Garmin Releases Update to StreetPilot Navigation App With Google Street View and Public Transit Support

[MacRumors]

Garmin has released an update to its StreetPilot Onboard for iPhone app, adding "urban guidance" and support for Google Street View. The urban guidance feature allows users to map out public transit options when looking at pedestrian routes, including support for Apple Maps integration. Users can bring up a location in Apple Maps, and they will have the option to map their destination using the Garmin app.

Unlike Apple's turn-by-turn directions, Garmin's solution downloads all the map data to the iPhone, allowing use even when there is no cellular signal. The company does offer a Garmin StreetPilot onDemand app [App Store] that pulls navigation data from the cloud, but it requires a subscription service to work.

- URBAN GUIDANCE considers public transportation options, such as subways, trams, busses and water taxis, when calculating pedestrian routes. You will be guided to a transit stop by foot and you're able to look up detailed information on what line to take and where to get off. The feature is available through In App Purchase.

- GOOGLE STREET VIEW provides users a street-level view of their destination before starting a route and shortly before arriving. Users can also look at a full-screen 360° view to get a better understanding of their destination's surroundings. The feature is available in cities with Google Street View coverage.

Urban Guidance is an in app purchase for $4.99, on sale for $2.99 until October 7, 2012. It supports a number of major cities, listed at the end of this post.

All the Garmin StreetPilot apps are on sale until October 7th.

Garmin U.S.A is $39.99, regularly $49.99. [App Store]
Garmin North America is $44.99, regularly $59.99. [App Store]
Garmin U.K. & Ireland is $59.99, regularly $74.99. [App Store]
Garmin Western Europe is $84.99, down from $99.99. [App Store]

Urban Guidance is supported in the following cities:

Article Link: Garmin Releases Update to StreetPilot Navigation App With Google Street View and Public Transit Support

 

[nfl46]

Their UI is hideous.

 

[thelink]

Their UI is hideous.

another useless comment..

 

[nfl46]

another useless comment..

May I ask how it is useless? What am I suppose to say? "OMG, their Maps application is sooooooo much better than Apple's!"

Stay off the forums if you don't want to read "useless" comments!

 

[bushido]

its indeed an ugly UI. looks like some hipster from the 80s came up with those color choices

 

[dampfnudel]

I wish Apple had partnered with Garmin instead of Tom Tom.

 

[thelink]

May I ask how it is useless? What am I suppose to say? "OMG, their Maps application is sooooooo much better than Apple's!"

Stay off the forums if you don't want to read "useless" comments!

Maybe instead of just saying that is has a hideous UI, explain why. I dunno.

 

[mcarthon]

All you have to so is use your eyes to see how ugly it is. Geez

 

[Stella]

I'd rather have a perceived ugly UI than maps that have a high number of errors. UIs can be fixed easier than apple can fix their map issues.

Garmin have good maps - if apple fans can only criticise a GUI then that's pretty lame. Flyover on apple maps is a gimic.

Street maps is far more useful but apple don't have access to that so flyover is their response.

 

[cvaldes]

Garmin's maps are indeed better than TomTom's and Apple's (at least right now).

The Garmin UI is more in line with a turn-by-turn GPS navigation app, with data points like distance remaining, time remaining, and ETA. There is also lane guidance (the image on the right shows the right two lanes as the correct lanes to be in).

Apple's UI does not currently offer lane guidance, nor does Waze.

Hopefully, Garmin will update their StreetPilot onDemand app with Google Street View and Urban Guidance.

 

[kas23]

I don't think people need to justify or explain a highly subject observance (ie. the UI is ugly). It's clearly one person's opinion.

 

[ndpitch]

Garmin's map data is superior. Period.

Their addresses and POIs are more accurate. They peg my house dead on. TomTom puts my house a quarter of a mile down ths street.

 

[ivan2002]

All you have to so is use your eyes to see how ugly it is. Geez

Thus the uselessness of the comment.

 

[canesalato]

If yOu miss streetview you can try streetviewer on the app store..Free or 0.79 euros

 

[cuestakid]

I bought this on Black Friday last year. Even when we had google maps, I really liked this app-well worth the money.

 

[ps45]

USA version 'regularly' $49.99?
A quick look at appshopper shows that the price of that app is up and down more often than <insert euphemism>.
Think I'll wait until it's $25 again.

 

[tevion5]

Map app debate aside, why in the name of Zeus is the map for the entire USA, much cheaper than map for the UK and IRELAND? effort to cost ratio just dosent make sense???

 

[gluckett]

Map app debate aside, why in the name of Zeus is the map for the entire USA, much cheaper than map for the UK and IRELAND? effort to cost ratio just dosent make sense???

Maybe their cost of the maps they use?

 

[tevion5]

Maybe their cost of the maps they use?

Sure maybe it's not them but somewhere somebody is overcharging

 

[ps45]

Map app debate aside, why in the name of Zeus is the map for the entire USA, much cheaper than map for the UK and IRELAND? effort to cost ratio just dosent make sense???

Roads in the USA are all straight lines. You get a lot more of those to the pound than the wriggly variety.

 

[Booch21]

I've had this app for some time. I like the UI as it mirrors Zumo for my motorcycle. The update seems nice and suits my needs and tastes.

 

[mikefla]

Been a TomTom user for a long time. Overall TomTom is a very good app. I never really used Garmin. One thing I been mentioning to Apple and TomTom for a long time which I believe is still not possible is audio routing. Would be nice to be able to have the navigation app stream the audio to your bluetooth A2DP headset while you are running Pandora and streaming that audio through the headset port to the car speakers. Anybody else want this functionality? Lets ask Apple and the Navigation app vendors to get it done, it should be doable.

-Mike

 

[KdParker]

Nice to have other options...but 50 bucks seems stiff.

----------

Garmin's maps are indeed better than TomTom's and Apple's (at least right now).

The Garmin UI is more in line with a turn-by-turn GPS navigation app, with data points like distance remaining, time remaining, and ETA. There is also lane guidance (the image on the right shows the right two lanes as the correct lanes to be in).

Apple's UI does not currently offer lane guidance, nor does Waze.

Hopefully, Garmin will update their StreetPilot onDemand app with Google Street View and Urban Guidance.

How much is garmin?

 

[mdelvecchio]

another useless comment..

yours is worse.

 

[cvaldes]

How much is garmin?

The Garmin onDemand app is $0.99 for with a thirty-day initial trial of its features, after which there's no voice navigation nor live traffic. The Premium Navigation in-app purchase is $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

This is a good option when Waze (free) or maybe the new Apple Maps app is adequate for most of your GPS navigation. I keep the Garmin app on my iPhone, just in case I'm on vacation and find Waze's service lacking. For sure, Garmin has better maps than Waze, I just don't need to pay for that premium level of service for most weeks of the year.

The way I see it, it's okay for me to plunk down three bucks a couple times a year when I'm on holiday for higher-quality GPS navi with Garmin onDemand.

I end up using freeware Waze when I'm at home/around town, mostly for live traffic conditions. Apple Maps currently lacks in real-time, crowd-sourced traffic conditions. Of course, it helps that Waze is a Palo Alto-based startup and I live in nearby town, so there are a lot of local Wazers.

There are some other decent GPS navi apps that have in-app purchases for month-by-month service. MotionX GPS Drive is another decent app. Again, I think that app is $0.99 for the initial 30-day trial period, and month-by-month in-app purchases for $2.99.

The app not to buy is CoPilot. Their data and routing is terrible, too bad since it has a pleasant interface. I bought CoPilot Premium HD USA deeply discounted ($12.99), but the data is so bad it's not worth having around, even though they have activated a free year-long subscription to an in-app pay service (traffic I think).

Curiously, Waze makes my iPhone 4S really warm; you definitely don't want to use without some sort of auxiliary power, you will suck the battery dry in no time.