Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AT&T Unleashes Turn-by-Turn GPS App

itsjustmeee said:
For the time being, it looks like G-Map might be the best alternative.
Click to expand...

I really think G-Map looks like a good app except for that it is divided into east and west, I travel all over so I would need to buy both apps! That sucks. I guess I'll be waiting for something better to come alone.
 
dvdhsu said:
Probably, sir.
BTW, I love your avatar. :D
Click to expand...

To all of you saying get a $100 Garmin or TomTom, have you looked at those models? They don't even tell you the street name until you pay around $200 or more. You want traffic assist, well that will be another $50. You want map updates, thats another $80 a year. So you really think they are that good of a deal?

I would say, go for a Navigon GPS unit, they have all the above features plus Lane Assist (another $100 for Garmin, TomTom). So I see both of those companies as a complete rip off.
 
I could see a use for this for casual users. Pay the one-month then cancel then pay for day use when needed, such as on a business trip when you don't want to carry around a dedicated GPS unit (or pay more for one in a rental).
 
pasteater said:
i wanted to at least try this out...so when i saw 30 days free i got excited. i called at&t just to make sure this was true and accurate. not only is it true, but he credited my account $10 if i want to try it for an additional 30 days. and if i don't...i just saved $10 on next month's bill.
Click to expand...


wtf i just called 611 they said no wont get a free trial for the iphone. how did u get that??
 
I know a lot of you think that this is expensive. But when you consider a good GPS costs $300.. this would represent at least 30 months of service. It has some nice features:

- ability to find things along a route, like a restaurant
- traffic updates included (normally extra on most GPS units)
- always up-to-date
- announces street names
- no 'extra' devices, which is good.
- if something better comes out, I am not out $300.. just what i've paid so far
- has computer based trip planning software, nice feature
- route type is cool feature: fastest, traffic optimized, shortest, prefer streets, prefer highway, pedestrian (nice for big cities)
- small footprint, doesn't use a bunch of storage space

downside:
- maps are not local to device. if internet goes down, i think you may have problems
- getting a call during turns may complicate things?
- not sure yet if I can play ipod and gps at the same time
- maps weren't as up to date as mapquest for me

overall, i will give this app a 4/5 stars. if they improve the maps to be more current (like my 3 year old street is not there) and if they'd reduce the cost slightly, maybe $7.99 a month would be better, they would have a winner. When Tom Tom comes out, I will evaluate it.
 
marco114 said:
- getting a call during turns may complicate things?
Click to expand...

Whether someone is pro or con for this App, that is actually a very good question. What happens if you get a phone call when the App is telling you "merge right from Interstate X to Interstate Y." ?

My guess is that the call would interrupt the GPS, because if it did not and you were on a 2 hour drive, your "iPhone" would not be a "phone." And, after all, this is a phone, isn't it? If you miss your turn, the GPS can recalculate and get you back on your route.

(personally, I would only use a GPS for trips in a rental car in a completely unfamiliar city. The current Maps application on the iPhone works great. I just study where I'm going for two minutes before I leave, and then my brain gets me there). I see a GPS as useful in a complex, unfamiliar, major city though.
 
iphones4evry1 said:
And that is exactly why 99% of the population is smart enough to do the elementary school math and figure out they are better off going to Best Buy and buying a full GPS for $79.99, which is loaded with features and has had years of refinement and improvements.
Click to expand...

To those of you that replied to my above comment, thank you. I didn't realize that with the GPS devices you buy at Best Buy, you still need a subscription service. As far as map updates, I still find a lot of roads on the Maps application that comes with the iPhone that have not been added. So, even Google Maps isn't perfect. And, often times, I click on "satellite view" on my iPhone (or computer) and entire neighborhoods are still construction zones with no streets. So, I just call and ask the person how to get there. For the person who said their GPS became a brick after a few years, that is very interesting feedback. Thank you. I would expect the product to last many more years, but I guess not all of them do. Updates are less important, heck my 2001 paper Thomas Guide still has most of the roads I need. Sure, there are some it doesn't have, but it has most of them.
Anyways, thank you for the feedback.
 
iphones4evry1 said:
To those of you that replied to my above comment, thank you. I didn't realize that with the GPS devices you buy at Best Buy, you still need a subscription service. As far as map updates, I still find a lot of roads on the Maps application that comes with the iPhone that have not been added. So, even Google Maps isn't perfect. And, often times, I click on "satellite view" on my iPhone (or computer) and entire neighborhoods are still construction zones with no streets. So, I just call and ask the person how to get there. For the person who said their GPS became a brick after a few years, that is very interesting feedback. Thank you. I would expect the product to last many more years, but I guess not all of them do. Updates are less important, heck my 2001 paper Thomas Guide still has most of the roads I need. Sure, there are some it doesn't have, but it has most of them.
Anyways, thank you for the feedback.
Click to expand...

You don't need a subscription service. Garmin offers several map updates a year now and they offer one single map update for about $69 I think it was. They also have a subscription service that is for the life of the GPS I think, I'm not positive on that.

We had a Garmin 880 die on us after 6 months. It was a known problem with them but since I never registered the device online, the warranty was worthless. We bought a 850 afterwards and registered it right away.
Like anything electronic, anything can fail.
 
I downloaded and used this a little bit today. It's tough not to compare this to a dedicated GPS nav device, and this setup does suffer from the comparison.

Some other initial thoughts:

- The look and feel was nice, and the maps were updated sufficiently close to real-time. I was in a metropolitan area (Boston) surrounded by 3G, so that wasn't a problem. The maps did freeze when I was in a tunnel, but that would happen with my Garmin, too.
- The iPod music DID play underneath the voice commands (which, BTW, are extremely low fidelity, almost to the point of being unintelligible at times), stopping when the commands came on and then immediately restarting. Calls, however, do take over the phone (I got one while driving, and now I can't remember whether it automatically went back to the app afterwards -- I *think* it did)
- However, when you leave the app and come back in, you have to re-pick your route.
- The search isn't great (I'm very used to the Garmin search), but it's useable.
- The traffic updates seemed to work pretty well, although I didn't verify where they said the traffic was backed up. :D
- You can search for POIs along the route, but you cannot insert one into your route. You need to choose the interim POI as a destination, and then re-choose your original destination again.

All in all, it was pretty usable. It's nice to be able to use music along with it, and when it comes to the issue of taking/making calls while using it as a GPS, I dunno if we're expecting too much of the iPhone to be able to do this seamlessly with ANY nav app.

I'm going to use it some more, as it looks like I'll have a while to decide whether to replace it with another app.

-steve
 
Good report, Steve. I do think there is a fundamental question any potential user will have to decide, which is whether you want to dedicate your iPhone to GPS use while driving, forgoing other apps. There is an argument to be made for a dedicated GPS just to keep the iPhone free for other uses, regardless of what nav app you choose -- even Google maps.
 
Excellerator said:
To all of you saying get a $100 Garmin or TomTom, have you looked at those models? They don't even tell you the street name until you pay around $200 or more. You want traffic assist, well that will be another $50. You want map updates, thats another $80 a year. So you really think they are that good of a deal?

I would say, go for a Navigon GPS unit, they have all the above features plus Lane Assist (another $100 for Garmin, TomTom). So I see both of those companies as a complete rip off.
Click to expand...

newegg has the tom tom 3.5" unit with TTS for 49.99 after a 20 dollar rebate. So what if it doesn't have traffic assist...
 
$10 a month makes sense. Sometimes.

A lot of companies will pay the phone bill but not spring for nice gadgets like ipods and gps units. Not that I would consider doing this, but an extra $10 fee on a phone bill can be submitted with your business expenses. A $100 Tom Tom would not get reimbursed.
 
IronCross said:
First everyone complains about no turn by turn vocal GPS...

Now it's offered and everyone is crying that it costs $10 per month. It costs $10 per month on ANY AT&T phone.

Personally, I'd rather pay $10 per month and get up-to-date maps, monitored traffic rerouting, etc. than $100-$300 for a unit and then $50-$100 for updating the maps on it.

I'd say this way is a cheaper OPTION (it's not being forced on you, you still have Google's GPS.) The sense of entitlement people have is ridiculous.

Who really complains about $10 per month... I spend that minimum on lunch everyday.
Click to expand...

Can't say I disagree with a single thing you said here.
 
I like the option to have the app. It's a nice choice, figured $10 bucks is worth a try... it's OK. Here's what I think of it so far:

+ traffic update
+ cheap gas finder <-- best feature that I like so far
+ auto update
+ few megs

- can't play music
- no integration with contacts in the phone

I won't pay for it any longer if it doesn't get contact AND music integration. Driving is silence is death for me... and typing etc. putting in address is too much of a chore. If it gets the updates I need, I'll be more than happy to pay the 10.
 
Excellerator said:
MOST GPS's this is true. Not Garmin and TomTom. I know I sell GPS units.
Click to expand...

As I said in other threads (just to keep track for those interested), the only iphone apps so far that are confirmed to have text to speech are: G-Map East/West, Gokivo, and AT&T Navigator by Telenav...oh, and I believe others have mentioned that Navigon also has it.

TTS is a must-have feature for a GPS, IMHO for safety reasons: being able to keep your eyes on the road (for the most part), etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back