Daily App: Garmin víago - a new navigation app for iOS
With all the great navigation apps that are available for free, developers with paid apps must be creative to attract customers. Today, Garmin upped the ante with new navigation app called víago for US$0.99 (with in-app purchases that are on sale until July 13, 2014).
Garmin víago offers advanced navigation features not available from free apps, guiding drivers through the most challenging situations with ease. The app comes with off-board maps for many regions around the world and navigation features like current speed and speed limit display, lane assist, weather information, in-map traffic display, and photo-realistic junction views.
Users can easily upgrade their experience with premium add-ons like downloadable maps ("Maps to Go") that don't require a data connection to navigate, real-time traffic with automatic rerouting, urban navigation with public transportation, 3D terrain view, and much more.
víago also is the first smartphone navigation app that features Garmin Real DirectionsTM (available via in-app purchase), giving spoken, turn-by-turn directions that utilize recognizable landmarks, buildings, stop signs and traffic lights. The new app also runs with the Garmin HUD, a hardware heads-up-display that projects turn information, distance and other information onto on your car's windshield.
The app is inexpensive to get started, but it is pretty bare bones. Once you load it up with in-app purchases that range from $4.99 to $19.99 each, you are going to be in the same ballpark money-wise as the other Garmin/Navigon family of apps. The company says that, with this approach, customers can choose just the features they want.
víago looks like an impressive app, and I will be anxious to test it over the next few days. Features like urban guidance with transit information, extensive weather information for your route, and more intuitive directions sounds like the app could be a winner. With maps on board, you can avoid the data charges that can come with using constantly downloading maps from some of the other apps being offered.
Garmin víago is available for US$0.99, with in-app purchases on sale until July 13. After that, the basic app and several in-app purchases will double in price.
The app is not universal, it's designed for the iPhone, and it requires iOS 7 or later.
