MapQuest Releases Subscription-Based Turn-by-Turn Navigation App

[bretm]

because im bored LOL thanks for your reply

It was rhetorical. Feel free to discuss. Carry on.

Back to motionx, it Has built in iPod controls. It has a compass/speedometer/lattitude&longitude screen. It has a dedicated search screen. It has a dedicated recents/bookmarks/favorites/contacts/etc screen. It has fastest/shortest/no highways options. It has a simulate route mode with various speeds.

They are saying tts is coming for road names, but I haven't needed it. Night mode would be nice too.

And I just realized the iPod screen is a 3 page screen with a turn list, gps long/lat and signal strength, and big mapless turn by turn directions. I don't know why these features are under Ipod. The interface could use some work, but there sure are lots of options.

Mapquest is looking like waste of .99 cents. If that's possible.

 

[VenusianSky]

Mapquest has always provided crappy routes for me. I stopped using it when Google maps came out.

 

[iphones4evry1]

Excellent.
99 cents, plus $29.99 per year. Sold!

and has night mode.

That's a huge deal for me. If a GPS/navigation device does not have a night mode, it's a deal-breaker. I can't stand those people that drive around with their dashboard turned all the way up and their GPS turned all the way up - how the hell can they even see the road?

 

[binaryskies]

Hopefully this time around MapQuest got things right. I remember using MapQuest several years ago and always getting closed roads and/or wrong street names. It was a pain in the ass.

 

[bretm]

Based on the info from their website, MotionX does not download any maps before the trip. They may implement that in the future, but right now that sounds like a significant shortcoming.

You know, Im not out in the boonies too often without a cell signal. And seriously, when you are driving through the middle of Kansas or something without a cell signal, I figure you should probably have a clue. Like "go straight for 300 miles, then turn at the first intrsection."

Really though, save the money and buy a map if you're planning on leaving cellular area and need the GPS. I'll pass on map updates and filling my phone with gigs of maps as well. I'm just trying to find my way to a job, or a buddy's house, or a party, or a store, or a tennis match, whatever. Isn't that where you really need a GPS anyway? To find your way around a complicated metro area? There might be cell holes, but nit enough to matter.

 

[bretm]

Excellent.
99 cents, plus $29.99 per year. Sold!


That's a huge deal for me. If a GPS/navigation device does not have a night mode, it's a deal-breaker. I can't stand those people that drive around with their dashboard turned all the way up and their GPS turned all the way up - how the hell can they even see the road?

Well there's always that brightness control on your iPhone.

 

[severe]

Great deal - for yearly subscription. Traffic conditions and spoken street names are a plus. It does work in landscape mode, and lane assist has yet to be revealed.

Wow. The last few days have been good for Nav Apps. I'd like to find a demo of this app in landscape.

Traffic and text to voice are major pluses over MotionX at the moment, though the voice prompts seemed very robotic as compared to other software.

Nice first release.

 

[CaryMacGuy]

It doesn't appear to allow my iPod music to keep playing. That will prove to be annoying in practice because most of the time I am driving, iPod music is playing off my iPhone.

 

[ActionJax]

It doesn't appear to allow my iPod music to keep playing. That will prove to be annoying in practice because most of the time I am driving, iPod music is playing off my iPhone.

That's part of the steep price of "convergence." I'll keep my standalone GPS for now, but having an iPhone app available when I don't have my standalone GPS handy might save the day.

 

[Davoo]

That's part of the steep price of "convergence." I'll keep my standalone GPS for now, but having an iPhone app available when I don't have my standalone GPS handy might save the day.

MotionX has integrated ipod controls that work well. I have used MotionX about a dozen times this week and it has been flawless every time. It is quickly becoming my favorite app.

 

[zenoran]

bla bla bla.... google turn-by-turn please!

 

[bretm]

MotionX has integrated ipod controls that work well. I have used MotionX about a dozen times this week and it has been flawless every time. It is quickly becoming my favorite app.

I gave mapquest another 3 routes today and each had it's problems. I've yet to have an issue with motion x after a week.

Mapquest recalculates waaaay too quick. I was driving through an intersection, when it told me to turn right onto the road I was already on!

Then, on another trip it gave me the longest slowest route.

On another trip I was at my destination much before it thought, and ut started telling me to get back to the road.

Motionx has a nice delay if you miss a turn. It waits a few seconds just to make sure you've really deviated and that it's not just a hiccup.

The maps on Motionx may just be regular maps stretched out on 3d, but they are better. You see more turns coming up. Maybe a couple blocks. Mapquest is so zoomed in that what you see on the screen is literally a couple hundred of feet of road. Maybe you see one other intersection ahead of you in a congested area, but generally it looks like a purple line drawn across a blank screen. It is easier to read the street names as you pass, but because of it's layout, you have to. MotionX is and works and feels like a real GPS.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

So after you pay 99c for the app, and use the 14 days... what happens? does it ask to bill your iTunes account? Also, is there a area inside the app where you can cancel it if you do not like it within the 14 day trial?

The various subscriptions are NON-autorenewing, which seems cool. If you only use it every now and again, you can just pay for that month.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

It doesn't appear to allow my iPod music to keep playing. That will prove to be annoying in practice because most of the time I am driving, iPod music is playing off my iPhone.

It does, but it stops the music at startup and whenever it speaks. Doesn't start it again afterwards though, which is a problem unless you have a built-in car kit, or one with a remote control to start playback. The iPod double-click home controls only work WHILE playing, so they're useless to start music after it's been stopped.

 

[MacFly123]

So after seeing this article I downloaded this app and I'm trying the 14 day trial. So far it is AWESOME What a deal! I'm pretty certain I will get the one year subscription!

I do want landscape mode though MapQuest!

 

[maryannee]

I just got a 2010 Lincoln MKZ with navigation through Navteq and Microsoft Sync. My iphone 3GS syncs up perfectly via Bluetooth. But can you believe the maps that came with the installed navigation are at least three years old.

I was at the Lake of the Ozarks recently and know the area fairly well.
I used Travel Link for a point of interest (restaurant that has been there for at least 4 years) and no go. There was whole slew of places it could not find that had been there for years. My iphone never missed a beat finding anything I put in the map search.

Neither Navteq or the Lincoln Dealer had any idea when they would update the hard drive for the maps. The only answer I got from Navteq was to put in a request for this restaurant or any other place that was not in their maps on a form requesting it to be listed via their website. Then they would have it on their map next update.

Navteq did say maybe an update in December or first of next year but no definite answer. I think Navteq just threw in that date to get me off the phone lol.

I guess for a few bucks I will get that MapQuest meanwhile.

 

[stockscalper]

Both Mapquest and Google Maps subscribe to Navateq, so you may not do any better with them. TomTom uses Teleatlas, which although a European company seems to do a better job than Navateq. Copilot uses Mapsure, which gets its data from the Census Bureau, which means its maps are way outdated. You'll find that most navigation services use Navateq and if you are not happy with their maps then there really aren't a lot of other alternatives.

 

[lllll]

This is a terrible move by Mapquest. It is also a ridiculous fee structure. I would never use mapquest. The worst part, beside the fees, a internet connection is required.

 

[Angelo921]

This is a terrible move by Mapquest. It is also a ridiculous fee structure. I would never use mapquest. The worst part, beside the fees, a internet connection is required.

Soon it looks like google will be coming out with their own free turn by turn with voice gps app.

 

[jkozlow3]

Both Mapquest and Google Maps subscribe to Navateq, so you may not do any better with them. TomTom uses Teleatlas, which although a European company seems to do a better job than Navateq. Copilot uses Mapsure, which gets its data from the Census Bureau, which means its maps are way outdated. You'll find that most navigation services use Navateq and if you are not happy with their maps then there really aren't a lot of other alternatives.

Google Maps hasn't used Navteq since September 2008. They use TeleAtlas which sucks...my street (4 years old) disappeared from Google Maps when they made the switch and has yet to return. Navteq has always had better coverage in the US with more frequent updates from what I've seen. Hence the reason my standalone GPS is a Garmin (Navteq) instead of TomTom (TeleAtlas).