Apple iPhone iOS4 upgrade live

In a slightly unusual move Apple have released the iPhone OS update before the new devices hit the stores. Normally it is the other way round.

iTunes is offering Apple's iOS 4 for upgrade.

iOS 4 contains over 100 improvements, but the headliners are MultiTasking, Application Folders, Improved Mail App, and iBooks. Apps taking advantage of these new features started appearing in the Apple AppStore over the last few days, and now they will be eligible for downloading and installing onto your updated iPhone.

This means that you will be able to run your Turn by Turn navigation app alongside your favorite Speed Camera Warning app (assuming that supports multitasking too).

Press release from TomTom follows:

TomTom for iPhone app to support Apple iOS 4 multitasking functionality

~ Seamless navigation features will leverage iOS 4 multitasking demonstrated yesterday at Apple WWDC ~

London – June 4, 2010 – TomTom will introduce multitasking to the TomTom app for iPhone. Its next version, which will be compatible with iOS 4, will be submitted to Apple for review after the June 21 release of iOS 4. Among the new features available in TomTom app for iPhone, will be support formultitasking functionality*, allowing users to get turn-by-turn guidance at the same time as operating other applications.

The current version of the TomTom app for iPhone (version 1.3) is available for purchase via the App Store, and both current and new owners of the app will be able to update to the new version immediately upon its availability for no additional charge. As an additional incentive for new users to start using the application, TomTom is currently offering the UK& Ireland and Western Europe versions of the app at a discounted price of £54.99 and £42.99 respectively.

Following the success of the recent promotion, TomTom is also making its award-winning HD Traffic service available to users at a new price that will make avoiding the jams that much easier. Beginning today, a 12-month subscription for TomTom HD Traffic is now offered on the TomTom app at £22.99. With TomTom HD Traffic, TomTom app users receive real-time traffic speed updates and incident reports continuously. As soon as any delay is found on the route, users are notified and can be automatically re-routed to an alternate, faster route. TomTom HD Traffic is an optional service available via in-app purchase.

“As TomTom continues to innovate and to take advantage of new capabilities of the iOS 4, users of the TomTom app will benefit from the combination of TomTom’s most advanced and acclaimed features and the iPhone’s unique functionality,” said Tom Murray, senior vice president of market development for TomTom Inc. “We are pleased to integrate multitasking capabilities to the newest version of our TomTom app, and to be able to ensure that users can now enjoy other iPhone features while they continue to receive the best routing directions from their TomTom application.”

*Available on iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 3^rd Generation devices, running iOS 4.

Destinator 9 for iPhone

Back in January we saw a demonstration of Destinator 9 on the iPhone at CES. It has taken a few months but now it is available in the Apple AppStore for Western Europe. With a price tag of £30 ($50) it represents great value compared to Navigon at £70 and TomTom at £53, but is more comparable with ALK’s CoPilot at £36.

Destinator 9 is a fully featured Turn by Turn navigation system with voice guidance and featuring Navteq mapping. It also has iPod controls, easy to use POIs including creation of your own ‘StickyPOIs’ but seems to lack importing of custom POIs, and does not have support for Speed Cameras.

The full Destinator Press Release follows:

Destinator 9 for iPhone – Experience the Difference

At its core, Destinator 9 is a solid and reliable turn-by-turn navigation application featuring on-board NAVTEQ digital map data for Western Europe and a routing engine that exceeds performance benchmarks. In addition to a host of new features designed to get people to their destinations easily, quickly and safely, Destinator 9 takes the navigation experience to a new level by integrating additional valuable features in the GPS application. Integrated iPod controls, advanced voice guidance, GoogleTM Local Search, NavStrip™, and extensive POI listings are a few examples. Destinator makes it easier to find what you need and get there with less effort and stress. Also, Destinator taps into the new wave of social mapping with a feature that enables the user to send their location or favorite POI to a friend.

The Destinator application is designed specifically with the iPhone user in mind to make the user experience seamless and intuitive with the overall phone experience. Destinator seamlessly blends with the iPhone functions allowing the user to simply route from existing contacts or messages. The integrated iPod™ controls allow for access and control of music while in navigation mode. And, the intuitive NavStrip feature enables the user to navigate to their destination more easily with less “clicks”.

Destinator 9 is now available for Western Europe with superior map coverage for the following countries: Austria, Benelux, Denmark, Eire (Republic of Ireland), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and more.

Destinator 9 is available at an introductory price of €39.99 for comprehensive coverage of Western Europe including the United Kingdom.

For more information, images and interactive demonstrations please visit www.destinator.com or visit our product page on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/DestinatorGPS.

Feature Highlights for the Destinator 9 iPhone Application:

-On Board NAVTEQ Maps:Providing Western Europe map access and directions regardless of your connection.

-Extensive POI Listings:Coverage of Western Europe includes over millions of on board points-of-interest that are always accessible without a data connection.

-NavStrip™:Convenient access to all of your navigation commands from one intuitive, touch-and-go strip.

-Voice-Guided Directions:Keep focused on the road ahead with easy to understand turn-by-turn voice guidance.

-Lane Assistance: Clear visual guidance to direct you to the right lane for your route.

-In-App iPod Controls: Select songs and control music while in navigation mode. -StickyPOI: Intuitive one-touch placement of points-of-interest that interest you.

-TapNGo: Simply press any point on the map and navigate to the location.

-Trip Planning: Able to plan multi-destination routes with a convenient trip planning function.

-2D or 3D Mode:Map is offered at your preferred perspective – 2D or 3D.

-Brilliant Map Displays:Crisply rendered maps provide clear guidance. -Contact Routing: Navigate to an address stored in your Contact list.

-Send-to-Friend: Send your current location or favorite POI to your friend.

-Speed Limits Warnings:Limits are conveniently posted on screen for your current location.

-Google Local Search:Nearby POIs are a click away and a cinch to navigate to.

Apple decided to control the system as much as possible with single carrier agreements, a very closed development environment, allowing you only to load apps and music via the App Store and iTunes.

The ‘New Kid on the block’ is Android which is exactly the opposite. This has been adopted by T-Mobile, Sprint, and in a few days time Verizon Droid. The “I Don’t” advert for Droid highlights the restrictive features of the iPhone Platform.

With the big carriers having the ability to roll out SmartPhones with less restrictive controls one has to wonder if Apple has missed the mark with the strict controls and in particular the single carrier sales strategy. The Android platform has the potential to blow the iPhone out of the water, but is it really what consumers want? One of the big benefits of the Apple architecture is that it just works and you don’t need a masters degree in computing to use it.

Time will tell, but the Android SmartPhones are starting to become much more prevalent in the Marketplace and Apple needs to keep an eye out to stay ahead of the game…