The iPhone Driving Apps of the Week

Inrix Traffic!
INRIX TRAFFIC!

inrix

Inrix is the company that powers or supplements quite a few traffic related services, including the (discontinued) Dash Express during my tenure at Dash Navigation (acquired by RIM). And while Inrix typically licenses their data to others, the iPhone app is completely free – perfect for getting a quick read on the situation. As we did (above) while sitting in a backup Labor Day weekend, returning from Monterey to Silicon Valley. The majority of Inrix data is culled from municipal road sensors and vehicle fleets. However, they also claim to instantly (and anonymously) update their Smart Driver Network with your location, speed, and heading via the iPhone’s GPS when using the app. Although I’ve never kept Inrix Traffic! up for more than a minute or two to analyze current road conditions where I’m at or where I’m headed. Often from a parked car.

Aha Mobile
Aha: Traffic, Caraoke and Destination Finder

aha-mobile

Speaking of Dash Navigation, my former colleague Robert Acker (also an XM alumnus) now heads up Aha Mobile. Unlike a typical driving gadget or service, Aha’s free app doesn’t rely on a moving map. Or many visuals at all for that matter. Instead, Aha assumes you know where you are most of the time and relies heavily on audio cues – computer generated speech of nearby traffic alerts (using Inrix traffic data) and recorded “shouts” from this new community of connected drivers. As seen in the pic above right, Aha can also identify very specific nearby points of interest (coffee, food, restrooms). Not shown is the new feature to automatically share your shouts on Facebook and Twitter… should you feel so compelled. But right now there’s not much going on given Aha’s few regular, active contributors. Which is why I need you to join me.

AT&T Navigator (aka Telenav)
AT&T Navigator: GPS navigation for monthly fee on AT&T bill

att-navigator-telenav

AT&T’s Navigator (Telenav) is exactly what you’d expect from a traditional GPS application. However, AT&T Navigator is fundamentally different from the competing TomTom ($100), Navigon ($90), and recently updated CoPilot Live ($35) iPhone apps that install maps onto your device, and possibly require additional upgrade fees. Telenav is both an app and a service ($10/month)… which pulls map elements from their servers. Theoretically their maps should always be the most up to date, but continually pulling data from the cloud as one drives will take an additional toll on iPhone battery life. While I’ve seen many complain about AT&T/Telenav’s monthly fee, there’s no commitment required. Meaning, if you’ve got an upcoming business or work trip, activate service for just one month as needed.

On that same Labor Day Weekend getaway to the Bay Area, I compared our TomTom 140-S to evaluation service of AT&T Navigator… which was the clear winner and very helpful on our journey. The TomTom hardware includes a louder speaker and windshield mount, but in all other areas Telenav was superior. In fact, I didn’t realize how poor TomTom’s text to speech street name pronunciation was until I ran it side by side with Telenav. Telenav map accuracy and directions were solid as well, with real-time traffic (Inrix, again!). Plus, data entry was a snap whether typing destinations manually, choosing from on-board contacts, or cutting & pasting street addresses that we looked up in Mobile Safari.

Related posts:

  1. iPhone Apps of the Week
  2. The Free Media-centric iPhone Apps of the Week
  3. The New iPhone Apps of the Week

 

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