Navigon Review

BrookieD

Hi All,
OK so my first review of a paid for application. So i got hold of Navigon for the iPhone 3Gs yesterday and after a days use i will say it is very very good for a version 1.0 piece of software.

So a little background, I started using CoPilot Live version 5 some time ago and found this to be fantstic, using Navteq data it ws truly great software. I then moved into the Garmin Nuvi range and then to a TomTom 7 with a WinMo device.

After upgrading to the iPhone i wanted a SatNav system ASAP and went with Navigon. €74.99 buys you all major maps in the EU so this to me is a saving as with most major all in one systems the maps are for Ireland and the UK only, you have to purchase more if you travel. the total app size is 1.65gb with about 30mins download and 30 mins install time, best install in the evening when quite.

Once installed tap to open and then start to enter your address to navigate. you can not enter address via postcode but as we are in Ireland that really make little difference. This feature will make it to later versions i am to understand however. Most places i visit from town over to Achill island are in the map and it seems to have most POI's included. One thing i did notice is that if your coming up to a Skoda dealership etc... then a Skoda icon is present on the screen (Never seen this before?).

When you have your new destination set press Navigate and begin, i wont touch on all features in the menus but there is enough from the best, fastest optimum route, to a host of other options. there is an independent volume on the system that will enable you to play tunes in the car through the iPhone and have the voice level set so that it is heard over the top of the tunes.

This version alo includes Reality Pro which when approching a junction shows a graphic of the junction ahead and clearly marks the correct lane to be in, simple but effective.

Well after a day messing i can say that i am very happy with the purchase and given that this is version 1.0 i look forward to further updates to correct minor issues.

The price i think is due to o up from 74.99 on the 1-07-09 so if you want this at the stated price you need to purcahse tonight.

Screen shots

Home Screen with Navigon Icon


Navigon Load Screen


Navigon Menu


Confirm route


Navigation 1


Navigation 2


Navigation 3


Well thats my mini review. hope you like and it helps

Victor_M

Well done mate good review, does this system use specific Navigon maps or does it use Navteq or the likes?

I'm waiting impatiently for Tom Tom, have you used a Tom Tom device before? If so how does the Navigon compare? Can you navigate in landscape too?

Please update the review after a few days with any new positive or negative comments.

Can this be used on a 3G iPhone? If I upgrade to a 3Gs can I load the app onto the new handset?


Thanks again.

BrookieD

Navigon is using Navteq maps, I think this is better than TomTom but each to their own. Yes it can also be used in landscape buy rotating the device as normal.
yes it can be used on a 3g device i think if you upgrade to a new device the apps port over but just clarify that.

I will update later this week as i use it more.

philiporeilly

Thanks for the review and its great to see so many other companies offering apps like this for the iPhone. Agreeing with the previous poster, I too will be waiting to see TomTom's offering before decide to invest that much cash in a single iPhone app and hopefully more competition will mean lower prices and better features.

BrookieD

the sinle item that got me on this app is that it includes maps for all EU countries. not just UK and Ireland. TomTom will have to go some to beat this.

i would say however that TomTom have pedegree in this area so lets see what happens

JoeA3

Very cool... I'm tempted to get this or the TomTom whenever it comes out.

I must say I'm hugely impressed with the GPS performance on the iPhone. I had a Nokia N95 before this (with Garmin installed on it), and the GPS was sooooo slowwwww at picking up a signal, and if you were in a city with tall buildings it was effectively useless!

The iPhone on the other hand seems to lock onto a GPS signal within seconds. Excellent.

The big benefit of that app or TomTom is the maps are pre-loaded, so no data charges would apply... you really don't want to be using Google maps while roaming!

BrookieD

JoeA3 wrote: »

The iPhone on the other hand seems to lock onto a GPS signal within seconds. Excellent.

I also noticed how quick the iPhone was compared to a XDA Orbit 2

TheOneToBe

what about iPhone holder and charger for car?

BrookieD

I am using the Belkin tunebase II in the car but will shortly upgrade to a carcomm holder with Belkin tunecast ii

TheOneToBe

do you have clear sight for GPS....I though that GPS device should be mounted close to a window?

BrookieD

mine is located lower at the Aircon controls, always has been and not issues so far.

slinky2000

It's free if you know where to look too :P

Anyway, Ive been playing with it for the last week or so too and I'm very happy with it for the first ever sat nav on the iphone!

Panda Moanium

I downloaded this a few days ago onto an iPhone 3G, mainly because as the OP said it includes all the European maps as well as UK and Ireland, and I've a few trips coming up shortly. The fact that the price is due to go up was a factor in deciding to go for it as well - €75 is good value in my book for full Euro maps even though I have seen comments complaining about the price.

Overall, in limited testing I'm quite impressed with it, although having been using an Auris T920 for the past 3 years, I guess any current GPS device would seem impressive in comparision. It is quick to pick up the GPS signal and accurate, fairly user-friendly, and the maps seem pretty much up to date

My biggest gripe is with the voice controls. I dock the iPhone on a Griffin RoadTrip in the car. As far as I can make out, the voice instructions only work if the iPod is playing. They can't be heard if you are listening to a radio station, or if the sound system is off. And has been already mentioned, the music doesn't mute making it hard to hear the instructions at times. I've a feeling though that this is an iPhone rather than Navigon limitation - it will be interesting to see how the TomTom system works.

The search facility, while better than what I am used to, isn't perfect, specifically if you are looking for a rural townland you need to know the next line of the address to find it which isn't always the same as the actual postal address. For example my address is put down as a street of Ballina even though I live in the country and there is another line in between in the postal address. But that's not a show-stopper for me.

The size could be an issue, particularly for anyone on an 8GB phone. I now have less than a gigabyte of free memory on my 16GB so having to start to think about what to keep/remove.

Overall a very good effort for a first attempt and hopefully the few bugs will be ironed out in future updates.

TinCool

I'm very tempted by this to have an all in one working solution rather than having to lug out my garmin from the glove compartment. My only concern is getting a half way decent ipod holder/charger for the car. I've looked around albeit briefly for one but didn't find one that I liked. Could anyone recommend a decent holder/charger ? I have bluetooth on my car stereo so it wouldn't need to hook up for sound. I have a car charger for the iPhone so all I'd need is a holder.

Dades

BrookieD wrote: »

the sinle item that got me on this app is that it includes maps for all EU countries. not just UK and Ireland. TomTom will have to go some to beat this.

The Navigon looks like a decent package, so tbh the main factor will be TomTom's pricing when it comes out.

That and any reviews as to whether you need the docking station they're selling with it. Though given the lack of docking station required for the Navigon, I'd guess the TomTom one is just a moneyspinner.

anoble66

I cant get any GPS signal with this app.....tomtom works fine in the exact same location..

CivilEx

Dades wrote: »

The Navigon looks like a decent package, so tbh the main factor will be TomTom's pricing when it comes out.

That and any reviews as to whether you need the docking station they're selling with it. Though given the lack of docking station required for the Navigon, I'd guess the TomTom one is just a moneyspinner.

I thought that the screen mount that the TomTom app mentions was also a GPS signal booster.

I guess we won't know until it's released.

Victor_M

Price seems to be going up to €99.99 after today, according to the price on the appstore, it's still at €74.99 when you go in to look at the description though. I wonder how much the Tom Tom software will be?

It can't be much more than that, stand alone units with full Navetq Europe maps are less than €120

Skyuser

Victor_M wrote: »

It can't be much more than that, stand alone units with full Navetq Europe maps are less than €120

One of the reasons I'll be buying it is because it has lane assist maps. The cheapest Garmin sat nav with this feature is around €350.

anoble66

how long did you have to wait before it picked up gps signal?

anoble66

never mind, got it

Skyuser

It's now €99.99

anoble66

funny it was free for me

Victor_M

Skyuser wrote: »

One of the reasons I'll be buying it is because it has lane assist maps. The cheapest Garmin sat nav with this feature is around €350.

What is lane assist?

Which one has lane assist? Navigon or Tom Tom?

Skyuser

Victor_M wrote: »

What is lane assist?

Which one has lane assist? Navigon or Tom Tom?

Lane assist is when driving on a motorway it shows you which lane you should be in.

vigos

stupid question, but I´m assuming with the navigon and new tomtom apps you dont need to have data connection as maps are already preinstalled?

Tom Dunne

slinky2000 wrote: »

It's free if you know where to look too

anoble66 wrote: »

funny it was free for me

No more references to pirated software.

Dades

vigos wrote: »

stupid question, but I´m assuming with the navigon and new tomtom apps you dont need to have data connection as maps are already preinstalled?

I'm assuming you don't - as the maps are all preloaded and the GPS doesn't require data transfer.
Normal Sat Navs operate with only GPS and loaded maps.

Otherwise foreign maps would be fairly useless given the ridiculous roaming data charges!

WarrenB

Dades wrote: »

I'm assuming you don't - as the maps are all preloaded and the GPS doesn't require data transfer.
Normal Sat Navs operate with only GPS and loaded maps.

Otherwise foreign maps would be fairly useless given the ridiculous roaming data charges!

No data connection required to use either of these apps.

copacetic

the great thing about all these is the fact that you can use them without roaming data charges abroad imo.

I don't see a nice solution to car interface and mounting at the moment, the tom tom one is a bit ugly imo. However if you can get phone, music interface and satnav with radio mute through it it may be good value.

Gryzor

did a quick test of this on the way home from work, very impressive. the last device i used navigon software on was a Dell Axim, took ages to load and was very jerky. The iphone handles it with ease, very smooth.

I almost forgot it was a phone till i got a call. That was the only downside i saw, it took about 30 - 40 seconds after i hung up the call to when navigon was up and running again. Could be slightly annoying if u were driving through a city u didn't know.

Other than that i likes it...

Red Alert

Will it return to the software from the call?

Gryzor

Red Alert wrote: »

Will it return to the software from the call?

It does, automatically. But when it does return, it looks like it's opening the app from scratch. It goes back to where it left off though. It took about 30 - 40 seconds from the time the call ended to when it was navigating again. That was my experience anyway.

I'd imagine it might get annoying if alot of calls were coming through though.

Victor_M

Gryzor wrote: »

It does, automatically. But when it does return, it looks like it's opening the app from scratch. It goes back to where it left off though. It took about 30 - 40 seconds from the time the call ended to when it was navigating again. That was my experience anyway.

I'd imagine it might get annoying if alot of calls were coming through though.

Is that using a 3G or a 3Gs? If it's a regular 3G I'd guess the processing power of the 3Gs would shorten that lag substantially.

Gryzor

Victor_M wrote: »

Is that using a 3G or a 3Gs? If it's a regular 3G I'd guess the processing power of the 3Gs would shorten that lag substantially.

yeah, a 3G. 3Gs would have to be a bit quicker alright...be interested to hear from anyone with a 3Gs on this one??

TinCool

I have been playing around with this for the last couple of days to and from work. It's actually very usable and is streets ahead of my old garmin which is now about 5 years old. All I have to do now is to find a half way decent IPhone cradle for the car.

Owen

Silly question OP, is Poland included in the Europe maps?

Victor_M

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Silly question OP, is Poland included in the Europe maps?

Just checked the appstore description for you and Poland is indeed included.

Owen

Thanks Victor

Owen

The only thing that would worry me is that the iPhone has AGPS which uses a data connection to identify which cell tower the phone is connected to in order to narrow down the area the phone is in, so the GPS can get a faster lock. Surely this will still occur even if you're abroad - incurring roaming data rates?

Dades

PaintDoctor wrote: »

The only thing that would worry me is that the iPhone has AGPS which uses a data connection to identify which cell tower the phone is connected to in order to narrow down the area the phone is in, so the GPS can get a faster lock. Surely this will still occur even if you're abroad - incurring roaming data rates?

Not if you have data roaming switched off!

I'd imagine it might just take that bit longer to locate then. I used a Garmin in Portugal last month and sometimes it took over a minute to locate my position, so frankly I'd be happy with anything reasonable from a phone.

JoeA3

PaintDoctor wrote: »

The only thing that would worry me is that the iPhone has AGPS which uses a data connection to identify which cell tower the phone is connected to in order to narrow down the area the phone is in, so the GPS can get a faster lock. Surely this will still occur even if you're abroad - incurring roaming data rates?

Yeah, that's a good point. On my Nokia N95 you could switch the A-GPS bit off, probably one of the reasons it was so damn slow getting a GPS signal! It was frustratingly bad at getting an initial signal, whereas the iPhone gets a GPS lock within seconds, but obviously it's using the A-GPS.

I don't think there's an option to disable A-GPS on the iPhone but surely if you have data-roaming disabled that should do it.

EDIT: Anyone else notice that the "compass" on the 3GS is prone to "interference". I get that message popping up a lot, that there is interference and I should do the figure of eight thing to re-calibrate it!

Owen

Dades wrote: »

frankly I'd be happy with anything reasonable from a phone.

Agree 110%. What I like about the 32 gig phone, is it now gives me a full convergence device. Normally when I'm abroad with work, or visiting the inlaws in Poland, I have to travel with my phone, iPod, GPS and all the chargers/cables necessary. At least with this software, I can just bring the phone and dump enough music for the week onto it and use just one device.

Panda Moanium

PaintDoctor wrote: »

The only thing that would worry me is that the iPhone has AGPS which uses a data connection to identify which cell tower the phone is connected to in order to narrow down the area the phone is in, so the GPS can get a faster lock. Surely this will still occur even if you're abroad - incurring roaming data rates?

I used it yesterday in England with data roaming turned off and it seemed to be just as quick at picking up a connection as at home.

Owen

That settles it, purchasing it now

BrookieD

hi all,
ok using it for the past week and very impressed, GPS lock on in a few seconds, taking a call cuts the Navigon app then returns at the end of the call, (might try taking a call and then mid call returning to the Navigon App??)

Included maps:
Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, United Kingdom, Ireland , Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Vatican
Languages:
English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch

TheOneToBe

have aditiona question....are you able to change the route or to personalize your route ahead of your trip

Skyuser

I bought this for 99.99 and found it only ok. I don't like the graphics, I don't like how it stops when a call comes in. I decided to get a refund and put it towards a proper Garmin sat nav.

Simon201

Bought this recently for me 3gs, have to say it works a treat. Used to do chauffeur driving a while back and thought I was too arrogant to need a satnav! But this is real handy being on the phone as well. Lads at work give me a slagging for paying alot for the phone etc but the same boys have a glove boxes full of things like a satnav, an iPod, a phone, a DS etc etc!!
Also, I've found that if your iPhone is jailbroken and you have SSH enabled, (and you know what you're doing!) you can reduce the 1.6gb that Navigon takes up by deleting the maps that you dont need by finding the app in the 'user/applications (some trial and error to actually find the Navigon app cos the app folders all have cryptic numbers/letters as names). My Navigon app now only takes up just under 250mb now, and I actually copied the maps back to a folder on my Mac. Presume I could move any of them back if I was going to Europe somewhere. Interesting how France is 273mb and Ireland is only 17mb!

eamon234

BrookieD wrote: »

i would say however that TomTom have pedegree in this area so lets see what happens

Not in Ireland they don't - Teleatlas maps are way behind Navteq in terms of quality and detail. I've used both on a TomTom before they decided to go Teleatlas only. No comparison.

CivilEx

eamon234 wrote: »

Not in Ireland they don't - Teleatlas maps are way behind Navteq in terms of quality and detail. I've used both on a TomTom before they decided to go Teleatlas only. No comparison.

there's more to a good Satnav than just maps and while I disagree that TomTom maps are less useful than others, the reason they have the pedigree is because of their software. It's because it's so easy to use is the reason why they are the frontrunners here.