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Garmin unveils four GPS apps for iPhone and Android

By: , IntoMobile
Monday, January 10th, 2011 at 5:32 AM

Garmin used to be a pioneer in embracing mobile technology. Then something happened and everything stopped, releasing no smartphone apps for quite some time. To be fair, they did try to partner with Asus but that venture turned into a flop. Now they’re kicking back with a dedicated iPhone app called StreetPilot to fight the likes of TomTom, Magellan and Navigon.

The application comes with the familiar Nuvi interface, sporting turn-by-turn directions with text-to-speech spoken street names and graphic lane guidance. In addition, there are free traffic alerts, integration with built-in Contacts, ability to play your own tunes while driving and multi-tasking support, allowing you to take phone calls while the app works in the background. The Garmin StreetPilot app is available in the AppStore for $39.99.

And that’s not all. Garmin also unveiled a trio of non-GPS apps for iPhone and Android devices:

  • Garmin Tracker for iPhone and Android devices that allows folks to monitoring the location of the newly launched Garmin GTU 10 tracking device.
  • My-Cast Lite – which brings local weather forecasts and radar monitoring to Android phones.
  • myMechanic – set to be released in February, it will work in conjunction with the Garmin EcoRoute HD module for monitoring vehicle performance metrics. It’s an Android-only title, as well.

iPhone apps are linked below, whereas Android users will have to search for “garmin” in the Android Market and take it from there.

[Via: CNet]

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VBWP3KY6MF2TZVLI6T5EHFWWYQ Rick

    I love the clean, large, uncluttered and straightforward design of the user interface which includes google search at the top of the home screen, however the text to speech sounds horrible. The sound is akin to what one hears coming out of a police radio or walkie-talkie. I’ve used mapquest, navigon and tomtom and although each of their voice prompts differ in quality to some extent, the text to speech quality for all three is clear and distinct within an acceptable range. The sound quality of the Garmin, however, falls far beyond the range of acceptability.

    The issues of the sound quality aside, the Garmin is a much more user-friendly app which I would have no problem using daily. It appears solid and seems to adhere to to Apple’s own standards of quality, aesthetics and ease of use.

    Because the app relies on your phones data connection (just like mapquest), it does get a little choppy and bogged down at times. I understand this is definitely a concern for those with shaky data connections, however, this is not a shortcoming of the app but rather the service providers.

    At this point in time, I would elect not to use the Garmin due to the poor sound quality, however, once that issue is fixed I will gladly use it as my primary, everyday navigation app and only go with the big guns Navigon or TomTom for those longer, more arduous trips.

  • Hugo_tierra

    la verdad es una porqueria,no funciona ni para tras ni adelante.

  • http://www.facebook.com/TogetherinParis Ross C. Nicholson

    I would just like to know what the cheapest waterproof tablet GPS that runs chargepoint software, so I can find a plug for my EV.