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Thursday, October 08, 2009, 04:00 pm
MapQuest unveils low-cost turn-by-turn iPhone service
MapQuest on Thursday announced the launch of its voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation application for the iPhone which offers service on a subscription plan.The $0.99 application (iTunes link) comes with a 14-day free trial, after which users can purchase one month of service for $3.99, three months for $9.99, or one year for $29.99. The subscription is enabled from within the application, which features maps for both the U.S. and Canada.
According to MapQuest, features of the application include:
- 2-D and 3-D moving maps to help people follow the route as well as spoken directions with street names
- Route optimization to avoid areas with accidents, construction or other events affecting traffic
- Full route corridor download at the beginning of the journey enables the application to quickly re-routes in case of a missed turn, regardless of network coverage
- One-tap search for businesses along a route via a palette of on-map widgets in categories such as hotels, shopping, gas stations, coffee shops, parking garages and more
- More than 16 million points of interest and maps for the U.S. and Canada
This month, TomTom is set to release its $120 car kit for the iPhone and iPod touch. Contrary to early reports, the hardware kit will not ship with a copy of the iPhone navigation software.
However, the hardware does include an external GPS receiver that is said to improve reception on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G, and allow it for the first-generation iPhone and iPod touch. TomTom has said its car kit will work with other navigation applications.
A comparable business model to MapQuest's application is AT&T's Mobile Navigator. That application is free and offers voice guidance, 3D on-screen navigation, and automatic rerouting. It, too requires a monthly service subscription, at $9.95.
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Previous Comments View All
Great, so if you even have service, you can use your iphone to get lost as hell!
(I know I sound like a stinker, but I just hate mapquest from a bad experience in kentucky. It brings back nightmarish memories.)
Let the competition begin.
Great, so if you even have service, you can use your iphone to get lost as hell!
(I know I sound like a stinker, but I just hate mapquest from a bad experience in kentucky. It brings back nightmarish memories.)
I'm with you, haven't used MapQuest in ages because they never updated their info. Google is moving onto my sh*t list, too. They need to keep updating, have they forgotten things change?
On the plus side, the cost for this is manageable, there are options, and it's GPS turn by turn. Hopefully MapQuest will set the others straight on their pricing (you see that TomTom? NO ONE wants to spend $200 on a GPS when they already own the GPS part
)Even AT&T's was ridiculously over-priced crapware. Another +1 for competition yay!
The app is only 2.9 MB. Either these are the best compressed maps in the universe, or else the second you lose cellular connectivity, you also lose your maps. It's cheaper, but it seems like you get what you pay for.
I'm with you, haven't used MapQuest in ages because they never updated their info. Google is moving onto my sh*t list, too. They need to keep updating, have they forgotten things change?
On the plus side, the cost for this is manageable, there are options, and it's GPS turn by turn. Hopefully MapQuest will set the others straight on their pricing (you see that TomTom? NO ONE wants to spend $200 on a GPS when they already own the GPS part
)Even AT&T's was ridiculously over-priced crapware. Another +1 for competition yay!
Although I like Google, I will admit it took them over 6 months to add in a major freeway in my area. Even odder was the fact you could see the traffic on that stretch, but not the road! Now I can see traffic on a street level which I think is pretty cool.
Get Waze instead. It's free, it has great voice directions (sounds better than some of the pay apps I tried), and a 2d and 3d mode, and also uses crowdsourcing for traffic reports and such.
The maps are slightly less advanced than some of the more professional apps, I admit, but if they're wrong, then the crowdsourcing aspect gets them fixed quickly. The more people using it, the better the data becomes.
Also, the crowdsourcing works for average speeds too, meaning that traffic jams can be detected and avoided by rerouting around them, in real time.
Very clever idea, good implementation. And *free*.
The app is only 2.9 MB. Either these are the best compressed maps in the universe, or else the second you lose cellular connectivity, you also lose your maps. It's cheaper, but it seems like you get what you pay for.
The article explains that the map of the corridor between your start and destination is downloaded at the beginning of the trip so it can reroute with or without service. You just wouldn't be able to go outside of that area without service. Not a terrible compromise...
The article explains that the map of the corridor between your start and destination is downloaded at the beginning of the trip so it can reroute with or without service. You just wouldn't be able to go outside of that area without service. Not a terrible compromise...
I was going to say that perhaps when you subscribe in-app, that it might add something at that point, after you have an active subscription. It wouldn't make sense to give people the maps on an inactive account, why would they need to pay for it? Someone would just 4@xx0r it and they'd have free GPS.
I would be willing to bet MapQuest is the best overall solution here. Cost is manageable and even the yearly subscription is low compared to other applications that go for about $100.
I would be willing to bet ATT is the worst option here just because anything from ATT is always an overpriced bag of consumer shafting. It probably will turn out to be vaporware with an ATT logo.
Tom Tom headquarters must be suffering from a massive marijuana smoke leak in their air ventilation system if they think people will shell out $120 to buy a GPS that plugs into a GPS and ruins both practicality and decor while there are options to be had for $20 bucks.
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Generally I'm pretty anti-subscription but when the prices are that manageable and it comes with the ability to do varying time frames it's hard to ignore. It's rare that I need GPS so this might very well be the best option for me.