Navigon

Map Apps to Bypass the Rivalry of Google and Apple.

Avec désastre du dernier GPS map d'Apple et le Google map App qui ne sera plus disponible sur l'iPhone , les gens recherchent une solution solide pour l'Amérique et l'Europe.

Apple’s new system may offer free turn-by-turn instructions, and Google’s Android maps app is pretty powerful. But neither is as good as a dedicated mapping and navigation app.

For a high-end navigation solution, my family relies on Navigon’s app after a lot of experimentation. It’s $40 for United States maps on iOS and Android . The app is a lot like the experience you would get from a high-end dedicated GPS unit.

Once you’ve downloaded your area’s maps data from the company’s servers, it works offline and offers the usual navigation routing and text-to-speech turn-by-turn instructions. It also advises on lane choice on the freeway and even shows you a representation of street signs. The app alerts you to speed limits and speed camera positions; there’s also an extensive list of “points of interest” like pharmacies, hotels, gas stations and so on. This means that you can navigate to a city you don’t know and find services that you’ll need while you’re staying there without needing mobile data.

The Navigon app has recently been improved for pedestrian navigation, so it can help you across parts of a city that cars can’t reach. It also uses this mode as part of its Last Mile system that helps you navigate back to where you parked your car. There is also a Public Transport mode, which helps you use alternative forms of transportation, though this and a couple of other extras are in-app purchases.

L'américain Garmin, numéro un mondial du GPS autonome, a annoncé en juin 2011 le rachat de son concurrent européen Navigon grâce auquel il compte concurrencer TomTom.