Last month, Navigon launched one of the first complete Satnav apps for the iPhone in Europe. Today, they’ve launched a ‘Lite’ version for Australia, with comprehensive mapping, but no turn-by-turn voice guidance. The best part: It’s free.
We knew that iPhone OS 3.0 would bring navi apps, and that they’d cost plenty. Navigon just popped MobileNavigator Europe—no support for US roads, and a $US95 pricetag that will soon go up.
Navigon’s just announced a new high-end GPS unit, the 8100T, that actually displays the right terrain in its map representations. Dubbed Panorama View 3D, the system uses NASA-derived height data to accurately recreate the inclinations of the road as it crosses terrain ahead of you. The unit’s also got a 4.8-inch screen, includes free traffic data updates for life, voice recognition for destination entry and the company’s Reality View junction lane-assistance tech. It’s due out this month for $US599. Press release below.
Navigon’s just popped out a pair of new GPS units: the 5100 max and 2090S. Both these navigation aids are coming with a FreshMaps package in the purchase price—that means eight free map updates over a two-year period, and no excuse for getting lost because the roads have been re-designed since you last updated your GPS maps (like I never do, since it costs me). The big 5100 max has a 4.3-inch widescreen and has free real-time Traffic Updates for life, while the smaller 2090s has a conventional 3.5-inch display and more basic functionality. Both however use Navigon’s Lane Assistant Pro and Reality View technology for better lane awareness at junctions, and the units are exclusively on sale at Radioshack for $US200 and $US300. Press release below.
Navigon recently popped up with a high-end GPS with free-for-life live traffic info, followed by some similar models from Garmin, and now it’s got a new entry-level model with the same feature. The 2200T is in fact the first “genuine entry-level GPS navigator” with free lifetime traffic, according to Navigon. It’s also got the same Reality View system with lane assistant as it’s more expensive sibling, with 3D-illustrated junctions to help you traverse complex intersections, a text-to-speech function, 3.5-inch touchscreen, SiRF GRF3i+ GPS chip with InstantFix II ability and an integrated traffic data antenna. It’ll cost you around US$229, but for that you’ll always know if there’s a jam up ahead. Press release below.
Navigon’s upcoming 7200T GPS unit has some pretty high-end features: voice destination entry, photo-realistic 3D views of roads with lane guidance icons and 3D landmarks built-in. But its niftiest feature is free real-time traffic info updates with no subscription fees, for life. That’s just got to be handy, and comes over an FM receiver from Clear Channel’s Total Traffic Network. The 3D road rendering is designed to stop you making the mistake I made last night: mistranslating a GPS display onto the complicated road interchange I was trying to cross because the two looked different. The Lane Assistant feature even tries to give you advance warning of which lane you’ll need to be in before a junction. It’s due in October for US$449. Press release below.
For a relatively small market, the Australian satnav scene certainly has a lot of players. Think about it: There’s TomTom, Garmin, Mio, Navman, Pioneer, Uniden, Magellan… plus countless cheap Chinese manufacturers offering sub-$200 devices.
Well, as of today, the market is even slightly more crowded, with Navigon hitting Australian shelves through distributor Navigation Solutions. Typically, the release doesn’t actually mention what models will be on sale, nor how much they’ll cost. It also fails to describe whether any of the models available in Australia will work with the SUNA traffic channel. However, they do mention that the new models (whatever they are) will hit shelves at the end of August, and will use Navteq maps.
Hopefully we’ll find out more soon. In the meantime, press release junkies can find this one – in its entirety – below the fold…
Navigon may not be the first company that comes to mind when you think of portable GPS units, but they are making a bid to change all that by offering subscription-free traffic updates on their new 5100, 7100, and 2100 units.
They’ve also added a new 3-D feature that offers users a more realistic display map—which should look pretty good on the 7100s 4.3-inch display. And if that wasn’t enough to help guide you to the nearest fast food joint, Navigon has thrown in features like lane assist, text to speech, speed warnings, and Zagat ratings.
Look for the 7100, 5100, and 2100 units to be released later this month for $649, $499, and $249 respectively (add $99 for 2100 traffic upgrade). [Navigon via Inventor Spot]
