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European nav app first out of the gate for iPhone
It looks like our European friends will get first crack at an advanced turn-by-turn navigation app for the iPhone/iPod touch. MobileNavigator Europe [App Store] requires the 3.0 software, and looks to be fully featured: 2D and 3D map displays Can be used in portrait and landscape format Branded UI features such as Reality View Pro, Lane Assistant Pro & "real signpost display" Speed Assistant with adjustable audio-visual warning Direct access and navigation to contacts saved in the iPhone's address book The latest NAVTEQ maps, 2M+ European POIs (points of interest) Navigation is automatically resumed after an incoming phone call Quick access to user-defined POIs in the area and along the route Take Me Home function with a single click This software is the first of several apps coming for the iPhone. The TomTom app that will work in the U.S. has been demoed and coming soon. Garmin, one of the premier GPS manufacturers is going the other way, and will release their own phone with navigation built in, but the project has been troubled and much delayed. Telenav has pre-announced its iPhone offering and suggested that customers keep an eye on the company's Twitter feed.The Navigon app is US $94.99 (!) this month only, then the price goes up (!!!). The Navigon website doesn't yet show a list of the supported countries, but it's displayed in iTunes and is quite extensive (Albania to Vatican City with Estonia, Macedonia, San Marino & Slovenia + more in between). The app supports ten different languages and will automatically switch based on the selected language for the iPhone itself. The download weighs in at 1.65 GB.This quick release of high quality navigation software should set mouths watering for a release over here, but I'm a bit troubled by the pricing, as you can buy a pretty fully featured low-end navigator for only a few more dollars.Update: Our readers have also mentioned Gokivo, with a continuing US$9.95 a month subscription, and Sygic, which provides turn by turn navigation in Austrailia and New Zealand.Thanks to Gaspare for the original tip and our alert readers for more suggestions!
Lonely Planet San Francisco City Guide for iPhone free for a limited time
Normally the Lonely Planet guides for iPhone are $15.99, so any way you look at it, getting the San Francisco guide (iTunes link) for free is a great purchase. At worst you'll see if you like the Lonely Planet way of doing things in a travel guide and at best you might discover something new in San Francisco. Yep, the guide is free in anticipation of WWDC, allowing attendees to do a little sightseeing if Apple's sessions aren't enough for you. I've only spent a bit of time with the app (I'm not in San Francisco, so testing the "nearby" functions won't happen until next week), but if you're familiar with the Lonely Planet guide books, you'll be pretty familiar with the content here. The app has a really long list for the table of contents, something I felt could be handled better. If you want to find travel information, for example, you'll have to scroll somewhere about 40% down -- this is not optimal if you need info in a hurry. In fact, scrolling through longs lists is so annoying Apple gave the iPod app a search tool and Coverflow browsing. Luckily the LP guide provides a text search which I found quite useful.Browsing content is terrifically easy, with a slim design that allows you to move forward and back between articles, increase text size or go back up to whatever screen you were previously at, like a search page. Speaking of those searches and the content, a cursory search for Moscone brought up no precise info on the convention center. It is mentioned in a reference to Yerba Buena, but otherwise lacks details.The map suffers from static information and a lack of one-way street info (kind of important in cities filled with them, but only if you drive). I much prefer the maps and interaction of the AAA Discounts app, complete with animation and cleaner graphics. There are complaints about missing hotels and whatnot, but I've never fully trusted any guidebook to find every hotel and restaurant. Plus, there's always Urbanspoon and a plethora of apps for discovering new places to eat around you.Obviously if you are ever planning to travel to San Francisco it'd be hard to turn down a free app so full of info. I don't think it'll replace anything like your Maps app, or Urbanspoon, or Yelp-based apps, but that's not the point. As a guide full of history and photos, hotel and restaurant data, workable maps and tons of "getting around" data, the Lonely Planet San Francisco City Guide is incredibly handy. %Gallery-64792%
Breakfast Topic: Where would you go if you were a tourist in Azeroth?
On April 1st, Gadling blogger Erik Mclaughlin took a little trip to a place we all know well: Azeroth! He describes a bit of a lowbie safari than spans from the the treetops of Darnassus, to a safari in the Barrens, to the Mage Quarter of Stormwind. It's a fun little read, and reminded me of a question posed by Temperius of Cenarion Circle a bit back on the official forums: Assuming you didn't have to worry about being attacked, at least not too much, Where would you go if you could be a tourist in the World of Warcraft? To be honest, I'd have a hard time deciding because there's very few places I wouldn't want to go. Some of the more demon infested places might end up being too ugly, but I have to say, I'd love to attend a banquet in Karazhan and take in an actual non-ghostly Opera or watching the patterns of the twisting nether from a high cliff in Netherstorm. I'd have to do some cliff diving from the Twin Colossals, and meditate by the moonwell outside Stormrage Barrow Den in Moonglade. And those would just be the beginning. How about fishing in Booty Bay, or joining the Shatterspear tribe for a bonfire dance party? What about joining Hemet on his almost certain-to-happen hunting trip up to the Grizzly Hills of Northrend? Assuming you could do it all in relative safety (Let's say you had a magic item that gave you exalted reputation with everything), how would you do the touristy thing in Azeroth? Where would you go? What would you do?
Gadling details the necessities for an iPhone camp out
While our latest blogger Chris Ullrich has dug up some details on how AT&T stores are going to handle crowd control on June 29th, Justin Glow at our sister blog Gadling has gone the geek route by laying down a complete list of Must-haves for your iPhone camp out. I really hope things don't get this desperate around the Colorado stores as I hope to score an iPhone in just under 9 days now, anyone obsessed with grabbing Apple's latest gadget might learn a think or two from this list and be able to wake a bit more rested than their competition the morning of the big day. From tents that provide power for charging your gadgets to - no joke - portable toilets, Glow has you covered with what is probably the most over-the-top, über-prepared survival guide for iPhone Day.
