Comments on: My iPhone 3GS has become my Travel GPS

By: midge

midge — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:04:25 +0000

i have an iphone 3GS version 3.1.3 . i would like to know how i can use my phone to call home when i go on vacation , i have a plan with telus but was informed that i need an international calling chip which is not available since i bought it in canada….. but i live here…. and the point of having a cellular phone is so i can use it when not at home…! i tried to look up jailbreak by dev team but i dont really understand it and there are too many warnings…. is there a better EASIER way???

By: Joe P.

Joe P. — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:02:31 +0000

I meant two-hour drive, not two miles!

By: Joe P.

Joe P. — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:56:47 +0000

Has anyone noticed the battery life slowly decreases – when charging? I used the Navigon app today on a two-mile drive, and used the TomTom car kit. When I left, my battery life on my iPhone 3GS was around 30%. About an hour into my drive (bluetooth was on and I was listening to the iPod app), I got a 20% low battery warning. When I reached my destination, my battery life was 15%, according the Battery Life monitor in the AppBox Pro app. Is this normal? If I was on a longer drive, do you think the battery would have reached 0%? Then what? Feedback is appreciated!

By: Joe P.

Joe P. — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:17:25 +0000

@Bob – I believe that if you use the app as a GPS in a non-3G coverage area, you’re going to want that GPS receiver built in to the Magellan

By: Joe P.

Joe P. — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:31:56 +0000

I use Navigon with the TomTom car kit and it works surprisingly well, compared to my Garmin 765T. The iPhone’s screen can cause glare when it’s sunny, but the Navigon app performs well and does some things (like junction view) better and more often than the Garmin. The only gripe I have, and it’s likely something I can figure out, is that when I’m on the phone using my Jawbone earpiece, the Navigon’s audio comes through it, and over the person on the the phone. Causes a few “huhs?” when I’m on the phone.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:17:42 +0000

I bought the Magellan car kit and I’m sending it back. I don’t see what it offers over a cheap $20 mount. My 3GS has a GPS chip that seems to work just fine without any kind of a boost from Magellan. Plugging my car sound system into the aux jack of the Magellan does not mute the Magellan speaker. The only way to get rid of that tin sound is to turn down the volume on the Magellan itself – and now you can’t hear incoming phone calls.

The bluetooth microphone capabilities are only slightly better than useless. People I talk to complain about the audio quality.

I’m sending my unit back.

By: Erick

Erick — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:21:58 +0000

I suppose there’s an argument for running multiple apps on the iPhone/iPod. Especially, when this iPhone/iPod become capable of handling/replacing more and more specialty devices.

By: Bill Morgan

Bill Morgan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:27:36 +0000

I usually find that stuff on sale at Dealnews.com, which has links to may deals. I bought some iPhone stuff at hndhelditems.com, PCMicrostore.com, and other cheap stuff at Meritline.com from that site. Other stuff like CPU’s, drives, video cards are there too, as well as household items. They showed a Home Depot sale for LG washer and dryer steam front loaders at $500 off each, last Black Friday. We bought them. It’s a good site to check a few times daily.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:45:55 +0000

Does anyone know of a GPS mount that also includes a FM Transmitter? That would be sweet.

By: terrywhite

terrywhite — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:48:53 +0000

I only listen to the iPod which can run in the background and the Navigon has built in controls for it. No 3rd party apps run in the background. So no two 3rd party apps can run at the same time.

By: terrywhite

terrywhite — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:46:07 +0000

No 3rd party apps stay live in the background if you leave the app to answer a call or read/respond to a text.

By: Bill Morgan

Bill Morgan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:01:07 +0000

I bought NaviCat for one dollar [iTunes special] and it works great. It gives voice direction turns. Search works great and it works with my iPhone address book. It works with Google search and maps, so it does not load a 1.3GB file. Definitely worth a buck…for now.

By: jan

jan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:41:09 +0000

That was a good question about phone calls and texts . Does the Navigon stay live in the backround?
I am planning a trip to the deep south and am wondering about reception. The iphone reception in the upper Lower peninsula is simply terrible.

By: Erick

Erick — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:18:08 +0000

@Julie K: I also bought the cheap clip mount and I believe it’s only made for horizontal vents. My car vents are vertical and although I can turn the two grab clips the bottom swing (thing?) doesn’t work with the vertical vents and the whole thing becomes very unstable. I wish their were a solution OR that I was doing something wrong.

By: Erick

Erick — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:10:21 +0000

Terry:

Do you find using your iPhone GPS in the car, conflicts with iPhone as your media device of choice in the car? Personally, I use different App’s to stream internet radio stations or use the iPod feature and I can’t imagine doing all this and using it as a GPS. Not to mention the occasional phone call. I wonder what your thoughts are on this as oppose to a separate dedicated GPS unit.

~Erick