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Review: TomTom iPhone Satellite Navigation App

Review: TomTom iPhone Satellite Navigation App

TomTom iPhone Satellite Navigation App
Price $99.99
Rating: 3.5/5
http://www.iphone.tomtom.com

I’ve never been a big believer in satellite-assisted navigation, preferring to rely on my sense of direction and the “mind-maps” built from having to remember the visual clues that define a journey.

But I can understand that, if you drive for a job, are from out-of-town, or were just born with lousy sense of direction, then sat nav is the way to go.

You can shell out between $200 and $500 for a stand-alone GPS unit for the car (or bike, or personal mobility scooter).

Or, if you own an iPhone, you can now download the sat nav software onto your device.

Sygic was first out of the blocks in June with a $79.99 app. In July, Navigon came along with a $99.99 app and, last month, TomTom entered the field with its own $99.99 version.

(For non-iPhone users, there’s also Telstra’s Whereis Navigator, a GPS satellite navigation service offering visual and spoken turn-by-turn directions, which is available on a number of its handsets. And Nokia’s Ovi Maps service is also available on certain handsets.)

However, in the iPhone market, theTomTom app has made the biggest splash. As of last night, it was ranked as the 51st most downloaded paid app on the Australian App Store. (I saw it at No.27 earlier in the month.)

It’s also ranked as No.1 on the Australian App Store’s “top grossing” leader board.

I’ve been testing it out for the past fortnight, mainly on short trips to known destinations around Sydney.

I still reckon that, on regular trips, my short cuts are faster than the TomTom suggestions. But on longer journeys made on roads less travelled, it has the edge.

That’s largely because of TomTom’s IQ Routes feature - a system that in effect crowdsources TomTom users to figure out the best way to get from A to B at any given time of the week. The theory is that driving into the city at 8am on a Wednesday, for instance, is going to be a different experience from driving in at 10pm on a Sunday.

IQ Routes aside, it’s worth remembering that the iPhone app is a light version of the full-blown TomTom sat nav unit and there are a few features that you won’t find on the app.

Unlike with the Navigon app, for instance, there’s no text-to-speech capability, which means that, instead of getting specific directions (”turn right at George Street”), you get generic instructions (”turn right”).

And there are three other buts that make it difficult for me to recommend the app, especially if you’re weighing it up against a stand-alone unit.

One is that TomTom’s guidance on charging for upgrades and its quarterly map updates is ambiguous at best.

TomTom will only say that map updates for the rest of the year will be free and that its policy is to make the latest maps available “in both an easy and affordable way”.

But that doesn’t tell you how much you will need to pony up in 2010 and beyond if you want to keep your maps up to date.

Secondly, there is no announcement yet on the price for the bespoke car kit that will attach the phone to the dashboard or windshield.

TomTom says the car kit, which is supposed to go on sale next month, is optional but has a number of “compelling features to maximise the experience of using your iPhone in the car”. These include enhanced GPS reception and a connection that will allow you to play your music through the car stereo.

The dock will also recharge your iPhone - a must-have feature as the iPhone battery is one of the phone’s weakest points. Without the car kit or another charging device, using the phone as a sat nav device will quickly drain the battery.

However, the biggest unknown concerns the new road laws governing a driver’s use of mobiles and sat nav devices, which comes into effect in Victoria in November and in other states after that.

These laws could make it illegal for a driver to use the phone as navigation device, even if it’s used in the car kit.

At the end of the day, it may be cheaper (and easier on the demerit point tally) if you go for a stand-alone satellite navigation unit.

[Thanks: http://www.watoday.com.au]