Navigon has upgraded its line of MobileNavigator apps for the iPhone and iPad with new augmented reality features, along with new in-app add-ons that let drivers avoid heavy traffic and red-light cameras.
The most prominent feature of the updated navigation apps launched on Thursday is the new “Reality Scanner.” Users can point their camera-enabled device in the direction of the path they’re taking, and icons pop up onto the viewscreen, indicating landmarks and other locations such bars and hotels. It’s a feature that’s helpful to those of us who can get lost walking past the same address three or four times before we realize that’s where we’re supposed to be.
A new Traffic Check feature offers a gauge that lets drivers know about traffic conditions with a green, yellow, or red meter. If users need more detailed traffic data, there’s a direct link to Navigon’s Traffic Live option; the price on that in-app purchase has been cut to $15.
A new in-app purchase is also available in the updated navigation app. Safety Cameras costs $5, and alerts drivers to speed and red-light cameras along their path. It joins Traffic Live, the $8 Zagat reviews and $10 Panorama 3D viewer as in-app purchase options. The app also includes updated maps, to ensure it does not lead travelers astray.
The American and Canadian versions of MobileNavigator are $35 each. Regional editions—for the eastern, central, and western United States—are $25 each. The North American version is $45. The apps are compatible with the iPhone 3GS and 4, or the 3G versions of the iPad and iPad 2. Devices must run iOS 3.0 or later.
Updated at 10:50 a.m. PT to correct information about the Traffic Check feature.