Practically all summer, the buzz surrounding TomTom's
forthcoming iPhone GPS app was near deafening. But said noise apparently didn't penetrate the labs at
Navigon, as that very outfit has produced what's easily the most full-featured option on the market today. Just a week after
updating the
already-great app with text-to-speech, iPod controls and location sharing, the company is now proclaiming that live traffic will splash down in October (at least in North America). The update will enable the software to utilize real-time speed data from drivers currently en route as well as historical information in order to alert you of slow-downs and re-route you when necessary. We've personally seen live traffic functions fail more often than not, but we're giving Navigon the benefit of the doubt here until we can test it ourselves. Best of all, it'll only cost MobileNavigator users (priced at $89.99) a one-time fee of $24.99 for lifetime traffic, and if you snag it within the first four weeks after it goes on sale, that rate drops to $19.99. So, TomTom -- what now?
posted September 17th 2009 9:12AM
They might. They pulled out of North American market, and arent' selling their PNDs here anymore -- only software now.
The main reason I wanted the Tom Tom system was for the mount. Not the mounting part itself but what goes into it, the speaker and bluetooth, the better GPS chip and charger.
If Navigon makes a mount as good I'll gladly give them my money instead of Tom Tom.
I'm confused about what makes the tomtom mount's GPS chip "better". GPS either works or it doesn't. The GPS in my iPhone works fine. What could be "better"?
OK, anyone here NOT living in the US who has experience of both the Navigon and CoPilot applications? It seems fairly universal that TomTom's own application sucks but both of these applications seem to be pretty well rated. Which one does the business for you? I've honestly been thinking that CoPilot looks best from the videos but first hand reviews would be appreciated.
uberfu - cheap - available - now
So far as I can see, the only compelling reason to go with Tom Tom, for me at least, is the Tom Tom car mount. Would it be possible for other Nav software to use it?
I really like features of the Tom Tom mount the software, is another matter. Are the Other Nav Makers going to offer something similar? If not, then Tom Tom it is.
To be fair, we don't yet know whether the TomTom Car Mount is actually any good, either. On paper it sounds good but its actual performance in the real world has yet to be established. However, I think it is fair to say that other 3rd party mounts will appear as adoption of GPS applications on the iPhone increases. It really is just a matter of "when" and "how much" rather than "if".
The tomtom mount will work with the other gps apps as well tomtom announced. alos navigon is making a mount with gps chip in it in the future. if you have a iphone 3gs its not necessary, at least in south NJ where i live. i bought a 9$ regular mount on amazon
I don't need a TomTom to tell me traffic on 90/94 by Division St. sucks.
I've tried many different apps and Tomtom was the only one I could ever rely on .., in the uk at any rate .. and maybe a bit in portugal. The features on Navigon would defintely make me change from Tomtom ... BUT as good as the features are; the thing you really want to be paying for is the quality of the maps .. ! great having text to speech and ipod integration when your sat nav is lost .. and you're then you're are buggrd...
TomTom does not compare to this app at all!! I found no need for a mount with gps chip in it either, my iphone 3gs works fine and never lost gps signal. i even get gps signal in my house. Navigon is more comitted to making their app stand out, as proof by their updates. And for you douches talking about your pre, well if you loose cell signal traveling in the country have fun getting butt raped by a redneck when you get lost and ask for directions. also the pre screen is smaller than iphones so another strike against the gps feature.
"So, TomTom -- what now?"
Well, they could always actually release the car kit they were discussing months ago; update their app to bring it in line with the features of their own devices (never mind competing apps) and they could - although they're unlikely to - charge less than 3 gold ingots for their car kit, which had better enhance my iPhone's GPS signal to unprecedented levels of accuracy.
But hey, they could always just leave their app to languish in continuing obsolescence on the app store...
Navigon FTW. Seriously. Navigon just fired proton torpedos into TomTom's thermal exhaust port.
whether you're a navigon fan or not, it has to be said....they're being very aggressive about upgrading their v1.0 software and adding some very useful features...
1) routing from address book entries
2) background ipod music functionality
3) text to speech
and now lifetime traffic for one modest fee. that's good stuff....
So I am a GPS newbie... what is 'Text to Speech'?
Text to speech says the street names. So instead of "turn right in .2 miles". You would hear "turn right at Main street".
It doesn't sound like much. But hearing the street and just looking at the street sign beats the heck out of double checking the GPS or iPhone screen to double check that your about to make the correct turn.
Ha! I love the image provided on the demo screen. I take the 47A to Fullerton to go to DePaul. The traffic sucks on the Kennedy in general.
i bought both tomtom and navigon's apps, and i tomtom has already been deleted from the iphone.
navigon is updating the app with new features and, mostly, providing amazing customer support on facebook and twitter.
they're also keeping an updated flickr feed with fresh photos, although untagged (it would be nice to be able to find them when searching for navigon shots).
after using navigon and getting those lovely maps (someone said tomtom makes everything look like a desert), the reality view, lane assist and now text-to-speech, tomtom just makes no sense.
they fumbled on the app launch date, did it again with the cradle, and have yet to update the app.
i was thinking about getting tomtom's cradle, to use with navigon's app, for the promised gps signal improvment, but navigon seems to do a good job on the open road, and even in my hometown, riddled with urban canyons, it's pretty hard to loose reception on my 3gs.
i'm sorry my country is not one of the 14 european ones that are getting live traffic, i would pay it just to support the company. maybe i'd use it in the future, but the fee doesn't seem that steep for a lifetime use of the feature.
short story, very happy with navigon and they way they're handling customer support and app updating.
Tested both. Navigon has great and useful features that TomTom doesn't have. But GPS signal interpretation of TomTom is way better. When at a stop, Navigon keeps spinning to lose the direction, while TomTom is relatively still. TomTom gives you a stable information even when GPS signal is poor; in such a case, Navigon gives you a completely confusing information.
I really wish Navigon improves their signal interpreting algorithm in an upcoming update (or, TomTom adds more features).
Can anyone please tell me if I can listen to my Sirius|XM application while running the Navigon GPS (or TomTom). I have my iphone running through my car stereo. So I would like the GPS app to mute my Sirius, tell me when to turn, then go back to playing music.
Thanks!!!!!!!
According to their Twitter account , the submission to the App Store for Traffic Live was due in days - that written on Oct 27.
Soon!
I wonder how Google's Turn by Turn will play out with iPhone 4.0?
Jacques