Yesterday, Google launched Google Maps Navigation for the Android 2.0.  Google Maps Navigation enables turn-by-turn GPS navigation for free.  This product is going to change the landscape for GPS navigation companies.  Garmin and Tom Tom’s stock price fell 16.4% and 20.8% respectively on 10/28, after the release of this industry changing news.

Google’s navigator is no half baked app.  It has most of what you’d expect for a navigation device plus more.  With Google Maps Navigation, users can:

• Search in plain English – quickly search and navigate to places, businesses, landmarks
• Search by voice- Google has invested heavily in voice search.  Now see them in action on Google Maps Navigation
• Live traffic data over the Internet- An integration with what’s already available on Google Maps
• Search along route – find locations near your current path
• Satellite view – Satellite imagery on Google Maps will now be implemented on your navigation screen.  Cool!
• Street View – Only possible with Google.  Check out what the exact surroundings of a location look like
• Car dock mode – when your device is in a car dock, a special mode activates that enables easier operation

Google has invested heavily in map applications.  By applying their unique technologies to GPS navigation.  They have an edge over all the other competitors in this space.  Unlike their competitors, Google will not charge for its app.  Instead, Google will try to implement a ad supported model for its Google Maps Navigation app.

Will it ever come to the iPhone?  Google says that it is working closely with Apple to bring Google Maps to the iPhone.  It is really up to Apple to decide if it is allowed on the iPhone.  But by looking at recent tensions between Google and Apple, bringing Google Maps Navigation to the iPhone may not be a sure thing.  Afterall, Apple is making a lot of money from its paid navigation apps.  Furthermore, recent rejections by Apple over Google’s Latitude and Google Voice app does not help the case that Google Maps Navigation will come to the iPhone anytime soon.

For iPhone users considering purchasing a navigator app in the App Store, this news may be a cause for dilemma.  If you really need a navigator app now, you may still want to buy a navigator app such as Navigon Mobile Navigator.  But if you are not in a hurry, you can choose to wait it out and see if Google Maps Navigation will be able to make its way to the iPhone.

MobileNavigator North America was recently released into the market by Navigon. This is a full-featured turn-by-turn GPS iPhone app, which  before its release, was only available by other developers as a subscription based app with monthly fees.  Navigon sees through iPhone users’ disgust for paying $9.99 monthly for the rest of their lives when they could have just purchase a GPS device with a single purchase. Thus, Navigon gives us their prized Nagivation app for a One-Time fee of $69.99.  Be aware this is price will only last until August 15 of this year.  The price will then, go up to $99.99

Due to its wide coverage zone, this application will use about 1.29GB (i.e. stored in a 1.3 Gigabyte database) . All that space it takes up on your iPhone will give users maps for the entire United States and Canada.  Unlike some of its competitors, it does not require an Internet connection during navigation.  Maps are displayed in 2-D or 3-D overhead perspectives, consuming the entire screen. This application has many unique  features such as Reality View Pro (realistic 3D views), day and night mode, Lane Assistant Pro (for upcoming exits or turns), portrait and landscape format, real signpost display, quick access to user-defined points of interest (POIs), direct access to iPhone address book, and many more.

A free version called the Lite version is also available.  Navigon also provides free updates for this application.  It brings the latest map material from the market along with a user interface that changes to portrait or landscape orientations. A search engine that helps the user find addresses and other places of interest is also a great feature for this GPS enabled app.

The user needs to mount or hold continuously their iPhone 3G or 3GS near the window of the car. Once the address of the place the user plan to visit is located, the ride from one location to another should be pretty smooth. A voice will instruct the user when to turn less than a mile’s notice. The app also does a excellent job with it’s on-screen displays. Additional features like addition map view options, call POI, optimized volume control, and multiple-destination routing will all be added to this application in future. At its current price, MobileNavigator North America is a great solution that will get users to their destinations without much hassle right on their iPhones.

For more, check out a demonstration for MobileNavigator iPhone and a cool iPhone and GPS device comparason flick.