Google Maps Navigation Gains Real-Time Traffic Re-Routing

by Ray Willington

from http://hothardware.com/

Traffic. Just the mention of the word makes some city folk cringe, and for most everyone, it turns a good day into a bad one. It's a dreadful thing, and it's something that some people have to deal with on a daily basis. But technology has been coming to the rescue lately, with many personal navigation devices adding real-time traffic alerts to keep motorists from falling into nasty log-jams that are near impossible to escape.

Google is a bit behind when it comes to that, but when the app is free, who could complain? Google Maps 5.2.1 introduces a killer new feature: real-time traffic alerts. The new version of the app has the ability to route users around traffic, and with over 35 million miles driven by Google Maps Navigation users every single day, it should end up being quite effective. The traffic data is crowdsourced; if you're using Google Maps Navigation to get around, your velocity and location can be recorded and sent to show others in general how fast a given road is.

You don’t have to do anything to be routed around traffic; just start Navigation like you normally would, either from the Navigation app or from within Google Maps. Before today, Navigation would choose whichever route was fastest, without taking current traffic conditions into account. It would also generate additional alternate directions, such as the shortest route or one that uses highways instead of side roads. Starting today, our routing algorithms will also apply our knowledge of current and historical traffic to select the fastest route from those alternates. That means that Navigation will automatically guide you along the best route given the current traffic conditions.

Sounds like a total winner to us, and we hope it spreads to more navigation systems soon. Thanks again to Google for pushing competition.

TomTom navigation for iPhone 3G and 3GS arrives

by Thomas Ricker

True, it's not the first app offering turn-by-turn driving instructions for the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS -- but it is from TomTom, an industry heavy-weight that is finally delivering on years of rumor and speculation. After starting with New Zealand a few hours ago, the iTunes App Store is now populated with region specific TomTom apps for NZ ($95), Australia ($80), US and Canada ($100), and Western Europe ($140). If that sounds expensive... it is; dedicated TomTom navigators start at $120. In other words, this isn't one of those knee-jerk 99 cent App Store purchases. Naturally, that price does not include the announced TomTom iPhone car kit (rumored to cost £113.85 (about $194) with bundled mapping software) that mounts and charges your iPhone 3G or 3GS while enhancing its GPS performance, speaker, and microphone. Our advice: wait for the reviews before dedicating your non multi-tasking iPhone to the dashboard for navigation duties.

Update: Recombu took the software for a spin and seem duly impressed by their ability to navigate streets with an iPhone taped to the dash (not a joke). They say that when a call comes in, the TomTom app "turns off but restarts as soon as you finish the call." Lame. See the video overview after the break.

Update 2: TomTom says the upcoming car kit dock / windshield mount will also work with the iPod touch and third-party apps -- it contains a faster, more accurate GPS chip than the one in the iPhone. Check a video of it after the break.

Gallery: TomTom for iPhone 3G and 3GS hits the App Store

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read [Warning: iTunes link]

See more video at our hub!

TomTom for iPhone en route

by Dan Frakes, Macworld.com

Among the third-party products demonstrated during June’s WWDC keynote, the one that may have generated the most anticipation was TomTom’s TomTom for iPhone. This combination of an iPhone app providing turn-by-turn driving directions and a hardware accessory, the Car Kit for iPhone, that enhances the app will enable the iPhone to take the place of a standalone GPS unit for many users. Unfortunately, TomTom CTO Peter-Frans Pauwels didn’t provide many details during that demonstration other than to say that TomTom for iPhone would be available “later this summer.” 26224338

Macworld recently had a chance to talk with with Tom Murray, Vice President of Market Development for TomTom, and while the company hasn’t yet announced a release date or final pricing information, Murray was able to expand on some of the information presented at WWDC. (You can see a video teaser of TomTom for iPhone on YouTube.)

iPhone challenges

While other vendors have announced, and in some cases already released, navigation apps for the iPhone (AT&T’s Navigator and Sygic’s Mobile Maps are a couple of the latter), Murray noted that TomTom for iPhone is unique because it’s a two-part solution. By combining software and hardware, the company says it can provide an experience that’s much more comparable to that of a standalone navigation unit than an app on its own.

According to Murray, the biggest challenge presented by an iPhone-based navigation solution is that dedicated navigation devices have better GPS reception than an unassisted iPhone. In addition, the iPhone doesn’t include any of the special technologies TomTom implements in its own navigation units; for example, gyroscopes and other hardware that allow a unit to better approximate its position when it loses the GPS signal in, say, a tunnel. The size of the iPhone is also an issue—4.3-inch screens are becoming the standard for standalone devices, while the iPhone’s screen is only 3.5 inches in size. And few iPhone owners have car mounts for positioning the phone safely while driving.

There are also logistical issues. For example, because the iPhone doesn’t support background processes, any navigation app must shut down during phone calls, making real-time tracking difficult—something that doesn’t happen on a dedicated GPS unit, even one that includes telephony features. And while the iPhone offers far more space for data storage than do most GPS units, the company recognizes that iPhone owners will want to use much of that space for apps and media, so navigation apps need to avoid abusing the opportunity.

Car Kit not required, but recommended

iPhone owners will be able to purchase and use the TomTom software and maps without the Car Kit hardware accessory; however, the Car Kit for iPhone was designed to enhance the software by addressing several of the limitations mentioned above. For starters, the Car Kit includes a separate GPS receiver that performs better than the one built into the iPhone; Murray said this receiver is closer to what you’d find in a dedicated GPS unit. The TomTom app uses this receiver when your iPhone is docked in the Car Kit, allowing for improved real-time navigation, especially in cities with large buildings or in locations with lots of trees or other natural obstacles. The Car Kit also includes a built-in speaker that provides better audio quality and considerably louder output, making it easier to hear spoken directions.

The Car Kit is also a car mount for placing your iPhone in a safe location for driving. The unit includes the same EasyPort mount as TomTom’s recent standalone GPS units, letting you adjust the cradle’s angle, rotation, and relative position (you can position the cradle sitting on or hanging from the mount). The mount locks in place when in use, and folds flat for easier storage. The Kit's power cable plugs into your car’s accessory jack or any USB power source and charges your iPhone while docked.

Finally, the Car Kit includes several additional audio features. For example, it includes a 1/8-inch audio-output jack for connecting the iPhone and Car Kit to any car stereo with an auxiliary-input jack; this lets you listen to both navigation directions and iPhone audio—including music—through your car stereo. You also get a microphone that lets you use the Car Kit as a Bluetooth speakerphone. (Yes, even though the iPhone physically connects to the Car Kit, it uses a Bluetooth connection for phone calls.)

We asked TomTom how the company will promote the TomTom for iPhone package, given that the software and hardware will necessarily be sold and distributed separately—the app through the App Store, the hardware through other outlets. The company says it intends to sell each separately, as well to bundle the two, but that making people aware of the hardware if they purchase the software first will be the biggest challenge.

TomTom features, iPhone UI

While the iPhone’s hardware can’t match that of a standalone GPS unit, Murray noted that TomTom is taking advantage of the iPhone’s own unique features to enhance the app. For example, unlike TomTom’s dedicated GPS devices, the TomTom app’s interface has portrait and landscape modes depending, of course, on how the phone is oriented. You can also use the iPhone’s multi-touch gestures—tap, swipe, pinch, and zoom—to navigate the interface and zoom in and out of maps. You’ll also be able to access your iPhone contacts from within the TomTom app, letting you quickly choose a destination or starting point from a contact’s information. (Integration with other apps has not yet been announced.)

Mapping and navigation will apparently work much as they do on the company’s standalone units, with a similar interface, most of the same core features, and similar voice-guided navigation. The app will include TomTom’s IQ Routes feature, which takes advantage of other TomTom GPS owners’ driving experiences to determine the actual speeds driven on particular routes at particular times of day. Murray said the “trillions of bits of data” lets IQ Routes provide accurate information about historical drive-speed norms, generating more accurate drive times and letting the software choose the actual fastest route, which may not be the same as the shortest route.

One feature Murray couldn’t yet confirm or deny is Map Share, which lets users make route corrections—for example, road closures or incorrect street information—on their devices and then sync those changes with TomTom’s servers to share them with other users.

(When asked which TomTom GPS unit the iPhone will most-closely compare with, Murray said there is none—the iPhone’s screen size makes it similar to the older, 3.5-inch-screen models, but features such as IQ Routes make its software more similar to that of newer models.)

Pricing and availability haven’t yet arrived

Unfortunately, TomTom wasn’t able to provide concrete information about pricing and availability—the company is still saying simply “later this summer.” However, Murray did tell us that the company is leaning towards a set price for the application and maps, rather than taking the subscription approach of AT&T. The application you purchase through the App Store will include the TomTom navigation software and the latest TeleAtlas maps for your area; North America and Europe will be the initial areas offered.

Due to the size of the maps, the download will be quite large for an iPhone app—close to 1GB. (TomTom doesn’t yet know if the download will be restricted to WiFi connections.) iPhone users will be able to update their maps, although the policy and process for updating—for example, via in-app purchasing, App Store updates, or using software similar to TomTom Home—has yet to be determined.

Those interested in more information on TomTom for iPhone can sign up for status updates at the TomTom site.

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Turn-by-turn GPS iPhone driving app on display at MWC

By Zach Spear

A company versed in downloadable GPS driving apps for smartphones is showing off a turn-by-turn solution running on the iPhone at this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The app, produced by Sygic, most likely amounts to an unsanctioned proof-of-concept that may face resistance from Apple when it's submitted shortly to the App Store.

Nevertheless, the iPhone Blog reports that the software, on display at the TeleAtlas booth at MWC, has turn-by-turn GPS directions with voice prompts, points of interest, support for multiple countries, and locally-stored maps. This comes as Apple has been slow to provide its own GPS turn-by-turn solution or the necessary tools for third party developers wishing to write their own.

Last July, the iPhone maker seeded a beta version of iPhone Software 2.1 with a version of the CoreLocation framework that could recognize the cardinal direction of an iPhone through GPS as well as its velocity -- both necessary ingredients for turn-by-turn directions.

Two weeks before the beta seed, two veteran GPS companies, TeleNav and TomTom, said they were developing more advanced navigation software than what's offered in the iPhone edition of Google Maps. At the time, Apple product chief Greg Woswiak confirmed the hardware inside the device is just as capable as other GPS-aware phones that provide live directions.

But when Apple finally got around to release iPhone Software 2.1 last September, GPS capabilities were nowhere to be found and were presumed to have been pulled alongside experimental push notification support that was also seeded to developers as part of 2.1 pre-releases. Since then, there has been no word from the Cupertino-based company about addressing the iPhone's lack of true turn-by-turn GPS navigational software.

An app like Sygic's might have significant hurdles to overcome before it could ever be available for customers to purchase. It's believed that the iPhone SDK prohibits GPS driving apps in its current form, making it hard to see a way that Sygic's app could be approved.

Nonetheless, Sygic's app provide an interesting proof-of-concept of what turn-by-turn GPS could look like when it successfully arrives on the Apple handset. The app reportedly worked well from what could be gathered amidst a technology conference with limited space, although it took a lengthy 30 seconds to initialize.