Initial Impressions on TomTom in Comparison to Navigon

[Vandam500]

Just got back from a trip (1 hour 30 minutes round trip). I have had Navigon since it came out and last night I got TomTom. My impressions/quick comparison about TomTom in comparison to Navigon are the following:

Pros:

-Awesome and Easy to Use Interface
-Good Connection (No signal issues whatsoever)
-Map looks great!
-Can see list of directions (Navigon does not have this)
-Plenty of Options (Voices,Route Planning,etc)
- Lots of POI's

Cons:

-If playing music from iPod it completely pauses the music to give directions (Unlike Navigon which lowers the music's volume and then resumes)
-It doesn't tell you things like "Continue this road for 10 miles". Just tells you turn left/right and thats it. (Navigon does)
-It shows speed limit but it doesn't warn you that you are going too fast (With Navigon it says caution and you choose when you want it to warn you)
-Got a little lost when arriving at the destination but then found it's way (Has yet to happen with Navigon)
-30 dollars more expensive then Navigon at the moment

All in all, although TomTom has a nicer looking interface,Navigon has a few more options, is cheaper, works just as good (if not better) and has TTS coming out soon while there is no word on if TomTom will add it anytime soon.

My recommendation at the moment: Navigon

[iSimx]

thanks for the pros and cons! I'm now tempted towards navigon! sounds awesome

[catskinsox]

Cons:

-If playing music from iPod it completely pauses the music to give directions (Unlike Navigon which lowers the music's volume and then resumes)


I actually wish Navigon had the *option* of doing this. When listening to music, it's fine to just lower the volume. When listening to an audiobook, however, I would prefer it pause so I don't miss anything.

A toggle button for choosing pause or lower volume at the least. Even better, if it's an audiobook or a podcast, pause. If it's music, lower volume.

[odelay]

I'm glad I went with Navigon rather than wait for TomTom. Based on the impressions of TT so far it's looking more and more like the right decision, especially with the news of the upcoming features due for Navigon. So far, it's been flawless for me, giving me spot on directions on various trips in the UK over the past month. Can't wait for the TTS and iPod integration features, it looks awesome.

[ashley1496]

I'm glad I went with Navigon rather than wait for TomTom. Based on the impressions of TT so far it's looking more and more like the right decision, especially with the news of the upcoming features due for Navigon. So far, it's been flawless for me, giving me spot on directions on various trips in the UK over the past month. Can't wait for the TTS and iPod integration features, it looks awesome.

Sorry I'm a dummy but what is TTS? And does Navigon not offer the iPod integration features already?

Thanks, I'm leaving for a trip tomorrow and debating on which to buy. :)

[DenniZ]

Sorry I'm a dummy but what is TTS? And does Navigon not offer the iPod integration features already?

Thanks, I'm leaving for a trip tomorrow and debating on which to buy. :)

TTS is text to speech, Navigon at the moment can read out motorways and A roads. E.g M6 and A1. But TTS means it will be able to read out the full street name.

As for the iPod integration at the moment you can use the small controller popup to change songs but Navigon are letting you go into the iPod style interface to choose playlists and artists without leaving the app.

[MBHockey]

What do you guys use for Navigon's routes? Optimum? Fast? I think the only thing I prefer on TomTom is the routes it uses.

[DenniZ]

What do you guys use for Navigon's routes? Optimum? Fast? I think the only thing I prefer on TomTom is the routes it uses.

I use optimum, i think it chooses a balance just right.

[curly14]

What do you guys use for Navigon's routes? Optimum? Fast? I think the only thing I prefer on TomTom is the routes it uses.

Been using Optimum seems to work good just waiting on traffic re-route and TTS for streets coming out on 1.2

A nice feature for Navigon would be freeway/street view of traffic flow Verizon Nav has it or something like Inrix Traffic app does anyone else have any suggestions

[jcde7ago]

Hands down, in their current states, Navigon absolutely blows TomTom out of the water; TomTom came late to the party and brought a 12-pack of Nati while Navigon came early to pregame with 2 kegs of Blue Moon. ;)

Seriously though, Navigon has the edge in both feature set and price.

Pros of Navigon:
-Lane Assist Pro = know which lane you're supposed to be in
-RealityView Pro = know how a highway will junction, helps you stay in the right lanes
-Is able to read out Highway names via voice, how many miles till an exit, when to keep left or right, etc., and not JUST "turn left (or turn right)."
-Navigate to any address from your contacts
-Audible warnings if you're speeding
-Is the most accurate compared to TomTom in terms of accurately portraying where you are on the road - the app will sometimes "push" you ahead on its own (meaning on the map) based on your speed/heading to make sure your location on the map is accurate to your relative location on the road. I've noticed that TomTom maintains the lag inherent with the iPhone GPS, and is slightly behind compared to Navigon.

Cons of Navigon:
-Street names are somewhat, though not extremely, hard to read (and small, but i guess this con is negated when TTS comes out in the 1.2 update).
-No step-by-step listing of your route - there is no explanation for this. Even the Google Maps app has this...don't know why they chose to leave this out.

and

Pros of TomTom:
-Has a nice, clean interface. Lots of route options, voice options, POI's. Maps are sleek looking and slightly easier to read than Navigon's. Traversing the menus are also a bit faster than Navigon's.
-Has step-by-step listing of your current route

Cons:
-Everything it lacks that Navigon has
-When it loses GPS lock, instead of continuing your route like Navigon, it will *sometimes* "jump" your map on screen like it has completely lost you and unnecessarily re-calculate your route (did this to me in the middle of downtown SF :mad:).
-No announcement of text-to-speech yet
-Costs $30 more, plus could be even more $$$ if you're looking to buy the optional mount (in reality they should slash the price to $60-70 and use that extra $30 in savings to give people a chance to buy a non-TomTom car mount).

So again, as of right now, there really is no comparison between the two apps. As far as reliably navigating you to your destination, both work great (including GPS signal lockons and all that - pretty on par with each other). In terms of bang for your buck though, and with all the nifty features Navigon is already planning on rolling out with 1.2 - TomTom has absolutely nothing but name brand popularity going for it right now.

We'll give TomTom the benefit of the doubt to improve their app, but they are lagging really bad and I don't expect them to catch up to the feature set of MobileNavigator anytime soon with the way Navigon has been churning out new features with their updates....

[tboooe]

Hands down, in their current states, Navigon absolutely blows TomTom out of the water; TomTom came late to the party and brought a 12-pack of Nati while Navigon came early to pregame with 2 kegs of Blue Moon. ;)



Hey I like Nati Light. It supplied all my nutrition during college. I guess that means I will be getting TomTom....:) In all seriousness, the announcement of the TTS pushed me over the edge. I will buying Navigon tonight when I get home.

[FearlessFreep]

-Costs $30 more, plus could be even more $$$ if you're looking to buy the optional mount (in reality they should slash the price to $60-70 and use that extra $30 in savings to give people a chance to buy a non-TomTom car mount).
I realize you're talking about a windshield mount/clip here, but you bring up a good point - what's to prevent various third parties from embedding a GPS chip in a mount and selling it for less than TomTom? Not to mention if a GPS-added mount is even necessary.

Tom Tom made a critical error of focusing on hardware in a software dominated platform. The entire model is based on Applications, not Hardware. As such their application appears to have suffered as a result of the split strategy. And more importantly, the delay in release served to demonstrate that a GPS-mount was not required to do TBT on the iPhone. They were then left scrambling, and hurried the app release out while playing catch up.

To their credit, at least they didn't exclude themselves from the market like Garmin (major FAIL).

[ddrueckhammer]

@JCDE7AGO

Good synopsis. I think that all those navigation options and cleaner interface/maps on TomTom trump some of the features you list for Navigon though. Lane assist is OK but TomTom gives auditory queues about what lane you need to be in so it isn't that big of a deal. Reality view is a pretty useless feature IMO, it looks cool but don't think its that necessary. You don't mention that TomTom has a lot of different voices, map colors, IQRoutes or whatever its called, newer/better maps and POIs, and might have the option to do $10 per quarter map updates (which would be good).

You are right though, right now Navigon has the advantage due to cost but if TomTom can get TTS out and Navigon raises their price at the end of the month I think the conclusion could just as easily be TomTom is the better app.

The one big thing is that Navigon fudges you location a bit to compensate for lag and TomTom doesn't. It makes for an overall more fluid experience.

[FearlessFreep]

Lane assist is OK but TomTom gives auditory queues about what lane you need to be in so it isn't that big of a deal. Reality view is a pretty useless feature IMO, it looks cool but don't think its that necessary.
Disagree on Lane Assist and Reality View. I've been in situations before with the Garmin Nuvi and still been confused as to which sign I should follow because the turns are so close to each other. 'Exit right' or 'stay in left lane' doesn't help if there's three choices. Reality view assists in that it shows you the exact wording on the sign that you need to follow. There are a lot of confusing junctions for highways and any additional information is helpful. It was one of the things that drew me to these apps.

[jcde7ago]

@JCDE7AGO

Good synopsis. I think that all those navigation options and cleaner interface/maps on TomTom trump some of the features you list for Navigon though. Lane assist is OK but TomTom gives auditory queues about what lane you need to be in so it isn't that big of a deal. Reality view is a pretty useless feature IMO, it looks cool but don't think its that necessary. You don't mention that TomTom has a lot of different voices, map colors, IQRoutes or whatever its called, newer/better maps and POIs, and might have the option to do $10 per quarter map updates (which would be good).

You are right though, right now Navigon has the advantage due to cost but if TomTom can get TTS out and Navigon raises their price at the end of the month I think the conclusion could just as easily be TomTom is the better app.

The one big thing is that Navigon fudges you location a bit to compensate for lag and TomTom doesn't. It makes for an overall more fluid experience.

Well, to start off:

Nitpicking on UI will of course be a personal preference type of deal. Some people prefer Navigon's UI to TomTom's, and vice versa.

Also, i am fairly certain that I did mention that TomTom had a lot of different voices and all of that - the sentence in my initial post read exactly like this: "Lots of route options, voice options, POI's..."

As for color options of the TomTom maps, night/day mode is good enough for me with Navigon - everything on the map already has different colors already for Navigon (and even the POI's have their own distinct brand-name colors, like fast food logos and whatnot), so i don't really care if i have the option to change the color of the road i am driving on like on TomTom. Color options on TomTom maps don't really help me get to my destination any better...functionality > appearance.

To go on and claim that TomTom has newer/better maps, again, would be kind of foolish - Navigon uses NavTeq maps owned by Nokia, which is actually the market leader in SATNAV maps where as TomTom uses their own TeleAtlas maps. "Newer and better" would be fairly relative in this case, as some people would prefer one over the other. Could one really prove unless one traversed every road in the US and Canada if Navigon or TomTom had the "newer" maps? Also, no offense, but if you didn't know already, all "IQRoutes" does is give you the option of choosing the fastest route to your destination - Navigon has this as well, it has about 4-5 options actually, a "Fast(est)" and "Optimal" route being a couple among them along with options for what types of roads, etc. to eliminate along your route.

I disagree with you on the necessity of RealityView and LaneAssist, however - both apps do prompt you via voice to "keep left," but Navigon actually will tell you which HIGHWAY/EXIT to keep left on - and this is extremely important when driving in unfamiliar territories where there is a huge junction - keep left, sure, but what if there are 6 lanes merging and three different highways about to divide - exactly which "left lane" are you supposed to be on? With Navigon, it not only tells you the exact exit to take, but shows you exactly which lane(s) to be in with the correct overhead sign displayed.

Finally, I think you misunderstood the whole purpose of Navigon's "fudging of location." All Navigon does is, based on your relative speed/heading, it maintains your route and eliminates lag - that way, wherever you are on the map is almost entirely accurately displayed with where you are on the road. IT doesn't "fudge it up" at all - in fact, it keeps it extremely accurate. With TomTom, i'd have already passed the turn I was supposed to turn on, simply because the vehicon on the map lagged to where I actually was on the road - Navigon compensates for that and is almost always virtually spot on. Navigon is actually much, much more seamless and fluid than TomTom's IMHO. To be fair though, it's not the TomTom app's fault for this - the iPhone GPS as I mentioned above has an inherent lag when the GPS unit has to tell the OS the relative location. It's just that Navigon has found a way to keep everything in-step.

IF you really think that price is the only thing that sets these two apart, then you're very much entitled to your opinion. But in my opinion, Navigon has a much better feature set and, while some prefer the looks of TomTom, I am quite alright with the looks of Navigon - I prefer the sleekiness of the black UI, and I absolutely prefer the functionality of my GPS rather than the looks.

[johnntd]

It does not matter how nice of an interface TT has, it sucks big here in California. Their map database is horrible, at least 7 years old. I've wasted a couple hundreds bucks on TT before and will never do it again.

Well, to start off:

Nitpicking on UI will of course be a personal preference type of deal. Some people prefer Navigon's UI to TomTom's, and vice versa.

Also, i am fairly certain that I did mention that TomTom had a lot of different voices and all of that - the sentence in my initial post read exactly like this: "Lots of route options, voice options, POI's..."

As for color options of the TomTom maps, night/day mode is good enough for me with Navigon - everything on the map already has different colors already for Navigon (and even the POI's have their own distinct brand-name colors, like fast food logos and whatnot), so i don't really care if i have the option to change the color of the road i am driving on like on TomTom. Color options on TomTom maps don't really help me get to my destination any better...functionality > appearance.

To go on and claim that TomTom has newer/better maps, again, would be kind of foolish - Navigon uses NavTeq maps owned by Nokia, which is actually the market leader in SATNAV maps where as TomTom uses their own TeleAtlas maps. "Newer and better" would be fairly relative in this case, as some people would prefer one over the other. Could one really prove unless one traversed every road in the US and Canada if Navigon or TomTom had the "newer" maps? Also, no offense, but if you didn't know already, all "IQRoutes" does is give you the option of choosing the fastest route to your destination - Navigon has this as well, it has about 4-5 options actually, a "Fast(est)" and "Optimal" route being a couple among them along with options for what types of roads, etc. to eliminate along your route.

I disagree with you on the necessity of RealityView and LaneAssist, however - both apps do prompt you via voice to "keep left," but Navigon actually will tell you which HIGHWAY/EXIT to keep left on - and this is extremely important when driving in unfamiliar territories where there is a huge junction - keep left, sure, but what if there are 6 lanes merging and three different highways about to divide - exactly which "left lane" are you supposed to be on? With Navigon, it not only tells you the exact exit to take, but shows you exactly which lane(s) to be in with the correct overhead sign displayed.

Finally, I think you misunderstood the whole purpose of Navigon's "fudging of location." All Navigon does is, based on your relative speed/heading, it maintains your route and eliminates lag - that way, wherever you are on the map is almost entirely accurately displayed with where you are on the road. IT doesn't "fudge it up" at all - in fact, it keeps it extremely accurate. With TomTom, i'd have already passed the turn I was supposed to turn on, simply because the vehicon on the map lagged to where I actually was on the road - Navigon compensates for that and is almost always virtually spot on. Navigon is actually much, much more seamless and fluid than TomTom's IMHO. To be fair though, it's not the TomTom app's fault for this - the iPhone GPS as I mentioned above has an inherent lag when the GPS unit has to tell the OS the relative location. It's just that Navigon has found a way to keep everything in-step.

IF you really think that price is the only thing that sets these two apart, then you're very much entitled to your opinion. But in my opinion, Navigon has a much better feature set and, while some prefer the looks of TomTom, I am quite alright with the looks of Navigon - I prefer the sleekiness of the black UI, and I absolutely prefer the functionality of my GPS rather than the looks.

[Pika]

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[MBHockey]

After using TomTom for the last two days, I really have no idea what possessed me to purchase it since I was already so happy with Navigon.

The good news is I wrote to Apple and complained about the lack of trial periods for pricey apps (I really didn't think this argument would work, but it was worth a shot) and they refunded me the $99.00 for the TomTom app.

Navigon is already good, and only looks to be getting better. I got it at the sale price of $69.00, so it feels like an absolute steal. Especially since it allowed me to eBay my Garmin StreetPilot c330 for $90 :D

Now, if only Navigon could add the ability to see a detailed view of the route beforehand, along with the ability to tweak which roads you want to use (like TT) along with making the road names more legible, I'd be completely satisfied.

[ddrueckhammer]

Well, to start off:

Nitpicking on UI will of course be a personal preference type of deal. Some people prefer Navigon's UI to TomTom's, and vice versa.

Also, i am fairly certain that I did mention that TomTom had a lot of different voices and all of that - the sentence in my initial post read exactly like this: "Lots of route options, voice options, POI's..."

As for color options of the TomTom maps, night/day mode is good enough for me with Navigon - everything on the map already has different colors already for Navigon (and even the POI's have their own distinct brand-name colors, like fast food logos and whatnot), so i don't really care if i have the option to change the color of the road i am driving on like on TomTom. Color options on TomTom maps don't really help me get to my destination any better...functionality > appearance.

To go on and claim that TomTom has newer/better maps, again, would be kind of foolish - Navigon uses NavTeq maps owned by Nokia, which is actually the market leader in SATNAV maps where as TomTom uses their own TeleAtlas maps. "Newer and better" would be fairly relative in this case, as some people would prefer one over the other. Could one really prove unless one traversed every road in the US and Canada if Navigon or TomTom had the "newer" maps? Also, no offense, but if you didn't know already, all "IQRoutes" does is give you the option of choosing the fastest route to your destination - Navigon has this as well, it has about 4-5 options actually, a "Fast(est)" and "Optimal" route being a couple among them along with options for what types of roads, etc. to eliminate along your route.

I disagree with you on the necessity of RealityView and LaneAssist, however - both apps do prompt you via voice to "keep left," but Navigon actually will tell you which HIGHWAY/EXIT to keep left on - and this is extremely important when driving in unfamiliar territories where there is a huge junction - keep left, sure, but what if there are 6 lanes merging and three different highways about to divide - exactly which "left lane" are you supposed to be on? With Navigon, it not only tells you the exact exit to take, but shows you exactly which lane(s) to be in with the correct overhead sign displayed.

Finally, I think you misunderstood the whole purpose of Navigon's "fudging of location." All Navigon does is, based on your relative speed/heading, it maintains your route and eliminates lag - that way, wherever you are on the map is almost entirely accurately displayed with where you are on the road. IT doesn't "fudge it up" at all - in fact, it keeps it extremely accurate. With TomTom, i'd have already passed the turn I was supposed to turn on, simply because the vehicon on the map lagged to where I actually was on the road - Navigon compensates for that and is almost always virtually spot on. Navigon is actually much, much more seamless and fluid than TomTom's IMHO. To be fair though, it's not the TomTom app's fault for this - the iPhone GPS as I mentioned above has an inherent lag when the GPS unit has to tell the OS the relative location. It's just that Navigon has found a way to keep everything in-step.

IF you really think that price is the only thing that sets these two apart, then you're very much entitled to your opinion. But in my opinion, Navigon has a much better feature set and, while some prefer the looks of TomTom, I am quite alright with the looks of Navigon - I prefer the sleekiness of the black UI, and I absolutely prefer the functionality of my GPS rather than the looks.

Your entitled to your opinion but I have used both apps extensively and despite the aforementioned niceties of Navigon. I prefer TomTom mainly because is just has more routing features and much more legible maps. Also, I agree that the black interface is more slick but TomTom's interface is more polished. That said, given the price difference Navigon is probably the more rational choice.

By fudging, I just mean that it is guessing where you are based on speed relative location. It is more fluid for sure but I still wish it were possible for it to just use the actual data and be accurate. Maybe the TomTom dock will enable this and won't be too expensive...

Also, I claimed that TomTom has better POIs/Maps because I have found addresses/POIs that don't exist on Navigon and they do on TomTom. I'm sure this is dependent on area though. You can't dispute that TomTom's maps are newer than Navigon's though.

[jcde7ago]

Your entitled to your opinion but I have used both apps extensively and despite the aforementioned niceties of Navigon. I prefer TomTom mainly because is just has more routing features and much more legible maps. Also, I agree that the black interface is more slick but TomTom's interface is more polished. That said, given the price difference Navigon is probably the more rational choice.

By fudging, I just mean that it is guessing where you are based on speed relative location. It is more fluid for sure but I still wish it were possible for it to just use the actual data and be accurate. Maybe the TomTom dock will enable this and won't be too expensive...

Also, I claimed that TomTom has better POIs/Maps because I have found addresses/POIs that don't exist on Navigon and they do on TomTom. I'm sure this is dependent on area though. You can't dispute that TomTom's maps are newer than Navigon's though.

We'll agree to disagree, sure, but at least you admit that the more rational choice is Navigon given the grand scheme of things.

Also, just so we're clear, the way that Navigon handles the location of your vehicon isn't "guessing"; technically, it is being MORE accurate and using real time data to project where you are because, given the lag with the iPhone GPS, SATNAV apps would never accurately portray where you are on the road unless they add a way to compensate for that lag. Navigon does this. TomTom doesn't do this, hence, it's actually reporting a delayed location when you look on your map. That isn't accurate at all.

Also, I have found a few POI's on both apps that the other does not have. So I can't speak for the status of POI's, as both have their shortcomings; it's also unrealistic for ANY app to conceivably hold every single POI of every single town and city. It's just not gonna happen.

And again, I CAN dispute that TomTom has newer maps, because both of the apps lack 2 roads in my town that were re-routed in the past year, and so far, both apps have gotten me to my destinations with the same roads. Unless there is actual, concrete data on the dates the maps for both apps were developed, I won't go on an assumption that TomTom's maps are newer with a blind statement.

[Khryz]

Wow, mostly everyone here is hating on TomTom and going with Navi. I don't have any but I waited for TT to come out to make a decision. So far, from what I am gathering here is to go with the Navigon.

I just wish, as someone already noted, that Apple allowed for trial periods for these pricey apps. I doubt writing to Apple would work everytime, would it?

[Rat-Boy]

Just got back from a trip (1 hour 30 minutes round trip). I have had Navigon since it came out and last night I got TomTom. My impressions/quick comparison about TomTom in comparison to Navigon are the following:

Pros:

-Awesome and Easy to Use Interface
-Good Connection (No signal issues whatsoever)
-Map looks great!
-Can see list of directions (Navigon does not have this)
-Plenty of Options (Voices,Route Planning,etc)
- Lots of POI's

Cons:

-If playing music from iPod it completely pauses the music to give directions (Unlike Navigon which lowers the music's volume and then resumes)
-It doesn't tell you things like "Continue this road for 10 miles". Just tells you turn left/right and thats it. (Navigon does)
-It shows speed limit but it doesn't warn you that you are going too fast (With Navigon it says caution and you choose when you want it to warn you)
-Got a little lost when arriving at the destination but then found it's way (Has yet to happen with Navigon)
-30 dollars more expensive then Navigon at the moment

All in all, although TomTom has a nicer looking interface,Navigon has a few more options, is cheaper, works just as good (if not better) and has TTS coming out soon while there is no word on if TomTom will add it anytime soon.

My recommendation at the moment: Navigon
I don't know what is more impressive.

Your review, or the fact that you were willing to spend $170 for the rights to write said review!

Either way, well done! :D

[Vandam500]

I don't know what is more impressive.

Your review, or the fact that you were willing to spend $170 for the rights to write said review!

Either way, well done! :D

Rofl!!! Well, Its only 1 time payment so why not :p

[javaGuru]

I purchased the TomTom app as soon as it came out and have been very impressed with it so far. I have not had a chance to try NaviGon yet but just might have to check it out since everyone thinks so highly of it. The screenshots of it in another thread look very impressive. I also have AT&T Navigator app and like it as well. Thanks for all the reviews guys.

[Vandam500]

I purchased the TomTom app as soon as it came out and have been very impressed with it so far. I have not had a chance to try NaviGon yet but just might have to check it out since everyone thinks so highly of it. The screenshots of it in another thread look very impressive. I also have AT&T Navigator app and like it as well. Thanks for all the reviews guys.

The best thing about the AT&T Navigator is that its maps are real time but it was kind of slow for me because of that I guess and that it has Text to Speech.

[ddrueckhammer]

@Vandam500

I read somewhere that Navigon is using 2008 maps and TomTom is using Q1 2009 maps so that is why I say that.

Navigon is a great app for sure but I wish it had the UI polish and advanced routing features that TomTom has.

Hopefully, these two companies spend the rest of the year improving their apps/cutting costs so that we have two great alternatives with high end features for low end costs... TomTom needs to get their act together fast and announce their upgrade path (hopefully lane assist, vanity voices, subscription based map upgrades, and TTS). Also, if they don't price that dock competitively that will hurt.

Navigon seems to be doing the right thing but I want to seem more UI options, routing options, and an overall more polished UI from them.

[Vandam500]

@Vandam500

I read somewhere that Navigon is using 2008 maps and TomTom is using Q1 2009 maps so that is why I say that.

Navigon is a great app for sure but I wish it had the polish and advanced routing features that TomTom has.

Hopefully, these two companies spend the rest of the year improving their apps/cutting costs so that we have two great alternatives with high end features for low end costs... TomTom needs to get their act together fast and announce their upgrade path (hopefully lane assist, vanity voices, subscription based map upgrades, and TTS). Also, if they don't price that dock competitively that will hurt.

Navigon seems to be doing the right thing but I want to seem more UI options, routing options, and an overall more polished UI from them.

Hmm, I don't know what year maps Navigon is using to be honest. I am going to investigate. But hey, I have been using it for the last couple weeks and its been perfect everywhere I go.

Both seem to have the same maps, I haven't noticed a difference but TomTom is the bigger company here in the US so maybe it does have newer maps. Time will tell.

[ddrueckhammer]

Hmm, I don't know what year maps Navigon is using to be honest. I am going to investigate. But hey, I have been using it for the last couple weeks and its been perfect everywhere I go.

Both seem to have the same maps, I haven't noticed a difference but TomTom is the bigger company here in the US so maybe it does have newer maps. Time will tell.

I specifically tried to go out and find newer roads and businesses and TomTom had them more often then Navigon, but Navigon seems to have bad implementation on their search engine so maybe I just couldn't find them...

Navteq is supposedly the better (more up to date) map provider though so YMMV...

[Vandam500]

I specifically tried to go out and find newer roads and businesses and TomTom had them more often then Navigon, but Navigon seems to have bad implementation on their search engine so maybe I just couldn't find them...

Oh I have noticed that, Navigon's search engine seems to suck a little :p

[mcoster]

For Dutch readers:

I've posted an in-depth comparison on:

http://www.mischacoster.com/2009-08/mac/tomtom-voor-iphone-vs-navigon-voor-iphone/

Review includes speed, maps, navigation, voice guidance, options/settings etc.

Hope it helps!

[Jeffro]

Hi. I'd love it if someone could tell me if Navigon allows custom POIs? Thanks in advance!

[christran12]

Navigon vs. TomTom

I’ll be reviewing these two products as a relative newbie to the GPS navigation world. I’ve never really felt the need for a true Navigation Unit. The last one I used was a Windows Mobile App from iNav. It did not impress me. I’ve grown up reading maps so the GoogleMaps App fits me pretty perfectly. I usually just route my trips on it and pretty much memorize the route and turn to it for a cue here and there. But as soon as apps came out for the iPhone, I’ve been itching to try them out to see why everyone loves Navigation units so much and of course how well they stacked against each other. I’ve gotten a chance to try out both the packages from Navigon and the highly anticipated TomTom. I’ve only tried them both for a day or so but enough to give me some strong impressions.
Here are some of the things I was looking at:
Performance:
TomTom was the clear winner here. Both the load time and the routing time were heavily in TomTom’s favor. I think at least in part, this is due to the richer graphics presentation of the Navigon app. Scrolling was a lot smoother and the screen actually rotates as you’re turning on TomTom. With Navigon, it simply jerks you in the new direction.
Starting Navigon takes much longer than I’d like. It’s also finicky with the GPS signal, but that may be a good thing. (See below) It takes it’s time in locking on to the GPS signal.
TomTom starts very fast and the app seems so much more responsive than Navigon. The GPS signal locks on almost immediately. Determining and recalculating routes were much faster with TomTom.
Winner: TomTom
Presentation:
When you’re looking at the Navigon App, it obviously appears richer and more pleasing. I would almost call it eye candy. But this didn’t translate to better functionality. As stated above, I do think Navigon suffers quite a bit in performance because of this. On top of that, the street names are very hard to see while you’re in motion and from a distance. The overall displayed aspect doesn’t seem quite proportional to the actual road. Somehow, the way TomTom presents the streets; you get a better idea of how close or how far away the next street is. On Navigon, PIO icons that actually display company icons (like Subways, McDonalds, Staples, etc.) although look really cool at first, added to the chaos on the screen. TomTom displays, at the bottom, a separate panel containing many useful things: speed, next turn, distance to next action, etc. Navigon only has a few items and they’re all floating on top of the map, again making it a bit messy.
TomTom’s graphics is very simplistic, may a bit too simplistic. The curvy roads aren’t so smooth. The colors that are used aren’t as pleasing. Everything seems a bit oversized, which, as person who likes details, I didn’t like very much. But during use, I found everything easy to see quickly without squinting (I have 20/20 vision). But the jagged graphics were a tad distracting, but that’s just me.
As an artist, I normally would give high praise for aesthetics. But here, I was left hungering for simplicity.
Winner:
Aesthetics: Navigon
Usefulness(more important): TomTom
GPS Accuracy:
Here, the clear winner was the Navigon. As I switch both Apps to 2D mode and tracked the streets that I was passing and the turns I was making against how well the Apps tracked my position, Navigon was almost always dead on. Because of this, I find it easier to forgive how long Navigon locks on to the GPS signal.
TomTom seemed to lag a bit. Thankfully, while driving a route, the voice instructions were given repeatedly and well enough ahead of time that the lag was never really an issue. Of course the constant reminder before a turn is somewhat annoying in itself.
Winner: Navigon
Voices:
TomTom has a much bigger selection, all of which sounded better than the default voice from Navigon.
Winner: TomTom
TTS (spoken street names):
Neither has this, but I really did not miss this feature one bit. But it may have been more useful on the Navigon since the street names were harder to see.
Winner: Both losers!
Options:
I haven’t explored them much, but TomTom seems to have more options, especially in regards to routing. It’s also a bit more intuitive how to access these options.
Winner: TomTom
Lane Assist/Reality View:
TomTom kinda missed one here. I would have appreciated at least some simple lane assist, besides the constant “keep right”, especially when the road forks in more than two directions. The Reality View feature on the Navigon App looks incredibly good and useful.
Winner: Navigon
Price:
$99-yikes! For what you’re getting, not sure TomTom is worth it. But I’d rather pay the extra money for a useful product than $30 bucks less for something I’d hate. And adding the Car Kit for God knows how much, you’re talking some big bucks either way. I hope you’re really into consolidating technology, because a cheap GPS Nav unit can be had for around $100 now.
Bottom line:
The TomTom seems more ready for primetime. Both are lacking in some areas, but the areas that TomTom lacks in still leaves it with a very useful product. While the Navigon looks great, it’s tedious to use. For something that you should be looking at (or better not) while driving, the clearer, the better and that’s TomTom.
Still, I only routed to place I knew well just to test them out. How I often I’d use either of these, I really don’t know. I was still itching to get out the GoogleMaps app and plot my trip. Not to sound political or preachy, but devices such as these, I believe, rob people (including myself) of useful skills.

[Tunnelrunner]

Navigon vs. TomTom

I’ll be reviewing these two products as a relative newbie to the GPS navigation world. I’ve never really felt the need for a true Navigation Unit. The last one I used was a Windows Mobile App from iNav. It did not impress me. I’ve grown up reading maps so the GoogleMaps App fits me pretty perfectly. I usually just route my trips on it and pretty much memorize the route and turn to it for a cue here and there. But as soon as apps came out for the iPhone, I’ve been itching to try them out to see why everyone loves Navigation units so much and of course how well they stacked against each other. I’ve gotten a chance to try out both the packages from Navigon and the highly anticipated TomTom. I’ve only tried them both for a day or so but enough to give me some strong impressions.
Here are some of the things I was looking at:
Performance:
TomTom was the clear winner here. Both the load time and the routing time were heavily in TomTom’s favor. I think at least in part, this is due to the richer graphics presentation of the Navigon app. Scrolling was a lot smoother and the screen actually rotates as you’re turning on TomTom. With Navigon, it simply jerks you in the new direction.
Starting Navigon takes much longer than I’d like. It’s also finicky with the GPS signal, but that may be a good thing. (See below) It takes it’s time in locking on to the GPS signal.
TomTom starts very fast and the app seems so much more responsive than Navigon. The GPS signal locks on almost immediately. Determining and recalculating routes were much faster with TomTom.
Winner: TomTom
Presentation:
When you’re looking at the Navigon App, it obviously appears richer and more pleasing. I would almost call it eye candy. But this didn’t translate to better functionality. As stated above, I do think Navigon suffers quite a bit in performance because of this. On top of that, the street names are very hard to see while you’re in motion and from a distance. The overall displayed aspect doesn’t seem quite proportional to the actual road. Somehow, the way TomTom presents the streets; you get a better idea of how close or how far away the next street is. On Navigon, PIO icons that actually display company icons (like Subways, McDonalds, Staples, etc.) although look really cool at first, added to the chaos on the screen. TomTom displays, at the bottom, a separate panel containing many useful things: speed, next turn, distance to next action, etc. Navigon only has a few items and they’re all floating on top of the map, again making it a bit messy.
TomTom’s graphics is very simplistic, may a bit too simplistic. The curvy roads aren’t so smooth. The colors that are used aren’t as pleasing. Everything seems a bit oversized, which, as person who likes details, I didn’t like very much. But during use, I found everything easy to see quickly without squinting (I have 20/20 vision). But the jagged graphics were a tad distracting, but that’s just me.
As an artist, I normally would give high praise for aesthetics. But here, I was left hungering for simplicity.
Winner:
Aesthetics: Navigon
Usefulness(more important): TomTom
GPS Accuracy:
Here, the clear winner was the Navigon. As I switch both Apps to 2D mode and tracked the streets that I was passing and the turns I was making against how well the Apps tracked my position, Navigon was almost always dead on. Because of this, I find it easier to forgive how long Navigon locks on to the GPS signal.
TomTom seemed to lag a bit. Thankfully, while driving a route, the voice instructions were given repeatedly and well enough ahead of time that the lag was never really an issue. Of course the constant reminder before a turn is somewhat annoying in itself.
Winner: Navigon
Voices:
TomTom has a much bigger selection, all of which sounded better than the default voice from Navigon.
Winner: TomTom
TTS (spoken street names):
Neither has this, but I really did not miss this feature one bit. But it may have been more useful on the Navigon since the street names were harder to see.
Winner: Both losers!
Options:
I haven’t explored them much, but TomTom seems to have more options, especially in regards to routing. It’s also a bit more intuitive how to access these options.
Winner: TomTom
Lane Assist/Reality View:
TomTom kinda missed one here. I would have appreciated at least some simple lane assist, besides the constant “keep right”, especially when the road forks in more than two directions. The Reality View feature on the Navigon App looks incredibly good and useful.
Winner: Navigon
Price:
$99-yikes! For what you’re getting, not sure TomTom is worth it. But I’d rather pay the extra money for a useful product than $30 bucks less for something I’d hate. And adding the Car Kit for God knows how much, you’re talking some big bucks either way. I hope you’re really into consolidating technology, because a cheap GPS Nav unit can be had for around $100 now.
Bottom line:
The TomTom seems more ready for primetime. Both are lacking in some areas, but the areas that TomTom lacks in still leaves it with a very useful product. While the Navigon looks great, it’s tedious to use. For something that you should be looking at (or better not) while driving, the clearer, the better and that’s TomTom.
Still, I only routed to place I knew well just to test them out. How I often I’d use either of these, I really don’t know. I was still itching to get out the GoogleMaps app and plot my trip. Not to sound political or preachy, but devices such as these, I believe, rob people (including myself) of useful skills.

Nice review/comparison. Having tested both apps, I agree with your conclusion. TomTom, while not as pretty or aesthetically pleasing as Navigon, does seem more functional/reliable, IMO.

[abinder]

I don't have either app. I'll hold off until they've both been out for about 6 months.

My main concern about the Navigon app is will they abandon the North American market like they did with my North American Navigon GPS unit? (Navigon no longer supports the North American maps.)

Don't kid yourself about Navigon's traffic either. My Navigon GPS unit had lifetime traffic included in it. It wasn't very accurate at all. I ended up using my iPhone to display the Google map with traffic of the area that I was in. The Google map with traffic was much more accurate the the built in lifetime traffic that my Navigon GPS unit had.

Just my observations though.

[tivoboy]

Navigon didn't abandon the US market at all, they simply stopped offering their current hardware products in North America. Personally, I think that was the right call. they had NO real differentiating products or features and most likely didn't have them on the pipeline for a while. They are much stronger in Europe, where Garmin (the NA leader) isn't, and they are quite strong on the mobile phone handheld platform which is where I think they are focusing their efforst in the north american market.