Tech Peek Base

The Navigon Mobile Navigator [iTunes link] has become my favorite GPS app for the car. Great graphics, text-to-speech, auto night mode, and traffic integration.

Today, Navigon dropped the price 30 dollars to U.S. $59.99 and added Google search. That’s a great idea, because the self contained GPS apps have static databases that tend to age quickly. Navigon solved that problem by integrating a Google search to their app, which gives you the advantages of on-board maps coupled with the most up to date POI information.

If the folks at Vexia are to be believed, green transportation is not about fancy electric vehicles or, heaven forbid, riding your bike — nope, it’s about having a GPS that offers advice on your driving. Both the Econav 480 (4.3-inch) and 380 (3.5-inch) can be configured for your specific automobile make and model, after which your usual calm, solitary driving experience is replaced by the cold mechanical voice of a satnav as it admonishes you for excessive acceleration, breaking, driving past the speed limit, and so forth. With other Econav models out in Spain for a while now, these guys are finally available to environmentally conscious Britons at prices starting at £149 (depending on model and map collection). And what about the states? It looks like you’ll be stuck taking driving direction from Homer Simpson for the time being.

You can’t put a price on your child’s well-being — but if you could, we’re guessing that it’d fall a little short of the €990 (roughly $1,440) that’s being charged for the Pikavu Express Locator. A child-friendly (read: gaudy) take on the Keruve GPS tracker being used to keep track of Alzheimer’s patients, the package includes a water- and impact-resistant watch that locks to your kid’s wrist and a 4.2-inch touchscreen base station. Four positioning systems (SBAS-GPS, indoorVision, VisionCellid and T-GSM) are employed to keep track of the little guy, and the watch itself has a battery life of up to 4.5 days. Expensive? Indeed. Worth the investment? Well, we don’t know your kids — but probably not. PR after the break.

Gallery: Pikavu GPS tracker

TomTom has done a respectable job of keeping its iPhone GPS app up to date when compared to formidable options from Navigon and the like, but today it’s making its biggest move yet by way of a significant price drop. We’ve heard directly from the company (and confirmed with our own two peepers) that the US and Canada version of the app is now on sale for $69.99, while a US-only version is currently on sale for just $49.99. If you’ll recall, the former was just selling for $99.99 a few days ago, so if you’re planning on making that fateful trip to grandmother’s house again this year, you might want a robotic gal leading the way. Just sayin’. [Warning: Source link directs to iTunes]

It was just last week that TomTom offered a new version of its nav app for the US (minus Canadian data) for $49.99US [iTunes link]. That didn’t make people who bought the full version for a hundred bucks and never needed the Canadian info anyway filled with joy. Now, TomTom has dropped the price of the version that does include both the U.S. and Canada to $69.99 [iTunes link] until December 28, making those earlier customers even more unhappy.

Price cuts, of course, are a way of life, and no one should be surprised that competition drives down prices. In my view, most of the iPhone GPS navigators are priced too high. I think somewhere between $35 and $50 is about right considering that you are providing all the hardware. Hardware solutions have really plummeted in price, with many selling for close to $100.00. The advantage of the iPhone solution is there is only one device to carry, but navigation stops when a call comes in.

Not wanting to feel left out of the festival of updates for GPS apps, AT&T has given AT&T Navigator [iTunes link] some new features that are sure to please people who use the app.

Here’s what’s new:

Maybe they’re feeling a bit of pricing pressure? Whatever the reason, TomTom just released a stripped down version of its Navigation app that leaves out Canada. Oh my.

This USA-only version sells for US $49.99, [iTunes link] which is half the price of the version that includes our good neighbor to the north. Like the big brother version, this app includes turn by turn directions and lane guidance, and 2D and 3D driving views.

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from James, who needs more geotagging in his life for reasons that are far too personal to share. That said, we have to confess that we’re curious…

“I am looking for the best geotagging camera currently available. The most important feature for me is the accuracy of the GPS module, so any hard specs on satellite receiver would be really useful. Thanks for your time!”

In what appears to be a happy marriage, Where To? for the iPhone [iTunes link] now talks to the Navigon GPS app. You can select a category or search for a business and then transfer that information directly to the Navigon app for turn-by-turn directions. If you don’t have Navigon, you get Google Maps directions instead.

This is a nice update because the Navigon POI (points of interest) database is contained on the app, while Where To? relies on Google information. This way you get the best of both worlds, with up to date POI info that can easily be picked up the the Navigon app for a pretty seamless experience.

Divvyshot, a startup that makes sharing photos between groups very easy, has just launched an iPhone app to make photo sharing on the go even easier. Divvyshot’s web service launched in private alpha in March 2009. Divvyshot still isn’t open to the public, but if you download their new iPhone app, you’ll be able to sign up for an account.

With the new Divvyshot iPhone app [iTunes link], the service is making it easier then ever to share photos on the go or to another Divvyshot user. Divvyshot already has deep integration with photo services including Flickr, Facebook and Twitter, and now you can upload all your photos from your phone. There’s just one catch ? you’ll have to first manage these accounts from the Divvyshot website before you can use them on your phone.