Morphie Juice Pack holster

The Morphie press release follows:

Mophie Debuts Hip Holster Premium Leather Cases for Juice Pack Series

The mophie Hip Holsters 5000, 5500, and 6000 are available now for $29.95 from www.mophie.com

Morphie Juice Pack holster

Navigon MobileNavigator

This release adds Text-To-Speech and iPod controls as well as some other minor changes. The Text To Speech allows the road names to be included in the navigation instructions giving the driver more confidence in the manoeuvre they are making. The iPod controls are also a very welcome feature as previously although you could set the iPod playing in the background if the playlist or album ended then you had to exit the Navigation application to change the music.

Also included in this release are: Location sharing, and automatic day/night mode switching.

The full Navigon Press Release follows:

NAVIGON Further Extends the Feature Set of its iPhone Navigation App
Second free update includes major additions such as spoken street names (text-to-speech), seamless integration of iPod functions, a location sharing feature and more

Hamburg/Germany, September 10, 2009 — NAVIGON AG, leading innovator in the navigation market, today announced availability of a second free update for the North American version of MobileNavigator for the iPhone. The update equips the NAVIGON app with a comprehensive set of innovative and sought after features.

The highly anticipated text-to-speech function lets the NAVIGON MobileNaviagtor announce street names in addition to turn-by-turn directions. It is the first on-board navigation app for the iPhone with this functionality. Instead of only stating “turn right”, the app informs the user to “turn right on to ‘Main Street’, enabling the driver to further concentrate on the road ahead and not become distracted looking for street signs. “With the addition of text-to-speech technology from SVOX, NAVIGON remains on the forefront of iPhone navigation options with the most solid feature set on the market,” said Gerhard Mayr, Vice-President Worldwide Mobile Phones & New Markets at NAVIGON. “SVOX offers high quality text-to-speech technology, characterized by a natural and clear sound as well as a unique polyglot capability – the same voice can speak multiple languages like a native speaker,“ said Eric Lehmann, Chief Sales Officer of SVOX.

NAVIGON, from the outset is committed to not only setting the industry standard for navigation capabilities on the iPhone, but also integrates iPhone-specific functionalities. The new update is the next step in this direction with seamless integration of iPod controls. Drivers can now enjoy the full range of iPod functionalities with a simple one-click from map access to artists, titles, albums, audio books, podcasts and playlist selections. The feature also takes advantage of the shuffle, and automatic playlist generating technology within iPod. The driver can listen to songs again or leave it to the device to generate a random selection.

A new location sharing function makes it convenient to meet-up with friends and acquaintances, on the go. Users can share their own location, an address or a point of interest (POI) such as a restaurant or museum via email. If the recipients are MobileNavigator users, a simple link-tap provides the exact address. The navigation software starts automatically when the link is activated and guides the user directly to the destination, without having to input locations, and waiting for the search results. In addition, the app routinely changes the maps colors switching it between Day and Night Mode determined by time and location. This guarantees optimal display visibility at all times and allows drivers to recognize the route as quickly as possible to improve orientation.

The MobileNavigator transforms any iPhone 3G, equipped with the new Apple OS 3.0 operating system, and any iPhone 3G S into a complete navigation device. It is the only iPhone navigation app on the market featuring Reality View™ Pro which displays 3D views of complex highway interchanges and exits helping drivers to orientate. Also unique are the branded POI’s along the route which make it easier to spot any points of interest that are on the way.

The NAVIGON solution sells for $89.99 in the Apple App Store and is equipped with maps of North America from NAVTEQ®. There are no subscription fees attached and no map downloads during navigation. The update is also already available for regional country versions of the MobileNavigator across Europe as well as for the Australian app.

For more information and FAQs, please visit: www.navigon.com/iphone.

Navigon MobileNavigator

Navigon iPhone car mount

Whilst I was at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin I met with the guys from Navigon who told me about a new mount that is to be available in October. This mount is based on the award winning PND mount with an interchangeable holder for the iPhone. Whilst it is not an active mount (having an integral power connector) it does come with a cigar lighter power adapter and charging cable.

Navigon iPhone car mount

Navigon iPhone car mount

Navigon iPhone car mount

We’ve used a few and by far the biggest bug bear of all of them has been the need to remove any case or wrap you use to protect your iPhone before they can be accommodated in a cradle. Having to do so every time you get in and out of the car soon renders the cradle unused.

However, times are a changing. Thanks to the suppliers ProClipUSA and the wizards at Brodit, a Swedish company long regarded for their vast range of custom cradles and ProClip vehicle mounts we now have a solution that resolves this thorny issue.

Brodit have engineered a simple but effective solution with a cradle that is adjustable.  Using four small thumbscrews on the rear of the unit you can easily alter its width and thus adjust it to firmly grip your iPhone whilst it remains in its case. Perfect!

I tested the cradle with a Griffin Clarifi case and a Proporta shell and both fitted perfectly.  A deep vertical groove in the side ‘arms’ of the cradle is sufficient to hold the iPhone securely and a rear mounted swivel allows it to be used in both portrait and landscape orientations.

Pass-Thru Sync Connector (Bottom)

Another great feature which is equally important for car use is the sync connector.  Brodit have chosen to fit a pass-thru connector that allows any standard iPhone sync cable to be connected to the bottom of the cradle itself, a neat solution that allows 100% compatibility with any charge or sync cables you already have.

Using this solution I was able to hook my iPhone 3G up to the cable that is provided with my Alpine iDA-X100 iPod head-unit.  This allowed me to keep the iPhone charged, play iTunes music through the head-unit and switch to SatNav/GPS.

To install in a car you will need a ProClip.  These are vehicle specific brackets that mount with no holes to your dashboard. They offer a secure mount for the cradle which is screwed to the ProClip and can be removed without any damage when you change cars.

If you upgrade your device you can buy another cradle and attach it to the existing ProClip, or upgrade your car and buy a new ProClip, brilliant.  The adjustability makes this solution suitable for 1st Gen iPhone, 3G, 3G S and Touch.

Our review unit was provided by ProClipUSA