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Navigon's MobileNavigator app continues to improve with features like text-to-speech and location sharing.
For the second time in as many months, Navigon has released an update to its MobileNavigator GPS app. The big news this time? Text-to-speech.
Since MobileNavigator debuted in late July, the App Store has grown crowded with competitors, including CoPilot Live, iGo My Way, and TomTom.
But not one of them offers the coveted text-to-speech feature (yet), which announces actual street names instead of just saying "turn right ahead."
MobileNavigator 1.2.0 adds that highly desirable capability--along with a few others. A new integrated iPod control provides one-tap access to your media library. A new location-sharing feature lets you e-mail your location, an address, or a point of interest. (If the recipient is also a MobileNavigator user, the attached link fires up the app with the destination already programmed in.)
Finally, the update includes automatic switching (based on time and location) between day and night modes. In other words, if it starts getting dark out, the app will switch to a less-glaring map view. Nice!
One other noteworthy change: It appears Navigon has settled on $89.99 as the price for MobileNavigator--$10 less than was originally planned. That's nice, but it's still higher than iGo ($79.99) and CoPilot ($34.99).
Also, real-time traffic updates are still MIA. While you're waiting on that, check out the Inrix Traffic app, which I've found to be an excellent road companion.
For the moment, the arrival of text-to-speech gives MobileNavigator an edge over competing GPS apps. If you've tried some or all of them, hit the comments to let me know which navigator you like best--and why.
When we first saw the Rightway Spotter, Dale Jr. Edition GPS navigator, we thought we'd have a bit of fun testing it and, at first, we did.
The unit comes preloaded with the voice of NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. giving turn-by-turn directions and, if you're headed to the right place, offering colorful commentary about landmarks. There are also pictures and videos of Dale, Jr. that we could view directly from the device with its multimedia playback functions. Even the menu icons and the vehicle position marker have been replaced with Dale's #88 regalia.
We were having a blast, until we needed to get somewhere. When we tested the Spotter in downtown San Francisco, we ran into issues with slow start up times and inaccurate satellite reception amongst the tall buildings. Hardware and software interface issues also frustrated us.
If the GPS navigator was both fun and useful, we'd have no problem recommending the Spotter to fans of Dale, Jr. Perhaps users in the North Carolina area--where many of the Dale's Favorites points of interest are located--or those who do a good deal of freeway driving will have better luck with the satellite reception, but the rest of us should probably look elsewhere.
Check out the full review of the Rightway Spotter, Dale Jr. Edition.
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