All Things Digital Personal Technology
These Apps Help Users of iPhones Find Their Way
September 9, 2009 by Walter S. Mossberg
(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)
Among its many features, Apple's iPhone is equipped with GPS and includes manual, written driving directions built into its standard Maps application. But that function doesn't automatically bring up each turn sequentially, and it lacks voice prompts.
Now, a number of companies have launched, or will soon launch, iPhone apps that do offer voice-prompted, automated, turn-by-turn navigation. Of course, many other cellphones have long offered such services. But the iPhone's large screen, decent mono speaker and large selection of car mounting kits make it a tempting navigation device.
I've been testing four such apps: from TomTom, Navigon, AT&T (T) and Fullpower. The last, called MotionX GPS Drive, isn't available in Apple's app store as I write this. In the case of the Navigon MobileNavigator, which is already available, I tested an updated version expected to hit the store shortly.
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