Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Today, TeleNav announces the first GPS navigation application for the G1.  TeleNav brings their 3D, turn by turn, traffic, speech recognition and other features that make it the premiere on-phone GPS choice to the G1 starting February 24th.  T-Mobile G1 users can sign up for a free 30-day trial.

I’ve been using TeleNav on my Windows Mobile phone for some time and now and I am a big fan.  I’ve found their POI (point of interest) database is among the most complete while their directions are on par with stand alone GPS devices.  I saw a prototype of this offering at CES this year and my one word summary is “slick.”

Designed specifically for the G1, TeleNav takes advantage of both landscape and portrait modes.  The UI has been designed with touch in mind and the result is, well, classy.  This application is among the best looking apps I’ve seen for Android.

“TeleNav has become synonymous with mobile phone GPS navigation. It is relied upon by millions of mobile customers,” said Sal Dhanani, co-founder and senior director of marketing. “It was important to us that we build a great application for Android and the G1 so that customers with this phone would have a remarkable experience. The device’s large, beautiful touch screen creates an incredible navigation experience when combined with our software.”

All the features you’d expect from modern stand along GPS devices are on board.  Traffic is well though out: traffic is considered when planning your route, then traffic is evaluated every 5 minutes during your trip to ensure you don’t get snarled.  Weather, gas prices, WiFi listings are some of the connected conveniences.  My favorite addition is the user ratings.  Tapping in to the opinions and ratings on the web, your business searches brings up these ratings right on your phone.  Very cool integration.

And as a spoiler for all those Android phones that will be announced in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress, TeleNav plans to offer this application to all Android phones later this year.  That suggests they put a lot of customization into this roll out for the G1. 

The service is free for 30 days, then $9.99 per month thereafter.  G1 owners can sign up for email notification when the application is available.

Product Page: [TeleNav]