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

iPhone (4) Navigation Apps - Which one?

J

jshort

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
127
15
I'm about to purposefully purchase a new vehicle without the $2,000 nav option and plan to use my iPhone 4 instead. I've done my due diligence with Google trying to find a complete review of all the worthy apps that are available but can't seem to find anything newer than the 2nd half of last year when they just started to hit the market.

Any input on which Nav app is best? Pros / Cons.. maybe even point me towards a review that I haven't found. Also, who's using the car kits made by the app company? Are they worth the extra $100?
 
jshort said:
I'm about to purposefully purchase a new vehicle without the $2,000 nav option and plan to use my iPhone 4 instead. I've done my due diligence with Google trying to find a complete review of all the worthy apps that are available but can't seem to find anything newer than the 2nd half of last year when they just started to hit the market.

Any input on which Nav app is best? Pros / Cons.. maybe even point me towards a review that I haven't found. Also, who's using the car kits made by the app company? Are they worth the extra $100?
Click to expand...

Just another great argument for a true "App Demo" system.
 
Navigon works great plus they have were you can buy it for your region only and its only 14.99 compared to 80 dollars.
 
I've used Tom Tom and Navigon.

I liked the Tom Tom UI better and it was a bit sleeker, had more voices, and other misc things. But the Navigon has more functional features, as well as naming the streets you need to turn on, whereas the Tom Tom app just says "in 300 meters, turn left", and that was annoying to me. Additionally, the Navigon app has nice iPod controls integrated into it(no need to exit).

http://www.macworld.com/article/144972/2009/12/gps.html
 
Navigon has been my favorite as well for the past 9 months or so on my 3GS. Works the same on my iPhone 4, however, there are two fixes it needs. 1.) the update needs to get released so it can run in the background (like TomTom already can, but TomTom sucks). 2.) The panoramic 3D view with iOS 4 is screwed up and doesn't work. Regular 3D view does work just fine though.
 
I just bought CoPilot Live for $4.99 and it's been working great. I was a little hesitant to blow that much $$ on TomTom and Navigon, but in reality, with the new screen, CoPilot has nice, clear maps that take advantage of the retina dosplay
 
I just bought Tom Tom yesterday and I've only used it once, but it worked perfectly and seems very nice. It definitely does speak the street names. Even though I had it plugged in low near the cigarette lighter in my Jeep, it had very little trouble locking onto the GPS using my iPhone 4.
 
Just keep in mind that the Macworld review is from December 2009 and doesnt take into account the current versions of these apps.
 
MotionX is actually very impressive for being so cheap. Street names aren't spoken, but you get a voice option to tell you where to turn for about $2/month. You get to try it free for a month.

Otherwise, I've also tried TomTom and Navigon when they were first released (haven't redownloaded since) and I preferred Navigon. I've also owned actual GPS units from both and still prefer Navigon.
 
I recommend Navigon. Used it with my iPhone 4, it was spot on and reliable. Has a lot of great features. They regularly update and offer more features also, which is nice.
 
Nikos said:
MotionX is actually very impressive for being so cheap. Street names aren't spoken, but you get a voice option to tell you where to turn for about $2/month. You get to try it free for a month.

Otherwise, I've also tried TomTom and Navigon when they were first released (haven't redownloaded since) and I preferred Navigon. I've also owned actual GPS units from both and still prefer Navigon.
Click to expand...

motionx is only $.99?? lol
 
I bought the Navigon MyRegions, but you can't get panoramic view and it doesn't get updated.

While I do like the software, their customer service sucks. I've tried to email / twitter Navigon many times. They never, not once, have replied.
 
I've tried MotionX GPS Drive (99c)
CoPilot Live USA ($4.99)

MotionX works well (it actually got me home from work using the absolutely best, quickesy route using back roads). The downside of MotionX as of this writing is the 3D maps are not updated for i4. This means they are teeny tiny in the bottom of the screen. Also, turn-by-turn is either $14.99 a year, or $2.99 a month! So, it's not as cheap as it sounds at first glance.

They are similar, but the interface on CoPilot live is much easier to use, and for $4.99 (it's a temp sale price supposedly) you get full US maps, map updates and full quarterly refreshes until the end of 2010. It has been updated (as of yesterday) for i4 increased resolution.

It's route to get me to my work was not the best, though.

CoPilot also has built in turn by turn voice (though text to speech is a $2.99 onetime option for everything else other than directions). But, like I said -- it's onetime. Which is a good point -- all CoPilot costs are one-time upgrades!

For less than $10 bucks you can try both out for a month. If they don't work for you, then you can change to a different one. If one of them does, then you'll have saved quiet a bit of money :)

Overall, CoPilot seems like the better choice as far as quality, speed and interface.
 
ddeadserious said:
I've used Tom Tom and Navigon.

I liked the Tom Tom UI better and it was a bit sleeker, had more voices, and other misc things. But the Navigon has more functional features, as well as naming the streets you need to turn on, whereas the Tom Tom app just says "in 300 meters, turn left", and that was annoying to me. Additionally, the Navigon app has nice iPod controls integrated into it(no need to exit).

http://www.macworld.com/article/144972/2009/12/gps.html
Click to expand...
Wrong, the Tom Tom app does speak the street names.
 
Does the navigon app have a multitasking update yet? Sounds promising, especially if it can keep tracking if I take a call etc
 
punisher1-1 said:
Navigon works great plus they have were you can buy it for your region only and its only 14.99 compared to 80 dollars.
Click to expand...

I just checked he app store and it says navigon is $29 for my region ( west us). How did you get it for so cheap?

Edit: noticed people mentioned this above. Sorry
 
I'm personally not interested in a navigation app until there's a universal app so I can use my iPad.
 
I was really torn between Navigon and TomTom. The three things that swayed me to TomTom were:

- If understand it correctly, when you get a call while navigating with Navigon, you no longer see the map and voice instructions continue. This is the exact opposite of what I would prefer. If I'm talking to someone on the phone, I'd rather not have to try to listen to two voices at the same time. I think it'd be much easier to go by the visual in that situation.

- The IQ routes feature of TomTom seems nice although I haven't had the app long enough to pass judgement on it.

- TomTom is currently updated for iOS4 and multitasking.
 
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