Should you spend $220 on an app and a cradle? Check out our review to find out.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)We got our hands on TomTom's Car Kit for iPhone and took it for a spin--both figuratively and literally, the cradle spins 360 degrees.
The Car Kit holds and charges your iPhone while driving, enhances GPS reception when used with TomTom's turn-by-turn navigation app, and boosts audio quality of spoken directions and hands-free calls. However, the problem with a peripheral like the TomTom Car Kit is that when it's working best, you don't notice it, which makes it difficult for many users to justify the $119 price. People may be less likely to buy it when they consider that it takes an additional $99 app to get the most out of the purchase!
Most users wouldn't bat an eye at spending $200 on a portable navigation device, but how does does an iPhone app/peripheral package stack up? Check out our full review to find out.
The RoadMate iPhone app borrows the interface of the RoadMate line of navigation devices.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin)As the PND vs. smartphone battle for navigation superiority continues, we're seeing more of the GPS heavyweights hedging their bets by developing application versions of their standalone GPS devices, while others push toward adding cellular technology to their portable devices in a bid to even the playing field.
Magellan finds itself in the former camp with the announcement of its Magellan RoadMate for iPhone turn-by-turn navigation application. The application is compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS models and will be available soon on the App Store at an introductory price of $79.99 (which will jump to $99.99 sometime thereafter).
Routing is quick, even when plotting four simultaneous courses.
(Credit: Screenshot by Antuan Goodwin/CNET)The Magellan RoadMate for iPhone inherits many of the features that we liked when we tested the RoadMate 1470 standalone navigation device, such as the OneTouch user menu--a customizable shortcut menu that allows users to store frequently accessed addresses, POIs, and searches--and the ability to calculate and compare multiple routing options simultaneously. The RoadMate app also uses the same Navteq maps as the standalone unit. Maps and POIs are stored locally so you can keep navigating even without a data connection.
Other positive features that stand out are spoken text-to-speech street names, an oversize on-screen keyboard that's easier to use at an arm's length than the iPhone's default keyboard, native access to the iPhone's contacts list, and graphic lane guidance with digital highway street signs. In-app music control with playlist creation isn't critical to getting from point A to point B, but it's nice to have. 3D building data for major cities may be nice for users who navigate visually, but I think it's more of an eye candy thing than a truly useful feature.
Once you get where you're going, the RoadMate app automatically remembers the location of your car so you can find your way back and can switch to a Pedestrian mode for further navigation on foot.
I got my hands on an advanced copy of the Magellan RoadMate for iPhone app for evaluation and found, for the most part, that it worked as advertised. The app booted quickly and responded snappily to my inputs when tested on an Apple iPhone 3GS. A positive side effect of locally stored maps and POIs is that searching and routing with the RoadMate app is lightning fast, even when calculating four simultaneous routing options.
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(Credit:
TomTom)
When we took our first look at the TomTom app for iPhone, it seemed like a perfectly competent helper for getting from points A-to-B. But, we couldn't help but notice that a few of our favorite GPS navigation features were notably absent--particularly TTS instructions and graphic lane guidance.
Well, there's good news for users of the TomTom app in the form of a free update that adds these missing features, and a few more.
The update will add text-to-speech (TTS) for spoken street names and points of interest (POI) as part of the device's directions, graphic lane guidance which displays a visual representation of complex highway intersections with indications of valid lanes for the route, and a "Help menu" offering a shortcut to emergency number and directions to the nearest emergency services. TomTom is also enabling in-app iPod player control, so drivers won't have to exit the application to pick a song or playlist.
Also included in this update are a free map update and the inclusion of a safety camera database update. Users will be able to set audio warnings when approaching safety cameras or driving over the speed limit, possibly preventing citations and increasing vehicle safety.
TomTom tells us that the application update has been submitted to Apple and is pending approval. For current users of the TomTom app for iPhone, this will be a free update. For everyone else, the price of the app will remain at $99.
The Viper Smart Start app can control your car from wherever you are, as long as you have a data connection on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
(Credit: Directed Electronics)Car security company Directed Electronics is unveiling a new iPhone application Tuesday that lets customers control parts of their Viper SmartStart-enabled vehicle from their iPhone or iPod Touch.
The app, called Viper SmartStart, is quite similar toZipcar's recently released iPhone app, except it can work with your car, and not one you're renting for the weekend. It, too, creates a virtual keychain control module that can do things like lock and unlock your vehicle, open the trunk, and activate the alarm, getting rid of the need to carry around one of those keychain clickers as long as you've got your phone handy.
Coolest of all, though, there's a "Smart Start" button in the center of the screen that can turn on your vehicle. The company is promoting this as a simple way to defrost or cool off a car before you get in--that is, assuming you correctly set the climate controls the last time you were inside.
Since the app uses the iPhone's data connection to send the commands, you can control your car (or cars) from anywhere you have an EDGE or 3G signal. It also means you can use it on a non-cellular data device like the iPod Touch, as long as it's near Wi-Fi.
The app is completely free, but it requires you have Viper's SmartStart system installed in each car you want to take control of. This costs $499 for a new installation, or $299 for cars that already have a Viper alarm system, as well as an active subscription to Viper's Smart Start service. Buyers of the system get a year of the $29.99 service included when they get the service installed; then they have to pay after that.
I'm still waiting for a version that can give you live video and steering controls, like the ridiculous, yet awesome remote-controlled BMW in "Tomorrow Never Dies" Though something tells me that's not happening anytime soon.
You can watch the company's promo video after the break.
Correction 9:07 a.m. on October 13: This story initially misidentified the remote-controlled car and James Bond film it was featured in. It is a BMW, and it appeared in "Tomorrow Never Dies."
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Searching for a Zipcar with the company's new iPhone app.
(Credit: Zipcar)SAN FRANCISCO--It's like the ultimate yuppie geek convergence: there's finally an iPhone app for car-sharing company Zipcar. To put it in the most stereotypical of terms, you now no longer need a computer to book that Prius for your weekend Whole Foods run.
Apple gave a green light to the free download earlier this week, so Zipcar members can now use the app to find and book available cars using GPS-enabled maps, access account and car database information, contact the company's headquarters, and use a "virtual key fob" to lock and unlock their reserved cars. It's the first-ever mobile endeavor for Zipcar besides text-message alerts, something that may be surprising considering the company's outside-the-box, next-gen image.
"This is an entirely new channel of communication with members," Zipcar Chief Technology Officer Luke Schneider told CNET News in a meeting at the company's San Francisco office, adding that over a quarter of the company's 325,000 members (which it calls "Zipsters") own iPhones. Applications for more mobile platforms are tentatively on the way, he added, as another quarter of Zipcar members own non-iPhone smartphones. But he said the company hasn't decided which to develop next.
Zipcar, founded a decade ago in Cambridge, Mass., is designed as an alternative to car ownership and rental. You pay by the hour, gas and insurance are included, and cars are scattered in parking spaces across cities and university towns (the places where living without a car is most feasible) so that once you've booked a vehicle, you can show up and unlock it with your membership card. Schneider came on board when the company merged with a rival, Flexcar, about two years ago.
With its iPhone app, Schneider said, Zipcar hopes to achieve a twofold goal: first, making the membership experience easier by allowing for mobile reservations and database information; and two, attracting new customers by letting them toy with the app even if they aren't already members. Load up the "virtual key fob" without logging in or having a reservation, and a pop-up message will appear saying, in quirky Zipster fashion, "You do not have a current reservation, but you can make fun sounds anyway." In other words, you can push the horn-honking button until your friends want to wring your neck. It's about "the experience" of the Zipcar brand, Schneider explained.
For the company's management, the mobile app can also fine-tune some of the data that Schneider says they're "constantly obsessed" with: which car models are in demand at which times of the day and year, which locations seem over- or under-served, and so forth. It doesn't collect any sensitive personal data, he assured me.
I had a chance to test drive the new iPhone app on Wednesday, when I picked up a Zipcar to drive to Mountain View for the TechStars Investor Day event. The app is extremely well-designed, and making a reservation is a no-brainer. It's overall terrific branding for Zipcar: newcomers will certainly get the idea that this is a company that's tech-savvy, rooted in convenience, and has a sense of humor.
And Zipcar needs to keep up that image, now that the car-sharing trend is catching on with rivals from both the nonprofit space (like the Bay Area's City Car Share) and the mainstays of the rental car industry.
The Zipcar iPhone app's 'virtual key fob' is cute, but more gimmicky than convenient.
(Credit: Zipcar)"Zipcar established a category that didn't exist yet," Schneider said of competition in the market. "It validates the space when bigger competitors come in."
My gripe with the app, unfortunately, is with the nifty part that everybody's talking about. The unlock-by-iPhone feature is more of a fun toy than a utility; it simply isn't as convenient as it should be. First, you've got to load up the app and let it log you in--which takes a few seconds, enough time for me to fish around in my wallet and find my "Zipcard," the ID card that also locks and unlocks reserved cars. Then, upon hitting the lock or unlock button, the app has to communicate with Zipcar via data connection--not a short-range signal like an automatic door opener--and sometimes that can take another second or two. (Once, in fact, it just didn't seem to want to work.) Typically, I just got impatient and dug out my card.
Additionally, the app won't replace the credit-card-sized "Zipcard." They'll still need to use the card, not the iPhone interface, to unlock a car when they initially pick it up.
But that's a security regulation more than anything else, Schneider told me: "We don't want you to be stranded if your battery's run out."
(Credit:
VW/Fish Labs)
Volkswagen and Fish Labs have partnered to create yet another iPhone/iPod Touch advertisement, err, game. This time around, VW is giving you the opportunity to pull the Scirocco R out of your pocket and take it for a spin around the Nurburgring.
The game's title is a bit misleading. You don't actually get to complete a full 24-hour endurance race, which I'm sure would be impossible with the handheld's battery life. Rather, the game drops you in at last leg of the race in 11th place with 23 hours and 50 minutes already on the clock--just enough time for two more hot laps. I'm guessing VW Scirocco 10-minute Challenge was just too stupid of a name, necessitating this gimmick.
There's also a Time Trial mode, as well as a multiplayer option. Of course, the app includes the requisite links to order brochures and find your local VW dealer--which, if you live in the United States, will definitely not have the Euro-market only Scirocco in stock.
While we don't get the Scirocco R in the U.S., we may get the Golf R20, which is mechanically identical.
(Credit: VW/Fish Labs)The gameplay itself is about what you'd expect from a marketing piece. There's only one vehicle to choose from (the titular 265 horsepower VW Scirocco R) in four colors and there's only one track. Users are given the option of steering with the iPhone's accelerometer or by touching onscreen directional arrows. Likewise, the game features onscreen gas and brake pedals that are tapped with the thumbs.
As a Nurburgring veteran (in Gran Turismo 4 for PS2), it's fairly obvious that the track in VW's 24H Challenge is more of an homage to the Green Hell, as it is far from accurate. Famous turns such as the Carousel are missing and the final straight past Nurburg Castle isn't nearly long enough. So, don't go thinking that your 4:25.604 lap time means that the Scirocco R is a Porsche-slayer. It's only a game.
The steering is sluggish and unresponsive and the accelerometer doesn't ever seem to level out for the straights. Every time you touch the brakes, the Scirocco lays down thick skid marks--which is an odd design choice, because I'm sure the real-life 'Rocco is equipped with ABS.
At the end of the day, I'm willing to forgive VW Scirocco 24H Challenge of all of these gripes because it's free and available now in the Apple iTunes Store.
Mini Road Assist is free for Mini owners under warranty.
(Credit: Mini USA/Allstate Roadside Service)Mini USA announced today that it has developed, in partnership with Allstate Roadside Services, the first official roadside assistance app, dubbed Mini Road Assist for iPhone and Blackberry.
So the next time, you need a jump start, a flat tire changed, or an extra gallon of gasoline to get your Cooper home, you can just tap an icon on your iPhone or Blackberry and your personal info, the nature of assistance needed, and your current GPS location will automatically be beamed to Allstate Roadside Services' HQ and help will be dispatched, provided that you have a cellular data connection.
After downloading the app, Mini owners will supply their VIN, name, address, and other details to confirm ownership of a Mini vehicle. The system taps into the free roadside assistance that is available to all North American Mini owners as long as the vehicle remains under warranty. Mini owners who fall outside of the warranty safety circle due to expiration can still download the free app and use the roadside assistance for a fee set by the service provider.
Mini Roadside Assist is free to Mini owners and can be downloaded from Allstate Roadside Services.
Check out the video after the jump, which details the ins-and-outs of the app in greater detail.
... Read moreClunkers ends with a bang, Toyota is either smarter--or dumber--than other car companies, we'll turn you on to an unintentional collectible car, and yes, FINALLY, we take a ride in the new Camaro!
Listen now: Download today's podcastSubscribe now: iTunes (audio) | RSS (audio)
SHOW NOTES
• CNET review of the 2010 Camaro
• Big, bad Infiniti M56 on the way
• Aha Mobile traffic app for iPhone is, er, interesting
Now you can dial up a POI's phone number directly from the Navigon app.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)I recently did a road test of both the Navigon MobileNavigator and iGo My Way GPS navigation app for the iPhone and found the Navigion a slightly better product for its ability to pull addresses from the phone's contact. It now has just gotten even better.
Navigon just provided Friday a free update for its iPhone GPS application. The version 1.1.0 update adds the much-needed ability to dial up a point of interest (POI) phone number just by tapping on it. This is important because you can call to make sure that the POI is open or still in business before deciding to go there.
In addition, the update provides an optimized volume control when navigating and using the phone's integrated iPod function at the same time. It also allows for picking what type of POIs to be display on the map.
I downloaded the update on my iPhone 3GS and overall this is a welcome update. The only thing not so welcome about it is the fact that it's huge: 1.29GB. However, this is just the way it is, for now, with updating any iPhone application: you just have to redownload the whole thing. The update took me more than 30 minutes on a broadband connection.
New customers, of course will get the updated version immediately. This update makes the Navigon decidedly much more intuitive to use than the iGo My Way, which doesn't offer the ability to call POIs and can't pull addresses from the phone's contacts, either.
The Navigon MobileNavigator is currently on sale for $70; after August 31, you will have to play the regular price for it, which is $100. The iGo My Way, on the other hand, costs only $80.
(Credit:
Artificial Life)
Recently, BMW put a new spin on the art car concept by making the new Z4 Roadster the brush instead of the canvas. Essentially, the artist took a Z4, dunked its tires into red, blue, and yellow paint, and proceeded to whip donuts on a 200 by 100 foot canvas. Now, that's my kind of fine art!
Well, now there's an app for that. (Sorry, I couldn't help it!)
BMW Z4: An Expression of Joy Lite is a free iPhone/iPod Touch app by Artificial Life that lets people get behind the virtual wheel of a customizable 2009 BMW Z4 Roadster to create works of art. Users can choose paint color on the fly on a per wheel basis (a luxury the original artist was not afforded).
Pulling donuts in a Z4 Roadster is my kind of art!
(Credit: Artificial Life/Screenshot by CNET)The accelerometer-based steering varies in responsiveness from nearly unresponsive in bird's-eye view to quite nimble in the first-person view. At least you're given discrete gas and brake buttons, which is more than I can say about most iPhone driving games. Players can even disable the traction control for epic powerslides--which is always fun, even on tiny screens.
Once you're done, you can save your masterpiece to set as your wallpaper or for e-mailing to friends.
BMW Z4: An Expression of Joy Lite is available for free in the Apple iTunes store. According to the programmers' Web site, a full version is coming soon, but it doesn't outline what features it will add.
