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Navigon vs Tomtom vs Garmin on IPhone 4S

G

globality

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 7, 2010
81
4
Hi,

Can anyone suggest a navgation app among these three?

I know it has been discussed a lot but since iPhone 4S is out I hope that someone already used them on 4S. I do not want to buy all of them and there is no way to try it out so your opinion is sincerely appreciated.

My requirement:
1) Offline map, speak street names (I assume all 3 have them)?
2) Good GPS signal. I know it is related to hardware but somehow I heared that Tomtom GPS singal is worse than Navigon on iPhone 3GS without their car kit? I think iPhone 4S should be better?
3) Route: My garmin GPS almost alwasys give me best route that I would like to follow. Not sure if any the routes given by them are equal?
4) Lane guidance And better say "Keep left/right" etc.
5) Battery drain is not a problem as I use charger all the time in the car.
6) Poi is important but I can live without it
7) Traffic not sure never used that before.

I know there are other free options such as Waze and Mapquest. Believe me I tried and am not impressed. I want something stable. I actually like Telenav but again I prefer offline map.

Thanks!
 
U

Uln4321

macrumors regular
Feb 3, 2011
216
28
I think Garmin has the nicest interface!! I have it and have never had any problems!

Edit: But Navigon just announced this new interface which I really like!
 
R

RotaryP7

macrumors 6502a
Aug 31, 2011
751
30
Miami, FL
MotionX GPS Drive not an option? It does do offline maps. So it works w/o any GPS signal or data.

IMO, best GPS app on the iPhone. It's only $20 a year. :cool:
 
G

globality

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 7, 2010
81
4
Uln4321 said:
I think Garmin has the nicest interface!! I have it and have never had any problems!
Click to expand...

Sounds promising. I have been using Garmin GPS unit for many years so interface wise I should have no problem. I was having a Windows Mobile phone and Garmin Mobile XT does not speak street name. This should not be an issue for Garmin iPhone version?
 
U

Uln4321

macrumors regular
Feb 3, 2011
216
28
globality said:
Sounds promising. I have been using Garmin GPS unit for many years so interface wise I should have no problem. I was having a Windows Mobile phone and Garmin Mobile XT does not speak street name. This should not be an issue for Garmin iPhone version?
Click to expand...

Yup it will say the street names! I used to have a Garmin GPS last year and the iphone app works alot better than even that!
 
G

globality

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 7, 2010
81
4
Thanks to all and it looks like Navigon Has most votes now. Really wish I can give them a try one by one to make sure they fit my taste. But I guess I will start with the cheapest one Navigon my Region and if I like it then all set. Otherwise try Garmin. Tomtom seems to be most expensive among three.

----------
RotaryP7 said:
MotionX GPS Drive not an option? It does do offline maps. So it works w/o any GPS signal or data.

IMO, best GPS app on the iPhone. It's only $20 a year. :cool:
Click to expand...

Thanks. Will check this out as well.
 
D

doboy

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2007
3,765
2,932
globality said:
Thanks to all and it looks like Navigon Has most votes now. Really wish I can give them a try one by one to make sure they fit my taste. But I guess I will start with the cheapest one Navigon my Region and if I like it then all set. Otherwise try Garmin. Tomtom seems to be most expensive among three.

----------



Thanks. Will check this out as well.
Click to expand...

If you're not in a hurry I would wait for a sale, especially for Navigon. I think I purchased the Navigon USA for ~$25. Since Thanksgiving is coming up, it may go on sale for black Friday.
 
F

f34r

macrumors member
Feb 10, 2009
55
0
I use TomTom not really had any reason to change it. It had a lot of bugs to begin with but it's had a lot of updates and usually gets the new maps for free when they update the software.
 
shinji

shinji

macrumors 65816
Mar 18, 2007
1,329
1,515
Is there a difference in the accuracy of the traffic features between TomTom and Navigon? That's a pretty important part of this for me.
 
hakr100

hakr100

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2011
967
113
East Coast
$59.95 for Navigon North America?

Why isn't the "free" Google alternative made available for the iPhone? There are other free Google apps available for use on the iPhone...
 
AJsAWiz

AJsAWiz

macrumors 68040
Jun 28, 2007
3,262
347
Ohio
cole01 said:
Currently use TomTom but may try Navigon after reading this thread! :apple:
Click to expand...

The Nav system in my 2011 Terrain, with the latest map update avaliable, uses Tom Tom and I think it sucks big time. There are many locations that I can't access with TomTom that the Garmin (portable device) and Navigon (on my iPhone) find with ease.

Oh, Navigon gets 5 stars and a big thumbs up from me!

To the OP: Navigon works great for me on my iPhone 3GS and I don't have a car kit.
 
Last edited:
C

cruisencode

macrumors member
Dec 28, 2009
92
1
Uln4321 said:
I think Garmin has the nicest interface!! I have it and have never had any problems!

Edit: But Navigon just announced this new interface which I really like!
Click to expand...

Did you also read that Navigon will charge for the map update?

The app updates will be free to all existing users, although if you want to load up new maps, that'll be a one-time fee.
Click to expand...
 
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