had mine turned off for a very long time because, in the US, the speed listings in the GPS are frequently wrong. Often the speed shown on the GPS is 10mph lower than the posted road speed.

You are right about the visuals for Navigon. When I first got my GPS they weren't so good but, unlike Garmin hardware PNDs, Navigon frequently updated their interface until they got it down to what I would consider to be one of the best available. The lane guidance went from terrible to mediocre to outstanding. They really got it right. This is why I'm not happy about them abandoning the US hardware GPS market.

[chimpboy74]

Thanks for the review lovelost. I am a tomtom fan (had 2 different units and didn't think I would consider an alternative ( in fact I upgraded to the 3g as I thought a tomtom app was coming out for it)

however lane guidance and speaking the road to take really appeals. My tomtom one v3 doesn't do this and the lane thong I would find especially useful for city driving

I guess I will wait to see what the tomtom app can do before I decide but I have reserved £60 worth of iTunes vouchers at Argos (for £40) in preparation

does it do landscape?

[lovelost]

was it also quick at re-routing if you took a wrong turn

Yes, I didn't even notice how long it took to initially route my long journey, or the re-route yesterday when I did my first quick trial next to my TomTom and did decide to take a different route. Guess this is partially down to the difference in firepower between an old TomTom and an iPhone (imagine the 3G S!) though. Other than with this I don't have experience of the modern sexy satnav platforms. By comparison my 2006 unit is so old it gives instructions using "thee" and "thou".

[severe]

Other than with this I don't have experience of the modern sexy satnav platforms. By comparison my 2006 unit is so old it gives instructions using "thee" and "thou".

:D

[lovelost]

great review but how does the post code feature work when you put the first 4 digits of the postcode in does it show you the names of all the streets in that postcode and you choose? like my audi satnav

Yes for example if you type in "W6 9", you then tap "W6 9" in the result set and the next screen lists all the roads in that post code sector. You then pick the road. On the next screen you can enter a building number or an intersection from a list (if there are any). So you _can_ drill down to a very specific location, but not direct from the full UK post code.

[HBK Carl]

great reviews here, but i think i might wait for a few more to drop into the app store, the more there are the better it will be for us the customer!

[vinnyemmery]

thats no so bad then, how is the general feel of the routing vert smooth has the gps chip worked well ?have you the 3g or 3gs

[lovelost]

Thanks for the review lovelost. I am a tomtom fan (had 2 different units and didn't think I would consider an alternative ( in fact I upgraded to the 3g as I thought a tomtom app was coming out for it)

however lane guidance and speaking the road to take really appeals. My tomtom one v3 doesn't do this and the lane thong I would find especially useful for city driving

I guess I will wait to see what the tomtom app can do before I decide but I have reserved £60 worth of iTunes vouchers at Argos (for £40) in preparation

does it do landscape?


Yes it really quickly switches between portrait and landscape (left and right rotations as well, which was handy for me as the charger cable was a little short for where I wanted to put the holder).

Like you have been more than happy with the TomTom product and like the look of what they're proposing to release, if it had come out already I probably would have bought it, but decided, in the name of science, to throw caution to the wind and check Navigon out (had never heard of them before so it was something of a risk!!).

[lovelost]

thats no so bad then, how is the general feel of the routing vert smooth has the gps chip worked well ?have you the 3g or 3gs

Using a lowly and plucky old 8Gb 3G. The visuals are more than smooth enough for me if that helps. This isn't a 30fps first-person shooter of course, although that could be interesting if someone programs in some augmented reality and integrates the real world view out of the camera and adds rockets etc. for the guy overtaking you on the inside. Thinks: have I just given away my one great idea for a top iPhone app.

We could call it RoadWarriors. I'll get my coat

The GPS signal is picked up really quickly and it handles blackout sections (like tunnels) like my TomTom (ie tentatively carries on plotting your course at your last recorded speed until the signal reappears). I wouldn't expect the TomTom to be any better or worse in terms of visual experience or GPS processing. Signal strength within the car next to the steering wheel was, for me, at least on par with a dedicated unit.

[willybNL]

- couldn't shut up the voice alert ("beware" or something) when going 1-2Mph over the speed limit even for a brief moment. It's probably in there somewhere but if not I would be hitting silent mode for long periods on motorways (otherwise it will go off every 30 seconds or so)


There is a menu option... in the Dutch version the names are a bit strangly called 'maximum speed in city/outside the city'. You can both increase the speed, or stop the audio completely.

But.. mmm.. .maybe it's just better to drive not beyond the max. speed as it doesn't hint you about the traffic cams yet :)


Found a nice trick: hit the time of arrival in the upper part of the screen to choose another detail (like the speed you're driving, or KM's to drive).


The GPS unit of the iPhone isn't better than my old Medion Navigon, but not worse... sometimes you just don't have a signal, but that could be anything of course... just try that out with Google Maps on the iPhone. I do wonder if that tomtom ass. thing is going to increase GPS.

[cv01]

Any chance for iPod Touch 2G support, I'm able to buy it with my Touch 2G in the AppStore, but will it work with an external BT-mouse?

[chimpboy74]

Im nearly sold. Especially on the lane guidance and text to speech. The postcode part concerns me a bit however. I find it quite easy to get a postcode and type it into my tomtom. With this you would need to know the full address and sometimes I visit companies who lust their address without a street e.g
acme Inc
dalkeith
Edinburgh
eh11 11xx

Unless I am wrong it won't cope with that will it?

[lovelost]

Im nearly sold. Especially on the lane guidance and text to speech. The postcode part concerns me a bit however. I find it quite easy to get a postcode and type it into my tomtom. With this you would need to know the full address and sometimes I visit companies who lust their address without a street e.g
acme Inc
dalkeith
Edinburgh
eh11 11xx

Unless I am wrong it won't cope with that will it?

This will challenge any satnav I think?

I think if you enter "EH11 1" in the Navigon you will end up with a list of streets that are in that post code sector. So you'll need to figure out the street. The missing link is mapping the company to something more than a post code (by calling, Googling, WatchDog, etc. -- now a direct linkage with Google in to one of these satnav apps would be good!).

[chimpboy74]

Yes but I enter the full postcode on my tomtom and it gets me to at least the street if where I need to be. With this I wouldn't get beyond the general area I think?

[andyhargreaves]

Yes but I enter the full postcode on my tomtom and it gets me to at least the street if where I need to be. With this I wouldn't get beyond the general area I think?

This is why I will be waiting for TomTom app, probably. Wish they would hurry up, though!

[DenniZ]

Good app, will try to review later, not too worried about the full postcode search as yet, can always look it up on google maps anyways.

[ct2000]

mapping is also very out of date , it doesn't even have my home address in the UK , and the road was built nine years ago !!!!

I would advice you to check http://www.navigon.com/site/uk/en/service_support/mapreporting to check address before you spend a small fortune on this !

[lovelost]

mapping is also very out of date , it doesn't even have my home address in the UK , and the road was built nine years ago !!!!

I would advice you to check http://www.navigon.com/site/uk/en/service_support/mapreporting to check address before you spend a small fortune on this !

To be fair you'll find different inaccuracies in all satnav products. Even in central London the latest TomTom map I use still sees roundabouts that were removed years ago, and in deepest Sussex is convinced there's a handy turning off the A27 where there never has been (and that road is very very old).

You are unlikely to find a product that is wholly accurate, just differently inaccurate.

[chimpboy74]

To be fair you'll find different inaccuracies in all satnav products. Even in central London the latest TomTom map I use still sees roundabouts that were removed years ago, and in deepest Sussex is convinced there's a handy turning off the A27 where there never has been (and that road is very very old).

You are unlikely to find a product that is wholly accurate, just differently inaccurate.

You would be hard pushed to find one as inaccurate as the smartnav system installed on my last company car. There was one road it always told me to turn off down a single track lane and on a 3 mile detour through industrial estates eventually bringing me back out on the same original road just a little further up! It seemed to have a preference for single tracked roads! One time it also got stuck in a loop telling me to come off M6 motorway only to go back in opposite direction then to come off and go back again. I trusted it fir a couple of times like this then gave up and got my maps out (also went home and bought a tomtom!)

[FastLaneJB]

I'd almost considering buying this and trying it. I have a TomTom 910 but obviously it's a few years out of date now and wanted some new maps + features + maybe trying something other than TomTom.

However the lack of full UK postcodes put me right off. Like someone above was saying, even if you don't have the full address a postcode will get you on the right road and normally in roughly the right section of that road if it's long.

Like you say you could look it up in Google Maps but it still wouldn't solve the problem that not all roads have a road name. Certainly not in Norfolk there is plenty of villages in the middle of no where and the address will be the house name followed by the village name and the postcode. So it would be completely impossible to navigate to a road which has no road name on a system like this. You'd be able to find the village and then just have to drive around randomly until you came across the house. Admittedly these are never large places but it's still a pain.

I'm sure of course this problem won't be a problem for most of you, just would be for me and my work sometimes.

[chimpboy74]

hi two of the things that appealed to me about navigon aint gonna be on the iphone app for tomtom cos I asked:

Dear Mr Chimpboy74

Thank you for contacting TomTom Customer Care
The reference number for your query is .

The iPhone version of Tomtom wont have Advanced lane guidance or text to speech but will have IR Routes.

You can find details on the following link ;

http://iphone.tomtom.com/

More information will be made available closer to the products release later in the year,

With Kind Regards

Chris

The TomTom Customer Care Team


Not sure what IR routes are as yet.

[egraphixstudios]

Only if tomtom had a release date- im so 50/50 atm if i should got with navigon or wait for tomtom.

with the lack of speed cameras, POI's etc the navigon is off putting.

I've used tomtom devices all my life and i'm really use to them+all the free addons and updates the tomtom is defo the right one to go with. :confused:

[Diode]

Anyone know when the USA maps come out?

People are already trying to hack the European version to do this haha.

[surferfromuk]

hi two of the things that appealed to me about navigon aint gonna be on the iphone app for tomtom cos I asked:

Dear Mr Chimpboy74

Thank you for contacting TomTom Customer Care
The reference number for your query is .

The iPhone version of Tomtom wont have Advanced lane guidance or text to speech but will have IR Routes.

You can find details on the following link ;

http://iphone.tomtom.com/

More information will be made available closer to the products release later in the year,

With Kind Regards

Chris

The TomTom Customer Care Team


Not sure what IR routes are as yet.

later in the year!? - that sounds like a LONG way off already...

[randfee2]

I've been reading tests and seen videos usw. After a view days I have to say:

This application sometimes looks as bad as last century HTML sites!

http://www.pocketnavigation.de/pictures/article/6904_2.jpg

70% of screen space wasted
the color scheme, jesus, orange type with white stroke?
pin even hides the text...



but now the worst:
http://www.pocketnavigation.de/pictures/article/6901_1.jpg
What a crime to humankind this view is!

all kinds of icons and text overlap
the same crazy coloring, orange type + white stroke, even smaller now
instead of widening the roads.... well

why not use the space in the top bar for instance to have so selective buttons for different point-of-interest types, at least something to remove the clutter. Floating rules for these icons are apparently non-existent.


I mean its standard material (the maps), so the only thing to blame is the GUI and the map-renderer. I find this hardly usable and arguably ugly.
I'm kind of surprised that nobody is complaining about this, especially in a mac forum with people used to ergonomic GUIs!

[ksmith80209]

What a crime to humankind this view is!

all kinds of icons and text overlap
the same crazy coloring, orange type + white stroke, even smaller now
instead of widening the roads.... well



I kind of wish they'd just gone all the way and used Comic Sans as the primary font...

[skidmcmarx]

I've been reading tests and seen videos usw. After a view days I have to say:

This application sometimes looks as bad as last century HTML sites!




Have you actually USED the app or are you just basing your opinion on these crappy pics??

I've been using it for the last 2 days and although it is not 100% perfect it is an extremly good app. The points you make against it are completely inaccurate.

In no way does it waste 70% of the screen. The pic you showed is the screen shown before you start the map. Its like a waitin screen before you begin the turn by turn. Which i must say is excellent.

And in regards your other complaint about the clutter. This is only one view, there are other ways of viewing the map that are far less cluttered.

Just my opinion from using it.

[randfee2]

skidmcmarx,

totally right, of course thats not the whole truth (look down), but I wanted to show how cluttered and hard to read it can get. The screen with the minimap, wasting half the screen is no waiting screen, its a confirmation for your target. Why not make it fullscreen, readable etc.?!? I find it a very valid question.
The second one is just awful though. There is no way to quickly activate/deactivate certain item-groups to actually see through the mess of POIs... as said, this could easily be done but apparently little effort went into the GUI (at least in this part!).

Besides... the font color and white stroke is always like that, which I find ridiculously distasteful and quite hard to read!
The navigating abilities of the software have nothing to do with the ergonomics of it of course!

And YES, there is this view i.e., which is simply and easy to grasp, its good, no argument there. But here for instance you can't overlay streetnames PLUS you can't zoom in here.
http://www.pocketnavigation.de/pictures/article/6909_1.jpg

[iSimon]

Navigon have now added a British Isles only version to the AppStore [iTunes Link (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320253828&mt=8)] for £37.99 (again this is an introductory price - goes up to £59.99 / 69.99€ after June 30th). A much less eye-watering 215MB rather than the 1.6GB of the full Europe version. It contains maps for UK, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland - otherwise seems to be just the same as the full Europe version.

At this price I've given it a punt as it is sounding like TomTom is considerably far off release - I'll post back with my thoughts once I've had a bit of a go with it.

[cosmaboy]

Hi,

Does anyone know if the Navigon are releasing a cradle to go with the app, i'd find it very hard to use the sat nav when it isnt attached to the windscreen.....

Tom tom's cradle looks really good and the app seems sound, but when will it be released!

is it all going a bit far... i have a garmin nuvi in my car and that does a perfect job, am i just thinking that have a sat nav on the iphone is a bit of a novelty... i mean it doesnt everything but make me a bacon sandwhich!!

[Phil Lee]

Hi,

Does anyone know if the Navigon are releasing a cradle to go with the app, i'd find it very hard to use the sat nav when it isnt attached to the windscreen.....


I never got on with the cradles that attach to the windscreen. 3 years ago when I got my current car I invested in a Brodit Pro Clip. It attaches to the dashboard using the gaps between the panels to hold it in place. I used a passive cradle with my MDA Vario then got an active cradle when I got my Vario III with GPS. I used that with CoPilot Live 7 for the last 18 months. I've been so impressed with the Brodit holders that I got one for my 3GS. It screws onto the Pro Clip and holds the phone in place perfectly.

[Rankrotten]

Phil, any chance of posting a pic of that setup?

[Moleshome]

Anyone in the UK wanting to buy this, it might be worth going to Argos and getting the £30 Argos vouchers for £20 x 2. That way it will only cost you £40 and you will still have £5 left over.

Apologies if this is explained elsewhere but how does this offer work? When I look on the Argos website I can't find a £30 voucher, only £50, £25 and £15 all priced at face value.

[uknutz]

Apologies if this is explained elsewhere but how does this offer work? When I look on the Argos website I can't find a £30 voucher, only £50, £25 and £15 all priced at face value.

This offer finished 22nd June. It was buy 2 x £15 vouchers for £20, a very nice saving. People were buying (myself included) 4 x £15 cards for £40 so you could buy the £54.99 version and still have £5 left out of the £40.

[iSimon]

This offer finished 22nd June. It was buy 2 x £15 vouchers for £20, a very nice saving. People were buying (myself included) 4 x £15 cards for £40 so you could buy the £54.99 version and still have £5 left out of the £40.
It was also only available in store. I also got 4 x £15 vouchers but I went for the £37.99 version of Navigon so still have a fair amount left - I also went via quidco for 8% cashback and some free iTunes songs, so it has effectively cost me a touch over £22 with some free songs bundled in.

[Phil Lee]

Phil, any chance of posting a pic of that setup?

I'll post one tomorrow morning.

[digbyp]

Can you also use the App as a map viewer? Or do you have to select a route before you can see departure and destination?

[chimpboy74]

mapping is also very out of date , it doesn't even have my home address in the UK , and the road was built nine years ago !!!!

I would advice you to check http://www.navigon.com/site/uk/en/service_support/mapreporting to check address before you spend a small fortune on this !

I have this now and it includes roads only completed on last year in my area

[Phil Lee]

Phil, any chance of posting a pic of that setup?

As promised here are a couple of photos of the Brodit active mount:

http://plee.smugmug.com/photos/573601942_iB4kt-M.jpg

http://plee.smugmug.com/photos/573602281_9w42R-M.jpg

http://plee.smugmug.com/photos/573602956_fDBWo-M-1.jpg

[iSaga]

I just purchased the Navigon Europe app & I'm having some issues. I keep getting "No GPS signal at the moment"

Anyone else have this problem or know of a fix?

[SpeedFleX]

Will there be support for external chipsets, I have a good Sirf3 chipset here which I would rather use?

[Lojt]

Im having some trouble getting sound. When using demo mode it works fine, but no sound at all when navigating. I've tried restart etc. but still nothing. Am i the only one with the problem?

[Rankrotten]

Neat setup there Phil.

Will the cradle work if the iPhone is in a case?

[iSimon]

You can get a version that is width adjustable that will accomodate iPhones in cases.

[ErikX]

I really like this app. For my use it's close to perfect. There is however one annoyance; after a few minutes the screen dims into energy saving mode. I have to touch the screen to make it light up again. It's a bit tiresome to do this every second minute. The phone is connected to my (new) car stereo through USB, so it's playing music and charching while I use the GPS app.

I previously used a Belkin FM tuner to connect the Phone to my (old) stereo. In this setup the screen never dimmed/went into energy saving mode.

Anyone else experiencing this?

I just got a tip telling me to disable the screen lock, but I really don't feel comfortable doing that, as I might forget turning it back on..

[chimpboy74]

I hear a lot of people have this issue but I don't. It happened today after I Had been into the iPod player (double click home button). It dimmed a couple of times but I just double clicked the home button again then clicked close on the iPod player which seemed to work

but like I said it isn't normally an issue. Even if my phone isn't connected to power

Also does anyone know the difference between the route plan options:Fast or Optimum?

I checked a route out on google maps, my tomtom and navigon and the navigon was set to optimum and gave a different route to the tomtom and google (which were for fastest). What does it mean by optimum?
I have tried emailing navigon but had zero response so I am a bit dissapointed in that.

[chimpboy74]

Update is promised for July. See link below

http://www.navigon.com/site/uk/en/products/navigation_software/iphone

[LostLogik]

Update is promised for July. See link below

http://www.navigon.com/site/uk/en/products/navigation_software/iphone

Doesn't look like full postcode search is included in the update. Hurry up TomTom

[DenniZ]

I hear a lot of people have this issue but I don't. It happened today after I Had been into the iPod player (double click home button). It dimmed a couple of times but I just double clicked the home button again then clicked close on the iPod player which seemed to work

but like I said it isn't normally an issue. Even if my phone isn't connected to power

Also does anyone know the difference between the route plan options:Fast or Optimum?

I checked a route out on google maps, my tomtom and navigon and the navigon was set to optimum and gave a different route to the tomtom and google (which were for fastest). What does it mean by optimum?
I have tried emailing navigon but had zero response so I am a bit dissapointed in that.

Optimum makes it inbetween, basically not the fastest or shortest. Personally I use fast, it does easier routes (prefers motorways than going down tedious A roads). I tried it from Liverpool to Leeds, changing route profiles gave a difference of 10-20 miles but the extra 20 miles would be done on the motorways compared to a roads.

[anjinha]

Does this app have walking directions?

One thing I don't get is why this app is releasing different versions (Europe, British Isles)... Couldn't they use in-app purchasing for people to get the maps they want?

[lw9090]

Just wondering if you use the GPS for a long time does it get hot or overheat and shut down?

[avaloncourt]

I've used the GPS in my 3G for extended periods. I have never had issues of shut-down but, being such a heavy drain on it, the phone does get very warm because you have the display and GPS going constantly.

[DenniZ]

Does this app have walking directions?

One thing I don't get is why this app is releasing different versions (Europe, British Isles)... Couldn't they use in-app purchasing for people to get the maps they want?

I got it early, so it worked out cheaper, yes it does have walking directions, and has many new features soon. Including text to speech.