TomTom or Navigon?

lowridinguy

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I am debating on which GPS app to purchase for my phone. I am lucky enough to have friends that have both apps and I cannot decide which one to get. I have noticed a few things with both that I like and dislike. The Navigon has a gorgeous display, text-to-speech, and lane assist. The Tomtom uses the same
old display they have been using for years but the app's POI surpasses the Navigon.
I think I am leaning towards the TomTom as I have a handheld unit and have had no problems with it and the amount of POI's is far better than Navigon.

I love the display and the iPod controls in the Navigon so I'm torn.

What does everyone else think??
 

maclogan

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I went through this as well and ended up with Navigon. Too many negative reviews on the Tom Tom. Plus I got it on sale at the time. An added benefit is the lifetime traffic subscription for 20 bucks coming soon. I've been very pleased. Quick satelite lock. My only gripe so far about Navigon, especially with the 1.2 update, is that my current speed is a couple of seconds behind.
 

lowridinguy

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Thanks for the input mac! I really want to go for the NAVIGON but I just find that the maps and POI's are a little dated compared to the TomTom. For instance there is a Gas Station/Variety store 500m away from my house and the Navigon does not list it anywhere in the POI's. The TomTom does. I just don't want to be stranded somewhere looking for gas and have the Navigon overlook them. The gas bar is well over 10 years old. I can handle it if were a new POI and wasn't listed yet but its not.
TomTom impressed me when it listed the new Moxie's restaurant across from my work and it hasn't been there for over a year yet!
 

igorsky

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If POIs are important to you then you might not be too happy with Navigon. I really don't know if I'd be able to rely on it for that purpose...too many times I've driven by places that don't even exist! But as a pure navigation app it really is terrific. One of the things I'm most impressed by is how quickly it re-routes you if you go astray from the given directions.
 
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Ticman

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leaning toward Navigon. how "quickly" does it respond as you approach a change or take a wrong turn and has to recalculate.

i don't want to be zooming past the turn and have it announce it when it's too late. thanks

also how do people like the TTS. it is the selling point for me with Navigon
 

igorsky

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leaning toward Navigon. how "quickly" does it respond as you approach a change or take a wrong turn and has to recalculate.

i don't want to be zooming past the turn and have it announce it when it's too late. thanks

also how do people like the TTS. it is the selling point for me with Navigon

From my experience it recalculates much faster than when I used AT&T Navigator with my Blackberry, usually within a couple of seconds. I mean there will always be a little bit of a lag with any navigation app or unit so you can't be expecting "real time". The TTS, in my opinion, is a solid and necessary addition. Although I can't say it pronounces everything perfectly. There have been a couple of times where I had to look on the screen because I had no idea what the "voice" said. But it's more than adequate, in my opinion.

If it were me and I was looking at the two apps now, the frequency of the updates alone would probably sway me towards Navigon.
 

JBHII

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Is Navigon useful when on foot in a big city? Like NYC or DC?

Does it have support for locations outside the US? I travel quite a bit.
 

clg82

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Here is another question, I live in so-cal and travel through the mountains an awful lot and lose signal....will this cause my navigon to stop working?
 

whmurray

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.........TomTom impressed me when it listed the new Moxie's restaurant across from my work and it hasn't been there for over a year yet!
TomTom is pretty current here too. However, nobody beats AT&T on currency or points of interest. They are using the yellow pages. They have a restaurant here in New Canaan that has only been open a few weeks.
 

touchyphone

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I am going to have to throw my 2 cents in. My dad purchased TomTom, and I purchased Navigon. We sat in my car with my mom, and my fiance as we drove from Los Angeles to San Diego. Navigon the entire trip had a steady GPS lock, had no lag, rerouted quickly(when we took needless bathroom breaks). While the TomTom was laggy, GPS lock failed often, and there was a horrible stutter. It still got us from point a to b, TTom, but the experience wasn't as nice. Plus Navigons TTS really is great. I'd say Navigon hands down. Used it a bunch so far here in So Cal, not once have Navigon failed me. I was so glad I jumped on the 69.99 sale
 
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rodders1

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Navigon - i also run a Garmin 1370T, and they are as good as each other.
The Garmin is probably better as its bigger but its hard to fault the Navigon
I used TomTom in the past and was happy.
I went Garmin for the deal on Europe and US maps plus its very thin and finally has a good reputation !!
I went Navigon on 3GS 32G, because it researched well - TomTom didn't - too many poor reviews
The new little app for UK 7 figure post codes makes it pretty well 100%
I thought it would be a good back up but i can see it being used 100% and adding the US maps for the US trips.
I would not hesitate in recommending Navigon
 

atvrider

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Navigon for sure much more reliable
I am debating on which GPS app to purchase for my phone. I am lucky enough to have friends that have both apps and I cannot decide which one to get. I have noticed a few things with both that I like and dislike. The Navigon has a gorgeous display, text-to-speech, and lane assist. The Tomtom uses the same
old display they have been using for years but the app's POI surpasses the Navigon.
I think I am leaning towards the TomTom as I have a handheld unit and have had no problems with it and the amount of POI's is far better than Navigon.

I love the display and the iPod controls in the Navigon so I'm torn.

What does everyone else think??
 

whmurray

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I would. I live in a somewhat rural area and it never finds anything I type. My Magellan GPS unit finds a lot more. So I'm not that happy right now.
As when choosing a cellular carrier, local coverage trumps most things.

That argues for TomTom.

I just completed a 400 mile roundtrip. I had AT&T Navigator, TomTom on my iPhone and TomTom on my old Treo. As I tried to get out of Pittsburgh, the iPhone got lost on both programs. Had to fall back to the Treo with Holux external GPS.

I conclude that a car kit is a must. The only car kit is the TomTom vaporware. One cannot even find a review, much less hardware. One gets a little tired of waiting for TomTom. They have gone from the presumptive winner to an also ran.
 
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touchyphone

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As when choosing a cellular carrier, local coverage trumps most things.

That argues for TomTom.

I just completed a 400 mile roundtrip. I had AT&T Navigator, TomTom on my iPhone and TomTom on my old Treo. As I tried to get out of Pittsburgh, the iPhone got lost on both programs. Had to fall back to the Treo with Holux external GPS.

I conclude that a car kit is a must. The only car kit is the TomTom vaporware. One cannot even find a review, much less hardware. One gets a little tired of waiting for TomTom. They have gone from the presumptive winner to an also ran.


Have either you, or the poster above me tried going to an apple store to get a replacement phone due to faulty GPS. It may sound crazy but, I travel in lots of rural areas and I dont ever lose GPS lock. I had a friend, his iPhone never gave him a lock when using Navigon. I told him I read that he can take it in to Apple and get a new one because GPS wouldnt function. They gave him a refurb, and now the guy is set, His GPS is great now. Perhpas its the phone, not so much the software for you guys. Just saying, not that I am right, just throwing the theory out there. I mean I drove in the Death Valley from LA to Vegas, and had a gps lock...
 

whmurray

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Have either you, or the poster above me tried going to an apple store to get a replacement phone due to faulty GPS. ...........
I really do not believe that my GPS is "faulty," only "limited." It worked fine on the remainder of the 400 mile trip on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I81, I78, I378, and I87. The problem was in Pittsburgh with dense buildings and trees.

I plan to use Apple dollars to try out and report on the TomTom Carkit. While the carkit is not strictly speaking an Apple product, I will pretend that it is so as to justify using Apple dollars to pay for it.

Incidentally, I do not believe that the carkit is a "ripoff." $120 is not a high price for a car kit with hands-free, power, and GPS. Rather it is the TomTom software that is the ripoff. It is has the highest price and the most limited feature set. $99-, no text to speech, no lane guidance, and no traffic is too much.

I realize that these are software featues, that TomTom pioneered the features, has the software, and can add them at any time. However, we have already spent too much of a short life waiting on things that TomTom promised. I am not about to give them any credit for things that they could have included and have not even promised.
 
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whmurray

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As when choosing a cellular carrier, local coverage trumps most things.

That argues for TomTom.

I just completed a 400 mile roundtrip. I had AT&T Navigator, TomTom on my iPhone and TomTom on my old Treo. As I tried to get out of Pittsburgh, the iPhone got lost on both programs. Had to fall back to the Treo with Holux external GPS.

I conclude that a car kit is a must. The only car kit is the TomTom vaporware. One cannot even find a review, much less hardware. One gets a little tired of waiting for TomTom. They have gone from the presumptive winner to an also ran.

Well, it is no longer vaporware. Is in the Apple online store today. May also be in the brick and mortar stores too, but do not know.

I ordered with free ground shipping. Will let you know the delivery date when it is confirmed but should be sometime late next week. I will be away for a week starting Thursday but if it arrives Wednesday, I will post an "un-box" before I go and a full review as soon aftet that as possible.

Perhaps someone else will publish a more timely review for those who want one before they plunk down $120+.
 

taroliw

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Apr 5, 2005
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Is Navigon useful when on foot in a big city? Like NYC or DC?

I have used it for walking directions in SF. The phone had a bit of problem getting a GPS lock around all the tall buildings, but it eventually started tracking OK. The route provided by Navigon was very precise though and got me where I needed to go.

The app has a routing option for vehicle (they call it "speed profile"): car, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, or pedestrian.

I'm currently using 1.4, BTW
 

taroliw

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Here is another question, I live in so-cal and travel through the mountains an awful lot and lose signal....will this cause my navigon to stop working?

This app would be fine with that, because it's extra size (~1.5GB) is due to the fact that the entire map gets installed into the device. Even if you lose GPS signal enroute it estimates map location until GPS signal is restored.

I was traveling for work in CO recently -- and the very first time I battle tested this app for myself -- and it performed admirably in mountainous situations (we drove to a ski area near Pueblo for a fun day) where GPS signal was cutting in and out at times. All you'll notice is the top bar turning red when GPS signal is unavailable and returning to normal when it's happy again.
 

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