Part 1:
With the release of the iPhone 3.0 software update, there has been a flood of turn by turn navigation options popping up in the app store. I will attempt to review some of these apps in a series I?m calling Navigation Showdown. The first app reviewed in this series will be Navigon Mobile Navigator North America.
Intro:
I want to preface this review by saying that I am a true navigation junkie. I?ve owned multiple GPS devices over the years and have recently made the switch from dedicated navigation boxes to mobile phone solutions. I travel quite a bit so I?ve come to depend on navigation devices and software on a near daily basis. When I saw that Navigon released an iPhone app, I was ecstatic. So how does the software stack up to their own hardware and other competing navigation solutions for the iPhone? Read on.
The App:
There are two basic ways in which iPhone navigation apps load map data. Many apps, such as AT&T Navigator, choose to draw all of their information over the cellular data network. This is an advantage in that all information and map data are updated in real time. However, it is a disadvantage because it requires constant signal, and for many people this is not always an option. Ironically, many of the times I find myself needing directions, I?m in an area where the signal is either weak or nonexistent.
Navigon maps are, instead, loaded onto the iPhone itself. This means that a constant data connection is not necessary. However, there are still a few disadvantages: First, the app size is enormous. I had to clear up 1.5 Gigs of drive space on my iPhone 3G just to install the app. If you?re using an 8Gb iPhone, this can put a serious damper on the amount of music and media you can hold. Second is that listings can sometimes be dated, and the size restriction may prohibit how much map information can be stored on the phone. Many times during testing, Points of Interest (or POI?s), that I was passing would not show up. I did not feel as confident that map data was current or that I could find every location I needed by simply doing a name search. Often I would search for where I needed to go in Google Maps, copy the address, and then enter it into Navigon. However, if you live in a developing area with lots of new business going in all the time like I do, having dated maps is a way of life, which is why I?m still a fan of the internet loaded data solution.
Interface:
Navigon has done an incredible job with the interface. The home menu that first comes up has nice big finger-friendly dark-colored buttons on a dark background, which means you won?t be blinded when starting the app at night. Towards the bottom there are four different options for navigation. Main Menu gives you the normal options to search for a POI, manually input an address or show your current location on the map. One really nice feature on the Main Menu is the Take Me Home button which will point you right to your home address without having to dig through your favorite locations. The Favorites menu gives you a list of all your bookmarked locations. However, there are no options to sort by category, which is something I personally miss after using Garmin Mobile XT on my HTC Tilt. The Recents menu gives you the option to navigate to any of your recent destinations. All of this is fairly standard. However, Navigon has one very unique feature that I haven?t seen on other iPhone solutions yet. This feature is the Contacts menu, which will allow you to scroll through your contact list, select a name, and navigate to that person?s address. This is VERY handy. I spent a couple of hours loading address information into my contact book just to try this feature out in depth, and I have to say I could see myself using this on a regular basis. It?s especially handy if your employer has multiple satellite locations. You can create a contact entry for these locations and load a phone number and address into them. Of course you could always load them into your Favorites menu, but loading the info into the contact card means you can use it with Google Maps as well.
When searching for a POI, you have the option to look nearby, in a specific city, or in a specific state. The nearby function will scan in a 3-5 miles radius (as best as I can estimate). City and statewide searches are fairly self explanatory. Once you choose your search range, you can type in a business name. There are also three shortcut keys at the bottom for Fuel, Food, and Parking. These are incredibly simple but missing some important features. One glaring omission Navigon made was not including access to live information such as traffic and fuel prices. This is a HUGE loss considering how easy it would be to implement. This also means that you have to wait for App Store releases to get updated information. It?s fairly easy to find the fuel station closest to you, but I would love an option to search by price in order to make sure I can keep my expenses down on a business trip, which would mean more mileage reimbursement going into my pocket instead of my gas tank. Navigon, please include this in the next update.
With the release of the iPhone 3.0 software update, there has been a flood of turn by turn navigation options popping up in the app store. I will attempt to review some of these apps in a series I?m calling Navigation Showdown. The first app reviewed in this series will be Navigon Mobile Navigator North America.
Intro:
I want to preface this review by saying that I am a true navigation junkie. I?ve owned multiple GPS devices over the years and have recently made the switch from dedicated navigation boxes to mobile phone solutions. I travel quite a bit so I?ve come to depend on navigation devices and software on a near daily basis. When I saw that Navigon released an iPhone app, I was ecstatic. So how does the software stack up to their own hardware and other competing navigation solutions for the iPhone? Read on.
The App:
There are two basic ways in which iPhone navigation apps load map data. Many apps, such as AT&T Navigator, choose to draw all of their information over the cellular data network. This is an advantage in that all information and map data are updated in real time. However, it is a disadvantage because it requires constant signal, and for many people this is not always an option. Ironically, many of the times I find myself needing directions, I?m in an area where the signal is either weak or nonexistent.
Navigon maps are, instead, loaded onto the iPhone itself. This means that a constant data connection is not necessary. However, there are still a few disadvantages: First, the app size is enormous. I had to clear up 1.5 Gigs of drive space on my iPhone 3G just to install the app. If you?re using an 8Gb iPhone, this can put a serious damper on the amount of music and media you can hold. Second is that listings can sometimes be dated, and the size restriction may prohibit how much map information can be stored on the phone. Many times during testing, Points of Interest (or POI?s), that I was passing would not show up. I did not feel as confident that map data was current or that I could find every location I needed by simply doing a name search. Often I would search for where I needed to go in Google Maps, copy the address, and then enter it into Navigon. However, if you live in a developing area with lots of new business going in all the time like I do, having dated maps is a way of life, which is why I?m still a fan of the internet loaded data solution.
Interface:
Navigon has done an incredible job with the interface. The home menu that first comes up has nice big finger-friendly dark-colored buttons on a dark background, which means you won?t be blinded when starting the app at night. Towards the bottom there are four different options for navigation. Main Menu gives you the normal options to search for a POI, manually input an address or show your current location on the map. One really nice feature on the Main Menu is the Take Me Home button which will point you right to your home address without having to dig through your favorite locations. The Favorites menu gives you a list of all your bookmarked locations. However, there are no options to sort by category, which is something I personally miss after using Garmin Mobile XT on my HTC Tilt. The Recents menu gives you the option to navigate to any of your recent destinations. All of this is fairly standard. However, Navigon has one very unique feature that I haven?t seen on other iPhone solutions yet. This feature is the Contacts menu, which will allow you to scroll through your contact list, select a name, and navigate to that person?s address. This is VERY handy. I spent a couple of hours loading address information into my contact book just to try this feature out in depth, and I have to say I could see myself using this on a regular basis. It?s especially handy if your employer has multiple satellite locations. You can create a contact entry for these locations and load a phone number and address into them. Of course you could always load them into your Favorites menu, but loading the info into the contact card means you can use it with Google Maps as well.
When searching for a POI, you have the option to look nearby, in a specific city, or in a specific state. The nearby function will scan in a 3-5 miles radius (as best as I can estimate). City and statewide searches are fairly self explanatory. Once you choose your search range, you can type in a business name. There are also three shortcut keys at the bottom for Fuel, Food, and Parking. These are incredibly simple but missing some important features. One glaring omission Navigon made was not including access to live information such as traffic and fuel prices. This is a HUGE loss considering how easy it would be to implement. This also means that you have to wait for App Store releases to get updated information. It?s fairly easy to find the fuel station closest to you, but I would love an option to search by price in order to make sure I can keep my expenses down on a business trip, which would mean more mileage reimbursement going into my pocket instead of my gas tank. Navigon, please include this in the next update.
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