Magellan RoadMate for iPhone
Hey, did we call that or what? A couple of weeks ago we put forth our suspicions that Magellan was actively developing an iPhone app. Today we find out that it is real, and available now in the App Store at a special price of $79. (Still trying to confirm the non-sale price.) By the looks of the features it appears they’ve done a bang-up job– but we’ll reserve full judgement for a road test.
Magellan is building on their “OneTouch” interface with this iPhone app. The OneTouch feature is basically a way to build a quick menu based on your own “need to quickly access” menu items. They have also matched the features Navigon has had for awhile and TomTom just released in their application, namely text-to-speech, lane assistance, and a music controller from within the app. It looks like Magellan did their homework.
Other features include QuickSpell, 3D landmarks, address book integration, a “where’s my car?” function, and pedestrian routing. There is also a Car Kit in the works (avail Dec 11 at amazon) which will have iPod Touch compatibility. You should be able to get your hands on one of those in December for about $130. It also looks like it will have an advantage over the TomTom Car Kit in that it is adjustable and will likely be able to accommodate iPhones in cases. If the app works as well as the specifications allow it looks like Magellan could have a winner with this app.
It looks like they’re going to offer a subset of the NA mapping for European customers, with Eastern and Western US shown as separate app options. Also unclear is the number of destinations that can be entered for one trip. They refer to ‘Dual destinations” which would be taken as 2, a destination and an intermediate via for instance. But they also mention route optimization, a not-very-useful feature if only two destination points are allowed. Guess we’ll wait to see.
Well according to mac rumors, the car kit will be released in Dec. with an MSRP of 129.99.
The Car Kit will be available December 11 at amazon.
Has anybody of you bought the car kit ? Any good ?