Turn by Turn iPhone Sat Nav Application Review - Navigon

The first turn by turn Sat Nav application is out! Navigon have released a UK or a European app priced at £52.99 (UK) and £79.99 (Europe). I managed to get the UK version at its release price (£37.99)



So here's my review...The application opens up with a simple menu giving the most used options as large easy to touch buttons:

This all works much like any other GPS but currently 7 digit postcodes aren't supported which is a shame although I understand this will be added by an update.

Once you have chosen a location you get a reasonably clear screen showing route and also the speed limit and lane assist. Note though that Navigo doesn't support speed camera alerts (as it doesn't support custom POIs)



You can rotate the screen as well and get a landscape view:

This all works well enough although you don't have much control over the layout etc

There are a few issues that relate more to the iPhone itself rather than Navigo. The volume from the phone is not very loud and I found some difficulty with GPS reception although this relates to my car which has a special kind of windscreen that reflects GPS signals however the Samsung Omnia copes better and gets better reception. Also if the phone rings and you answer the GPS doesn't work in the background whilst you deal with the call.

In summary I'm happy with this for what I paid but I'm a casual GPS user and it is handy for me not to have to carry another device. I think the TomTom with the custom mount (featuring a louder speaker and enhanced GPS) looks good although probably expensive and there is no release date yet!

Main Advantages
Simple Interface
Speed Limits and Lane Assist
Clear navigation screen

Main Disadvantages
No 7 digit postcodes
No speed camera alerts
Not very loud speaker (iphone issue)
GPS not very sensitive (iphone issue)

Links
Navigo Britain App Store
Navigo Europe App Store
Navigo website
Pocket GPS World discussion