MotionX GPS Drive is OUT !

[Pika]

MotionX GPS Drive is a fantastic open source app.

Check this out:

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6229/screenshot20090927at941.png

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oTP_3E3CWs

The yearly cost is only for the voice guidance... so if you don't need it because you have TomTom/Navigon who do the job or don't want to pay for it you just have to turn that off and stick with the standalone app for a total of 2.99. iF you leave it on.. you have 30days of voice guidance then after the 30days, it will ask you to pay or to turn the feature off.

Map of choice is Microsoft's bing.

[emailYasmin]

Just downloaded. Very Nice Interface, as with other MotionX Apps.

One thing I am trying to figure out, is to how to navigate from Point A to Point B when I am at Point C.

Please keep updating Database.

Yasmin

[mhuntoon]

Am I correct in thinking that the only downside to this app would be the fact that the maps aren't stored locally (which they tout as a plus because they're more current), thereby requiring a good cell signal to work consistently?

Also, the voice guidance for $25 or so per year. Does this work like the apps do in that I'm charged that price once but can use it on all iPhones on my account or do I need to pay that price for each iPhone?

Thanks!

[MBHockey]

No text to speech, GPS lag looks even worse than on TomTom, and that interface is absolutely hideous. No thanks.

Their comparison chart is also wrong. Navigon is $89 not $99, it has 2D maps, and ipod integration.

[DotComCTO]

So as others have noted:

1. Looks like you need to have a solid cell signal to make sure you get maps at all times (which I personally don't get on the local roads I frequently take).

2. The YouTube video does make the GPS tracking look laggy.

3. The turn-by-turn speech isn't up to where Navigon is now. There's no speech for saying the actual street name.

4. No mention of traffic integration - which, again, Navigon will be releasing as a paid one-time add-on within the next month.

The pricing model is good though: $2.99 for the first 30 days and $24.99 for a yearly subscription is very impressive. I think the theory is great...just not sure about the performance when the cell service is marginal.

In the meantime, I'll be sticking with Navigon while I take a 'wait-and-see' approach with this solution.

Let's see some real-world reviews here!!

:cool:

--DotComCTO

[Zorro1869]

Just downloaded this. I have been wanting Navigon for a while now, but being a that I'm a post-doc, I don't exactly have 100 bucks lying around. The only downside I can see is the subscription based voice navigation; however, being that a monthly subscription is only 2.99, I should be able to purchase it whenever I truly need it.

Haven't tried it out yet, but I plan on using it later this afternoon. I'm excited!

[Pika]

Am I correct in thinking that the only downside to this app would be the fact that the maps aren't stored locally (which they tout as a plus because they're more current), thereby requiring a good cell signal to work consistently?

Also, the voice guidance for $25 or so per year. Does this work like the apps do in that I'm charged that price once but can use it on all iPhones on my account or do I need to pay that price for each iPhone?

Thanks!

You need to pay that price on each phone because it use the serial number of the iPhone to the server.

[Zorro1869]

I know this is a petty complaint, but I find the icon to be way too busy.... Not polished at all...

[trainguy77]

That chart is so wrong. "optimized for the iphone" all of them are written for the iPhone how else would they run. Yes navigon and tom tom used man design and layouts from the hand held units they sell. But thats because it works and people buy it. Why re invent the wheel? Of coarse they are going to make it look similar. I wouldn't want the 3GS compass integration used anyway. I find the compass to me very inaccurate in cars. So why not use the GPS which won't have a problem when your travelling at higher speeds?

I also see no 3d in the demo or anything. So that part of the chart means nothing as navigon has 2d and birds eye view. It also seems to miss the lane assist feature.

I could go on about the chart but I won't. It just bugs me when they make up garbage charts to try compete.

It may be a great app and the price looks good. But with that kind of advertising it bugs me.

One last thing. As a canadian I would never buy it. Many of us only have 500mb of data I don't want to be using it for navigation.

[jblock]

Not bad for $2.99, but you have to buy/use the voice navigation for the maps to be 3D. And the compass has a bit of a lag.

[globalist]

Looks like the screen doesn't rotate with the device. Meh.

[ViPa]

this app is definitely worth it for basic navigation..personally id like a more polished app if i used it more often..but this will suffice for rare instances where i need directions

[aerodoc]

I just bought Navigon last week and now I am wishing I had not. This app is not quite as good, but its pretty darn close for a fraction of the cost.

[flipm725]

does this app re-route you in the right direction in case you take a wrong turn?

[m3coolpix]

Wouldn't work for our AT&T account. We have 3 iPhones on our plan. 2 of those frequently need navigation where cell phone data signals are marginal, or don't exist. And since we got in on Navigon's sale price, it's still less expensive for us across the 3 users. With Navigon's addition of traffic at the sale price, it will still be less than MotionX GPS Drive. Sometimes it works out to be an early adopter!:D

[bbplayer5]

cell nav programs = fail.

[raluce]

I have used it the past few days and have found it to be outstanding. I already have a Garmin and couldn't justify paying for an app, but wanting to give them a try. For $2.99, it was a no brainer. It has worked flawlessly. I think I would use it more than my Garmin. I find it to be a wonderful app. I am in far northern suburbs of Chicago and the cell signal is solid. Not sure how it would work without the cell signal, but color me impressed!

[MadGoat]

I won't be using it since it's using bing(microsoft) for it's information. If they switch to google, then count me in.

[rburly]

does this app re-route you in the right direction in case you take a wrong turn?

Yes, but rather slowly. I went past where I wanted to go and it took at least 30 seconds to re-route me.

[azentropy]

Love the pricing model. Pay $2.99 up front and then if/when you need it pay $2.99 for another 30 days of voice navigation. So those of use infrequent users can save quite a bit.

Drove to work today with it going and my old Garmin c330. In most cases it gave the alerts a bit earlier than the Garmin. Map terrain didn't seem quite as accurate, such as depicting the curvature of the roads, but that could have been because of the zoom level I was on. Did a couple of searches for different restaurants and it is MUCH more accurate, but that is because Garmin abandoned the c330 and hasn't had a map update available for a couple of years.

Also it does have a map cache (I think 250mb). So if you are going somewhere you think you might have week signal you could simulate the route I supposed to cache the maps/streets. Not sure how to make it simulate from two points yet when you are not at either point.

Other comments, sorry most of them make it sound bad but it really isn't. Just my nature to point out what could be improved.

- Takes long time on my 3G to start the app
- Compass doesn't work on 3G (of course) but would be nice if they just stated that on the compass page (please no pop up).
- Names are always shown North up. Would be nice if it flipped the street names when heading South so they are not upside down.
- Is the spinning globe in the top right really necessary?
- Be nice if you could specify type of food when looking for restaurants (something my Garmin does that I like).
- Also would be nice if the provided the direction of where things were too...


Anyway, great start I think. Looking forward to seeing how they continue to improve it.

[jim.lynch]

Interesting, I've had a brief play with this here in the UK and it works just fine.
(purchased via a US iTunes account) Full UK postcode searches and POIs all work. Haven't had a chance to take it for a drive but route previews look promising.

[pooryou]

They are misrepresenting the 'one year cost' of the apps they are comparing to since they are not a year license. Kind of shady.

I don't consider 'live' maps to be a good thing, but I guess that is subjective.

[functional]

great price for testing period $2.99

[bozzykid]

I won't be using it since it's using bing(microsoft) for it's information. If they switch to google, then count me in.

I hope you are just kidding. Why does it matter what they use? If they took the logo off, you wouldn't even know the difference. It isn't like it loads the Bing website. It is just using their API to find local businesses. Whether it is Google or Bing, the results are very good compared to using POIs in a map database like TomTom.

[bbplayer5]

Useless for me if it cant download the maps before hand. Pulling them off the data stream live is failure. Most places I need it I will lose cell coverage along the way several times.

Wont work for me.

[RobMSantos]

I was really surprised to see a GPS app in the top-rated list at such a low price after seeing Navigon and TomTom on there for so long. I currently use the AT&T Nav app, but I'm going to try this one today and report back how well it works for me in the Midwest USA area.

[Natesac]

After testing it out a few times it seems like this app works very well. Seems pretty accurate. It does not appear to be able to keep up
the voice directions while the screen is locked. Which is a problem for me because i wanted to use this app while riding my motorcycle with headphones. Perhaps it's a bug. The music will skip from time to time while using the app with the screen locked. Only when it's locked screen

[aerodoc]

I will compare it to Navigon, my opinion. I am showing the positives for each, which indicates the other does not have this feature.

Motion X:
-Better looking maps, much like google maps. Easier to identify major/minor roads and street names.
-Seems to acquired the GPS signal much more reliably.
-POI are much better.
-Different styles of maps using the GPS to keep the direction north or the built in compass (which is nice when walking or getting started) and the GPS cannot get a good vector.

Navigon:
-Can drop a pin anywhere where motion X cannot.
-Has lane assist.
-Speaks street names.
-3D view seems more realistic looking (motion X just seems to "rotate" the 2D map to make it look 3D'ish.

That's all I can think of now. I like Navigon for a totally new city since the lane assist and street names are really useful. But for local areas where you have a pretty good feel already, Motion X may be better since it has a better map, better map options, and acquires the GPS signal more reliably. Also better for walking since you can use the compass and the POI's are better.

Motion X is a heck of a value, while Navigon has an OK value.

[The General]

where can i find the source code for this? i looked on motionx's website, i find nothing

also, i found this, which seems to indicate that it is not open source:

Restrictions. The Software and any related documentation are protected by United States copyright law and international treaty provisions. You may not copy, modify, adapt, translate into any language, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Software without the prior written consent of Fullpower. You may not assign this EULA or any of the rights or licenses granted under this EULA or rent, lease, or lend the Software to any person or entity. Any attempted sublicense, transfer, or assignment in violation of this EULA is void. You acknowledge that the Software contains proprietary trade secrets of Fullpower and its suppliers. You agree not to decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, or attempt to reconstruct, identify, or discover any source code, underlying ideas, underlying user interface techniques, or algorithms of the Software by any means whatsoever, except to the extent the foregoing restriction is prohibited by applicable law.

[trainguy77]

where can i find the source code for this? i looked on motionx's website, i find nothing

also, i found this, which seems to indicate that it is not open source:

Why would you think the source would be released?


EDIT: never mind I saw the OP said its open source. I highly doubt i would be. Most pay for apps aren't.

[The General]

Why would you think the source would be released?

the OP says it's "a fantastic open source app"

[trainguy77]

the OP says it's "a fantastic open source app"

Yeah my bad. I just noticed that. I don't even know if pay for apps can be open source. Most of the open source terms don't allow it. Unless they decided to write their own.

[polobreaka]

so how does it work when you're driving in the mountains/canyons? you hardly get reception up there..so does that mean maps wont load?

[severe]

Wow.

As a strong supporter of Navigon, I'm actually impressed.

Get the street names together, then add traffic and you'll have a real contender here. Not that there isn't already a market left for this, at that price.

Best of luck to them.

[mhuntoon]

I've been using it in North Central North Carolina (Greensboro area) for the past several days and I'm very impressed. It takes quite awhile to load, but once it's up and running it's great. Especially for the price!

I'd like a couple of, what I consider, bells and whistles like lane assist, but for $2.99 I'm not complaining.

[RobMSantos]

I tried it out on three rides last night going from point A to B to C then back to A. Each leg was about 20 to 30 minutes each.

For some reason it could not download route data at all for trip AB.

Trips BC and CA went really well actually. Voice is a lot clearer and less muffled than AT&T's offering. I really like being able to control the iPod from within the app.

I have two main issues that are making me second guess leaving AT&T's offering:
1) When I missed a turn, it would take 2+ more blocks to recalculate my route. The AT&T app could usually do this in less than a block to get me back on track at the soonest turn possible.

2) If you get close to your destination but miss it (suppose you didn't know what side of the street it was on), MotionX will mark your trip as complete and stop giving you directions. The AT&T app would continue to tell me which direction my destination was even after passing by it until I exit the app.

---
I'll be on a vacation in Tampa at the end of the week where I'll be testing this app more in an area completely new to me. For now, I'm keeping both apps.

[Berek]

I'm in So. Cal and have given this app plenty of tries. It's absolutely fantastic. I love how it also has the great ipod support and turn by turn directions. It also has a SEARCH function which none of the other apps (except ATT) do.

[polobreaka]

so how does it work when you're driving in the mountains/canyons? you hardly get reception up there..so does that mean maps wont load?

so for the heavy user of this app, does it work well in the canyon/mountains?

[OneMike]

Just purchased will give a review Friday night after I have time to test it out

[polobreaka]

price dropped to 0.99

[scirica]

price dropped to 0.99

For .99 I decided to try it out this morning. Initial impression is good, but I've yet to take it out on the road and test against my Nuvi. No mount and no landscape kind of sucks IMHO though.

[Zorro1869]

Mapquest Navigator is out for .99 with TTS. Would be interested in hearing some comparisons...

[CylonGlitch]

MotionX GPS Drive is a fantastic open source app.

Where can I download the Source?

[OneMike]

After trying this out for a 100 mile period here is the brief version of the review I'm going to post.

Overall I think this app is great and definitely worth it even if costed more than it does.

My initial surprise was that unlike tomtom, navigon or the other apps I've tried. I was able to simply pull up any of my contacts and instantly get routed. With tomtom and other apps on the same contacts I had to make crazy modifications to the addresses to get it to work.

Accuracy has been spot on and while on the 3G network on my 3GS. I didn't have any connection issues over the 100 mile trip. There is also a small section on route where I normally lose service for a moment. During that time GPS fail or anything. Despite requiring a data connection runs fairly smooth. It's not always a constant moving triangle. However, it does move every second or so. Therefore, progress is always shown.

Core Version:

There were a couple issues with this version which I reported to dev and they replied back within an hour and said they are working on for 1.3 release.

- ETA, Time Left and distance do not update. It shows initial estimates and never changes as you approach destination.
- If you stray off course you have to manually set route again. It does not re-route you automatically (dev said will be an update button in 1.3 if u stray)


Premium Version:

Above issues in core work perfectly in premium. ETA, time, distance all update and if you stray you are re-routed.

I honestly like this app and think it's well worth price. Initially I was going to purchase in morning before I left but ended up doing last night so I got at $2.99 price rather then the $0.99 a few hours later. I don't feel bad though.

In premium the voice is very pleasant and prompts come up in intervals that make it easy to follow without having to stare at screen.

I was a little shocked with app initially as the way it was worded implied more that the premium version just had the addition of voice, rather then several other features not in the core. Devs are prompt with reply and updated description and site to an extent so again can't complain.

[lemonademaker]

just unbelievable for $.99 you can get a pretty sweet GPS!!

looks pretty sweet, I'm in Northern Michigan right now so i'm excited to see how it does with "less than stellar" ATT coverage.... POI seem to be in here where i'm at....

I also just picked up Mapquest $.99 "trial"... i'll also use that along with my previously purchased Gmaps east....

I guess i'm one that is still amazed with the iphone!!

[titaniummd]

I have both the Sport and Drive versions. They are awesome apps and are definitely better than the map program installed on the iPhone.

[stogie53]

Tried to buy on iTunes shows .99 but will not allow purchase! says currently being modified. Anyone else???:apple:

[RobMSantos]

They might be in the process of ending that sale and bumping the price back up. At least, that's when I've gotten that error in the past with others apps...

[OneMike]

it's back to $2.99 so that's the case

[jrichard012]

Anything from this company is top quality. Its genius comes through owner, Phillipe Kahn who used the MotionX GPS to navigate in this year's TransPac race to Hawaii. It was the principle source of navigation and Kahn set an all time record in the process. His company, Fullpower, is incredible.

This app seems to kick butt on any of the other navigation ones for our phones. Its price is a steal.

My hope is that the window mount from Tom Tom will be compatible with Motion X.

[RobMSantos]

Completely agree. At that price the app is at least worth a try, and if you end up liking it, then it's a complete steal also. It's pretty much a no-real-loss/win scenario.

[Nyan]

I collected 20 ($0.05) Coca-Cola cans on the street to purchase this app today.

[aerodoc]

First off, it's a GREAT app!

You know what these apps need? They need to swipe to skip songs. Essentially to merge a program like fluxtunes, opus, etc. into the Nav app.

It is totally logical and would really make people happy = $$$. Think about it, people love the gesturing for ipod control in the car. You use a nav app in the car. Hello!

[lemonademaker]

just got an update today for MX gps drive...
love the app and all the info it can pull up... $3 is still a killer deal...
the list view is sweet....
a couple of buttons are moved making it easier to get to....
landscape is in the next update from what they emailed me... (i think they said that one is submitted to apple already)

it's still has the normal 2d &3d views but,
anyone else missing the "aerial" view?