Congress (Again) Ponders Military Sports Sponsorship Ban

More Indy Penalties - Turbo Boost To Remain At Lower Level

Porsche Models Coming To Forza Motorsport 4 After All
DeltaWing May Race In ALMS After Le Mans

Ferrari Racing Days Visits Laguna Seca: Video

Buick Regal GS Takes Second In Nevada Open Road Challenge
MINI Roadster Designed For 2012 Life Ball Makes Its Debut

Scion FR-S Race Car Wins Class Victory At Nürburgring 24 Hours

Anatomy Of The Indy 500 Front Row

AT&T releases turn-by-turn navigation service for iPhone 3G and 3GS

Nelson Ireson

Editor BIO

Nelson is an Editor at High Gear Media focusing on reviewing cars and covering the hottest topics in luxury and performance cars, car culture, and... More

LATEST ARTICLE
2013 Porsche 911 GT3 Spy Shots
Porsche's latest generation of the 911, the 991, has just recently made its way onto the scene... Read More

#3LEADERBOARD RANK
5424ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
205COMMENTS POSTED

2,624 views Jun 23, 2009

Follow Nelson

Add to circle

The new application is free, but will cost users $9.99 on their phone bill each month

Enlarge Photo

Just a couple weeks ago we brought you news of the new turn-by-turn GPS navigation software that would be coming to the Apple iPhone with the just-released OS 3.0 update, and now AT&T, the official carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., has released its official app, for free - but with a string attached.

That string is a $9.99/month service charge. While it's a slick way to distribute the high initial cost necessitated by the complex software and map licenses, it's also a recipe for spending more than the price of a standalone GPS unit over the course of a year or two.

Nevertheless, AT&T is geared up for widespread adoption of the app, and has built a feature-packed experience to ensure users are satisfied. The software, written by Telenav GPS, has already been available on a number of phones and carriers, including the competitive Google Android-based T-Mobile G1.

"With the new iPhone OS 3.0 software, we're expanding the advantages of true turn-by-turn navigation - both voice and on-screen directions - to millions more customers. We're bringing greater convenience to drivers and travelers nationwide, including providing regular, automatic updates to map information at no charge so customers have the latest at their fingertips," said AT&T's Mark Collins, vice president of voice and data products.

So how does it rate as an actual GPS device? The initial reports are good, with voice prompting, points of interest, automatic re-routing, speech recognition, and on-screen controls and displays all easy to use, complete and familiar. One weakspot: no mounting hardware is made available with the app, so you'll have to source your own if you want to put the new AT&T Navigator software to use on the road.