REVIEW: TeleNav for AT&T Phones
Almost every major carrier has a navigation program on their GPS enabled phones. Many carriers use TeleNav for their navigation programs including AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Rogers, and Bell Mobility. I got my hands on AT&T Navigator, which is powered by TeleNav but rebranded for AT&T. There is no better time to try a navigation program than when you are on the road. I decided to take a trip through South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to see how the program worked. All the screen shots are using AT&T Navigator on a BlackBerry Bold.
When you first open up the program you see a menu with many options that allow different things. You can “Drive To” which will allow turn-by-turn voice directed navigation from your current location to an address, intersection, city, business, or airport. When you are getting the turn by turn directions, it will announce street names making it easy to see where to turn.
Once you enter in the information for your destination, a map will come up showing your current location and it will allow you to see your total distance, how far until the next turn, and an image showing which way to turn. An amazing feature when on this screen is the option to get a “Traffic Summary.” This summary will show you how many incidents are along your route, the delay time, and the slowest speed. You will even have an option to reroute if it takes you too long out of your way.
Another great feature is the “Search” option. Using search will allow you to enter an entry and choose your location (or use your current location). You can type or speak anything as vague as Italian to anything as specific as Best Buy.
After you enter or say what you want to search, a list of places will come up. You can click the place and see how many stars it got from other TeleNav users. You can also see how far it is from your current location, the address, and the phone number. When you press the menu key you will options like Drive To, Call, Map It, Share Address, Rate This, and a few others.
I also found a hidden feature that I found extremely useful. You can check the weather of the area you are in using your GPS. I was able to check the weather of my location simply by opening TeleNav. This is great when you first wake up and want to know what to wear.
Overall, the program is fantastic. It is easy to use and has extra features your regular GPS would not have like free updates and calling right from phone. While my trip through the South, I found it very easy to navigate around the roads without a standalone GPS device. The only downside of using your phone as a GPS is that you may need a mobile charger for long trips. I would recommend this program to everyone, even if you don’t drive as you can use it for walking, hiking, or running.
Special thanks to MaryBeth!
