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TeleNav GPS for iPhone 4: Free maps, inexpensive turn-by-turn service
At CTIA in Orlando, Florida, TeleNav today announced a new GPS solution for iPhone 4 users. Available immediately on the App Store, TeleNav GPS (free) starts off providing 30 free days of personal navigation service, including spoken turn-by-turn directions, 3D moving maps, auto-rerouting and enhanced search of over 22 million points of interest. After 30 days, users can choose to just stay with the map and search service, or they can make an in-app purchase of US$2.99 per month or $21.99 a year for the full navigation service. The company already has over 20 million subscribers to their services, one of which is the AT&T Navigator app. That app, which is specific to AT&T subscribers, is also free to download, but it costs $9.99 per month or $69.99 per year. The AT&T Navigator app provides many more features at this point, including real-time traffic updates, the ability to download maps for off-line use and one-touch speech recognition. TeleNav introduced TeleNav GPS for Verizon iPhone back in early February. That version of the app is no longer available and has been replaced by this more universal edition. At $2.99 per month, many iPhone 4 users who might balk at the monthly expense of the AT&T Navigator app may be willing to give TeleNav GPS a try. The app supports both English and Spanish language directions. Update: TeleNav noted that despite the fact that the App Store listing shows iPad 2 with 3G compatibility, the app was not designed for use with the iPad 2. We have removed references to the iPad 2 in this post.
Verizon iPhone causing fragmentation of iOS apps? We've got the real story
Sometimes, when journalists and bloggers hear something that sounds like a scoop, they rush to publish the story before anyone else can get it. Unfortunately, that sometimes has repercussions. Yesterday, I was talking to ZDNet's James Kendrick at the TeleNav Waypoint event in Cupertino when he mentioned that he had just posted a story about fragmentation in the iOS market. The story suggested strongly that there were changes between the AT&T and Verizon iPhones that would require some developers to create individualized versions of their apps for each carrier. His conclusions were based on a question he had posed earlier in the day to TeleNav personnel, asking why the company had created a Verizon-only version of their iPhone navigation app instead of just re-branding the AT&T Navigator app. The answer from Telenav execs was that they believed it was due to hardware differences. I also overheard that comment and found it quite disturbing. Shortly after Kendrick's post went live, TechCrunch's MG Siegler wrote a sharp-tongued but insightful response, iPhone App Fragmentation FUD Is Looming. In his post, Siegler decried Kendrick's story as "complete nonsense" based on his observation that all apps he had personally tested on the Verizon iPhone -- including a number of GPS-centric apps -- had worked fine. This seemed like a story that could be rapidly resolved one way or another with a bit of targeted reporting. Our beat writer for the navigation app market, Mel Martin, quickly jumped in (at 10 at night) and emailed numerous contacts in the mobile nav sector to see if they had run into any issues with their apps working on the Verizon iPhone. The unanimous answer? No.
AT&T Navigator for iPhone updated, features direct speech recognition
If you're a subscriber to the free AT&T Navigator app and the associated service , then you'll want to load the latest update ASAP. AT&T Navigator v1.7i is the newest version of the TeleNav-powered app, and it's now the first iPhone GPS navigation app that incorporates direct speech recognition. As you can see in the video above, all you need to do is tap an icon, speak your destination, and the app will display appropriate destination addresses. Tap one of the addresses, and navigation begins. The new version also provides alerts for traffic cameras, works in landscape mode, and has a lane-assist function that shows you which lane you need to be in before you get to an intersection. When you need directions back to your home location, there's a new "shake to go home" function -- just shake the iPhone, and the app knows you want directions back home. The free app works with a US$9.99 monthly service that appears on your AT&T iPhone bill. You can choose a monthly or annual subscription, and you can cancel at any time. Note that navigation is only possible in areas where you have cellular data coverage, as the maps are downloaded on demand.
TeleNav releases free OnMyWay notification app for iPhone
TeleNav is the developer of a lot of mobile navigation applications, including AT&T Navigator for the iPhone. Now the company has come out with an iPhone version of a popular app that originally launched for the BlackBerry platform -- OnMyWay. OnMyWay has a simple goal -- it tells another person or group of people that you are currently "on your way" and sends them the estimated time of your arrival. The app sends new alerts to your contacts if your ETA changes (if you're stuck in traffic, for instance), so that you can safely continue driving and not have to call or text someone else if you're running late. To set up a notification, the iPhone owner inputs a destination, an appointment time, and one or more phone numbers or email addresses to send alerts to, then taps the start button. iPhone contacts are integrated into the app to make setting up the notifications a snap. OnMyWay takes care of the rest of the trip. It starts by sending an initial notification to the recipients telling them that the driver has started his trip, and then includes an estimated time of arrival. Up to three additional status messages might be sent, depending on how the driver has set up the app; if the sender is going to be late, if the person is within a pre-set number of minutes away from the destination, and when the driver is one minute from arriving. Where I could see this app being a real boon is in letting my wife know when I'll be getting back from an appointment. If I'm running a little late, she usually pings me via text, and I have to pull over and send her a response. With OnMyWay, she'd be getting updates and would hopefully leave me to my driving... Some screenshots are in the gallery below. %Gallery-100477%
iPhone GPS navigation head-to-head review
Nobody likes getting lost, and nobody likes paying too much for a reheated lunch at a franchise restaurant when there's a mouthwatering family joint hiding just around the corner. Wouldn't you know it, there's an app that solves those problems -- quite a few of the things, as it turns out. Following up on our earlier look at non-iPhone GPS apps, we took a look at the top iPhone navigation choices in the App Store and narrowed it down to the five below, then threw in a no charge option for kicks, covering a range of prices from free to upwards of $120 per year. As it turns out there's a very tangible difference between the discount and the "premium" options here, but is that extra really worth it? Read on to find out.
TeleNav: GPS helped guys get out of the Valentine's Day doghouse
TeleNav is known for its phone-based GPS navigation products, particular the AT&T Navigator app for iPhone. The company has over 11 million subscribers to its services, so it has a lot of data to sift through to find interesting location search trends. That data showed that GPS location searches helped a lot of guys keep from getting in deep trouble with their significant others in the period surrounding Valentine's Day. Mark Burfeind of TeleNav tells us that they put together all the florist and flower-related GPS searches in their products around Valentine's Day, over 11 million users total, and "found that GPS may have come to the rescue for last minute shoppers." Among the interesting finds: During Valentine's Week (Feb. 8 – 14), searches for flowers increased more than 5.5 times over the previous, non-holiday week of Feb. 1 - 7. In fact, searches on Valentine's Day alone outnumbered searches for the entire week of Feb. 1-7. It looks like GPS may have helped some people get out of the "doghouse" following Valentine's Day. Searches for flowers by TeleNav's users the Monday following Valentine's Day were twice as high as those on an average Monday. How about you, TUAW reader? Did you use your favorite iPhone navigation app to find flowers, candy, or an available restaurant reservation for Valentine's Day? Leave us a comment and let us know if your iPhone's GPS saved the day.
AT&T updates Navigator app for the 5th time
Hot on the heels of the Navigon update, AT&T is adding more features to its subscription based Navigator app for iPhone [iTunes link]. This update includes 'shake-to-go,' which allows users to shake their iPhone at any time while in an AT&T Navigator menu screen; the phone will automatically initiate a route to a pre-designated "home" address the user has set. This doesn't work while in navigation mode, so there's no worry about a pothole or bumpy road initiating a new route during a trip. Other updated features include: Speed Limit Display & Alerts: Navigation screen includes speed limit information and provides visual alerts if the limit is exceeded Last Trip Origin: Once a trip is completed, users can easily return to the origin of their last trip by accessing the "Recent Places" menu Nighttime Maps: The brightness levels of map screens are adjusted for nighttime driving for easier viewing Improved Route Avoidance Options: Drivers may now choose to avoid routes that make use of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes or choose to avoid routes that include toll roads Improved Pedestrian Mode: Users will be able to clearly identify when they are navigating in pedestrian mode with the introduction of a new pedestrian icon on the map screen All current subscribers will get the new features free of charge. The app, which was developed for AT&T by TeleNav, costs US$9.99 per month, or $69 a year. The maps on this app are not present on the iPhone, so to use it you will have to have a good cellular signal and the maps will be downloaded as needed. The latest version is 1.5i and current owners should be able to download the latest build from the iTunes store.
AT&T Navigator for iPhone updated
Not wanting to feel left out of the festival of updates for GPS apps, AT&T has given AT&T Navigator [iTunes link] some new features that are sure to please people who use the app. Here's what's new: Full landscape view integration Enhanced iPod controls with the ability to search through your songs, artists, etc. from within the app Inclusion of AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspots in the POI listings Seamless blending of navigation prompts and music for easy listening The app itself is free, but you have to sign up for a U.S. $9.99/month subscription or get a $69.99 annual subscription. You can see some more details on the upgrade and watch a video of the Navigator in action here. One nice feature of the app is you can just sign up for a month to take you through holiday travel, and then drop your subscription. Unlike many of the GPS apps for the iPhone, this app requires a cellular signal, because all the maps and info are streamed in over the network.
Cruising with the AT&T Navigator
I love GPS. in the mid 1990s I had a Garmin unit that had no maps, just a bread crumb trail of where you were and where you'd been. I lived in England at the time, and thought I had a highly original idea to take it to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and walk across the Meridian line and watch the screen as the numbers dropped to zero longitude. When I got there, I was hardly alone. I was surrounded by other geeks doing exactly the same thing. Oh well.GPS has come a long way, and AT&T has released their subscription based Navigator [App Store] for the iPhone. It requires OS version 3.0. It is fee based, and will set you back US$9.95 a month on your AT&T bill. It is loaded with features, and has voice guided turn by turn directions. It also offers: Automatic rerouting Updated maps with no additional charge Real time traffic updates Fuel Price searches and navigation to those locations Point of interest searches in all the usual categories like ATM machines, hospitals, restaurants, airports The map gives you a 3D view from a position just above and behind your vehicle. On the setup page you can chose flat maps if your prefer. I found the maps easy to read but would have preferred a landscape view instead of portrait (there is no option to change the orientation). I saw a little lag when driving, but generally the response was fast. The app really needs a 3G connection. It works on the EDGE network, but was slow to load graphics. If you are somewhere where you have neither you are out of luck. No maps are contained on the app and nothing is cached. In essence, the app is only as good as the AT&T network, and if you do a lot of driving where the network is weak or absent, you'll be navigating on your own.I found the voice very hard to hear. This is a limitation of the iPhone speaker. It just wasn't designed to be played at a loud volume. On the highway, with road noise, good luck hearing that warning to turn. Of course, the directions are on the map, but the whole purpose of voice instructions is to keep you from looking at the map.Other features are a high altitude view of your entire trip from beginning to end, a list of your turns on a scrollable page, directions to the nearest AT&T WiFi hotspots (nice), and the ability to set your default navigation method like shortest, fastest, traffic optimized, prefer highways or streets, or pedestrian routing if you're not driving.I found the voice alerts were too frequent. Frankly, the app is a blabbermouth, and it kept reminding me of a faraway turn too often for my taste. It would be nice to be able to set just how aggressive the voice warnings are.The big question for most iPhone users will be whether to wait for other nav apps to appear. TomTom is imminent, as is an app from Navigon. They both download the maps to your phone, so you are not dependent on the AT&T network. You only need GPS, and that signal is everywhere. You could also buy an inexpensive dedicated unit; on the low end that will cost about the same as a year of the AT&T subscription, and will certainly have a better speaker. Of course, there will be fees to update the maps, but in my experience you can use a GPS for years without doing that. Points of interest change, but the iPhone provides other sources like Google for up to date info.I also think it is a bloody shame that the AT&T app has no access to your address book. Apple has walled that data off from 3rd party apps, (Update: Apple provides the ability, the Navigator app hasn't implemented it) and it is just senseless to have you type everything in again. You can copy and paste the data, but it is a needless pain. The AT&T app has this access when it runs on other phones like the Blackberry.In summary, the app works, and is feature laden. I'm not sure it is the best option for in-car navigation, and you might want to wait for other solutions to appear. Of course, you can always get the AT&T app and cancel. It's a month-by-month charge.So how is it like to drive with this app? My colleague Steven Sande did just that, and his report will follow soon.Before you go, here are some screen shots to give you a look at some of the features on AT&T Navigator:%Gallery-67289%
AT&T Navigator comes to iPhone, Pre says "sounds expensive"
The launch of AT&T Navigator on the iPhone this week is likely the highest-profile turn-by-turn navigation launch to hit the platform to date, notably becoming the first "premium" AT&T-offered service to be made available through the phone -- which, until now, has generally (and uncharacteristically) remained free of carrier crapware since day one. Reviews are mixed, with one of the big complaints being that maps are pulled down over your network connection in real time -- then again, this is common to virtually every carrier-branded nav solution, so we can't fault the iPhone version there. The app itself is free, but using it will run $9.95 a month on top of your regular bill -- a far cry from the goose egg Sprint is charging Pre customers for the use of Sprint Navigation which offers essentially the same level of functionality. Add in the fact that TomTom's got a much sexier (albeit bulkier and more expensive) solution in the works for this, and frankly, we're not sure this thing's going to see much success; probably worth a try, though, right? [Warning: iTunes link][Via AppleInsider]
AT&T Navigator gets worldly with Global Edition
After an April launch, AT&T's significantly extending the reach of its AT&T Navigator service with the announcement today that a new Global Edition of the software will provide nav capabilities in 20 countries. That's probably welcome news to globetrotting businessfolk that happen to carry one of AT&T's GPS-capable worldphones -- and businessfolk seem to be exactly the demographic they're targeting with a healthy $19.98 monthly charge for the pleasure of not getting lost worldwide. Much of western Europe, the Caribbean, and six Chinese cities are on the roster, and the carrier is quick to point out that those cities will all be hosting Olympic events -- so, you know, if you need to make it from dressage to the 100-meter dash as quickly as possible, those might be the best 20 bucks you ever spent.
Motorola's Z9 with GPS goes for a ride on AT&T
Just like we heard, AT&T is now offering Motorola's MOTO Z9. $150 (after $50 on-line discount and 2-yr contract) nabs the new slider with GPS for AT&T's rebranded TeleNav service -- now called AT&T Navigator. It's also stuffed with microSD expansion, stereo Bluetooth, and quad-band GSM with WCDMA 850/1900 supporting 3.6Mbps HSDPA data. Surprisingly, the 2 megapixel camera we saw in the early prototype last year has been whittled back to 1.3 megapixels. Come on Moto, what's 0.7 megapixels between friends? [Thanks, Mark and Orhan C.]Update: AT&T's bad! The camera's still a full 2 megapixels after all -- we just confirmed it.
AT&T to follow Verizon's footsteps, self-brand navigation service?
Love it or hate it, AT&T's been offering TeleNav navigation services on a number of devices for a while now -- but it looks like the carrier's trying to up its clout just a smidge by rechristening the service with its own name. We've been hearing that TeleNav will become AT&T Navigator tomorrow -- on AT&T, anyway -- and to commemorate the occasion, the Motorola Z9 slider will be launched as the inaugural device to use the rebranded service. We should be able to validate or debunk this in just a few hours now, so stay tuned.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in, with special thanks to Rick for the image]
