Navigon iPhone app gets new features

I recently did a road test of both the Navigon MobileNavigator and iGo My Way GPS navigation app for the iPhone and found the Navigion a slightly better product for its ability to pull addresses from the phone's contact. It now has just gotten even better.

Navigon just provided Friday a free update for its iPhone GPS application. The version 1.1.0 update adds the much-needed ability to dial up a point of interest (POI) phone number just by tapping on it. This is important because you can call to make sure that the POI is open or still in business before deciding to go there.

In addition, the update provides an optimized volume control when navigating and using the phone's integrated iPod function at the same time. It also allows for picking what type of POIs to be display on the map.

I downloaded the update on my iPhone 3GS and overall this is a welcome update. The only thing not so welcome about it is the fact that it's huge: 1.29GB. However, this is just the way it is, for now, with updating any iPhone application: you just have to redownload the whole thing. The update took me more than 30 minutes on a broadband connection.

New customers, of course will get the updated version immediately. This update makes the Navigon decidedly much more intuitive to use than the iGo My Way, which doesn't offer the ability to call POIs and can't pull addresses from the phone's contacts, either.

The Navigon MobileNavigator is currently on sale for $70; after August 31, you will have to play the regular price for it, which is $100. The iGo My Way, on the other hand, costs only $80.