iPhone News Updated

Appiphilia: Finding your way through turn-by-turn nav apps for iPhone

Appiphilia: Finding your way through turn-by-turn nav apps for iPhone

This summer, iPhones got the ability to tell you where to go and how to get there with voice-guided navigation apps.

As of Monday, TomTom joined the small group of apps available with voice-guided turn-by-turn directions. Sygic and Navigon both had apps available earlier this summer for iPhone and now other smart phones. The offerings from Sygic, Navigon and TomTom all have features in common and a little something that distinguishes them from each other. For a community accustomed to apps under $1, these are fairly pricey. That said, they’re still less expensive than the average in-car nav device.

All of the apps are slightly limited by the device itself. Unlike a dedicated automotive navigational device, which typically uses a highly sensitive GPS receiver, most smartphones, like the iPhone, use “assisted GPS.”

What they all have:

- Day and night display mode

- 2D and 3D viewing options

- Portrait and landscape viewing

- Multiple language options

- Onboard maps and points of interest

- On-screen speed, distance and projected arrival time

- Simulations of the turn-by-turn directions for when you lose GPS signal — and it will happen

- The ability to play music and receive calls while using the app, though the app has to relaunch after the call ends

What they all need:

- Car mount (imperative!)

- More GPS power — in the shadow of tall trees or tall buildings, the phone’s little GPS that could just can’t. (When the signal isn’t strong, though, Google Maps seems to still work just fine.)

- Text-to-speech, so that street names can be announced (so far, none has this feature)

[Thanks: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com]

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