Navigon Offers iPhone PND App

BY AMY GILROY

Hamburg, Germany — Navigon has begun selling an iPhone application that turns iPhones into personal navigation devices (PNDs), offering functionality similar to a PND but at a price lower than most PNDs.

The app's introductory price of $69.99 runs through Aug. 15, after which the price rises to $99.99.

With the launch on Apple's app store, Navigon beat TomTom to market. TomTom previously announced plans for its own iPhone navigation app and still plans summer availability in the U.S. and Europe at a price not yet disclosed.

Navigon's app, called MobileNavigator, is the first iPhone app from a leading brand to provide maps that reside on the iPhone (onboard) rather than on a server (off-board), so users need not pay monthly service fees to obtain turn-by-turn driving instructions. Other leading iPhone navigation apps from AT&T and Networks in Motion require $10/month fees that amount to about $120/year.

The Navigon app offers turn-by-turn voice instructions and photo-realistic views of road signs. It provides lane guidance and includes maps of the full U.S. and Canada. It permits automatic navigation directly to address book contacts. If the user gets a call, navigation resumes automatically after the call ends. Users zoom in and out of maps using the iPhone's multitouch interface.