Navigon GPS for iPhone Review

As I tweeted recently, within the last month I have finally joined the iPhone revolution, picking up an iPhone 3GS. Having previously used an iPod touch as a gateway drug, I purchased an iPhone looking forward to numerous features the iPhone offers over the iPod touch, such as GPS. I couldn’t have picked a better time, as within a week of me purchasing an iPhone, Navigon rolled out the first “name-brand” turn-by-turn GPS application, the Navigon MobileNavigator for iPhone.

While Navigon is certainly not the first GPS application in the AppStore (Gmap and Sygic beat out Navigon, not to mention the AT&T Navigator), it’s the first full-featured turn-by-turn GPS application to be released from a company who offers standalone hardware-based GPS units. Navigon is also not going be the last. TomTom any day now will be releasing their iPhone application, in addition to a hardware-based dock with an external GPS antenna (more on that later).

Navigon’s Feature Set

Out of the gate, Navigon released their iPhone application with a fairly decent feature set, offering:

• Maps of both North America and Europe (two different versions, sold separately)
• 2D and 3D maps
• Landscape support
• Day and night modes
• Lane assist (more on that later)
• “Reality” highway view (more on the later)
• Precise voice announcements
• Address book support
• Allows iPod to be played in the background
• Speed assistance (a database of road speeds and alerts if you’re driving too fast)
• A large database of POIs (points of interest)

What Navigon’s missing that a normal, high-end GPS supports:

• Text-to-speech of street names (turn left on Wyoming Street, not turn left now)
• Traffic information
• Multiple stops (currently only allows one destination to be entered at a time)

Thankfully, all of the above features have been promised by an update available at the end of summer. Hopefully this update will arrive on time.

Outside the feature set, Navigon is a hefty 1.29GB application for the US version (all maps are stored locally), and currently costs $79 until August 15th when the price will be increased to $99. Navigon’s promotional video can be found below.

Routing and Directions

For the last two weeks I’ve been putting Navigon to the test, using it everywhere I go, even if I know how to get there. Over the course of these two weeks I’ve driven from State College, PA to Allentown, PA (~180 miles) on a completely different route than I normally take, and done numerous city trips within the Allentown, PA area. I think I’ve given Navigon a fair enough test to see its routing capability.

Directions

Overall, I’ve been extremely impressed with the routes Navigon has generated for me. On the trip from State College to Allentown, Navigon had me take a completely different route than I normally took, and it turned out to be roughly a half hour faster, 15-20 miles shorter, and one less toll. The directions were clear and concise, and not once did I have the feeling I would miss a turn or become confused at the directions Navigon gave.

When the highways would split or merge (normally a confusing aspect for someone who has not driven the road before), Navigon’s Reality View would show exactly what lane I needed to be in to keep following the directions (example on the right). This feature could have come in a handy a month ago when I drove from State College, PA to Pittsburgh (Jesse Altman will tell you, I don’t take highway lane changes well).

Outside of the highway driving, the in-city routing has worked wonders for me as well. Tonight I took Navigon out on a test drive between several familiar locations in the Lehigh Valley, and Navigon generated an excellent route each and every time. Even though I have lived in the Lehigh Valley my entire life, Navigon was surprising me with shortcuts on almost every trip that in the end saved me a decent amount of travel time.

Despite generating some great routes, there were a few times I decided to go against Navigon’s suggestion. Each and every one of those times Navigon rerouted me within seconds, and started prompting me with new directions instantly.

GPS Signal

One of the major complains or worries that a lot of iPhone users have about Navigon and other iPhone GPS applications is the weak GPS signal of the iPhone. TomTom is looking to address this issue with an optional accessory dock that features a large GPS chip, while Navigon opted to just use the native iPhone GPS chip only.

From my testing, I found the iPhone’s existing GPS chip to be sufficient. Sometimes after starting Navigon it would take up to 30 seconds to get a GPS lock, but after that, the signal would remain strong. On my multiple trips I only lost GPS signal once, when I was downtown, in between buildings, under some trees, on a cloudy day. Other than that one time, Navigon has remained strong for me.

Now I do have to mention that you’ll want to make sure your iPhone is placed somewhere near your windshield, as setting it in the cup-holder most likely won’t do. I’ve been using a Kensington Dashboard Mount that has worked just fine.

POI Database

Knowing how to get somewhere isn’t going to help if you don’t know where you’re going. Thankfully, Navigon addresses that problem with a large points of interest database included within the application. For the most part this database is accurate, but I did find a few issues with it.

In State College, Navigon had me driving to a nonexistent Burger King. It should be mentioned that Google Maps also suggested there was a Burger King at this location, so one may have existed there at some point in the past.

Outside of pointing me to a nonexistent location, there was a few times Navigon couldn’t find something I knew existed. My bank (a small, locally owned chain) was not in their database, and a Panera Bread that has been around for a least five years was missing as well. In these cases, Google was able to find both locations.

Conclusions

For the most part, I’ve been extremely satisfied with Navigon. They seem to be promising more features available shortly, and their routing has been spot on. While their price is fairly steep, judging from what I’ve heard from TomTom, Navigon is in the ballpark. Maps aren’t cheap, and a stand-alone GPS with less features typically starts at $100. I just hope map updates are reasonable, as most GPS navigators tend to overcharge for those.

If you’re looking for a good iPhone GPS navigator, Navigon certainly fits the bill. While most people tend to be waiting for TomTom’s solution, if TomTom doesn’t announce anything by August 15th (the date Navigon’s price increase), don’t hesitate to pick up Navigon.

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