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TomTom vs. Navigon
- Thread starter S1njin
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TomTom will usually announce when lane changes are needed. For example "stay in the the left lanes" if a right lane turns into an exit. It provides both fullscreen lane guidance and icon view of lanes in the live view
Thought I would update my impressions of these two apps now that I have tried TomTom 1.8 and Navigon 1.8.2. Basically, my opinion hasn't changed a whole lot, except that I think TomTom is even further ahead of Navigon now with their recent feature updates.
TomTom:
- With the addition of multi-point routes, MapShare, and destination announcement (i.e., "you have reached your destination on your right"), I really don't have anything left to complain about.
- That said, I think TomTom can improve the iPod controls. Give us a way to select a playlist or something. Right now it's just a play button and a skip track button. There is no way to select songs other than do so in the iPod/Music app first.
- The app is so solid at this point that I think TomTom can put some effort into making the map display and interface more iPhone like. I don't think there's anything wrong with the map - it's high-contrast and easy to read, but it does look a bit dated. Also, I sometimes feel like everything is just crammed down on the bottom bar. I often ignore the lane assist because it is just lumped in with everything else.
TomTom still amazes me with how good its routes are and how accurately it calculates ETAs. Other than on long highway trips where you can cut time by going way over the speed limit, the ETA from TomTom is almost always dead on. After using Navigon again, it made me appreciate TomTom's traffic implementation, and how thorough the driving instructions are. I bought TomTom when it was still $99 and 2 years later I think I got a bargain.
Navigon:
- The new lane assist is just sick. I love how it shows the lanes, which ones you should be in, and moves as you move. Very, very cool. My only complaint is that it pops up too often. If I'm going straight through an intersection, I don't think lane assist to this degree is necessary, especially since it covers up other route information, like ETA.
- As great as the lane assist diagram is, why haven't they added any type of voice instruction to go along with this? TomTom frequently says "stay in the right lane" and so on, but Navigon never says this. It's kind of dangerous to look down at the lane assist for any length of time.
- How in the hell have they STILL not added an "avoid road X" feature? This is basic functionality and to not have it is just bizarre. The "Block" feature is worthless, in my opinion, and definitely NOT a replacement for avoiding a road.
- A really weird quirk that I noticed yet again is that Navigon totally ignores turns if you stay on the same road. For example, say you are on route 25 and come to an intersection. To stay on route 25, you turn to the left. Going straight would put you onto a different road. If your route has you continuing on route 25, Navigon won't tell you to turn. In some cases, it completely ignores this and will only instruct you on your NEXT turn. If you aren't paying attention, you would go straight and Navigon would have to recalculate. In other cases, Navigon's instructions actually say "go straight ahead" even though the turn diagram shows a left turn. I hope that this is a bug, but it's been over a year since I noticed this.
- This also comes into play on highway interchanges. During one of my routes, I was on a two lane road merging onto an interstate. After the merge, the two lanes on the road I'm coming from become exits - I need to get into the leftmost lanes to stay on the interstate. TomTom handles this correctly, showing reality view with TWO separate "keep left" instructions. Navigon gives me no guidance at all - it just acts like I continue straight in whatever lane I'm currently in. There was NO lane assist for this interchange. This is a pretty bad weakness. If I didn't take this route all of the time, I would be horribly confused.
- Navigon's traffic is so poorly implemented that it's almost useless. Why is there no indication on screen that an incident is affecting your route? It seems like an easy thing to do - TomTom shows the traffic icon as green, orange, or red. Navigon just shows a big icon that is there whether traffic affects you or not. And why does the traffic list show stuff that is 200 miles away when my route is 10 miles long? Why do I have to go to a separate screen to see if anything is on my route? It's just weird. The way that they display traffic on the map is also weird, in my opinion.
- What the hell is the point of MyRoutes? I mean, when I am navigating in my own city, it's cool to see 3 options on screen, since I might want to go a certain way. However, the point of GPS is to help me get to somewhere when I don't know the way. In that scenario, what the hell difference does 3 routes make to me? I don't know any of them anyways so how would I know if one is better than the other?
- Voice instructions seem to come a little later in Navigon compared with TomTom. This typically isn't a problem, but there were some turns that I thought the voice was too late. Also, I think it's weird that Navigon doesn't announce what side of the road your destination is on until you've reached it.
- I still LOVE how Navigon puts the green bar at the top with the road sign you should be following when your next turn is onto or off of a highway. It does this when there is no reality view for the interchange. This is something I really wish TomTom did.
- That said, reality view in Navigon is a bit weak. The text on the road signs are way to small to be useful. Still, the lane diagram is really all you need I guess.
- POI search is still horrendous. You still have to enter the exact town that the POI is in to find it. Google search is still spotty for me. Sometimes it returns everything I would expect, other times I can't get anything to come back. It's still ridiculous to have to choose the exact village that a POI is in to search. What if you are in the middle of nowhere? How would you know what town you're in?
I don't mean to pile on with Navigon. They still have the best-looking map and the most iPhone-like interface. What annoys me is that the things I'm complaining about today are the same things that I complained about the last time I compared them. It makes me think that Navigon focuses on features instead of improving the routing, which should be the core feature of the application.
This is actually kind of funny because a year or so ago, I would have said, "wow, Navigon's traffic is so great... I love the reality view... it's so great that Navigon tells you what side the destination is on..." That's because TomTom didn't have any of these features. Now, TomTom has all of these features, and does them better than Navigon. TomTom has closed the gap that Navigon had on them, and now they are the ones with the gap on Navigon.
I honestly don't know how anyone could recommend Navigon over TomTom at this point. Navigon has no answer to MapShare (ability to submit or download map corrections through the app) or IQ Routes. These two features (maps and routing) are the core of any GPS navigation app.
It's funny what a pretty face will do, though. It seems like Navigon has blown TomTom out of the water in sales since both were released, and TomTom has a lower rating than Navigon. Just look at this poll, even - Navigon is winning 2:1. I really can't understand why. My only assumption is that people just think it looks better, or that they really can't justify $20 a year for (better) traffic implementation.
TomTom:
- With the addition of multi-point routes, MapShare, and destination announcement (i.e., "you have reached your destination on your right"), I really don't have anything left to complain about.
- That said, I think TomTom can improve the iPod controls. Give us a way to select a playlist or something. Right now it's just a play button and a skip track button. There is no way to select songs other than do so in the iPod/Music app first.
- The app is so solid at this point that I think TomTom can put some effort into making the map display and interface more iPhone like. I don't think there's anything wrong with the map - it's high-contrast and easy to read, but it does look a bit dated. Also, I sometimes feel like everything is just crammed down on the bottom bar. I often ignore the lane assist because it is just lumped in with everything else.
TomTom still amazes me with how good its routes are and how accurately it calculates ETAs. Other than on long highway trips where you can cut time by going way over the speed limit, the ETA from TomTom is almost always dead on. After using Navigon again, it made me appreciate TomTom's traffic implementation, and how thorough the driving instructions are. I bought TomTom when it was still $99 and 2 years later I think I got a bargain.
Navigon:
- The new lane assist is just sick. I love how it shows the lanes, which ones you should be in, and moves as you move. Very, very cool. My only complaint is that it pops up too often. If I'm going straight through an intersection, I don't think lane assist to this degree is necessary, especially since it covers up other route information, like ETA.
- As great as the lane assist diagram is, why haven't they added any type of voice instruction to go along with this? TomTom frequently says "stay in the right lane" and so on, but Navigon never says this. It's kind of dangerous to look down at the lane assist for any length of time.
- How in the hell have they STILL not added an "avoid road X" feature? This is basic functionality and to not have it is just bizarre. The "Block" feature is worthless, in my opinion, and definitely NOT a replacement for avoiding a road.
- A really weird quirk that I noticed yet again is that Navigon totally ignores turns if you stay on the same road. For example, say you are on route 25 and come to an intersection. To stay on route 25, you turn to the left. Going straight would put you onto a different road. If your route has you continuing on route 25, Navigon won't tell you to turn. In some cases, it completely ignores this and will only instruct you on your NEXT turn. If you aren't paying attention, you would go straight and Navigon would have to recalculate. In other cases, Navigon's instructions actually say "go straight ahead" even though the turn diagram shows a left turn. I hope that this is a bug, but it's been over a year since I noticed this.
- This also comes into play on highway interchanges. During one of my routes, I was on a two lane road merging onto an interstate. After the merge, the two lanes on the road I'm coming from become exits - I need to get into the leftmost lanes to stay on the interstate. TomTom handles this correctly, showing reality view with TWO separate "keep left" instructions. Navigon gives me no guidance at all - it just acts like I continue straight in whatever lane I'm currently in. There was NO lane assist for this interchange. This is a pretty bad weakness. If I didn't take this route all of the time, I would be horribly confused.
- Navigon's traffic is so poorly implemented that it's almost useless. Why is there no indication on screen that an incident is affecting your route? It seems like an easy thing to do - TomTom shows the traffic icon as green, orange, or red. Navigon just shows a big icon that is there whether traffic affects you or not. And why does the traffic list show stuff that is 200 miles away when my route is 10 miles long? Why do I have to go to a separate screen to see if anything is on my route? It's just weird. The way that they display traffic on the map is also weird, in my opinion.
- What the hell is the point of MyRoutes? I mean, when I am navigating in my own city, it's cool to see 3 options on screen, since I might want to go a certain way. However, the point of GPS is to help me get to somewhere when I don't know the way. In that scenario, what the hell difference does 3 routes make to me? I don't know any of them anyways so how would I know if one is better than the other?
- Voice instructions seem to come a little later in Navigon compared with TomTom. This typically isn't a problem, but there were some turns that I thought the voice was too late. Also, I think it's weird that Navigon doesn't announce what side of the road your destination is on until you've reached it.
- I still LOVE how Navigon puts the green bar at the top with the road sign you should be following when your next turn is onto or off of a highway. It does this when there is no reality view for the interchange. This is something I really wish TomTom did.
- That said, reality view in Navigon is a bit weak. The text on the road signs are way to small to be useful. Still, the lane diagram is really all you need I guess.
- POI search is still horrendous. You still have to enter the exact town that the POI is in to find it. Google search is still spotty for me. Sometimes it returns everything I would expect, other times I can't get anything to come back. It's still ridiculous to have to choose the exact village that a POI is in to search. What if you are in the middle of nowhere? How would you know what town you're in?
I don't mean to pile on with Navigon. They still have the best-looking map and the most iPhone-like interface. What annoys me is that the things I'm complaining about today are the same things that I complained about the last time I compared them. It makes me think that Navigon focuses on features instead of improving the routing, which should be the core feature of the application.
This is actually kind of funny because a year or so ago, I would have said, "wow, Navigon's traffic is so great... I love the reality view... it's so great that Navigon tells you what side the destination is on..." That's because TomTom didn't have any of these features. Now, TomTom has all of these features, and does them better than Navigon. TomTom has closed the gap that Navigon had on them, and now they are the ones with the gap on Navigon.
I honestly don't know how anyone could recommend Navigon over TomTom at this point. Navigon has no answer to MapShare (ability to submit or download map corrections through the app) or IQ Routes. These two features (maps and routing) are the core of any GPS navigation app.
It's funny what a pretty face will do, though. It seems like Navigon has blown TomTom out of the water in sales since both were released, and TomTom has a lower rating than Navigon. Just look at this poll, even - Navigon is winning 2:1. I really can't understand why. My only assumption is that people just think it looks better, or that they really can't justify $20 a year for (better) traffic implementation.
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Good review.
After tried Tomtom, Navigon, Copilot (all last version) i think Tomtom is the best, simple and efficient.
It has tons of poi and it's really 'fluid'.
I'm having only these strange behaviour (not found on Navigon or Copilot): sometimes on my iPhone 4 (no jailbreak) seems to 'loose' gps signal and the voice 'truncates' the first letter of the phrases.
I should reboot the device ?
Hoping not to be too ot i have some questions on TomTom app:
1) How MapShare exactly works ? I mean: i send a modification, on my maps the modifications are immediately avaible, or need to be wait for Tomtom approval ? How many times TomTom need to approve users suggestions ?
2) There's a way to 'reduce' the quantity of voice announcements ?
For example: it say 100 meters turn right, then after a little time, says again "turn right" and then, again "turn right".
No way, as happens with copilot, to reduce these messages ?
Seems avaible only an option to turn on / off voice !
TomTom is a better tool that I have grown to trust.
If TomTom re-lanched a new version, keeping the same engine but revamping the UI, I'd gladly pay for it again.
1)You need to wait for the change to be reviewed.
2)No, it's always chatty. You can try changing the voice to a non-computer voice. It will still talk at the same intervals, but will say less w/o the street names.
There is no fixed number since it's not an automated process. The changes probably all drop into a queue and get bumped up if there are multiple instances. They are then manually reviewed and added to the next batch of fixes.
You people should try Sygic navigation program's. They are cheaper and as good as Tom Tom or Navigon.
You are awesome - thanks for that. I guess I never went looking for that option because I figured it would be default whenever they did it. I guess there are some folks that don't mind the status bar being hidden.
Thanks again.
I tried every Navigation app or I should say, about five of the top apps. Sygic was the one that I gave the least amount of time to. It just plain sucks in my opinion. It's been nearly two years since I've last tried it so I can't give any reasons why I hate it now but i would no longer give it a try.
Navigon was ok but the text on the screen was entirely too small. There were also areas in the map that would be this ugly olive green color that made any text impossible to read. Also, the app doesn't show enough street names for my use.
TomTom Shows just enough detail that I need. The maps are probably 98% up to date in my area and that's good enough for me. I love that it shows every street name and the current speed is clearly shown and is easy to enter address to navigate to.
Garmin Just plain sucked. I made the mistake of buying their app one day a few months ago and quit after just a few minutes and have never opened it again. If anyone tried the Garmin Navigator for the Blackberry, this was practically identical to that. It has a weird setting for UP and north and the text on the screen is entirely too small when viewing map details. Very few features and maps are served OTA and not stored on the device. It's allot like AT&Ts navigation app but worse.
CoPilot wasn't too bad at first. I liked the fact that it showed street names. Maps were OK but were clearly based on maps that showed street plans that were never carried out in my area. Several of them, I drive frequently and can clearly make out that there was at one time supposed to be other streets developed but those plans were never carried out. Someone forgot to tell whoever supplies CoPilot with those maps because those streets just don't exist in our present day but CoPilot insists they do. When I was instructed to turn left onto one of those nonexistent streets one night which was clearly a dead end, I gave up using this app.
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Does anyone have any feedback on the new Co-Pilot Premium (or the standard version?)
I currently have Navigon and I like it, but I don't love it. It works well but its still seems to be lacking.. something. The biggest gripe I have is that when you put in a destination you get prompted with 3 routes - but those routes don't give you any details, so unless you're in an area you already know you're just looking at 3 different lines and pretty much have to decide on time or distance.. This weekend I drove from NJ to Ohio - I knew I wanted to take Rt 80 but wasn't sure which of the 3 went that way, and I dont even know what the other 2 roads were)...
The other issue I have is after you select a route its a frenzy of buttons and swipes to see the route in list form. Just seems like it could be easier to get to that...
Visually, its Ok - Its pretty much on par with the screen shots I've seen of other apps I've researched. I think the others in this thread have pretty much covered that.
I'm torn now between trying TomTom or Co-Pilot Premium - or sticking with Navigon until September in the (faint) hopes tht Apple does include a free Android-esque mapping app into iOS5. (longshot, I know..)
I'm leaning towards Co-Pilot but would love some real-user feedback if anyone has it!
The maps are the same as the original version of CoPilot. I'm not sure where they get their map data from but it is decades old in some areas. Also, read the user comments in iTunes for the premium version. All they did was make this version look different.
Agreed - the maps are horrendous. They have no one-way street data in my area. Talk about some messed up/illegal/dangerous routes.
+1
I tried both Tomtom and Navigon 8 months ago and decided to go with Tomtom since Navigon POI is useless, even though Navigon UI is nicer.
recently I checked many polls and user reviews on apple app store, and found that more people favor navigon over Tomtom. so I decided to try both again with their latest version (Tomtom 1.8 and Navigon 1.8.2) and hoped that Navigon POI would be improved. again Navigon POI is useless, and Tomtom POI is far ahead.
If all you care is nice User Interface, routings, and features (and don't care about POI), then Navigon seems better. In general, Tomtom is much better (including UI, routing, POI, features).
I just bought the Tom Tom app after reading everything I could find here and elsewhere and, of course, finally upgrading my iPhone from a 3G to a 4S. So far I am liking it better than what I had been using - a Garmin Nuvi.
If Navigon is now a Garmin company are the using the same map data? If so, I made the right choice because Garmin cannot even get my street info where I live correct and that always drove me up a wall. Tom Tom got it right. I didn't know that going in making my decision but am happy about it now.
If Navigon is now a Garmin company are the using the same map data? If so, I made the right choice because Garmin cannot even get my street info where I live correct and that always drove me up a wall. Tom Tom got it right. I didn't know that going in making my decision but am happy about it now.