Navigon created a series of regional U.S. GPS turn-by-turn navigation applications for the iPhone. Each costs just $24.99. This is significantly cheaper than its more comprehensive MobileNavigator North America ($79.99).

These apps divide the United States into three overlapping segments, permitting customers to purchase discounted versions covering their area of the country. Additional regions are available through in-app purchasing for $12.99. Here are AppStore links: U.S. East, U.S. Central, U.S. West.

Navigon reports that сгккуте prices are valid through April 12th. After that date MyRegion apps will cost $29.99 for the application and $14.99 for in-app expansions.

This application is a location-aware schedule that details more than 2,000 sport and cultural events taking place for 17 days between February 12 and 28, 2010.

Updated throughout the Games, the schedule adjusts to your time zone and works even if you have no internet connection. Plan your Olympic experience by creating a personalized itinerary using Favourites. The Guide also includes real-time results for every sport as well as twitter streams, photos and headlines.

The application can use your location to tell you What’s On Now close to you. It also provides links to turn-by-turn directions, sport venue location diagrams and maps to over eighty venues with information to help you to get there.

Features also include:

• Listing of all ceremonies, sports and cultural events
• Listing of hundreds of free concerts and festivities at official Celebration Sites
• Listing of all Cultural Olympiad events with ability to purchase tickets
• Updates to schedule (data connection required)
• Filter schedule by sport events, cultural events or location
• Maps and directions to over 80 venues
• Personalized Favourites (add by event or group)
• Keyword search
• Schedule adjusts to your time zone
• Medal counts
• Olympic news
• Twitter streams
• Photos and videos

Download the app to stay in touch with 2010 Olympic Winter Games coming next Friday!

Google today announced the launch of its Nexus One smartphone. It is based on the Android 2.1 operating system and offers 800×480 screen, 5 megapixel camera with flash,  Qualcomm’s 1 GHz Snapdragon processor. The Nexus One offers 512 MB of Flash and 512 MB of RAM, and ships with a 4 GB Micro SD card with support for cards up to 32 GB.

Nexus One is initially available from the Google web store in the US without service for $529 or starting at $179 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile USA. In the near future, Verizon Wireless in the US and Vodafone in Europe plan to offer similar service plans.

Here is the full list of hardware and software features:

Hardware:

• Display: 3.7″ AMOLED 480×800 WVGA display
• Thinness: 11.5mm; Weight: 130g
• Processor/Speed: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 3G QSD8250 chipset, delivering speeds up to 1GHz
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus with flash and geo tagging
• Onboard memory: 512MB Flash, 512MB RAM
• Expandable memory: 4GB removable SD Card (expandable to 32GB)
• Noise Suppression: Dynamic noise suppression from Audience, Inc.
• Ports: 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with four contacts for inline voice and remote control
• Battery: Removable 1400 mAh
• Personalized laser engraving: Up to 50 characters on the back of the phone
• Trackball: Tri-color notification LED, alerts when new emails, chats, text messages arrive

The Nexus One runs on Android 2.1, a version of the platform’s Eclair software, which offers advanced applications and features including:

• Google Maps Navigation: offering turn-by-turn driving directions with voice output.
• Email: multiple Gmail accounts; universal inbox and Exchange support.
• Phone book: aggregate contacts from multiple sources, including Facebook®.
• Quick Contacts: easily switch between communication and social applications.
• Android Market: access to more than 18,000 applications.

In addition, the Nexus One introduces new functionality and software enhancements:

• Enter text without typing.
• Use a voice-enabled keyboard for all text fields: speak a text message, instant message, tweet, Facebook update, or complete an email.
• Tell your phone what you want it to do.
• Search Google, call contacts, or get driving directions by just speaking into your phone.
• Take personalization to the next level.
• Dynamic, interactive, live wallpapers react to the touch of a finger.
• More widgets and five home screen panels allow for further device customization.
• Capture camera-quality pictures and video with your device.
• 5 megapixel camera includes LED flash, auto focus, zoom, white balance and color effects.
• View pictures and Picasa Web Albums in the new 3D Gallery.
• Record Hi-Res MPEG4 video, and then upload to YouTube with one click.
• Read your voicemail messages.
• Get transcribed voicemail with Google Voice integration, without changing your number.

The software will also include all the classic features such as Turn-by-turn navigation, voice prompts, points of interest. In short, just point the iPhone on the road and we shall see an arrow that will point the way forward. The data for the route is downloaded in real time via the Internet.

via ispazio

Another developer has just entered the North American turn-by-turn GPS fray, joining Navigon, Sygic, iGO and others in providing an alternative to help iPhone 3GS and 3G users get where they need to go. CoPilot Live North America by ALK Technologies, Ltd. made it to the App Store earlier today and joins previously-published versions of the app for the United Kingdom and Europe.

CoPilot Live has all standart features: turn-by-turn navigation, route optimization, pre-trip planning, an automatic day/night mode and more. CoPilot Live North America is currently priced aggressively relative to competing apps at $34.99. The North American navigation apps by Navigon, Sygic, and iGO are currently priced at $69.99, $79.99, and $79.99 respectively.

CoPilot Live North America App Store link

via macrumors

Navigon has just released free version of their navigation application. Navigon MobileNavigator Lite includes the same range of functions as the full version, although no active route guidance with GPS support is available. In other words you have the maps and you can just browse without Turn-by-turn directions.

In US AppStore we were able to find and download Navigon MobileNavigator Lite North America. There are many different other apps in different AppStores. For example there is MobileNavigator British Isles in UK AppStore. Unfortunately there is no free Europe in one app.

Who still has not tested the Navigon can do it now. Good download.

The app is free, here are couple AppStore links:.

• MobileNavigator Lite North America link
• MobileNavigator British Isles Lite link

Here is a list of 113 new features in 3.0 firmware. The information is  from hackint0sh site forum:

1. Cut/Paste
2. Copy/Paste
3. Shake to undo/redo typing
4. Text selection for easy mass deletion
5. MMS
6. Landscape keyboard in Notes
7. Landscape keyboard in Mail
8. Landscape keyboard in Messages
9. Forward texts or picture messages
10. Delete individual texts or picture messages

11. Sending progress bar in Messages app moved to title instead of over the keyboard area (allows typing new message while the first one is sending)
12. USB tethering
13. Bluetooth tethering
14. Stereo bluetooth (A2DP)
15. Spotlight search (searches all app titles, mail, media, contact details, and calendar appointments)
16. Search in Notes
17. Search in Mail
18. Search in iPod
19. In-App purchases
20. Option to have double clicking the home button go to the Spotlight Search
21. Option to have double clicking the home button go to the Camera
22. Preview icon in lower left hand corner for last shot taken in Camera app
23. Shake to shuffle in iPod
24. Scrolling of screenshots in App Store
25. Type of phone used under each call in Recents (i.e., mobile, home, work, etc.)
26. Call history log (including call duration)
27. Option to Share Contact in each contact listing
28. Hold link in Safari to Copy
29. Hold link in Safari to Open in New Page
30. Auto Fill contact information, usernames and passwords in Safari
31. Login to your YouTube account
32. See Comments in YouTube
33. Subscribe in YouTube
34. Rate in YouTube
35. Shake to undo what you have typed
36. Option to retry sending failed text messages, indicated by red exclamation point next to text
37. Turn-by-turn GPS capabilities
38. Maps can be run inside other applications
39. Access to dock port for accessories to communicate
40. Peer-to-peer connectivity using Bluetooth (no Wi-Fi required)
41. New Voice memo application
42. Extended Parental controls
43. Anti-phishing
44. Wi-Fi auto login
45. Note syncing in iTunes
46. Improved Stocks app
47. New calendar types (CalDAV)
48. Prompt to confirm deleting a note
49. Prompt to confirm deleting a photo
50. Option to select multiple photos to attach to an email
51. “Find My iPhone” option for MobileMe users
52. Unlimited size podcast downloads over 3G
53. Pushing home button on first home screen takes user to Spotlight
54. Pushing home button on Spotlight takes user to first home screen
55. Variable speed playback for audio books
56. App Store subscriptions
57. Push notifications
58. Audio/Video tags
59. New video streaming capabilities (HTML 5 video, h.264 and HTTP)
60. Calendar subscriptions
61. iTunes login
62. iTunes account creation
63. Encypted profiles
64. LDAP (directory services)
65. VPN on-demand
66. EAP SIM
67. Proxy support
68. OTA profiles
69. Revoke certificates
70. Exchange ActiveSync Policies
71. Media scrubber
72. More languages
73. Improved keyboards
74. Failed app updates now are shown in a duplicate icon and labeled “Paused”
75. When selecting multiple emails to forward/delete, any unread emails’ blue dot are shown next to the red selector dot instead of being overridden by the red selector dot
76. Non-contact phone calls list their city and state of origin in Recents and Visual Voicemail under the number.
77. Ability to change ringtones straight from Favorites
78. Lap time display now displayed smaller and above time in Stopwatch
79. Polished Phone, Messages, and iPod icons
80. Swipe to delete notes in the Notes app
81. Advanced Bluetooth options for Handsfree devices
82. Option to close a single web page in Safari page view, which immediately opens a new blank page
83. Improved predictive dictionary
84. Blue dot now displayed in center of location circle in Maps (V1 only)
85. Listening to music while charging the battery now displays the album art instead of the battery
86. Smaller font for song title on lock screen
87. Option in Phone Settings to choose your phone number
88. Option to disable text message reminder alerts
89. Option to disable text message previews
90. Option to show subject field in text messages
91. Ability to integrate iPod music into apps
92. Clickable email links in App Store app descriptions
93. JavaScript 3x speed boost
94. 11 homescreens now allowed
95. Reboots to “slide to unlock” screen instead of homescreen
96. In Settings>General>Home>Search Results, users can choose what is searched on the phone and in what order.
97. Application count added in Settings>General>About
98. Option “Load Remote Images” added in Mail settings
99. Global address book option available if Exchange account is set up
100. Speed control in audiobooks
101. 30 second repeat option for audiobooks
102. Improved scrubbing speeds when holding white dot in song progress bar in iPod
103. When sending a text, your text box where you typed smoothly fades from white to green instead of instantly changing from white to green.
104. When moving an app across homescreens, holding the app on either the left or right side will slowly advance the app one through one homescreen at a time, without leaving empty spots in the bottom right corner or each homescreen it advances through.
105. Album name displayed on lockscreen iPod controls
106. Shake to shuffle on lockscreen iPod controls
107. Podcasts saved on iPhone now show Run Time, Time Left and Date Published
108. Screen goes from dimmed to full brightness after each song when playing the iPod while plugged in
109. WAVE file support in Mail
110. Attachment no longer automatically downloaded until user taps the attachment in Mail
111. When using a bluetooth headset with iPod, volume bar is removed and bluetooth headset name is displayed in its place.
112. A hard reset on your phone (holding sleep and home for 10 seconds) now turns it off instead of restarting it.
113. A space is no longer needed between two words for predictive texting to function.

In reality G-Map was a true offline browser, and the last update had also added the voice features combined with turn-by-turn directions. All these additions surprised us, because they violated the contract terms of SDK. About 10 days ago, we wrote that G-Map app had suddenly been removed from App Store.

The developers, on the official site, continue to exhibit the same banner which claim G-Map will be back in AppStore, and that the application was removed only because of a major upgrade. This is a very strange this thing, because usually you update applications directly, without any need to first be removed.

XROAD’s G-Map, the iPhone’s well-reviewed first turn-by-turn navigation app, has been pulled from the App Store. As we know, the iPhone 3.0 OS revealed yesterday has baked in turn-by-turn for navigation apps, so the timing is notable.

This app didn’t work very well in the past. Today has been updated up to version 1.2, which adds numerous bug fixes and real-time turn tracking. It does indeed provide turn-by-turn directions (distance countdown to each turn) by way of GPS. Local points of interest (Food, Fuel, etc.) can be found, addresses can be searched, routes can be edited, detours added, and types of roads can be avoided (highways, toll roads, etc.). If a turn is missed, the route is recalculated. By having actual maps stored on the device itself, it does not require the use of an active internet connection to pull mapping data (like Google Maps).

The 800-900 MB applications each cost $19.99 and carry regional maps for the Western and Eastern halves of the United States (Europe coming soon, some time in March).

One of the most elusive and desired apps for iPhone is turn-by-turn GPS navigation. We heard that TomTom was developing a GPS navigator. To date, it hasn’t shipped. Recently, the focus has been on xGPS, an app that requires a jailbroken iPhone to work.

At Mobile World Congress 2009 (MWC09) in Barcelona, Spain, Sygic is demoing a version of their namesake GPS navigation software running on an iPhone 3G. The Sygic software uses maps from TeleAtlas, the same company that supplies map data for Google Maps. Sygic produces similar software for Windows Mobile and Symbian devices.

Applicatin has turn-by-turn GPS directions with voice prompts, points of interest, support for multiple countries, and locally-stored maps.

xGPS uses Google’s map data and driving directions, adding a real-time navigation readout and a voice engine. You can also select a map area to download ahead of time, just in case you expect to lose your data connection during the drive. There is also a night mode for those who hate bright white screen shining at night.

xGPS without vocalization in already available in Cydia for jailbreaked iPhones. The new version 1.2 will be ready in a week or so.

Sounds like one more reason to jailbreak. Watch the video, how this nice app works:

Apple announced that v2.1 firmware will be delivered this Friday. Change log is:

• lots of bugs fixed
• fewer dropped call
• big battery life improvements
• no crashes with Apps – hopefully the whole app install process is better.
• backing up to iTunes is faster
• great new performance enhancements

There is nothing said about push notification service, cut/copy/paste or turn-by-turn GPS.

As always, I strongly recommend no one update until the Dev Team releases an upated pwnage.

MSNBC recently spoke with several GPS manufacturers about their plans to develop a turn-by-turn GPS solution for the iPhone. Such a program is likely some months away. Several of the ‘bigs’ in the business — TomTom, Garmin and Magellan — are interested.

“We have made our navigation system run on the iPhone; it looks good and works very well,” said Dutch-based company TomTom, in a statement to MSNBC.com. “We will have to look more closely to Apple’s strategy before we can say more about what kind of opportunities this will bring us,:”.

“We’re always looking at new phone platforms to expand into for Garmin Mobile, but we don’t have any announcements regarding the iPhone at this time,” said Jessica Myers of Garmin International. Magellan spokesman Raphel Finelli said the company does “not have immediate plans for this, but we are looking into it.”

via macdailynews

Apple is already providing developers with a new iPhone firmware beta with enhanced location-finding that could lead to true navigation as well as the roots for background push services.

The one of new features is update to core Location – it can now recognize the cardinal direction of an iPhone with GPS as well as its velocity, both of which are ingredients necessary to providing turn-by-turn directions. The additions confirm statements recently by Apple’s Greg Joswiak, who rejected earlier claims that iPhone 3G’s GPS antenna wasn’t powerful enough to handle navigation and in turn explained that “complicated issues” are holding the device back from serving as a true navigation unit.

Apple is also implementing a rough version of its background push notification service in the 2.1 firmware. Announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference, the feature lets third-party native programs receive data such as alerts or new messages without actively running. The measure saves processing power without interrupting some apps that depend on constant access to the Internet.

The inclusion of this early version of the code alludes to the 2.1 update becoming public at the same time as the push notification service itself, which is tentatively due for September. In the meantime, Apple and its US partner AT&T are known to be testing iPhone 2.0.1, a maintenance release that likely fixes some of the outstanding bugs with the initial 2.0 release.

via appleinsider