Navigon Releases New iPhone Car Kit

Navigon has just unveiled a new iPhone car kit at the Macworld Expo 2011. The kit consists of an iPhone mounting device as well as a suction cup for mounting it on nearly any surface in your car. An Apple-certified connection cord is also thrown in as well as a car charger to power the iPhone while driving.

According to Gerhard Mayr, Vice President of Worldwide Mobile Phones & New Markets for Navigon, "The iPhone is the most elegant smartphone available, therefore a mount should never get in the way of showcasing the design." This kit from Navigon is a more stylish rendition of German tech design with a "barely there" look.

The mount is easy to fix in any position on any surface in your vehicle which reduces distraction to the driver and also places the iPhone in a position that is optimal for a GPS signal. The included car charger, as well as the 5-foot long connection cable, are perfect if you need to use your iPhone's navigation system on long trips or vacations.

It appears that the physical cradle could fit other devices besides an iPhone. However, if you buy this kit and you do not have an iPhone, then you now have a 5-foot long iPhone cable that you do not need. The charger, however, is a simple one that plugs into your lighter jack and has a USB port on the other end making it universal with practically every smart phone on the market that uses a USB charging system.

My point is that this case, while designed for the iPhone, would be good for most smartphones out there or even smaller GPS devices. The Navigon Car Kit is available now for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 for a market price of $49.99. However, you can get an introductory price of $44.99 if you purchase one before February 3rd.

Source: Engadget

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Gowalla 2.0 for iPhone 3G

Gowalla, a "social network that connects people with places by inspiring them to discover and share the world" based out of Austin, Texas, has announced Gowalla 2.0 for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The new version is much like the older version, but with better, enhanced features. The location-based social networking app is said to be better than ever and offers tons of great features that let you check in and let your friends know where you are at any time.

Not only is the new app designed better - it's more flexible, readable and over all usable, but gives users the ability to do so much in the way of social networking. Users can check in and add new spots, upload photos, brows friends' photos, or see photos taken at a particular spot. They can also receive comments from friends and other users once they've checked in. If you want to add a message to your spot, you can do so, and if you want to do it later, you can come back and do that too. Hot spots in nearby areas will be highlighted so users can discover them and you'll have the opportunity to browse friends' bookmarked spots, as well as create trips.

You can build your network by staying in touch with friends from Twitter, Facebook, and other websites, as well as keep up with addresses, phone numbers, Twitter names, and Facebook pages of various check in spots. There is so much to do! The app is fun and useful.

In a press release, Josh Williams, the co-founder and CEO of Gowalla said, "Gowalla 2.0 for iPhone is an amazing step forward for us and our product. We’re very excited to have Chevy working with us during SXSW to showcase the new features of our platform. Gowalla is about going out and exploring the world around you, and it’s always great to have some friends along for the ride.”

Gowalla has also updated their SXSW website (gowalla.com/sxsw), to include real-world rewards, events, competitions, and challenges.

Chevrolet has partnered with Gowalla to let Austin, Texas users receive icons redeemable for transportation in a dedicated fleet of Chevrolet vehicles, or information at Chevrolet lounges around the city.

Gowalla 2.0 is free from the Apple App Store, or you can download it from Gowalla.com. People from over 165 countries have already checked in at over 600,000 places.

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iPhone MMS Fail Prompts Lawsuit

A new lawsuit has been filed in a Louisiana court against Apple and AT&T, under the Unfair Trade Practices Act. The lawsuit was filed because both companies are being accused of falsely advertising the function of MultiMedia Messaging Service (MMS) for the iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 3.0 OS update. There has already been an iPhone 3.0.1 Beta 3 release, but still no MMS. The lawsuit is expected to represent at least 10,000 customers. AT&T claims in the fine print that “MMS support from AT&T is coming by late summer.” But fall is almost here, and I don’t think that there will be another update anytime soon, just because it’s been over 2 years since the 1st generation iPhone was released, and there has been rumors of MMS since the original release.

I do think that AT&T is working with Apple to create a MMS plan update, but I doubt that it’s going to come anytime soon. I think that this lawsuit was totally necessary, because Apple and AT&T both falsely advertised something that was highly anticipated since they started advertising the iPhone 3GS. I personally own an iPhone, and I am very upset that AT&T doesn't support MMS. So I am very interested about how this case is going to turn out. Hopefully this will help AT&T speed up the process of releasing the update.