Navigon says it is reducing the prices of selected smartphone navigation apps in the US up to 40 percent on Black Friday. MobileNavigator for iPhone will be available starting as low as $19.99 for the MyRegion version.
Here is the full list of Black Friday price reductions:
- MobileNavigator iPhone USA: $29.99 instead of $49.99
- MobileNavigator iPhone MyRegion: $19.99 instead of $29.99
- MobileNavigator Android USA: $39.99 instead of $59.99
MobileNavigator transforms Android phones and the iPhone into an inclusive navigation device that saves the maps on the phone and relies on the GPS receiver, independent from a cell or wireless signal.
It features premium functions such as Traffic Live, Reality View Pro, NAVIGON MyRoutes and branded in-route Points of Interest.
The big two commercial map makers are NAVTEQ and TeleAtlas, while a third, OpenStreetMap, publishes map data under an open content license, with the intention of promoting free use and re-distribution of the data (both commercial and non-commercial).
TomTom acquired TeleAtlas maps. Automotive navigation systems as well as mobile and internet companies use their mapping services. Nokia bought NAVTEQ maps which are used in portable GPS devices made by Garmin, Magellan, Lowrance, NDrive and web-based applications, such as Yahoo! Maps, Bing Maps, and MapQuest. Open Street Map is largely crowd-sourced and is often used when maps need updating during an emergency or for providing specialized mapping applications.
Walt Mossberg reviewed popular iPhone Navigation Apps. None stood out as much better than the others at navigation, says Mossberg, though they have different styles and features:
Navigon MobileNavigator: This app costs $79, and it takes up 1.3 GB on the iPhone because it also stores all the maps. There is no recurring fee.
- TomTom for the iPhone: The U.S. and Canada navigation app costs $100 and takes up a 1.2 gigabytes of space on your phone. But there is no subscription fee and the maps are always present.
- AT&T Navigator: Downloads maps and info on the fly, but it takes up less space on the phone—just 2.3 megabytes. That means you need a good connection at the start of a trip. Though the app download is free, a $9.99-per-month subscription fee will automatically be added to your AT&T account.
- MotionX-GPS Drive: The main screen has a clever menu arranged in a circle. It’s also fairly small—just 10 megabytes or so. But it must download maps and other info each time you start a route. Drive also is potentially the cheapest of the four apps. It will cost $1.99 and include a 30-day free trial. After that, it’s $25 a year.
Of course there’s Google Maps Navigation (Beta) that works on the iPhone and Android devices. It includes all the latest features in a GPS navigation system, like 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting.
Google Maps Navigation is free. It uses your phone’s Internet connection to supply maps and other information. In addition, Google Search by voice is now available for French, German, Italian, and Spanish speakers. English, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese were already supported.
