Sygic Aura and Navigon hit the Store
Two more major turn-by-turn GPS apps built for New Zealand have hit the App Store: Sygic Aura and Navigon. In what’s becoming an increasingly competitive market, these two apps will need to bring a feature set and price that stand out – so have they hit the mark? Keep reading for a sneak peek at both, with full reviews coming soon.
Sygic Aura
We first caught a glimpse of Sygic Aura back in March, and it piqued our interest greatly. Now, the New Zealand version is available on the App Store. Priced at $84.99, Sygic (authors of the site favourite Mobile Maps) have high hopes for the app which combines conventional turn-by-turn functionality with social networking tools to allow you to plan meet-ups etc. and provide the ability to view your friends’ locations in real time.
The features promised include:
FEATURES:
- LATEST maps from Whereis stored on the phone
- 3D view of cities and landscape
- Spoken street names
- Road incident sharing and real-time notifications
- Speed camera warnings
- Lane Assistant and Signposts
- Car audio integration using bluetooth or cable
- Automatic screen rotation using accelerometer
- Compass-assisted direction detection
- Multitouch support for easier map browsing
- Hardware accelerated 3D rendering
- 37 languages
- Intuitive interaction with points of interest
- Friends on the map
- City guides from premium providers and from Wikipedia
- Free app updates
- Free speed camera updates
- Vote for new features at feedback.sygic.com
Navigon
Navigon is a long-established and favoured app in overseas markets such as the US, so it’s good to see a New Zealand version finally materialise. Also priced at $84.99, it appears to be a no-nonsense solid app with an enviable reputation, so Sygic will have its work cut out in trying to steal the lime-light.
The features on offer include:
- iOS 4 support including Multitasking and FastAppSwitch
- Simple, intuitive user interface
- Can be used in portrait and landscape format
- Latest available NAVTEQ map data
- Precise voice announcements
- Intelligent address entry
- Reality View Pro (realistic display of motorway interchanges and exits)
- Lane Assistant Pro
- Real signpost display
- Speed Assistant with adjustable audio-visual warning
- Day and night mode for map display
- Direct access and navigation to contacts saved in the iPhone’s address book
- The latest NAVTEQ map material
- Navigation is automatically resumed after an incoming phone call
- 2D and 3D map displays (bird’s-eye view)
- Quick access to user-defined POIs in the area and along the route
- Take Me Home function with a single click
- Automatic language selection to match the iPhone’s user language
- Route planning
- Call POI
- POI filter
- Text-to-Speech voice guidance
- Automatic Day/Night adjustment
- Integrated iPod control
- Location sharing via Email
- Weather Live (at destination and on route)
- Clever Parking (Parking spots around your destination and prior to arriving at the destination are shown)
So – got a preference yet? If so, let us know in the comments. We’ll aim to bring you full reviews of these two apps in the not-too-distant future.
JimmyC wrote:
In the current version of the iPhone TomTom app (version 1.4.1) it has advance lane guidance, late yes but finally here for us. I've been using it and indeed very handy to have.
I was reading about Navigon in the latest issue of APC magazine and it was their pick of the bunch against TomTom, Sygic Mobile Maps and CoPilot Live. What made it stand out for me is the integrated iPod control which goes over what TomTom does, and the MyRoute feature which shows you several routes after entering your destination, each route is colour coded and has ETA and distance included.
I'd be very keen to give Navigon and Sygic Aura a go if they made a time based trial period for them.
(incubus has made 32 comments)
JimmyC wrote:
I can concur, I have never seen the illusive lane guidance which Tomtom claims, it's switched on but no show.
(jaytaylor has made 52 comments)
I’ve been running Navigon for a few trips around Auckland. At the moment, the only thing it scores over TomTom is the TTS. The announcements are brilliant and it even seems to get the hang of Maori. But apart from that, TT is superior. In Navigon, the speed limits only show on the motorway, as does the lane guidance. The graphics and text are too small. There is only one voice to choose from (either with our without TTS). And where is the user manual? There isn’t one! TomTom does all of these better. Navigon is generally rated as the best navigation app overseas, but at the moment TT is the best for NZ in my opinion.
(stephenb has made 6 comments)
Does anyone know how to get to an address using a postcode? When I enter in a number in the city section, I get nowhere.
(oratoris has made 22 comments)
Just been on the app store and i see they have lowered the price of the Sygic Aura to $ 52 until 31 august has anyone tried it yet?
(mattmoy has made 2 comments)
Hi Steve – Have you tested Sygic Aura further? I’ve got it and have some App crashing / freezing issues, particularily when I list / access my iphone contacts through the Aura menus.
Wondering if others have the same issues. Other than than, its been a great product so far!
(chriscoxon has made 5 comments)
Thanks for the comments, people. I’m trying to decide which navigation app to buy so they’ve all been helpful. I’m leaning to TomTom now.
(JAD12 has made 13 comments)
@5lining5lasher You could just drive down your road in Waze with the bulldozer on (record a new road), and you're road would be on the Waze maps within a week. Or you could mention it here (or any road name that connects to it if privacy is a concern) and it will be added within a week.
Frankly I like a GPS map that isn't cluttered with roads I'm never going to go down.
(waynemcdougall has made 1 comment)