Blue Cherry

Despite the iPhone having many advantages over their competitors it's taken until now for a sat-nav application to be unveiled.

This is not as you would expect from tomtom, but instead from their rival Navigon, who appear to have rushed to be first to market with their EU wide application, priced at £54.99.

Navigon say:

Turn your iPhone into a first-rate navigation system with MobileNavigator. Try the feature for yourself and enjoy the excellent user control and superior design that allow simple and intuitive operating. The application includes the latest map material from the market leader NAVTEQ and can be used without an Internet connection, which is of enormous benefit abroad, for example, as no extra charges are incurred. With MobileNavigator you can turn your iPhone into an equally handy and convenient route guidance system.

Reviews are mixed at this stage, with many accepting it as an 'acceptable' sat-nav, but lacking many features seen on stand alone sat-navs, such as speed cameras, 3D buildings and full postcode integration.

Navigon are keeping the price fixed until 30th June, probably in an attempt to lure early-adopters to spend with them, rather than wait for the market leader (tomtom) to unveil their own application - which is rumoured to be cheaper, but with no offical line on this it's a gamble.

Tomtom may well release a more expensive App now and anyone who didn't pay the lower £55 for the Navigon App may be kicking themselves.

So do the early adopters spend on the first product to market, or do they wait for a possibly higher-quality and lower-priced product?

Time alone will tell, but you can be sure that not many people will buy both.