Comments Navigon MobileNavigator for iPhone - GPS & Sat Nav - review

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lifethroughalens

1:13 AM on 20 July, 2009

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I'd be vary hesitant about getting this product at the moment - it's all very well saying that they'll fix all the bugs and lack of (primary) features with a 'future' free software upgrade- but i'll believe it when i see it.

I know of several horror stories involving what can best be described as a public 'beta' test software - where friends said it could not find an address at all, lost signal all the time and took then on some really strange routes. You'd have to be desperately lost to have to buy this now when TomTom's version is en route.

I hope they get all the bugs out and the updates in before they lose market traction to the big players.

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BarryWard

9:57 AM on 20 July, 2009

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I have this software and am in complete agreement with the review. It has actually been quite good in most cases getting me from A to B. It even actually managed to find me a quicker way home from work than the route I normally take! However, I REALLY would have thought speed camera's would have been implemented in the first version, and hope they stick to their word that they will be in the free update. Also, as the review says, the Address Book integration is poor, with it not being able to find most of the addresses in mine. I have had to find the addresses in the Navigon app myself and assign them as favourites instead.

Other than that, it has worked very well. It is quick enough to load, quick enough to find a GPS signal, and works well enough when you want to play your library music. You can double tap the home button to bring up skip, pause, and volume control for your music. Or if you want to come out of the app to select your music, you can- then when you return to the Navigon app it remembers where you are and where you want to go. I bought it for the cheaper price of £50 for the European version though, and am not sure if it is worth the money now the price has gone up. My advice, wait to see how TomTom compares, or wait to see if/when the update comes out. For the price it is now, I'd expect the missing features such as speed cameras to be present.

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Stewart Clark

10:05 AM on 20 July, 2009

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I bought this but Apple refunded my money after I complained. There are too many bugs and inconsistencies for it to be a real competitor to TomTom. I bought the app after visiting the Navigon website and saw what they had available in other platforms. I did not realise, until I had installed the app, just how bad it is. The postcode file is at least 6 years out of date. The postcode they quote for my office changed before I joined the company 6 years ago. My home postcode cannot be found nor the road where I live. The screen switches off while the program is running. The volume turns itself down and when you turn it up so that you can hear it at motorway speeds, it distorts. Sometimes I need to quit the app and restart to make the sound work at all.

I was at RIAT on Saturday and when I tried the Iphone Navigon had no idea where I was, my brother’s Mio map and my TomTom 6 had no trouble at all.

Navigon wanted the glory of being first but they have severely damaged their reputation and, as Apple refunded my money, I have deleted the app. Please hurry up, TomTom.

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Ed

10:20 AM on 20 July, 2009

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The thing that struck me most about this product is that it uses the iPhone's standard keyboard. When mounted, especially if you have the device off to the side slightly, it's surely going to be quite difficult to type accurately even when stationary. Also, now obviously you shouldn't be setting your sat nav while on route but if you do need to then, the small keyboard is going to be even more of a problem.

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JGM

11:04 AM on 20 July, 2009

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Stewart

How did you go about getting a refund? I have been appalled at how bad this ap is. I've had constant problems since purchase with it. It will not find a GPS signal, whilst google maps does almost instantly. I phoned Navigons support line 3 times. Thay told me it was a problem with my phone. On checking the phone at my local Apple store I was told my phone was fine. I am extremely unhappy with Navigons product and their so called support. I am also unhappy that Apple and the iTunes store seem to be washing their hands when asked to do something about this. From looking at the iTunes store reviews, there are lots of people in the same boat as me. It's about time Navigon or Apple had the courtesy to respond to their concerns regarding a product that is in lots of cases not fit for purpose.

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Stewart Clark

11:52 AM on 20 July, 2009

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Itunes refund instructions: Go to your Itunes account and select Purchase History. Select the problem app and click on retort a problem. From there you can select "The application does not perform as expected" and you can detail the problem. I complained that the app claimed to have the latest mapping but clearly did not as the postcode file is 6 years out of date. The refund came through in a 24 hours (check they refund the full amount as they missed the tax first time around).

Hope this helps.

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James Morris

11:58 AM on 20 July, 2009

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I never had problems finding GPS lock during testing. But that can be quite a variable thing depending on where you are and the weather. The biggest surprise for me was how many of the Windows Mobile version's features were missing. They particularly need to get safety cameras sorted, and the postcode limitations spoil all of Navigon's products.

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JGM

12:37 PM on 20 July, 2009

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Stewart:

Thanks mate , I actually did this about 8-10 days ago. I got an email stating I'd have to contact the manufacturer for a refund. I contacted Apple again today asI'm getting nowhere with Navigon.

James:

I agree, the features are pretty lacking at the moment. The postcode/safety camera POI's thing's a killer. As to the GPS lock - maybe it's a geographical thing? saying that though, google maps will get a lock in seconds, whereas the Navigon software can take up to 20 mins. It will then drop the signal constantly. Kinda useless having GPS software that can't lock to a GPS signal. Check out the reviews in the iTunes store, there's quite a few people experiencing the GPS lock problem.

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James Morris

4:36 PM on 20 July, 2009

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@JGM Strange, I can't say I've had that problem at all. I've found MobileNavigator locks within a few seconds and keeps the lock just fine, so long as the phone has a good view of the sky at all times. The only thing which confuses it is switching out to another app for a bit. Sometimes it won't come back after that. Which iPhone are you using? I've been testing with a 3GS.

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JGM

5:43 PM on 20 July, 2009

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@James: 3G with OS 3.0 mate. Tech guys at the Apple store say it's working perfectly.

Nae clouds, perfect sky - still doesn't lock quickly.

Spoke to Apple again. Was told they are arranging a refund for me as quite a few folks are having issues with this software. I'd advise people to wait for TomTom rather than waste cash on this

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James Morris

9:12 PM on 20 July, 2009

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@JGM Maybe it's an issue with the 3G then. Don't disagree with your conclusion though.

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BarryWard

10:30 AM on 21 July, 2009

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For reference, I haven't had any issue at all with it finding and locking onto GPS, and I own a 3GS.

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JGM

1:51 PM on 23 July, 2009

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Happy to report that Apple organised a refund today for me. They agreed that it's kinda imperative that a GPS app should at least be able to find a GPS signal and lock onto it.

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James Morris

5:08 PM on 24 July, 2009

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@JGM Glad to hear it. As you can see from Barry Ward's comment, though, it could be a 3G rather than 3GS issue!

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BarryWard

10:48 PM on 26 July, 2009

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The review, I'm afraid, is already out of date. An update came out over the weekend, which added many things, including SAFETY CAMERAS! I drove down to my mums house on Friday, and was disappointed to see the Navigon losing GPS signal around her area of Watford, and it thought I was driving through fields rather than the road I was on! However, I drove back up to Birmingham with the update installed, and it told me of the speed cameras leading up to the motorway junction with "Beware, watch your speed" (or similar), which is a lot more pleasant than the TomToms beep! Also, you can also have the road names displayed on the 3D view now too. Other enhancements include the volume of your iPod music dropping to a very low volume when your guide wants to tell you something, with the music volume increasing to the normal level after she stops speaking. She is now much more clearer when you are playing music because of this. Also, there are enhancements with POI's. Now, you can choose which of the dozens of types of interest you want it to display. So, if you have a Vauxhall for example, you can tell it to just display Vauxhall garages, and not Fords etc. Also with POI's, when searching for a POI such as a store, it will often display their phone number too, and tapping the phone number gives you the option to call them. I was also very impressed with how it didn't lose GPS signal on the way home like it did on the way down. What I found strange was no mention at all of the speed cameras in the update details, even though it is definitely a part of the update. Overall, VERY impressed with the app now, and thoroughly recommended by me.

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James Morris

2:11 PM on 30 July, 2009

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@Barry Ward You beat me to it! Yes, the update has delivered on its promises. There's also the route planner in there, so you can set up a journey with multiple waypoints. The app is now mostly in line with Navigon's Windows Mobile equivalent, with the exception of the weather forecast and hotel booking facilities included with the latter. The most important thing is the safety camera data, though (and better GPS lock for those experiencing that problem, which I haven't been). I think my biggest criticism of MobileNavigator as it stands now with the update is that you can't navigate to a postcode alone, and the contacts link is still completely broken.

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BarryWard

6:20 PM on 2 August, 2009

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Agreed James. And why can't we just have a search option when searching for a location, where you can type in the name of a POI (such as "Chester Zoo" for example, or a post code, and it will come up with matches? Surely that will be very user-friendly. Other than that, I am now very happy with it.

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JGM

1:47 PM on 5 August, 2009

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Did a bit of digging on this, Interesting...

Downloaded MotionX GPS Lite to see how it performed on my iPhone.

Result: Pretty poorly, took ages to find a lock. Same as Navigon.

Turned off 3G in my phone settings:

Ran GPS Lite - A lock in seconds.

Ran Navigon - A lock within 20 secs, much better than before. Still drops the signal alot though.

Turned on 3G in my iPhone settings:

Tested again. Back to no GPS lock for ages.

I think there's a problem somewhere here. When 3G is switched on, the phones GPS performance is pretty poor, when not it's reasonably accurate. I've rebooted the phone a few times to check this out. Always the same results.

So what's the cause? the iPhone software? Hardware? who knows, but it would be interesting to find out if folks who are having GPS issues with an iPhone 3G with os 3.01 could test this out.

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HisEnormity

6:34 AM on 21 September, 2009

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I bought this and it cannot get a GPS lock for more than 3 seconds every 3-5-minutes. Google maps tracks consistantly if I switch over showing that it is the software not the iPhone hardware. I complained to iTunes on the 16 Dep and demanded a refund but have not heard anything since. I am going to register a complaint to the government Consumer Direct website and I will sue them for a refund through the small claims court if nessisary. Appaling software and customer service.

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Navigon has managed to beat TomTom to market with the first fully-featured sat-nav software for the iPhone, and MobileNavigator gets the job done adequately. However, it's not exactly replete with capabilities, even compared to the latest Windows Mobile version of the app. Although a lot of the missing features will supposedly be arriving in a free future update, we would still recommend seeing what TomTom has to offer, and how much this will cost, before choosing the Navigon option.

Overall

7/10

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Reviewed by James Morris

20 July 2009

Price as reviewed

free/subscription

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