Navigon has announced the immediate availability of its European satnav application for the iPhone, beating rivals such as TomTom to bring a product to market via the iTunes Store.
Apple announced back in March that turn by turn navigation would be possible on the iPhone 3.0.
Ever since then, speculation has been rampant about when the first satnav program would be available on the iPhone and how much it would cost.
Navigon Mobile.Navigator turns the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS into a fully working satnav. "With the MobileNavigator, the iPhone 3G and the new iPhone 3G S can now be fully functional navigation devices" said Navigon's Gerhard Mayr, who went on to describe the satnav-enabled iPhone as "an almost indispensable and always desirable travel companion at home and abroad".
As well as standard satnav functions the Mobile.Navigator for iPhone app includes Navigon's own Reality View Pro, Lane Assistant Pro, Speed Assistant and a Day & Night Mode. It can optionally display POIs (points of interest) along the route.
There is no word yet as to whether it contains speed camera information.
Two versions of the program will be available. The full version is available now and has an introductory rate of £54.99 (€74.99). A cheaper regional version, with specific maps for individual countries is set to follow, with a price of €49.99 (UK TBA).
A free 'lite' version is also planned. This lacks active route guidance but lets users examine the maps and find local points of interest.
Navigon says the initial pricing is introductory only, with a yet to be announced price and that there will be a price increase from July.
Navigon says a US version will follow shortly, while an Australian version is also in preparation.
See also: Navigon 7310 personal satellite navigation device review
Comments
zaba said: If they shaved 2 3rds off the price they could potentially have it installed on every iphone in the uk Normal satnavs are expensive thats because you are also paying for the device This is just an app thats why it should be considerably cheaper
Rosemary Hattersley said: How much would you expect to pay for such an application The bolt-ons you can get for other smartphones start at 5 a month often with a minimum sign-up of a year while portable satnav units cost anywhere from 70 to 400 depending on features and map coverage 80 sounds like a big outlay until you break it down and look at how much mapping detail you get
Billy said: 8000 What a rip off