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Posts Tagged ‘Car Kit’

TomTom for U.S. and Canada updated with real time traffic and more

Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch

We told you it was coming, and now it has arrived. The popular US$59.95 TomTom app is ready to hit the road with real time traffic available as an additional in-app purchase.

Included with the 1.3 update at no additional charge is Google local search, revised map data, music fading, automatic day and night mode based on your location, and the ability to add locations from other applications.

The real time traffic option has some nice features. Updates are received every 3 minutes. If a delay along your route is found, you will get notification from the app and automatically be re-routed. The not-so-great feature is that the traffic info will set you back $19.95 for 12 months of information. By contrast, when I reviewed the live traffic option on the Navigon app in November, it was a one time price of $19.95. The Navigon app itself is 10 bucks more expensive than the TomTom app that includes the U.S. and Canada, but those yearly fees from TomTom can add up.

All the navigation app developers are loading up their products with more and more features, and iPhone owners are lucky to have the chance to agonize a bit over which app to get. There are worse problems to have.

The TomTom nav app works on an iPhone or an iPod touch but requires a car kit. Including Canada and the U.S., the app costs $69.95.

[Thanks Jared for the tip]

TUAWTomTom for U.S. and Canada updated with real time traffic and more originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Magellan’s GPS Car Kit for iPhone and iPod Touch: $130, coming next month
We heard earlier this month that Magellan was looking to one-up TomTom by outing an iPod touch / iPhone GPS car kit of its very own, but a few critical details were missing: namely, a price and a release date. Thanks to a new product listing on Amazon (capped after the break), we at least have a clue as to when this thing will be shipping stateside and for how much. If you’ll recall, this one’s compatible with the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch as well as the iPhone 3G and 3GS, and aside from providing a built-in speaker, charging capabilities and a noise-canceling handsfree speakerphone, it’ll also work with any navigation or location-based app — not just Magellan’s own $79.99 RoadMate program. The unfortunate part here is that Magellan has somehow managed to produce a cradle that’s actually more expensive that the ludicrously overpriced TomTom variant, but those willing to part with $129.99 can place their order now and look for a December 11th ship date.

[Thanks, Mark]

Continue reading Magellan’s GPS Car Kit for iPhone and iPod Touch: $130, coming next month

Magellan’s GPS Car Kit for iPhone and iPod Touch: $130, coming next month originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Magellan has worthy contender in the GPS sweepstakes

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

Just in time for the holidays! I was excited when Magellan announced a new iPhone GPS software product, and was eager to get it downloaded to test. I spent two days driving around (well, not the whole 2 days) and generally had a positive experience.

Magellan has been around the GPS business for a long time, delivering the first GPS handheld unit back in 1989. They also pioneered the Neverlost system in Hertz rental cars. The company has a lot of experience getting travelers to their destinations on vacations, business trips, and for the holidays.

They’ve put quite a lot in this first version for the iPhone which they call the Magellan Roadmate 2010. It sells for US $79.99 [iTunes link] for a ‘limited time’, then it goes back to $99.99, and it’s a 1.36GB download. The app has text to speech, lane assist, iPod control, and a pedestrian mode, which is a nice touch.

The maps, which are sourced from NAVTEQ, include the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

As a bonus, iPod touch users can use this app with the optional Magellan Premium Car Kit with a built-in GPS receiver. The car kit hasn’t been released yet, but it’s imminent.

Driving around using it was a pleasant experience. The maps are clear and easy to read, and work in portrait or landscape mode. The maps change colors for a night view automatically. If you like the look of the dedicated Magellan units you’ll certainly like it on the iPhone.

Text to speech is clear, and you can have the unit talk to you in a male or female voice. You can get a list of all the turns you will make on your trip, and you can turn on a feature that auto zooms the display as you approach a turn so you can get more detail at intersections.

Read on for more impressions…

Continue reading Magellan has worthy contender in the GPS sweepstakes

TUAWMagellan has worthy contender in the GPS sweepstakes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Magellan car kit detailed at FCC filing

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch

That was fast. We just learned Magellan was going to offer a car kit for the iPhone and it has already hit the FCC. GPSTracklog.com has a detailed drawing of the new device, and it looks to be quite complete. Magellan has said the kit will be on sale before the end of the year, and even give the iPod touch full nav capabilities.

The car kit is supposed to allow any iPhone GPS app to work with it, so you’re not limited to the Magellan app. It works in portrait or landscape mode, and has a speaker for hearing directions and also link to your iPhone for Bluetooth based calls.

The Magellan Roadmate app itself [iTunes link] has a boatload of good features, and we’re anxious to get our hands on the app for a full test. Holiday travelers will have a lot of good choices for navigating to your destinations. Remember when we thought the plain old Google Maps app was cool?

Thanks to Rich for the tip.

[via GPSTracklog.com]

TUAWMagellan car kit detailed at FCC filing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Magellan enters the iPhone nav app sweepstakes

Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch

I guess it was inevitable. Magellan has just launched an iPhone app that looks great and will offer road warriors even more choice in a very competitive landscape.

The Magellan Roadmate 2010 North America is being offered for a ‘limited time’ for U.S. 79.99. [iTunes link] The 1.36 GB app includes the usual features plus text-to-speech for pronouncing street names, a car finding feature for when you park, pedestrian mode, lane assist, 3D landmarks, in-app music control, address book integration and an intuitive one touch menu system.

With the Magellan offering, all the big navigation companies have a cell phone product. TomTom is on the iPhone along with Navigon, and Garmin has a cell phone/ nav app hardware solution that hasn’t exactly caught on fire with consumers. Then there is the ‘will it or won’t it appear on the iPhone’ Google app.

Also interesting is that Magellan has announced a Premium Car Kit that will allow you to keep your iPhone in your current case, charge your phone, give you a bluetooth speaker phone, allow an iPod touch to work as a GPS, and it is supposed to function with any nav app. No price or specific launch date for the car kit, but it’s supposed to be available before the end of this year.

We’ll get a review copy of the Magellan app ASAP and give it our usual whirl around town. The more choice the better for iPhone users, and the new features on this Magellan app are most welcome.

[Thanks to David for the tip]

TUAWMagellan enters the iPhone nav app sweepstakes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TomTom iPhone kit now being sold through US Apple Store

American TomTom loyalists, we know what you’ve been thinking: how dare those fine folks across the pond get first dibs to pick up the iPhone car kit? Well, steam to yourself no longer, it’s now for sale online via Apple’s US store for the previously-disclosed price of $119.95. Alas, no software’s included, but you’ve had enough time to cope with that. Also, it’s iPhone 3G and 3GS only — iPod touch need not apply.

[Via App Advice]

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

TomTom iPhone kit now being sold through US Apple Store originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TomTom car kit makes first appearance in the (UK) wild

Filed under: iPhone

It’s here, at least if you are in the U.K. One of our readers tipped us that he was able to buy the TomTom kit for £99.95 from the Apple Store at Bluewater in Kent.

The kit has its own GPS chip which is supposed to be more sensitive than the GPS chip built into the iPhone. The car kit is listed as ‘coming soon’ at the U.S. Apple Store. It’s expected to cost US$119.95, and when added to the cost of the TomTom app brings the total to more than $200.

That high price has caused some to question paying that much money for a GPS unit, when a standalone model can be bought for less. We’ll be following the user comments on the car kit, and hope to get one ourselves for testing soon.

The whole category of GPS solutions for the Phone is moving very fast, and it seems almost every week a new app comes out with more and more features giving the iPhone parity with the separate units you can buy.

TomTom hopes to offer a high performance solution while still letting a person carry one device that does it all, unless you count the car kit as another device, of course.

Thanks to Stu for the tip.

TUAWTomTom car kit makes first appearance in the (UK) wild originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TomTom iPhone Car Kit up for £100 UK pre-order, includes navigation app

The TomTom iPhone Car Kit has just gone up for pre-order on the Apple UK store — we presume it will go global in the hours to come. It’ll cost 5 pence shy of £100 and ships in 2-3 weeks with the dock and adhesive disk in the box. Better yet, for that price you also get the £60 navigation app for the UK/Ireland. Then there’s this little note:

“The Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, but the Car Kit app only works with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G”

So what about the iPod touch compatibility as claimed in the TomTom FAQ? Or is that just a gaming device now?

[Via Recombu]

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

TomTom iPhone Car Kit up for £100 UK pre-order, includes navigation app originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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