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Magellan's iOS RoadMate GPS application gains free lifetime maps, Google local search
Magellan's RoadMate GPS app has always struck us as one of the better options within the App Store, and it just got a heck of a lot better with v2.0. One of the main reasons for sticking with Google Maps Navigation on the Android side is the availability of continually updated maps... at no charge. Now, folks who split with $59.99 will get the newest build of RoadMate, which just so happens to have lifetime map updates, Yelp and Google local search. Curiously, those "lifetime" maps run out after three years, but c'mon -- you're replacing that iPhone 4 just as soon as Steve trots out its finely tuned successor, aren't you?
Mini Connected app hits iTunes, now you can finally hit the road
Get your iPhone running. Head out on the highway. Looking for some pancakes, and whatever else Google Local Search finds along the way. BMW's Mini brand has been on the forefront of iOS connectivity and the Mini Connect app is now in the App Store, ready for download. It lets you stream internet radio through your 2011 model's speakers or have Twitter and news feeds read to you. Google integration means easy use of Local Search and a "Send To Car" feature lets you find your destination on the phone and then deploy it to the rather more clunky built-in nav system. Finally, the "Minimalism Analyser" (MINImalism, hah!) gives you points for driving all nice and environmentally friendly. You'd better lay off the Stepphenwolf if you're looking to do well there.
Garmin's nuLink-enabled nuvi 1690 is nuly official
News of Garmin's nüvi 1690 took an unofficial route and managed to find its way to us a few weeks ago, but the official press release took a little longer, arriving this morning and confirming that the connected device will be available sometime before the end of the year at an MSRP of $499.99. For that you'll get two years of the Garmin nüLink service, including such niceties as Google local search, white page listings, real-time traffic and flight status updates, and the Latitude-like Ciao service, which would enable you to snoop on your friends' locations from afar. The 1690 even hops on the trendy green bandwagon with an ecoRoute mode that will select the least environmentally destructive route -- based on expected speed and acceleration, not on the expected number of critters squashed along the way. Fancy? You betcha, but there's still no official word on the even fancier 1800-series. Perhaps official confirmation of that device is taking the most eco-friendly route -- walking.
