Well, at least it’s felt that way for the last week or so. There have been four updates to iOS navigation apps during that time, with Magellan’s last RoadMate refresh just behind less than a month ago. I’ve sort of been the unofficial “GPS guy” on iSource since I got here over a year ago, […]
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It’s iOS GPS Appopolooza!

Jun 29th 2011 by

Well, at least it’s felt that way for the last week or so. There have been four updates to iOS navigation apps during that time, with Magellan’s last RoadMate refresh just behind less than a month ago. I’ve sort of been the unofficial “GPS guy” on iSource since I got here over a year ago, so I admit to feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. Well, let’s at least go through the basic new features of these latest updates to TeleNav, GoGo Navigator, CoPilot Live, and TomTom. Rest assured, however, that more coverage of these and other iOS navigation apps is coming to iSource very soon.

GPS by TeleNav

 

If this app looks more familiar than it sounds, that’s because it is basically the same thing as the AT&T and Verizon navigator apps. TeleNav is the company behind those apps, and this is their direct offering, available to anyone with an iOS device. Their direct subscription prices of $9.99 per year (Summer Promotion rate. The normal rate is $21.99 per year) and $2.99 per month are pretty reasonable compared to their carrier offerings, so if the Navigator apps ever interested you, you might take a look at this app instead.

The new features in the 5.8.5i.35 update include:

  • iPhone 3GS Support
  • Mileage Tracking
  • Live traffic flow indicators on the map
  • Simple address input
  • Cleaner, easier to read maps

None of these are necessarily earth-shattering additions, but the Mileage Tracking is an extremely helpful new feature that will really draw the eyes of many in the business crowd. Anyone who has to record and charge mileage, especially on a per project basis, will find this addition extremely handy. You can easily export your mileage reports via email, or even directly to Excel.

The simplified address entry is also a change for the better, and one that hopefully others navigation app developers will take notice of. It can range from difficult to impossible to copy and paste addresses into most of the leading iOS GPS apps. Now, TeleNav supports direct address copy and paste into a single field.  This is again, a small upgrade, but one that addresses something that can be very irritating, and makes TeleNav more user friendly. Those changes are always welcomed.

GPS by TeleNav is available for free (some features are available with subscription) in the App Store here.

GoGo Navigator

GoGo Navigator from Korean developer EnGis Communications is an interesting app. It showed up in the App Store late last year, and pretty quickly racked up some very solid reviews. While EnGis may not be as well known in the US as say, Garmin and TomTom, they are very established in the software side of the integrated automotive GPS market. In other words, while you may not recognize the name, this is a company to be reckoned with in the iOS navigation space. Also, while GoGo was their first foray into the smartphone world, it has quickly developed a reputation as a solid, reasonably priced, yet fully-featured GPS app.

I have had GoGo for a while now, and would have to agree with the reviews. It is rock solid, has a very user-friendly interface, and has accurate on-board maps of all of North America. That combination makes for a great value at $29.99. One of the major drawbacks to previous versions of this app has been the lack of a traffic service to improve routing. As of version 1.2, that problem is now resolved, as EnGis has added live traffic from Clear Channel Total Traffic Network to make GoGo an even more complete GPS app.

New features in Version 1.2 include:

  • Live Traffic from Clear Channel Total Traffic Network is available as a one-time $8.99 in-app purchase.
  • Pedestrian navigation mode
  • Improved address matching from Contacts
  • Several map and information display improvements

The addition of live traffic is definitely the star of this show, as it brings GoGo up to the level of the bigger name GPS apps in the App Store. The fact that EnGis decided to charge a one-time fee, rather than a yearly subscription fee, also helps to preserve GoGo’s status as a value-priced yet fully-featured navigation option.

GoGo Navigator is available for $29.99 (with traffic available as a one-time in-app purchase of $8.99) in the App Store here.

TomTom

Is there a more recognizable GPS developer in the App Store than TomTom? Their iOS app has been available for a while now, and it is definitely packed with plenty of features. However, despite its very accurate maps and rock-solid performance, I have personally always found it lacking in a couple of areas. The visual style of TomTom’s maps was by far and away the  most spartan of the major iOS GPS apps. The lack of multi-point routing has also been a huge drawback, considering that only TomTom and Garmin seemed to be missing this vital feature. I know I am picky, but I expect a lot from a company like TomTom, especially for a premium price of $39.99, as well as a yearly traffic subscription fee of $14.99 per year.

Thankfully, TomTom has finally addressed some of the app’s shortcomings with their version 1.8 update. This update includes:

  • The latest mapping information and updates
  • TomTom’s improved HD Traffic
  • Multi-Point Routing

First off, while TomTom doesn’t mention it in their release, it looks to me like the graphics got a little touchup in this version. We’re not talking about a huge makeover here, but some of the jumpy gradients and jagged lines that really stood out on the iPhone 4’s Retina Display seemed to have been smoothed out a bit. Graphics certainly aren’t the most important thing in a GPS app, but when you spend a lot of time looking at maps and directions on the road, it helps if they aren’t downright ugly.

The most important addition in my book, is the inclusion of multi-point routing. It just didn’t make sense for an app this good otherwise to be missing such a critical feature. Plenty of the new items that navigation app developers are adding these days are luxury features to set themselves apart from the crowded field, but multi-point routing is something that many frequent travelers, such as myself, have need of every day. Kudos to TomTom for FINALLY getting this done.

The other major feature, TomTom’s improved HD Traffic, certainly sounds like it could be a big improvement over what the competition is offering.  While I have had my gripes about some aspects of TomTom’s iOS app, traffic actually wasn’t one of them. In fact, I have thought that TomTom’s traffic implementation, using both traffic flow, as well as individual event reporting, was the best I have seen in the App Store. If this new update, which is supposed to update every 2 minutes and cover secondary roads that most other apps don’t, is successful, then TomTom should be tops in traffic for some time to come.

The only drawback to TomTom’s traffic service is the very premium price of $14.99 per year. However, even though subscriptions and update fees aren’t the standard for iOS navigation apps, they are much more common in the stand-alone GPS market. With that perspective, the $14.99 per year doesn’t seem as excessive, because this app really is capable of replacing a stand-alone unit.

TomTom USA & Canada is available for $39.99 (with a yearly traffic subscription of $14.99) in the App Store here.

CoPilot Live Premium

Last, but definitely not least, we have CoPilot Live from ALK. Their new CoPilot Live Premium offering is the most substantial update of this group. ALK is actually terming this as more of a platform change than a simple app update. It hasn’t hit the App Store yet, but it has several notable features, including a couple that may one-up the competition if they are implemented well. An example would be ALK’s new Personal Routing, which provides three route possibilities like Navigon’s MobileNavigator, but then goes a step further by adding the ability to interact with and change routes on the screen.

I am happy to see that ALK is keeping their a la carte option with CoPilot Live Standard, which allows users to pay a lower entry price, and add premium features later, if they need them. However, I am a little concerned by one item in the press release. ALK actually spelled out that users will get one year of free map updates. Most of the competition, except for Magellan, has been pretty non-committal on iOS map updates, but no one has actually charged for them yet. The fact that ALK has gone on the record for only one year of support opens the door for them to charge down the road. We shall see.

Since I haven’t gotten my hands on this update yet to really get a feel for what the changes will look like, the CoPilot Live press release is included below to give the run down of what’s ahead.

ALK Technologies Unveils New Generation of CoPilot Live Navigation Apps

Includes the ability to fully personalize your route, access to social content and a new simplified user interface for iPhone, iPad and Android devices

Princeton, NJ—June 27, 2011—ALK Technologies Inc., one of the world’s leading providers of mobile navigation software, today announced a new generation of CoPilot Live GPS navigation apps for iPhone, iPad and Android-powered mobile devices. The initial apps available from the new platform are CoPilot Live Premium and CoPilot Live Standard.

“With our new collection of CoPilot Live apps, we’ve created a unique navigation experience, combining innovative and exciting features such as drag routing, with a social dimension that makes it easy to share your journey with friends,” says Michael Kornhauser, Managing Director of CoPilot Business Unit. “Personalization is key to our approach. We want to empower drivers to choose or create their ideal route to any destination. Taking personalization a step further, we’ve also introduced the concept of users creating an app designed specifically for them.”

For the user who wants an advanced navigation experience, our CoPilot Live Premium app offers unlimited use of our full set of features. For users who may not need all the features CoPilot Live has to offer, we’re introducing a cost-effective approach that allows them to select and purchase only the features they need. The CoPilot Live Standard app includes full turn-by-turn navigation and route calculation along with the ability to add as many advanced features as the user needs via in-app purchase, to completely customize their app to their personal liking.

The all new CoPilot Live apps guide you where you need to go, via the way that suits you best, in-car or on foot. Featuring a completely new user interface, that provides quick and easy access to relevant driving features right when you need them.

It’s a new, more interactive way to navigate, with the unique ability to drag your route to adjust it and tap anywhere on the map to go there or discover useful location-specific information.

New Features Available

Personal Routes™: CoPilot Live helps you find your best way to any destination with a choice of up to three alternate routes, displaying journey time and mileage for each. Fine-tuning the route is easy: simply drag the route or a destination to a preferred street you wish to take or location to navigate to.

Intuitive User Interface: CoPilot Live puts all the navigation and driving features you need right at your fingertips, when you need them. Simply tap anywhere on the map to add it as a destination, discover location-specific information or share it with friends.

Social Navigation: Share your journey details and check ins with in-app Facebook and Twitter updates. Fully integrated Bing™ local Internet search and Wikipedia make it easy to find all the nearby businesses, services and local attractions you need.

Speed Limit Displays: CoPilot Live displays the speed limits on major roads and informs you with on-screen and audible alerts if you accidentally exceed it.

Superior Guidance In-car or On Foot: The sleek new dashboard-style guidance display provides clear, non-distracting directions with a choice of 3D, 2D and Directions-only navigation views. Lane Assist arrows, real signpost information and realistic ClearTurn™ display provide enhanced guidance at complex interchanges. An all new walking mode with digital compass support* makes it easy to find the way around a city on foot.

What else can you expect?
On-board Maps with Free Map Updates for 1 year: maps are stored on-board your device so you can navigate offline without using your data plan
Text-to-Speech (TTS) voice directions with full street names
Take Me to My Car: to save the exact location of your car and easily find it later
Door-to-Door Trip Planning: enter up to 50 stops and optimize the itinerary
Photo Navigation: drive to a geotagged picture taken by your smartphone
Copy/Paste a destination into the address entry screen
Detour Feature: to avoid unexpected delays or specific sections of your route
Millions of Points of Interest (POIs) with in-app dialing
ActiveTraffic™: (optional service) use real-time traffic information to calculate the fastest route to your destination and get accurate ETAs
Live Weather information at your location or destination
Live Fuel Prices: (optional service) to find the cheapest gas station nearby
In-app news and updates to keep you informed about improvements and updates available to you

Availability

CoPilot Live Premium USA is available to purchase through Android Market for $29.99. CoPilot Live Premium includes unlimited use of the full set of navigation features.

CoPilot Live Standard USA is available to purchase through Android Market for $4.99. CoPilot Live Standard includes basic turn-by-turn navigation and route calculation with the option to add unlimited use of advanced navigation features via in-app purchase.

Use of the ActiveTraffic™ service for 12 months is available for $9.99 and 12 months’ use of the Live Fuel Prices service is available for $4.99 via in-app purchase.

For 7 days from launch, CoPilot Live Premium and CoPilot Live Standard will be available at an introductory price of $9.99 and $2.99.

CoPilot Live Premium USA for iPhone, CoPilot Live Standard USA for iPhone and CoPilot Live Premium HD USA for iPad 3G are currently under approval process at Apple and will be available very soon.

For more information please visit www.copilotlive.com

About ALK Technologies

ALK Technologies has been developing innovative mobile navigation and transportation technology solutions since 1979. ALK’s award-winning CoPilot® Live™ GPS navigation apps are among the most award-winning in the industry and among the best-selling on app stores worldwide including iTunes and Android Market. CoPilot Live is the navigation platform of choice for mobile operators, hardware OEMs and enterprise systems integrators globally.

More information is available at www.copilotlive.com, on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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