MapQuest iPhone gets free voice navigation; TomTom lifetime map and traffic PNDs now available (update: Navigon MobileNavigator 1.5 too)
By Sean Hollister 
posted March 30th 2010 2:12AM
posted March 30th 2010 2:12AM
Chalk up another two wins for cheap consumer GPS. Like Google Maps Navigation before it, the MapQuest 4 Mobile iPhone app has just now added gratis turn-by-turn voice directions... and ahead of schedule, TomTom has begun bundling its new 2010 Personal Navigation Devices, including the XL 340S and the XXL 540S -- with lifetime traffic and maps subscriptions. The latter are now available on Amazon for a $30-per-lifetime-subscription premium in a variety of increasingly feature-filled flavors, with helpful T (traffic), M (maps) and TM (traffic and maps) suffixes so you know which TomTom is which. If you prefer buying from brick and mortar, TomTom expects retail availability beginning in April. Full list of supported TomTom models and expected MSRP after the break.
Update: The 1.5.0 iPhone update to MobileNavigator from Navigon that includes MyRoutes, Facebook and Twitter integration, and Panorama View 3D is finally up on iTunes as well.
- TomTom XL 335T (Lifetime Traffic Edition) - $190
- TomTom XL 335M (Lifetime Maps Edition) - $190
- TomTom XL 335TM (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) - $220
- TomTom XL 340T (Lifetime Traffic Edition) - $200
- TomTom XL 340M (Lifetime Maps Edition) - $200
- TomTom XL 340TM (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) - $230
- TomTom XL 340TM LIVE (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) - $260
- TomTom XXL 540T (Lifetime Traffic Edition) - $230
- TomTom XXL 540M (Lifetime Maps Edition) - $230
- TomTom XXL 540TM (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) - $260
- TomTom XXL 540TM World Traveler (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) - $300
- TomTom Go 740TM LIVE (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) - $320
Finally!
@Simplejack
What?
People really pay $300 just for Maps and Voice navi ?? oah .
*looks at Nokia 5800*
@Simplejack Other than saying "Loading Route" in sexy robotic female voice... I'm yet to see it's real potential. So far, it is going ok for me (to a local gas station). But yet to test this on a freeway...
This is good news.
Oh hey, I remember MapQuest.
does anyone else think this article glazed over the most important part. that the iphone now has free audible turn by turn navigation?
sdhfakjs... that was one of android's most obvious/biggest wins over the iphone.
still proud of my droid, but still.
@awillinger It's not full navigation. It's zoomed out similar to the maps app, but also has voice. Not like Google Nav, but it's better than nothing though. There's also some good ones if you're wiling to pay.
@awillinger BTW...Free isn't better, FREE gets you what you pay for...nothing.
@lsills81
Okay, well even if it is zoomed out and not as good as some not-free alternatives, I think it will get orders of magnitude more downloads (and be more influential in the whole iphone vs. others battle) just due to the fact that it could even sort of replace a costly navigation device/software for nothing out of pocket.
@awillinger Free?
Downloaded.
Not everything, but at least it has voice.
so when is google going to put turn by turn on the iphone?
@TheGr8t1
haha...
hahahaha...
HAAAAAhahahahaahha
oh...haha..oh, thats rich..oh, my sides...
@TheGr8t1
When Unicorns and Leprechauns roam the world freely...
@TheGr8t1 when steve and eric start sleeping in the same bed again
@TheGr8t1
why? i'm content and satisfied with the last 2 editions of Navigon and even the Copilot Live. Both integrate Google search for a quick address lookup. There's no further need for google except it may be useful to looking up an address with a quick streetview picture beforehand. oh, but google does give alternative links that's useful on some occasions.
@TheGr8t1 Never, because Google didn't make the Maps app on the iPhone. Apple made it. The app simply uses Google's map data.
@rdrunner Why? Probably because he wants free nav. You pay for Navigon and CoPilot.
@TheGM bing bing bing we've got a winner. I've had the iphone and g1 then iphone and back to the g1. One of the main reasons I have switched back to the g1 is the free turn by turn directions.(I am always on tmobile)
@CupertinoSweat
Hey they just went out for coffee last week, calm down. Makeup sex is on the way.
@TheGM
Free is good. But for the iPhone, at least, google provides far too few basics for navigation assistance. Visual features are not as important to a driver for safety concerns. Audio feedback, therefore, is important. The dedicated apps are far more feature-rich, but in a helpful sort of way. POI, Live Traffic, Recalculations, Time Guidance, 3D lane assistance ( sometimes distracting unless verbally-cued), and maybe a few more I can't think of. I like dedicated GPS devices but dont mind consolidating devices into a phone if the benefits outweigh the sacrifice. Turn by Turn is free and definitely useful. But these numerous GPS apps are really worth it. You may them indispensible. Just don't overdo it with 3 separate apps like I did trying to find which one suits me the best.
Sprint has had free turn-by-turn directions for a while now....but it's sprint, so nobody cares.
@lelander haha spot on
Anybody that truly travels DOES NOT use this less then par navi...Tom Tom has proven itself multiple times.
this is crap! i had to pay tom tom $100 when they came out with theirs in august! f*** them!
Is the Mapquest app any good? Imo the problem of using the iPhone as a GPS is that it's not a good GPS to begin with. I have the CoPilot app, and while driving thru a highway, sometimes it got confused and thought I was driving on a local road nearby, screwing up the whole routing. I assume a standalone GPS unit would do a better job.
@pika2000
Go Navigon , there's a major update today. You can even go TomTom for iphone. Copilot is pretty good but spotty performance in Chicago sometimes whereas Navigon is a very consistent performer. Just my $0.02.
Apple.
@ashleythehottiest
Orange
@TheGM
We are all fruits...
@varera
I thought you were a vegetable after Chuck Norris beat you up!
Thank Google for this. Without them going free first, others would still be charging triple digits.
I briefly tested Mapquest but think it's competitor Waze is better. Differences are clear. It like
comparing an Encyclopedia to Wikipedia. One is closed and old business model, the other gets it's content from motivated volunteers, it's fun and great technology.
Don't get me wrong, Waze has only been out for about 6 months in US, 2 years of success in Israel. Currently, Waze maps need to catch up to Mapquest maps, because the Waze maps are updated by users like you and me. But it's the other features that get you going, like crowds letting you know where the traffic jams, speed traps, construction zones are 'real time'!
Also,it's fun to just see another wazer moving down your street as you pass each other, and yes you can be anonymous if you want to be. Check them both out but I think you'll like Waze better now and love Waze a year from now.