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Travel Tech: The Second Coming of GPS in Smartphones

ByMary Anne Potts
February 05, 2010
4 min read


 
 

A new wave of smartphone apps is changing the way we get around.

Text by Steve Casimiro; Photograph by Joshua Scott

After a long day of shooting in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, I was heading back into Durango, starving. Where to go and how to get there? My buddy’s car didn’t have GPS, so I pulled out my iPhone and fired up Navigon’s GPS application. Within minutes, voice commands were guiding us toward Zia Taqueria, home to killer fish tacos. As we pulled into the parking lot it struck me that, without a second thought, I’d been party to a sea change in personal navigation.


Just two years ago, sales of portable auto GPS units were growing almost exponentially, but in the past six months, a boom in navigational software has stolen the show. Every major smartphone platform now has at least one GPS application, sometimes more. In its first two months alone, TomTom’s iPhone app was downloaded 80,000 times at $100 a pop. Google’s highly anticipated Navigation app, which hit the market in November, promises to reshape the category completely—it’s free. Indeed, market research firm Forrester predicts that GPS software will outpace dedicated devices within three years.

Actually, I’d be surprised if it took that long. Compared to portable GPS units, smartphones often cost less and do far more. And after testing all the major phone platforms, I’m convinced that full-featured mobile applications like those from Navigon, TeleNav, TomTom, and Magellan are equal to their stand-alone units. They have exactly the navigation functions you need—including spoken directions, traffic reports, and even simulated views of upcoming intersections—without the extraneous junk that device makers like to cram in. Why bother with anything else?

Phone: Motorola Droid


Software: Google Maps Navigation

There’s just one drawback to Google Maps Navigation: Until more Android 2.0 phones are released, you can find it only on the phone featured here. Otherwise, Google’s GPS entrée is a winner. Mapping, ease of use, and directions are on par with established apps, but the interface (voice recognition) is faster and more accurate, and the points of interest (POI) database is deeper and fresher (free; google.com).


Phone: T-Mobile Mytouch 3G


Software: TeleNav GPS Navigator

At 65 mph, an easy-to-read interface is more than a convenience—it’s a necessity. TeleNav, which also builds the software driving AT&T and Sprint navigators, has a home screen with just four options: directions, search, maps, and extras. Looking for food? It’s just one more tap of the screen (the competition requires four). Or better yet, tell the device what you want—it has speech recognition too ($10/month; telenav.com).


Phone: Apple iPhone


Software: Navigon MobileNavigator

Navigon and TomTom have been neck and neck in popularity since they put phone-optimized versions of their software on Apple’s App Store in mid-2009. Both have text-to-speech, which announces street names when telling you to turn (“Go left on Broadway”). But Navigon pulls slightly ahead thanks to live traffic reports, which combine historical data with real-time updates from drivers on the road ($115; navigon.com).

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