Navigon gps app for iPhone – review and best features

Navigon for  iPhone is a solid app which has been significantly updated throughout time. The brand was bought by Garmin some time ago but continued to develop as its own brand.

The app will turn your iPhone into a navigation system, with a voice guide/voice guidance and 3D display of the maps.

Navigon for iPhone or iPad uses Navteq maps as well as other software such as iGO Primo.

The app can be installed from Appstore and afterwards we can choose which maps we want to download and use  by Wi-Fi connection. . Navigon works offline,and no data connection is required.

The main menu is simple and properly placed: we can choose as a destination an address, a point of interest, favourite destinations as well as a preset/default location for your own home.

The main navigation screen shows the map, the route to be followed, a digital speedometer in the upper right part of the screen and also the speed limit in the right corner.

Street names are easy to read even on the 3,5” screen, and the points of interest as well as the warning areas have well designed icons (for example for pedestrian crossings or areas with children). The colours chosen to display the map are in bright tones and don’t tire the eye while driving.

Navigon for iPhone comes with complex settings which allow us to customize the display mode of the map or the information we need to be shown on the screen. It can display street names in 2d/3d, we can activate Lane Assistant which we will talk about below, and we can set what (types of) points of interest are displayed on the navigation screen without overloading the picture.

Choosing a travel destination is easily accomplished in Navigon for iPhone: we select the country, city, street and house number and we are ready to go.

Another advantage of the Navigon app is that it can calculate up to four routes for a given destination, this way we can choose the one that suits us the best. The routes are calculated in a fast, short, optimal or panoramic way.

Among the top characteristics that make Navigon for iPhone one of the best mobile GPS apps are:

– Lane Assistant which helps us stay on the right lane according to changes in the route direction. It is very useful especially on the highway where there is high speed traffic and you realize too late that you are in the wrong lane.

– Reality View is of great help as well. Highway exit signs, intersections and changing lanes will be displayed in real time on the phone screen.

– Although we have a comprehensive database with points of interest in any field, Navigon for iPhone comes with Google Search as well – you can search any phrase (for example “Chinese Restaurant”) and it will immediately display the nearest locations which correspond to the description.

It is an extremely useful function when travelling especially if you find yourself somewhere where you don’t know the area at all.

– Also ,Navigon comes with social networks integration such as Facebook and Twitter. Your friends will know where you are and how long until you finish your journey in real time, the app can post this information straight on your Facebook page.

– Panorama 3D allows displaying landscape in 3D and is helpful in knowing and following a route especially in the mountainside where there are many ascents and descents and altitude variations.

– The TMC service is also well-established in Navigon. Having an active data connection, we are provided with real time information about speed cameras, rehabilitation works or any traffic jams on the chosen route.

– We also have a very accurate pedestrian mode. Navigon for iPhone will choose a shorter, more appropriate route so that walks in tourists centers will become more pleasant and you won’t have to worry about losing your way or that you won’t find a local restaurant .

All in all we really enjoyed this GPS app for iPhone.

Although it is rather pricy to purchase, taking into consideration the fact that there isn’t any free Navigon version for iPhone that has all the advantages of this app, it could be a necessary choice when we travel often whether it’s a business trip or just touristic ones.