Navigon MobileNavigator for iPhone

MobileNavigator for iPhone - Europe £70 MobileNavigator for iPhone - British Isles £20

German manufacturer Navigon was the first big-name manufacturer to release a fully functional GPS app for the iPhone. Ever since its launch, MobileNavigator has continued to develop and evolve, gaining more new and useful functions along the way.

A choice of versions

Several local versions of the MobileNavigator iPhone App are available. The British Isles version is currently selling for a reduced price of £19.99 (correct at the time of writing, subject to change), the Europe version is priced at £69.99 and the North America version is at £34.99. Editions are also available for Russia, Canada, Turkey and more.

The last update (1.6.0), released in July, allowed users to update their NAVTEQ maps free of charge, something not often seen in stand-alone GPS units!

We used the updated version of the app in our test (1.6.0), which is compatible with iOS 4. For the moment, we've only been able to test the application on an iPhone 3G (and a brief play around in the two more recent models). We'll update this test as soon as we're able to carry out more comprehensive tests on a newer iPhone

This latest update takes full advantage of the multitasking capability brought to the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 by iOS 4. This means you won't have to close the navigation application each time you make or receive a call, look up a website, check e-mails, send text messages etc. You'll be able to carry on hearing the voice guidance instructions and you won't lose the route you're currently following, which is very, very practical. Just don't forget to close the app each time you've finished using it to stop it running down your battery!

Design & handling: simple and well-designed

MobileNavigator has a mainly black and orange interface, as these are the colours of the Navigon brand. The result is a rather plain but professional look, which could be a little drab for some tastes. Don't expect any rainbow-coloured icons in this app!

The main menu takes 12 seconds to load up. It's very simple with just four main buttons (see below). Other options are featured as icons on the bottom of the screen. The Favourites and Recent icons offer fast access to destinations,while  Extras shows the extra functions you can buy (e.g. Traffic Live and Panorama View 3D). The Other icon offers access to contacts, route programming, options, navigation to coordinates and emergency numbers.

The app is well-integrated into the iPhone and lets you to keep the touch-control habits you'll have picked up using other Apple apps or functions (the audio player notably has similar homescreen menus). Switching to landscape mode causes no problems, and doesn't make the interface any more complicated to negotiate.

Readability is obviously affected by the fact that the iPhone only has a 3.5-inch (9 cm) screen, compared with the 4.3-inch (or even 5-inch) screens found in most stand-alone units. You'll therefore need decent eyesight to follow what's going on, as well as a windscreen that's not too far away from the driver. The screen size and its (very sensitive) capacitive touchscreen controls also make the system quite difficult to use while driving (when in a traffic jam, for example).

Like with other GPS apps for iPhone, MobileNavigator can be really quite slow in older models of iPhone. It doesn't affect usage too much, but you'll certainly find it's much speedier on an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4.

Just like the menu, the navigation interface is very simple. The route is shown in orange with other streets and roads in white. There's also on-screen information about speed, remaining distance, arrival time and remaining journey time. A little diagram shows the next junction too. The layout is clear and effective, and we couldn't really ask for anything more.


Route guidance: plenty of functions and a reliable GPS signal

The GPS signal in the earlier models of iPhone can be somewhat temperamental, and no application, no matter how good, could ever improve that. (We'll try testing this app with an iPhone 4 at a later date). However, in our iPhone 3G, MobileNavigator did a very good job of things, in spite of the few occasional signal drop-outs. When this happens, on-screen navigation carries on as normal, so you won't have to worry about the GPS suddenly directing you into a field. That said, tight city-centre roads can be problematic, as the app can no longer effectively predict the direction in which the vehicle is travelling.

Route guidance has been well-adapted to a device like the iPhone and actually makes quite a convincing GPS substitute.

Voice instructions are clear and accurate, and a text-to-speech function reads out street names so you don't have to keep glancing at the screen. It's just a shame there are no other voices to choose from, as you'll have to make do with the one default voice included.

You can search for destinations by entering the town and street name, or by searching the pre-loaded points of interest database (Navigon advertises 2 million POI). You can also view a list of POI close to your route or search Google for local shops or services in your current neighbourhood (pizza, swimming pool, etc). Unfortunately, the local search function couldn't be used to find shops or services further away.

Unlike TomTom, Navigon doesn't have a system like IQ Routes to calculate routes based on actual road-speed information at various times of day. Instead, MobileNavigator suggests three different routes to your destination so you can pick the most appropriate. Plus, thanks to the MyRoutes function, the system gradually gets used to the driver's habits to automatically suggest the route you're likely to find the most suitable.

Lane Assistant Pro helps improve navigation on trickier junctions and stretches of road, while the optional Reality View Pro gives you a 3D view of motorway exits and interchanges. This add-on won't break the bank at an extra £6.99, and it can help take the stress out of negotiating more complicated road features.

For real-time traffic info, Navigon offers its Traffic Live service for an additional one-off fee of £14.99. As well as providing traffic info, this function also allows the GPS to suggest the least congested routes using information provided by other users of the service.

Fixed speed cameras are show on the screen (can be deactivated), although we did notice a few had been missed out. However, Navigon's system doesn't provide mobile speed camera warnings, and it's not possible to add a camera to a map or to inform users of a new camera. Let's hope an update will bring these functions soon. Plus, MobileNavigator doesn't give you warnings when you break the speed limit, which is a shame, as we always find this function handy.

Other functions: iPod controller

Navigon has integrated advanced iPod controls directly into MobileNavigator so you don't have to shut down the GPS app to change settings or perform other tasks. This is particularly practical for users of the iPhone 3G or Classic who can't multitask, and who therefore can't change music or make a call without closing the GPS. (Note that the iPhone Classic doesn't have a GPS chip but can be used for navigation in certain compatible stands that do have a built-in chip).