For those wondering which real GPS app is better for the iPhone I decided to do a comparison. I’ve provided enough information that you should be able to make a decision which to pay for. At the time of this writing TomTom is about $10 more expensive than Navigon.
My opinion is that TomTom is a little bit better app for the money but that both apps are great! I like both of them better than my Garmin Nuvi. You can’t go wrong with either app.
Below is a table of some features that I thought were good to know about before purchasing.
POI = Points of Interest
|
TomTom
|
Navigon
|
Feature
|
|---|---|---|
|
10 s
|
16 s
|
Startup time |
|
1.2 gb
|
1.4 gb
|
Size |
|
X
|
2D Mode switches to a 3D view when approaching a freeway way entrance/exit and shows your path | |
|
Stops Music
|
Fades Music
|
How iPod is handled while giving directions |
|
X
|
Honors vibrate mode (stay quiet when I ask you too!) | |
|
X
|
X
|
Save current position as a favorite |
| Can copy and paste a full address (duh!) | ||
|
X
|
Multiple voices to choose from | |
|
X
|
X
|
Created good routes |
|
X
|
X
|
Good homescreen design |
|
X
|
Graphical home screen buttons (great for quick action) | |
|
X
|
X
|
Place phone calls to POIs |
|
X
|
User selectable speed profiles for determining arrival times | |
|
X
|
Has supporting hardware (or soon will) | |
|
X
|
Uses familiar logos for POIs | |
|
X
|
X
|
Supports different distance units (Miles/Kilometers) |
|
X
|
X
|
Map zoom relative to speed |
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Here are a few more observations…
Navigon
- Street names can be hard to read while navigating
- Further out perspective in 3D view than TomTom (I liked this feature a lot)
TomTom
- At first the routing seemed a little off. It chose strange paths to work and home. I’m not sure if this is going to get better with time (if it is collecting travel data) but after I realized that I can turn off the “IQ Routes” feature it got better. This feature supposedly uses historical traffic levels to calculate your route.
- POI database seems more thorough than Navigon
- Super cool map browser that tells you street names as you tap them!
- More POI options
- All around more aesthetically pleasing
And now, what you really came for: screenshots…
| TomTom | Navigon |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Home Screens 
|
Home Screens 
|
Points of Interest |
Points of Interest |
Points of Interest Logo Icons |
Points of Interest Logo Icons |
3D Mode Freeway View |
3D Mode Freeway View |
2D Mode Freeway Entrance/Exit |
2D Mode Freeway Entrance/Exit (switches automatically) |
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I have Sprint Navigation and it seems similar to TomTom. Mary and I used it a lot on our recent vacation and it got to places we never thought of attempting to go. The screen shots look similar. The only negative I have with my Sprint Navigation is it drains the battery quickly (about 2-3 hours). I have to buy a car charger to compensate.
Yah, same problem with the iPhone. My guess is that it’s not so much the GPS chip killing the battery. It’s more likely the 3D chip. I haven’t actually timed it because I just plug in as soon as I get in the car. It’s a great enhancement to my phone though. So your on the Palm Pre right? Did your navigation software come preloaded or did you have to download it separately?
For those interested in the GPS on the Palm Pre, I played with it a bit on my buddy Mark’s phone. It’s pretty good. The basic functionality seems just as good as either of these. It will definitely get you from point A to point B. It, like the built-in iPhone, GPS requires internet access to load the maps from Google. Of course there is good and bad to this. It’s good because it’s always up to date. It’s bad because it only works where your data connection works and it costs you money every month for your data plan. Navigon and TomTom, on the other hand, do not require a data connection at all. They do get outdated though, especially in newly developing areas.
I found that garmin product is of high quality albeit the price is also a bit high but it’s worth paying.
Yah, since I wrote this post both Navigon and TomTom have made big updates. I don’t think the Garmin product was even available yet. I think they are all a bit overpriced but it beats paying for a data plan in my opinion.
hm. hope to see same more info. Can we speake about it?
Yah, this post is a little old. Both TomTom and Navigon have newer versions of their apps. I’ve played with both and have’t really noticed a lot of differences but haven’t had time to really take a closer look yet. The big thing that both of them added is support for google searching. This was sorely lacking in the first release of both versions.