Apple, Why Must You Make Simon Pegg So Sad?

Twartered by Simon Pegg (star of Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, Spaced, and some movie about spaceships or something) earlier today:

My Macbook Air has been in hospital for two weeks. Please, Apple Store, Brent Cross give me my baby back!!!!!

And later:

Got my old Macbook Pro to fill the void but it's lost its looks, refuses to behave and is full of shit. Like a teenager. Miss the wee one.

Dear Simon,

I know what you're going through. My own 2009 MacBook Pro has needed several major repairs since I paid Apple lots of money (so much money) for it five months ago, and each time it's been a rough separation. You'll pull through, I know it. After all, I did. Semper fi, brother.

Sincerely,
Dan. [Twitter 1, 2]

Santa: "Ho Ho Ho, Make a U-Turn, You Idiot"

Sometimes I get tired of that stern robot lady from Google that barks directions at me through my Droid, but I don't know that I've ever wished she could be replaced by Santa Claus. But Telenav went ahead and added a $1 Santa voice for its GPS Navigator, which is available for a host of phones (mostly BlackBerry, WinMo, and PalmOS, not carrier-specific). If you want Christmas cheer in a kind of weird way, it's available now. [Telenav]

What In God's Name Is Going on on the USS Enterprise

Okay you guys this Star Trek overdub is so simultaneously weird, hilarious and impressive that I don't want to spoil it by making any pithy little remarks. Suffice to say, are you for panda rape? Crazy woman! [YouTube]

Sony Updates eBook Store

Sony may think this minor change is an "Important eBook Store Update," but then, they kind of have to. They changed the name of the store, from "The eBook Store from Sony" (which is admittedly sort of cumbersome) to "Reader Store," and all new ebooks will be in the ePub standard. So why is it in Remainders? I'd tell you if my face wasn't slowly sinking into my keyboard out of boredomghhhhhgggggghhhhhhh. [Sony]

I am not going to tell you this is the best turn-by-turn road navigation app in the world. The designers made some funny UI choices, there's no multi-destination or point-on-map routing, it doesn't have text-to-speech, and it only runs in portrait mode, taking up awkward space on my dashboard. Still, there's almost no reason not to get it.

I still think Navigon is the slickest, and ALK's CoPilot is impressively full featured for costing just $35. But the commitment required for MotionX GPS Drive beats them all: It's $3 to download, and you get a month of turn-by-turn directions included in that. Then, if you want, you pay either $25 for a year of full turn-by-turn, or $3 for a month—and the charges are non-recurring. You can pay the $3 only when you actually need it.

Compared to What?

Because it's a connected product, its closest comparisons are AT&T Navigator by TeleNav ($10/month) and Gokivo by Networks In Motion (recently reduced to $5/month). It doesn't come with 1.5GB in onboard maps like TomTom, Navigon, ALK and Sygic—instead it downloads them over the air—so you have to be in a service area when you are setting out on your destination. Still, if your phone has less memory to spare, it could be better.

Connected Services

Not only does it download Navteq maps on the fly, but it uses online search instead of stored points of interest. In theory this is better, because it means fewer wrong addresses of business who closed or moved. That's not always the case, but I did find MotionX to have a decent online search—the first in this class that I've seen powered by Microsoft's Bing.

Again, because it's online, it has access to traffic data. At the moment, though, the app only uses traffic information in its routing, says the developers. There's no way to check a traffic report like on other apps. However, the developers appear to be toying with a Dash-like concept too: A future version of the app may be used to gather and share its own live traffic data. There's nothing like that now, and Fullpower won't share details, but it sounds like fun. I also asked about live gas prices, which others offer: None now, but that will change.

Some Superficial Complaints

I did have a few cosmetic issues with the app. For starters, it doesn't have a landscape mode, so the phone is always upright. I want landscape mode because it fits way better when it's horizontal in the dashboard mount (which, like with all other GPS apps, will run you an extra $10-$100). That's a fact, though Fullpower goes out of their way to say they didn't add landscape because nobody's asked for it yet. Until now.

Oddly enough, Fullpower is proud of their in-app compass, which I find extraneous on two levels. For one, if I'm looking at a map, no matter whether north is up or the heading is up, I know which direction I'm pointing. Additionally, that compass only works with 3GS (I believe), and the 3GS already has a compass. When do you ever pull over to the side of the road and say "if I only knew where north was!"? Maybe in the days before GPS that was an issue, but now it doesn't matter so much. (Until the sky falls, at least.)

I would also love to customize the things I see on the main screen. At the moment, next to the upcoming turn information, it flips through assorted trip data: ETA, compass heading, distance remaining and time remaining. I really only care about ETA, so I'd like to freeze that up top, and may be get a speed indicator with speed limit warnings as well.

My final issue is more of a quirk than anything else: To view the list of upcoming turns, you have to tap the iPod button at the bottom of the screen. It's nice to have rich iPod access in the app (all apps have a rudimentary iPod access—as long as a song is already playing, you double-tap the home button—but this does more). Still it's weird for that all-important list of turns to be hidden under a button called "iPod."

How Is The Price So Low?

A guy like me could bitch about this app more, trust me, but the fact is, I've driven with it for almost a week, and it gets you where you want to go, quickly and simply. But it's going to sell like mad because the price of entry is the lowest around, and its two-year cost of ownership—$53 if you use it regularly—is competitive, especially when you consider that's the initial download plus two completely optional $25 increments. By allowing you so many options to walk away, MotionX actually has you by the balls.

I have asked Fullpower and its competitors how pricing could get this crazy, with $100 apps competing with $3 apps. Fullpower's best answer is that they're not in any other GPS turn-by-turn business, so they don't have to protect the price of earlier products the way TeleNav or TomTom might have to. ("If they offer a better value on the iPhone than to their existing customers, they may have challenges.") When I asked TeleNav, makers of the $10/month AT&T Navigator and Sprint Navigator, they said, "Honestly, at a $3-per-month price point, it is unclear how a company could possibly innovate, build out features and work on the quality of the app without losing money."

What they didn't say, but what you're already thinking, is that for $3 a month, it doesn't hurt to find out. [iTunes Link]

Amazing price, and lowest possible barrier to entry

Fully functional spoken turn-by-turn navigation app

Connected to Navteq maps and Bing live local search

No landscape view (which some, like me, prefer)

Navigation screen could show more relevant data, or be more customizable

No multi-destination routing or routing to point on map, as found in other apps

For more on iPhone GPS app, check out our iPhone Navigation Battlemodo Part 1 and Part 2.

I must make it clear that the reasons for choosing TomTom, Navigon and TeleNav for the first roundup was based on prior experience and reputation. Costs are higher on those apps, but it's because you mostly know what to expect.

With this second round, things start out on shakier ground: My only experience with Networks In Motion, creators of GoKivo, was their dreadful VZNavigator app. ALK, publisher of CoPilot, has been around, but mainly in the Windows CE space. And Sygic I had honestly never heard of. The good news is, they all beat my expectations, and one of them comes out a real champion, especially when price is a major consideration.

CoPilot Live North America by ALK

The strongest of the lot, made stronger by the $35 price tag. You get a full 1.23GB map database on the phone, which I prefer because it means your device will function even in the Reallybadlands. Still, it's not the best designed app in this category, not by a long shot.

The POI search may actually be the best one out there, because it works like a Garmin: You type in a name, and it continues to spiral outward until it finds the place you're thinking of, even if it's 100 miles away.

There's a trip planner, like Navigon's, that lets you add and delete stops, and even optimize them for maximum geographical efficiency.

The system is built to be connected, with weather and a social function "free" with purchase; live traffic and fuel prices will cost you $20 extra per year—which is still cheap compared to anything else.

ALK is promising a presumably free update with text-to-speech for street names read aloud, and monthly map "improvements," direct to the phone.

The site has a design that would make Jon Ive spin in his grave (were he dead). Not only is it crowded and noisy, but there is too much ambiguity (not one but two get-started pop-up menus) and lack of feedback: After planning a trip you select a gas station from the quick-stop menu—does it cancel the original trip? Or just add the gas station? It sure as hell isn't going to tell you. Some of this becomes apparent with use, but it's still a design flaw.

The software itself was a little shaky. When I first started, it froze on a (mandatory) registration page, saying I didn't have internet access when I did. Occasionally, it still hangs on the opening splash screen, making me force quit.

No iPhone status bar when app is running—no service indicator or clock, and a proprietary battery-life indicator that's on the main screen but not subsidiary ones. (Navigon, TomTom, TeleNav and GoKivo all show the true iPhone status bar.)

Keyboard isn't QWERTY, so I spent what felt like 14 whole minutes looking for the letter "z."

Because the thing is so damn cheap—whiners, stop right here, because full-map apps can't get any cheaper—I can forgive many of its flaws. If all you have is $35 to spend, buy this. [iTunes link]

GoKivo GPS Navigator by Networks In Motion

Like I said, my experience with previous Networks In Motion products has not been pleasant. Compared to TeleNav's Sprint Navigator and AT&T Navigator, NIM's VZNavigator was atrocious. So imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed GoKivo.

There's a "keep it simple stupid" mentality that seems to work for this interface, especially for areas you basically already know. You find your area on the map, and do a keyword search to find POIs in that particular vicinity (a la Google Maps).

The navigation screen is much improved over earlier VZNavigator screens, with clear maps.

Slide-out music transport is very cool—all apps let you pop up "now playing" to skip or adjust volume, but this lets you browse music, start songs, set shuffle and repeat, all within the navi app.

Connected data means fresh maps and traffic info—I was surprised how well it worked even on a mountain, though spotty coverage does mean unreliable response time, and possible blackout.

Vertical orientation only, no landscape view (which I prefer).

There's no way to drop a pin on the map and navigate to it, even though the interface all but begs for that kind of interaction.

Despite using Yahoo Local database, POI search doesn't always show you places you know are there—this seems to be affected by how zoomed-in your are on the search map, but it's confusing.

If you don't really know where to search for something, you're screwed.

Subscription of $10 up front, plus $10 each month thereafter, is fiscally unsound when compared to standalone apps, even $100 TomTom. GoKivo is, in effect, $120—per year.

I would be happy to give GoKivo a "Most Improved" award, based on how far it's come since earlier VZNavigator days. But in light of the cost structure, there's no way to recommend it. [iTunes link]

Sygic Mobile Maps America

Sygic is, in some ways, the app I liked best of these three, but its proximity in cost and feature set to Navigon renders it more of a discounted impersonator.

There's a powerful routing tool at the heart of Sygic, that lets you not only program a circuit of addresses, but lets you modify that circuit in many ways, simulate the run, and pull up a list of turns. It's also very easy to add destinations straight from the map, a feature not seen on all navi apps.

Like Navigon, Sygic can read street names aloud with text-to-speech functionality.

Fairly clean navigation screen, if you can get past the Euro stylings.

There's no woman's voice for English turn-by-turn instructions, and the US English voice is named Lucien—no offense to dudes named Lucien, but that's proof of what you see throughout the app: Sygic is just too country-agnostic for a great US experience.

Not only does the app block the all-important iPhone status bar at top, it doesn't even match some take-for-granted iPhone interface behaviors. For instance, instead of scrolling down a list by flicking up, you have to tap gingerly on up and down buttons on the side.

POI search doesn't work at significant distances: only searches your surrounding 10 or 20 miles, unless you specify another town. (Navigon has a similar problem.) POI categories are also a little jumbled.

Sygic is, at this point, $30 cheaper than Navigon, and $40 cheaper than TomTom. The thing is, it's noticeably "cheaper" in the way it's designed too. Despite its functionality, it's not a good way to save money. [iTunes link]

In The End

You probably gathered by now that the good way to save money is to buy ALK's CoPilot. If you have the $60 to spend on Sygic, get CoPilot plus a year of CoPilot connected services. You'll still have money left over for an ice-cream cone—or a down payment on the $10-$30 car mount. GoKivo, like TeleNav's AT&T Navigator, is out because the $10/month model doesn't offer enough for its added cost.

If you want something more aesthetically sound than CoPilot—and there's no shame in that—Navigon is still the best bet. And though it's up to $90, that's not a terrible price compared to standalone products, and it does continue to gain features like text-to-speech for free. Whether you want to pay $25 extra for Navigon's live traffic is, for the moment, your call.

Click here for iPhone Navigation App Battlemodo, Part I, with introductory discussion about GPS iPhone apps in general.

I've seen the feature in action, and it's about as seamless as traffic integration gets. Data is drawn from a massive fleet of devices, Navigon and otherwise, curated by a third party, and fed live into the app. Each traffic obstruction is listed individually, so you can choose to avoid one while weathering another, or just see what you're up against. This, combined with historical traffic data, means you're probably going to be able to trust Navigon's traffic-avoiding routes, or at least, you know, respectfully disagree.

But eh, that price: This (one time) $25 add-on, which is probably the highest in-app purchase price I've seen so far, brings the total cost of MobileNavigator to $115. Best case scenario, this'll give the other nav app makers, who are kind of taking a beating, saleswise, a little plan for a comeback: free live traffic. TomTom? TeleNav? Anyone? [Navigon]

Until August 31st, Navigon MobileNavigator will cost $70. In my testing, it competed neck and neck with the $100 TomTom, so for the next eight days, it's the best value among the top contenders. But when they're both selling for $100, that TomTom is going to look a lot more tempting. The third app I tested is TeleNav's AT&T Navigator. It's certainly worthy, and has some connected capability that the other two apps here don't, but in the end, the economics are wrong: At $10 per month, it could become frightfully expensive, with no significant added value.

These three navigators are the most reputable in the app store (hence their heightened cost). They're all based on software I've used in the past too, either in other phones or in portable navigators. Because of the familiarity, I knew I could spot anything amiss in the iPhone edition, but I was surprised to discover that, if anything, these iPhone apps are better designed than anything their companies made before—and run great on my iPhone 3GS. It's a relief to know that GPS navigation with an iPhone is, finally, a really real reality.

Navigon and TomTom are completely contained apps that hog upwards of 1.2 GB a piece; TeleNav is a small app that relies on the phone's net connection. Nevertheless, they all work more or less the same. They give turn-by-turn directions on an animated map, just like portable navigators. While they're doing it, you can play music from the iPhone's iPod, and if a call comes in, you see it pop up on the screen. GPS performance on the 3GS was better than I had hoped for—hiccupy at times but never completely gone, even when messing around indoors.

Every app also has direct access to Contacts—this isn't just good for people for whom you've added addresses, it's brilliant for quickly navigating to stuff you've found in Google Maps—you just whatever it is to Contacts with a single tap, open your navi app and it's there.

No matter which app you're using, the GPS runs constantly and the screen generally stays on, which means utter battery drainage: You will need to keep your iPhone plugged into the car's lighter jack. You will also need a dashboard mount, which range from $10 to $30.

Here's how the apps did against each other, followed by some deeper impressions:

AT&T Navigator by TeleNav
Product page; iTunes link

Unlike the other two, TeleNav is very much a connected app. It downloads a fresh map of your surroundings wherever you are, and it checks for traffic and POIs in much the same way. TeleNav's servers are always being updated, so you're never out of date. The trouble is that a) this costs $10 per month forever and ever, b) with the exception of searching for gas by price and the occasional useful traffic alert, the connectedness is hard to appreciate, and c) downloading maps and routes means that if you have poor phone reception, you might not have navigation.

TeleNav distributes its app "free" in the app store, but to get turn-by-turn navigation (the only reason you'd want the app), you have to sign up and commit to paying $10 a month on your AT&T bill. It's a deal for the first 10 months or so, especially since you can cancel it at any time, so maybe you'll only need it on trips. But if you intend to keep it and use it for more than that, you'll kick yourself for not having paid up front for Navigon or TomTom—when you add up all those Hamiltons, the $100 apps are ultimately cheaper.

I had some trouble with the software, too. Version 1.1 of the "free" client app crashed a lot, and it didn't automatically update to the more stable version 1.2i. I had to remove the app from my iPhone, and then add it again. The good news is, it worked and I haven't experienced a crash since.

Though I was pretty pleased with TeleNav's overall usability, but the connectedness did get annoying sometimes. The best example is the map section: TeleNav has very pretty maps, but they take a 21st century eternity to download (we're talking 5-10 seconds here), and the whole screen has to reload when you pan or zoom. Also, when you're in the map, you can't tap on a destination and route there, a fact that seemed to render the maps useless.

The B- I give the program is a combination of the shortcomings, albeit minor, and the problematic economics for anyone intending to use this regularly for a year or more.

Navigon MobileNavigator
Product page; iTunes link

Navigon portable navigators had just started to get good when the company closed shop in the US. I can't say I miss them, really, but what's nice is that most or all of the great features of the portable product have arrived intact in the iPhone app. It really is startling to see how well both TomTom and Navigon have overlaid their core features to the iPhone.

Navigon comes with 1.29 GB of maps and POI data, good because, like TomTom, it's not "connected." There's no live traffic, no online search, nothing like that. I can't say I miss it. The app runs almost exactly like the last Navigon portables, with such nice touches as lane guidance (those screens that pop up saying which lanes you should—and definitely should not—be in). It lays out well in both landscape and portrait modes, and the driving interface, with its customization options, looks the best.

Navigon has always had some trouble with its POI interface—in this case, you can can easily search for something in the wrong place. If you don't know the specific city a POI is in, just putting in the nearest big city is not enough. I recommend sitting down with it and familiarizing yourself with the POI search flow, because once you get the hang of it, you will be better at knowing where to look for stuff.

The biggest glaring omission of this app was the route view, what I used to call MapQuest view back when people remembered what MapQuest was: You get a full rundown of your turns, so you can see where the hell this thing is trying to take you. For the price, it's still reasonable, and Navigon has already updated its software—for free—a few times since launch, so who's to say that a good route summary isn't up next?

I gave it an A- until August 31, when the price goes from $70 to $100. After that, it's probably a B+ or B. On the level it can't really beat the TomTom, but when it's $30 cheaper, it most certainly does.

TomTom US & Canada for iPhone
Product page; iTunes link

I know some of you probably recall my negative sentiments about a recent TomTom portable navigator, and indeed, the whole family of TomTom navigators. I am happy to report that, by leaving hardware design in the hands of Apple, and by making at least a bit of effort to streamline the TomTom interface when bringing it to the iPhone, most of my complaints are rendered moot. There's still the matter of taking four taps to cancel a route (it takes just two on the other two apps). There's also the matter of POIs lacking coherent capitalization and punctuation, rendering them barely recognizable in English, and other hints of one-platform-for-all international scaling. But in general, it's a damn worthwhile, even powerful app.

The next step is to see TomTom's dock is any good. TomTom says it improves GPS performance, gives some voice command control and raises the volume on turn-by-turn instructions. I am currently using a generic iPhone dock, the one that sells for $30 on Amazon, and I plugged the iPhone into the car stereo for both music and instructions. Also, I didn't really have any trouble with GPS performance (surprisingly), so whatever this thing costs, its value is as yet undetermined.

In the portable navigator world, Garmin is still king, but in this world, there is no Garmin, so TomTom will probably ascend to the throne. In the current lineup, TomTom's offering is a B+, but that grade could go down as well as up. I just hope they take their roles as developers seriously and work on what still needs improvement, or else so help me I will nail another series of complaints to their door.

Tips for Using All GPS Apps
• Get a dash mount. Like I said, you can pay roughly $10 to $30 on Amazon, but the $30 version (middle in the pic above) has the nicer joint design. If you don't mount it, you're going to kill yourself. Note: The Amazon links are examples, not recommended products. Stay tuned for our review of TomTom's mount, shown in the photo above at right.

• Never drive without a car charger. These things suck juice like nobody's business. Operate without a charger, and your phone will become a brick within the hour.

• All these apps let you access iPhone Contacts. This means you should paste in addresses for your most visited friends and colleagues. It also means that if the app's POI search sucks, you can go to Google Maps, do a search there (or with an app like Where To?) and then add that Google Map entry to Contacts. Instantly it appears in your navigation app too.

• You can listen to music while you're navigating, if you can handle the navi voice coming on to tell you when to turn. Double-tap the home button to get a floating box of rudimentary iPod functions: track ID, volume, play/pause, forward and back. If you pause your music though, you can't double-tap the home button to start it again. You'll have to exit your navigation app, go into the iPod interface, and start it up.

Update: More Notes
Since I've probably driven with more various GPS devices in my car than almost anyone, and have been doing it since these silly things were a lot harder to use and cost $1500 a piece, I wanted to address some general questions from comments:

• There are two major map-makers in the world, Navteq (now owned by Nokia) and Tele Atlas (now owned by TomTom). Though traditionally Navteq's US mapset was superior, they are both now almost imperceptibly identical, thanks to Tele Atlas' acquisition of a US company called GDT a few years back. They are both very reputable sources of road data now, and it would take you a long time to identify any differences, let alone one's clear superiority over the other. In other words, at this point, since it's one or the other, source of road data doesn't really matter.

• Map updates, however, do matter—but they matter at intervals of at least two years. The map makers named above are constantly updating, but they don't publish updates (even to monthly subscription services) instantly. It takes months—sometimes weeks if you're lucky—for map data to go live, and most tweaks are new housing developments and other things you might not notice. Also, map makers may spend a lot of time and effort on an area where you don't live, and never get around to fixing your particular neighborhood problem. (There's an intersection in Poughkeepsie, NY that has been wrong in Navteq's database for five years, because hey, it's Poughkeepsie!) So it doesn't make sense to argue that you should spend over 2X the money for a subscription app that isn't as good as the fixed ones—even if you have to buy expensive map modules or new versions of them in a couple of years. On the flipside, many people driving with three- or four-year-old Garmins are pretty happy.

• Someone mentioned that certain devices make a "ding" sound at the turn. That was always a signature of Magellan (who like Garmin doesn't make an iPhone app at the moment). Every app tells you when you are approaching a turn. They do so at different intervals. While it seems from a comparative standpoint that the intervals themselves matter, they do not after the initial breaking-in period. You just acclimate to the instructions you're getting from your own device, and make safe driving maneuvers based on those instructions.

• The state of California does mysteriously ban suction-cup windshield mounts. I have still driven in California with such a device, and would encourage people visiting California to not worry about it. Those of you who live in California should probably check out those sandbag mounts, but please, if anyone knows anyone who's gotten a ticket for this "offense," email me about it. I really want to hear this story.

• ALK, makers of the CoPilot software, have been around for many years and have not ever been among the strongest contenders. However, due to their price and the fact that they're still around, I have agreed to check out CoPilot, and will be posting on that app when I'm ready. But don't let that stop you from buying Navigon while it's still on sale.

Update #2Click here for iPhone Navigation App Battlemodo, Part II, with evaluation of ALK's CoPilot, Network In Motion's GoKivo and Sygic.

People have a tendency to balk at charges like that, but that's not entirely fair—the software, seen here on T-Mobile's signature "Raw Venison Red" MyTouch, accepts voice commands, renders maps in 3D, and displays traffic, weather, POI and gas prices. It's really a full device conversion, and it's priced as such. It earned accolades on the G1, but you may as well just try it yourself; 30 free days should be long enough to gauge whether or not you want to shell out for it later.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – August 4, 2009 – TeleNav announced today that TeleNav GPS Navigator will be one of the first turn-by-turn GPS navigation services available to run on the T-Mobile® myTouch™ 3G with Google. TeleNav GPS Navigator will be available for a free 30-day trial beginning tomorrow, August 5, when the device goes on sale in retail stores and online. To sign up for the free trial, T-Mobile MyTouch 3G customers should visit TeleNav's website.

"TeleNav GPS Navigator on the myTouch 3G turns the phone into a powerful GPS device," said Sal Dhanani, TeleNav's co-founder and executive director of marketing. "We invite all myTouch 3G customers to take advantage of the free trial and let us know what they think."

TeleNav GPS Navigator on the T-Mobile myTouch 3G includes full-color 3D moving maps along with voice and on-screen turn-by-turn driving directions. Navigation is available in both landscape and portrait mode. If drivers miss a turn, they will automatically be rerouted. TeleNav GPS Navigator also includes speech recognition for both address entry and business search. On the T-Mobile myTouch 3G, customers simply press one button and say the name of a business or the address and TeleNav GPS Navigator will provide directions. Subscribers can also preplan trips online by accessing their account through My TeleNav. TeleNav GPS Navigator includes listings of more than 10 million businesses and services, including restaurants, hotels, shopping malls and movie theaters - providing users access to restaurant ratings and reviews as well as phone numbers for business listings.

Once on the road, TeleNav GPS Navigator monitors each specific route and will proactively search for known traffic congestion or incidents. Customers will be alerted to traffic problems, both audibly and on-screen, and can choose to find another route to their location by just pressing one button. TeleNav customers also have the ability to set daily traffic commute alerts. At the requested times, TeleNav GPS Navigator will send an email alert with a summary of current known traffic conditions and delays for their routes, helping users decide when to get on the road in order to avoid traffic congestion.

The service also includes frequently updated gas price listings so drivers can look for the cheapest gas in their area or along their route. Additionally, TeleNav GPS Navigator includes location-based weather information. Customers can see current weather conditions as well as a five-day forecast for their present location or for a destination of their choice in the U.S.

Finally, with advanced preference enhancements, TeleNav customers have the flexibility to choose whether to avoid high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and toll roads. In addition, subscribers can pause and resume the navigation at any time they choose, as well as set the map display colors to a ‘nighttime' mode for easier viewing at night.

To sign up for a 30-day free trial of TeleNav GPS Navigator, T-Mobile myTouch 3G customers can visit TeleNav's website or contact TeleNav at 1.88.TeleNav.4 (1.888.353.6284) or at care@telenav.com.

Think about it: Carriers like Sprint, Verizon and AT&T regularly charge between $8 and $10 per month for GPS apps. Gokivo is just a made-for-iPhone version of Verizon's not-so-great VZ Navigator. Why did you expect an updated and hopefully improved version of that would cost less?

TomTom, TeleNav and Navigon are all expected to be launching their own turn-by-turn navi apps for iPhone before the year is out, and it would be a shock to me if they went any less than $10-per-month.

The question is, are they worth it?

Because we're talking turn-by-turn navi apps, the numbers are easy to break down. Not only do we know what carriers charge already, but we know, for instance, that TomTom still lists its PDA software (supports Dell Axim, Sony Clie and Palm Zire, among other extinct devices) for $99.95—without free map updates. At the same time, we know that even the cheapest decent portable navigators, like the Garmin Nuvi 250, cost $128 on sale—also without free map updates.

These apps, by definition, don't come with maps loaded into the phone—they download the most recent ones from a server which the software maker pays for the right to use on an ongoing basis. So add to that the cost of licensing instantly up-to-date (Nokia-owned) Navteq or (TomTom-owned) Tele Atlas map databases, and you see why no navi can just be a $15 one-time app. As Gokivo's creators, Networks In Motion, say on their blog:

It takes a lot of work and money to deliver all these features and functionality that's included in a turn-by-turn navigation app; and unlike product with maps on the device, we are updating maps and search indexes constantly.

This is just one category, but there are many that will need higher pricing or persistent subscription fees to keep them going. This isn't about The Man—Apple or AT&T or "Macho Man" Randy Savage. It's about developers, and it's rough for them when they want to distribute flagship software over a platform that's used to distributing 99-cent iFarts. The transition must come. I hate to say it, but the iTunes App Store needs more advanced software, and if that means higher costs then, for the sake of the iPhone OS's continued growth and viability, I say we get behind it.

This isn't to say Networks In Motion unveiled the pricing strategy in the most graceful way. But what they did to was make the first move. I think everybody in the navigation category was hoping someone else would go first, and Gokivo drew the short straw.

Now come the next questions, like how many devices you can load the software onto. After all, if the download is $100, and you put it on two iPhones, isn't it more like $50 each?

(Sorry for the cheesy video, blame TeleNav.) Other touted intertube-powered features include on-the-spot weather, restaurant reviews, commute alerts and address share (letting everyone know where you're at), though they're "in the works" so are part of "TeleNav's short-term road map." However, since it's not open sourced like Dash, we sadly won't be seeing anything like Twitter clients. Also, since it only uses GPRS, and not Wi-Fi like the Dash, I wonder how fast (or ungodly slow) the updates will be.

Also unlike Dash, they're starting at $300 right off the bat. Even if you forego the $12/month subscription, it's still pre-loaded with 11 million points of interest, and the usual TeleNav GPS features. Whether TeleNav's well-known name will help them out in a market so cutthroat Dash basically couldn't survive remains to be seen. And uh, honestly, we're still waiting for that iPhone app.

Actual device specs:

FEATURE DESCRIPTION
Dimensions 4.9L x 3.1W x 0.75H inches
12.5L x 8W x 1.9H cm
Weight 0.27 pounds (124 grams)
Screen Size 4.3 inches (10.9cm) diagonal, 16:9 aspect ratio
Display Resolution 480 x 272 pixels
Display Type TFT LCD touch screen
Speaker Built-in, high-quality speaker, 1 W
Headphone 3.5mm jack
Battery Life Up to 2.5 hours of normal use (five days in suspend mode)
Battery Type Rechargeable lithium-ion
GPS Chip Atlas III
Network Access TeleNav Connected Service uses cellular (GPRS)
Car Charger 12v car charger
Input: DC +12V
Output: +5V, 3A, via USB
Wall Charger AC wall charger
Input: AC 110~240V
DC +5V, 3A via USB
LED Indicators 1 red LED for charge indication
1 green LED for charged indication
2 blue LEDs for TeleNav Connected Service usage indication

[Telenav - Thanks tipster!]

One of neato aspects of the iPhone 3G's engineering is that it crams a whole bunch of wireless stuff, like 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS into just two antennas, which are integrated into the "metal ring around the camera, the audio jack, the metal screen bezel, and the iPhone circuitry itself." But that doesn't mean it's always going to get a solid GPS signal (same with most phones), like when it's indoors or between skyscrapers. So it uses assisted GPS, also known as aGPS or A-GPS, like most phones with "GPS," though it can mean a couple different things.

In the iPhone's case, it means location is determined with a combo of GPS, Wi-Fi and cell towers, depending on what's available—and all that data is crunched by the "assistance server." There are several benefits to A-GPS. It's wayyy faster for one. With vanilla GPS, to get a lock, you need several strong signals for a decent length of time. With A-GPS, the assistance server tells your phone where the closest satellites are and does the serious computational legwork, cutting down the number of frequencies the phone has to scan and the numbers it has to smash, making the whole process a lot faster. Also, the server can take paltry, choppy ones and make use of 'em. And this all makes it a lot more battery friendly too.

The nicest thing about the iPhone 3G's setup is that the you-are-here circle indicates how accurate the assistance server's guesstimation is, like when it derives your location in less than ideal conditions. Unlike some phones' A-GPS, Apple implies iPhone's A-GPS will still work without a cell signal (it "finds your location via GPS or by triangulating your position...") in case you're camping or just in the boonies. (Update: As commenters have pointed out, an issue would be getting the Google maps, which need to be downloaded via cell or Wi-Fi. A third-party app from TomTom or such with locally stored maps would solve that problem, so main issue is still the chip's capabilities to work without assistance.)

It's unknown how hard the GPS is going to punch the battery life. The iPhone turns it on and off "quickly and automatically" when needed. But we anticipate it'll sock it pretty good when the chip's actually active, especially for decent stretches—like during live tracking, possibly, but we think it might power on the receiver only at needed intervals to save juice, doing the rest of the crunching internally or by other means if they're available (like cell towers).

Okay, so the only hands on time we've had with the iPhone's GPS apps comes from Brian's brief time with it, and that did reveal a couple quirks. (Well for one, it couldn't quite find him.) Maps and photo geotagging both asked him for permission to use his location, which kinda bugged him, but since he got the first demo, I'm relatively certain it only does that the first time you use the phone, like the E911 option.
In case you're wondering about the live traffic info, that's been Google mojo for a while.

Hopes for a more robust or simply different navigation app from one of the majors like Garmin, TomTom or Telenav are foggy right now. TomTom says they've got one running already, but there's also a weird clause in the SDK that would seem to prohibit other GPS apps. On the other hand, big companies could talk to Apple directly (and very probably are) to get their apps okayed on the iPhone, which would be smart for both parties. It'll make the iPhone an even more serious GPS device, and it'll give the established makers a piece of the pie they fear losing. But we'd still like to see some sweet (and free) homebrew stuff too. [Giz Explains]

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about 3G, GPS, G-spots or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

Due in the next 12 months (hopefully by Christmas, but not likely), the US PSP navigation software will be all new and much sexier, powered by Tele Atlas with a solid, easy-to-use UI and great-looking maps. The coup de grace is full 3D walkthroughs of cities, supposedly first in the portable class, at least in the US. Sony is aiming for it to be cheaper than most GPS setups too, like $100 to $200, and you can run it off UMD or memory stick. Plus, it'll come with a carmount.

Overall, it's pretty exciting stuff that could really break open the GPS market. Beyond navigation, Sony is thinking about treasure hunts, friend locaters and other geo-coolness.

Sony is also cooking up a keyboard that would plug into the bottom, the A/V and headset jacks, and would fold up to protect the screen when you're not using it. [Sony]

The main attraction is that you can now shoot your location to people who can then navigate to you if they have TeleNav. If they don't have TeleNav, they still get a text message with your position, plus a link to a map and "static directions". (Some carriers—ahem, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile—do not allow links in text messages, so TeleNav is coming up with a workaround for that.)

The other new feature is a directory of user-reviewed businesses, sorting local restaurants from highest-rated to lowest. Of course, you can give a rating of a restaurant yourself, directly from the phone. You can't write a full review from your phone just yet, but that may be an option for the highly opinionated very soon.

A combination of the two of these new features is an improved Fuel Finder: When you discover a place with the lowest gas prices, you can send it to your friends and family so they won't get totally screwed at the pump.

The new version is immediately available for a handful of Sprint handsets (LG 550 Fusic, Motorola KRZR K1m, Motorola RAZR V3m, Motorola SLVR L7c, Samsung M500, Samsung M610, Sanyo M1, Sanyo 6600 Katana, Sanyo 8400) and will cost $9.99 per month. – Wilson Rothman

From the press release:

...Subscribers can now send their current location to any other mobile phone that can receive text messages, creating a quick and easy way to meet with friends or co-workers while on the go. Customers can also share addresses of favorite businesses, including restaurants, hotels or movie theaters. With TeleNav's Fuel Finder feature, users can even send information on local gas stations with the cheapest prices for that day. Other new features include reviews and ratings for nearby businesses and the ability to rate restaurants directly from a mobile phone.

Location sharing—Now users have the ability to send their current location or the location of a nearby business to one friend or many friends all at once. This information can be sent from a mobile phone or from the "My TeleNav" account on www.telenav.com. TeleNav GPS Navigator users can quickly navigate to locations they receive using the service's turn-by-turn directions. Mobile users not subscribing to TeleNav GPS Navigator will receive a link to view a map and static directions on their phone.

Business reviews and ratings—Before they head to a restaurant or make a reservation at a hotel, users can now see how it was rated and reviewed by other people. Users can sort by highest to lowest rating to help them make a decision or view all of the search results on a map. TeleNav GPS Navigator also allows customers to rate restaurants themselves—directly from a mobile phone.

Fuel Finder—TeleNav GPS Navigator includes updated gas prices for local gas stations, and provides driving directions to the station with the lowest gas prices. Now, with just one click, friends and colleagues can share locations of these stations with each other as well.

• Voice and on-screen turn-by-turn driving directions
• "My TeleNav" website access
• Biz Finder (local search)
• Real-time traffic alerts and one-click rerouting
• Full-color 3D moving maps
• Spot Marker
• Pedestrian Mode

Home Page [TeleNav]

The TeleNav service, which has been available on Sprint Nextel, Boost Mobile and SouthernLINC Wireless and others for a while now, gives you moving maps with voice and on-screen directions, and also helps you find businesses such as ATMs, restaurants and gas stations. Tell the TeleNav you're walking and it pops into a special pedestrian mode to help you find your way on foot.

Cingular will clip you $9.99 per month to use the TeleNav GPS Navigator, and it works on the HP iPAQ hw6920 as well as a few other GPS-enabled phones from Cingular. But paying that monthly tariff beats buying a dedicated GPS system, even though their steep $800-ish prices of just a few months ago have dwindled to around $300 for some highly-capable units. We're thinking/hoping it won't be long until all cellphones have GPS navi like this as standard equipment. – Charlie White

Product Page [Telenav]