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Navi App (Sygic, Navigon, TomTom) Comparo by LA Times

I wouldn't rank Tom Tom has number 1. Navigon would be 1, then Tom Tom. I think she got it wrong.
 
I'd agree with the review - after using Navigon exclusively for three weeks and now Tom Tom for a couple of days I prefer and will keep Tom Tom on my phone. Two different times Tom Tom has sent me on what I knew was the best route around my home and Navigon never got either of these right. I also like having the lane help audio instead of visual.

Finally - I could never get used to the Navigon voice. Seems petty, I know, but "Jane" (British voice in Tom Tom) is SOOO much easier to listen to than the Navigon lady. That would be my one disagreement with the LA Times reviewer. I don't think about oatmeal raisin cookies when I hear that voice. I think about a pack of Camels and a Jack and coke.
 
schulzmc said:
I'd agree with the review - after using Navigon exclusively for three weeks and now Tom Tom for a couple of days I prefer and will keep Tom Tom on my phone. Two different times Tom Tom has sent me on what I knew was the best route around my home and Navigon never got either of these right. I also like having the lane help audio instead of visual.

Finally - I could never get used to the Navigon voice. Seems petty, I know, but "Jane" (British voice in Tom Tom) is SOOO much easier to listen to than the Navigon lady. That would be my one disagreement with the LA Times reviewer. I don't think about oatmeal raisin cookies when I hear that voice. I think about a pack of Camels and a Jack and coke.
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Navigon also has audio lane help though. Hmm...I'd have to agree with the others, Navigon gets my vote until TomTom catches up with their feature set...(and until TomTom decides that $100.00 is overpriced).
 
Our hope is to try all three of these apps again using TomTom's car kit when it becomes available to see whether it makes a difference.
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I have TomTom and Navigon, I still see no reason to get Sygic.
 
schulzmc said:
I'd agree with the review - after using Navigon exclusively for three weeks and now Tom Tom for a couple of days I prefer and will keep Tom Tom on my phone. Two different times Tom Tom has sent me on what I knew was the best route around my home and Navigon never got either of these right. I also like having the lane help audio instead of visual.

Finally - I could never get used to the Navigon voice. Seems petty, I know, but "Jane" (British voice in Tom Tom) is SOOO much easier to listen to than the Navigon lady. That would be my one disagreement with the LA Times reviewer. I don't think about oatmeal raisin cookies when I hear that voice. I think about a pack of Camels and a Jack and coke.
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I'd love to be able to choose a different voice also, but it's not worth spending the $$ right now on any of the apps just for this feature.

I've noticed something with regards to Navigon's routing....it can make decisions on the fastest routes through the expansive suburbia we have here in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex with a change of starting position down to about a 100 yards. On a long round trip yesterday (15+ miles one way, with no easy highway access), I put in a customer address and it calculated the route that I've always used. But, on the return trip I went to a gas station next to the customer site about 100 yards further away. While in the parking lot of the gas station, I used the 'Take Me Home' button. The route calculated back was different, very different, and I was like, no way.....so, I turned the opposite way to make Navigon recalculate. It did almost as soon as I got in front of the customer site back to the original way I came. The arrival time difference was only a minute between the two routes. I had this happen once the first week of use (early August) and just kind of shrugged it off. So, I think the route calculation is pretty good with Navigon. It'd be interesting to put the other apps to the same test.
 
All the author's credibility went out the window within the introduction when they stated,

Unlike a dedicated automotive navigational device, which typically uses a highly sensitive GPS receiver, most smartphones, like the iPhone, use "assisted GPS."
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and linked to a Wikipedia article.
 
Eso said:
All the author's credibility went out the window within the introduction when they stated,



and linked to a Wikipedia article.
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LOL. That's hilarious...

Well, the iPhone does use A-GPS, in addition to just the GPS chip. If anything though, that statement by the author makes her article even less convincing, as contrary to what she says, A-GPS can actually make a GPS more accurate at times, instead of hampering the accuracy.
 
Thank you for posting the article. It was an interesting read. I was torn between TT and Navigon, but with the features in 1.2 being released soon for Navigon and being $30 cheaper, I went with Navigon. So far so good. It works fine, but I have had a few minor glitches with maps in my area. Overall I am happy. If TT lowers the price and upgrades some features I may buy that too.
 
I just got a refund for G-Map, so I'm trying to decide if I want Navigon or TomTom. G-Map became too unreliable. I was on a bridge that split into like 4 specific lanes afterwards, and while I was on the bridge, the app lost track of me and I had no idea which of the 4 ways I was supposed to go. I was almost late for a job interview.

My main concern is WILL IT KNOW WHERE I AM and not as much "Why is it taking me this way?" When you are heading to unknown territory, I don't care if it takes me a weird route, as long as it gets me there, like G-maps couldn't do.
 
Out of interest, what route did you guys take to get refunds on these GPS apps - I went into my purchase history on iTunes last night and used the "report a problem" link on my Co-Pilot purchase, took the option in the dropdown for "this application does not function as expected" and it accepted my problem report but told me to visit the ALK website for support.
Do I need to take a different route to get a refund?

Thanks
 
I agree with the article although I would have liked to have seen iGo MyWay, CoPilot, and G-Maps reviewed too.

I still don't understand how you guys can value the cursor being more steady (not due to more accuracy but rather better coding, and a still image of the what lane you need to be in over much more legible and visually pleasing maps, written instructions, newer maps and POIs, and alot more routing options.

With TomTom when I set up my route I can tell it to avoid any road in the list. I can't do that on Navigon among several other useful routing options.

Between the illegible street names and the gravely drunk smoking lady giving the instructions, I get really annoyed every time I have used Navigon.

The main reason why I think that Navigon has the advantage right now is cost. After August 31st that probably goes away. I know 1.2 is going to bring some great features but I will give TomTom the benefit of the doubt and say they will be adding features as well.

Honestly, until we know map upgrade prices and the cost of the TomTom mount, it is really a toss up as to what to choose. If TomTom offers the $10 per quarter map upgrades that they do on some of their other products that could easily make up the difference in cost...
 
ddrueckhammer said:
I agree with the article although I would have liked to have seen iGo MyWay, CoPilot, and G-Maps reviewed too.

I still don't understand how you guys can value the cursor being more steady (not due to more accuracy but rather better coding, and a still image of the what lane you need to be in over much more legible and visually pleasing maps, written instructions, newer maps and POIs, and alot more routing options.

With TomTom when I set up my route I can tell it to avoid any road in the list. I can't do that on Navigon among several other useful routing options.
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You're right, that is useful. Hopefully Navigon adds that. But how you cast the way that Navigon makes up for the GPS lag inherent on the iPhone is ridiculous. Fact is, it's more indicative of your current location that TomTom. Period.

Between the illegible street names and the gravely drunk smoking lady giving the instructions, I get really annoyed every time I have used Navigon.
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While the street names could be clearer, I don't think they are illegible. The Maps on TomTom look archaic and the movement is horribly choppy. I prefer the Navigon voice to the robotic TomTom voice that interrupts my music abruptly every 3 minutes.

The main reason why I think that Navigon has the advantage right now is cost. After August 31st that probably goes away. I know 1.2 is going to bring some great features but I will give TomTom the benefit of the doubt and say they will be adding features as well.
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Maybe that's the main advantage for you.

Honestly, until we know map upgrade prices and the cost of the TomTom mount, it is really a toss up as to what to choose. If TomTom offers the $10 per quarter map upgrades that they do on some of their other products that could easily make up the difference in cost...
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This comparison makes no sense unless you assume that Navigon's map updates will be more costly than TomTom's. There is no evidence of this.
 
I still wonder why they reviewed Sygic over iGo MyWay, CoPilot, and G-Maps.
ddrueckhammer said:
Between the illegible street names and the gravely drunk smoking lady giving the instructions, I get really annoyed every time I have used Navigon.
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The Navigon lady DOES sounds like Kathleen Turner after smoking cigarettes.

roger-rabbit-2-web.jpg
 
^
Well I don't listen to music on my iPhone when navigating because I have a built-in car connection in my glovebox and just use an old iPod for that... I agree that the pausing would be annoying though if I used it...

I guess one mans archaic is another man's clean. Navigon's tan/gray backgrounds and orange arrows make me want to puke and setting it to night mode makes it no better. TomTom puts all the information out of the way in a logical layout. Navigon has blurry road signs pop up here, a strange icon that I'm still not sure if I understand the meaning of in the bottom right among other gems (bad design choices)... I will agree that TomTom is choppy and that Navigon did a good job with their coding to smooth out the inherit inaccuracies of the iPhone's gps. TomTom is just displaying what the chip is giving them. I could be wrong, but I doubt they will write any code to help better predict your actual location as Navigon has done as they seem to have put their eggs into the hardware basket... (using an external antenna to get better accuracy...)

Menu wise, Navigon is more slick looking with its Vista "Aero" (shiny black) like theme and easier to navigate but it also has less features to navigate and isn't as polished as TomTom's Windows XP start menu interface, which looks good with crisp icons despite being boring.


I'm assuming that Navigon's map updates will be more than $40 per year which TomTom has the ability to offer through their existing subscription model. Now if Navigon offers free maps or something then they will totally win. I just don't see that happening though...

One last thing. I like that Navigon puts the corporate logos of many POIs on the map. That is cool but I don't keep the icons up all the time so it is a moot point. Many people are saying that you should just use google maps to find your POIs but I just don't want to have to do that. I should be able to look up any restaurant or store I want to find from directly within the app. These things cost too much to have to rely on another app for basic functionality.
 
ddrueckhammer said:
I still don't understand how you guys can value the cursor being more steady (not due to more accuracy but rather better coding, and a still image of the what lane you need to be in over much more legible and visually pleasing maps, written instructions, newer maps and POIs, and alot more routing options.
Click to expand...

And this is why there are choices.

I sincerely and respectively disagree with the part about the graphics/user interface of Navigon. My main job is graphics and photography, every day, 24/7/365 for the last 10 years. Navigon looks GOOD. It's pretty, it's Mac like. It uses the iPhone display and gestures available very well.

I'm not a route tweeker. Just get me there, and FAST. Navigon hasn't let me down in this regard. Same goes for the POIs. I don't care to know them along my route. I've turned them off (all of them). I'm the typical dude....just get me there.....I'll get what I need done and be gone.

If I need to search for a POI, Maps does it so much better for me. If I need gas, Gas Buddy. If I need a restaurant/hotel/whatever, well, 'There's an app for that'. :)

TomTom's interface reminds me of when I used Windows all the time (and I still do have to a bit, Windows XP installed on my desktop via Parallels). TomTom's a tweeker 'clunky' interface for me, push that button, push this button.... It looks like you could waste a lot of time just 'tweeking' every single thing (I don't need that). Their maps remind me of blueprints and old paper maps with lifeless lines.

I'll be honest and say that I don't have the TomTom app, but I've watched the demo videos out there, seen the screen shots, looked at it all closely enough everywhere I can, and this is what I see. Maybe I need to see it in person, but their marketing shouldn't MAKE me do that to WANT to buy it. It needs to do it with what they present.

I think both Navigon and TomTom (maybe 1 or 2 others) will be the long term winners. And they'll all end up costing within $10-$20 each other in time.

Oh....and yeah.....the Navigon voice is horrible. But at half volume, she's only smoked half as many cigarettes.
 
Can someone give a link to the voice everyone keeps saying the Navigon lady sounds like? I find it really amusing that 1) i actually like the voice and 2) i seem to be the only one :)
 
MBHockey said:
i seem to be the only one :)
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I think you're right about that one. :)

I know it's superficial, but the unpleasant voice alone prevents me from using Navigon.

But hey, lots and LOTS of people on the forums swear by Navigon, so they had to have done something right.

But for my tastes, I'm perfectly happy with TomTom and AT&T Navigator as my 2 GPS apps of choice. YMMV.
 
I am on a trip to the Pikes Peak area of Colorado. I bought Navigon 3 weeks ago in anticipation of this trip. The routing method can be changed based on preferred route (optimum, shortest distance, etc.). It worked flawlessly, even on back country dirt mountain roads. Had a bit of trouble acquiring GPS triangulation in Denver amidst the tall buildings, but thar is to be expected. I'm not sure how much better TomTom would need to be to make me shell out more $. I'm happy with Navigon.
 
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