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Posts Tagged ‘Navigon’

CoPilot live is updated and continues 30 day free trial offer

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

A new version of CoPilot Live enhances and fixes a lot of issues in the previous versions. According to the company, the app now includes improved guidance at complex intersections, Facebook status updates, free local search, and the latest maps of North America. More than 15,000 miles of roads have been added, 73 completely updated counties and hundreds of map improvements submitted by the CoPilot Live User Community.

If you want to try a sophisticated nav app but don’t want to shell out any money right away, ALK technologies is continuing to offer a free version of CoPilot Live Directions for a month. The app is full featured, and includes things like voice guidance and 3D mapping.

If you decide not to buy the app, you’ll lose the voice guidance and 3D, but still will have use of turn by turn directions throughout the U.S. and Canada. If you want to upgrade after the 30 days, the app charges U.S. $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year. You can get more details on the free app deal here.
We’ve reviewed the app before and gave it average marks. User reviews have complained about out of date maps and frequent app crashes. Hopefully this new version fixes a lot of the issues reported.

Having this app as a subscription tends to make it pretty expensive over time, but it has a low cost of entry. After using it for a couple of years, you could have bought the higher rated TomTom or Navigon apps.

Another alternative from ALK is CoPilot Live North America. It’s $29.99 at the app store, and it’s a one-time purchase with turn-by-turn voice directions, 3D maps and a pretty good points of interest database. Here again, some additional features are extra like live traffic alerts and fuel prices.

I’ve said before, and will say again that there are just too many confusing options in buying the CoPilot family of apps. The company does keep updating the software, and improving it, so if you are totally motivated by price the apps are worth a look. I’d prefer to just buy a nav app and not have to worry about constant up-sell of features or renewing my subscription. I understand charging for traffic or fuel price info, as the all the map companies have to license some external data, but I think the ALK bewildering options and pay-as-you-go philosophy may not be worth the trouble for many.

TUAWCoPilot live is updated and continues 30 day free trial offer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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Navigon keeps MobileNavigator iPhone app fresh with 3D terrain views, Facebook / Twitter integration

Hey, software engineers of all shapes and sizes — are you keeping an eye on this? Navigon is releasing yet another significant update for its continually improving MobileNavigator iPhone GPS app, and at this point, we reckon these guys and gals should get some sort of medal for pursuing innovation on an existing product rather than leaping to “the next best thing.” The latest refresh adds in three primary features: 3D terrain views, a 3D panorama view ($9.99 extra) and in-app connectivity with Facebook and Twitter. As you’d expect, the latter enables users to broadcast current position, destination and ETA to social media outlets, which should make existing Foursquare addicts overwhelmed with joy. Version 1.5.0 also throws in MyRoutes, which is said to analyze your driving habits, patterns, location and time / day in order to provide “up to three routes clearly displayed in-map with ETA, distance and driving times for each.” Best of all? It’s just $69.99 ($20 less than normal) until February 15th, while the real-time traffic add-on is reduced $5 to $19.99 for the same duration.

Navigon keeps MobileNavigator iPhone app fresh with 3D terrain views, Facebook / Twitter integration originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TomTom promises lifetime (free) map and traffic updates for select 2010 PNDs

It’s a funny thing. Ever since Google changed the game up with its Maps Navigation software, TomTom’s really been in the giving mood. After bringing free lane guidance, text-to-speech and iPod control to the outfit’s iPhone GPS app, its following in the footsteps of Navigon and Nextar by promising gratis traffic and map updates for select navigators starting in Q2 of this year. Unfortunately, exact details on which products will be included under the “no cash needed for updates” umbrella are nonexistent, but here’s hoping more than a few are included (and that Garmin, et al. follows suit in short order).

TomTom promises lifetime (free) map and traffic updates for select 2010 PNDs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NDrive brings a low cost nav solution to the iPhone

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

Gee, I thought we had seen all the nav apps, but new ones keep popping up. NDrive, a new U.S. $32.99 app [iTunes link] is actually pretty good for the money, and has a reasonably complete feature set. I don’t put it in the class of the TomTom, Navigon or Magellan apps, but they cost twice as much.

Here’s what you get for your 32 bucks plus change:

• The maps are built into the app. No cell connection needed
• Auto day/night switching
• Alarms for speeding
• Portrait, landscape mode
• Alphabetical or QWERTY keyboard option
• POIs with favorites, descriptions, phone and website links

The app features voice instructions, but no text-to-speech until a Mid-December update. While driving around town it worked pretty well. The POI database was not better or worse than some of the more expensive apps, as I think most are drawing on the same sources. I found it to be reasonably complete. An added feature is some limited 3D landmarks in the larger cities.

The app has a strange syntax when announcing a turn, saying something like “in miles .3 turn right.” The developer says that will be fixed in a couple of weeks.

IPod support is weak with no control of the music, it just keeps playing what you are already had on. That’s going to be fixed too.

I thought the GUI was actually quite nice. Zooming is and out is done by pinching and squeezing, but if you zoom out too much you won’t see many details.

The app was quick to get a GPS fix, but I found turn instructions came just a bit late. It needs to anticipate the upcoming turn in enough time that I can get in the correct lane.

Bottom line: A pretty good app for a reasonable price. If you are on the fence about a GPS app, and want to get something for holiday travel but don’t want to sink $80 or more into some of the other offerings, NDrive is a pretty good app. With the update scheduled for a couple of weeks out, the app will get even better.

TUAWNDrive brings a low cost nav solution to the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:00:00 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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It’s about time: TomTom submits updated nav app to Apple

Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone

Very welcome news for owners of the TomTom iPhone nav app [iTunes link for U.S. version]; the company has announced a free update that includes many of the features that people were craving.

• Advanced lane guidance giving drivers extra clarity when navigating difficult junctions. For the first time this is in both landscape and portrait mode.
• Text-to-speech helping motorists to keep their eyes on the road by enabling street names and places to be read aloud as part of the spoken instructions.
• “Help Me” providing direct access to emergency numbers and directions to the nearest emergency providers.
• Updated map and safety camera database (Europe only)
• Customizable audio warnings when approaching safety cameras or driving over the speed limit, increasing driver safety and saving money.
• iPod player control ensuring drivers can conveniently control their music from within the application.

TomTom submitted the new version to Apple yesterday, and as usual, it’s anybody’s guess when it will emerge. It won’t be fast enough for TomTom owners, who have seen their app fall behind the feature rich Navigon app and other GPS offerings.

The joker in this particular deck is still the free Google Navigation app, which is trying to get onto the iPhone and will have a gaggle of features no one else is offering.

[via Engadget]

TUAWIt’s about time: TomTom submits updated nav app to Apple originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wolfram Alpha Miscalculates What Its iPhone App Should Cost

Apple wasted little time approving Wolfram Alpha’s new iPhone app, which we hinted at last week. Just a few days after they submitted it to the store, Apple sailed it right through the approval process with such speed that it even surprised the Wolfram Alpha team, which had hoped to get some feedback from testers before the approval. I was one of those people, so rather than send them feedback, I’ll write it here.

There are two key points about Wolfram Alpha’s iPhone app: 1) It is pretty cool, and very nicely done. 2) They’re insane for trying to sell it for $50.

I’m going to mainly focus on second point here, because if you’ve used Wolfram Alpha, you don’t really need much explanation about this app, which is a slick interface for the service. And while I get Wolfram Alpha’s logic behind selling the app for $50, I think it’s faulty logic. Here’s what they’re telling us:

A note on price — it is listed at $49.99, which is basically less than 1/2 the price of a graphing calculator with inferior functionality in comparison, which is how the company came to that number. Or, as we’ve been saying, the price of 12 lattes from Starbucks…

Both of those points are true, but the App Store has created a different economic reality than say, walking into an Office Max and buying a graphing calculator. It’s no secret that most apps that sell well tend to be cheaper — as in, free or $0.99. Apple has recently tried to de-emphasize this by adding a “Top Grossing” section to the App Store. That’s fine, but with the exception of the $90 Navigon GPS turn-by-turn app, all of the top grossing apps are under $10. And most are under $3.

The reality is that you can probably count the number of iPhone apps over $10 that sell really well on your hands. Of those, the number over $20, you can probably count on one hand. And of those, if you remove the GPS turn-by-turn apps and maybe a few apps meant for doctors, you’re probably down to a couple fingers.

And I’m sorry, but Wolfram Alpha does not yet have the clout of Navigon, nor is it in the hot turn-by-turn GPS space that would warrant such a high price. “We do plan to offer regular discounts and sales,” the team tells us. But if they really want this app to sell, they’re going to have to knock off like 90% of its price. Actually, to be honest, even at $10, I’m not sure how many people would buy this app.

And that’s too bad for the team. As I said, the app is a solid one, but this is the reality of the App Store. Games that sell on systems like the Nintendo DS for $30, are $3 on the iPhone. Hell, there are even some games that sell on the bigger consoles for $60 that are less than $10 on the iPhone. They’re not quite as good graphics-wise, but I would argue that they’re every bit as fun. And don’t think for a second that studios like EA wouldn’t sell them for $30 if they could, but they realize that they can’t.

Wolfram Alpha may have to figure that reality out the hard way. It’s fine that it can replace your $100 graphing calculator, but it’s also limited because it requires WiFi or a 3G connection to do so. And the iPhone already comes with a calculator, which can turn into a more advanced one, and both of those are free. And there are dozens of graphing calculator apps in the App Store that sell for a whopping $0.99.

Okay, you might say, but Wolfram Alpha does offer a lot of interesting data far beyond graphing calculators. That’s also true, like giving you a detailed read out of how many calories are in a Big Mac, fries, and a Coke. But if you’re using this on your iPhone or iPod touch, you already have access to Google, and more to the point, the mobile web version of Wolfram Alpha, which is free.

Clearly, the service had some insight into how controversial the price will be. They go on to note:

The core WolframAlpha site will always be free. This is one of several “premium” experiences that the company will offer in addition. The app is targeted at the most serious users, and is priced as such. Likewise, we feel that the app’s egonomics and speed make it well worth the investment.

I can only assume they mean “ergonomics” there, but we’ll forgive them for that Freudian slip.

The app absolutely does offer a nice experience, one that yes, is better than the free website. But $50 better? No. $10 better? Maybe. $5 better? We’re getting closer. Again, right or wrong, this is just the reality of the App Store economy.

As we’ve noted previously, the iPhone app is the first example of Wolfram Alpha’s new APIs that they hope will extend their most valuable asset: Their data. But if you’re trying to get more people to use access your data, charging $50 is not a great play. A better one may be to get people hooked on your data, then charge down the road when they realize how valuable it is — if they ever do, which is still far from certain with Wolfram Alpha.

It’s also interesting to note that despite talk of a deal with Bing, the defautl web search in the Wolfram Alpha app is Google. Both Bing and Yahoo are options, but you have to change it in the settings.

You can find the Wolfram Alpha app here in the App Store.

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