So far I’ve tested four flat-fee GPS applications for the iPhone with built-in offline maps: Navigon , iGo My Way , TomTom , and CoPilot Live . They all have pros and cons, but they share a few common shortcomings: a lack of real-time traffic, no support for text-to-speech (except for Navigon with its recent update ), and outdated maps. AT&T Navigator's real-time traffic works well most of the time, even where 3G signal is not available. (Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET) I’ve just finished testing a GPS navigation app that offers all of those previously unavailable features: the AT&T Navigator (version 1.2i.5). The catch? It doesn’t have built-in maps (meaning you will need a working data connection to download the maps in real time) and it requires a monthly subscription of $10. The app itself is free. This is one of the first GPS navigation applications made for the iPhone. It’s actually a product by TeleNav and is also available for other cell carriers, including Sprint and Alltel. Unlike the other aforementioned apps that take an hour or so to download using Wi-Fi, the AT&T Navigator has no built-in maps and therefore is a snap to install on the iPhone, even via a 3G or Edge connection. This makes it a perfect quick add-on when you suddenly need a GPS navigator. The app also launches very quickly, taking just a second or two on my iPhone 3GS. When it can (more on this later), it also picks up GPS signals very fast. After about a week of use, I can say I really like the real-time traffic updates–which warn you both onscreen and audibly–and the text-to-speech features. This is especially helpful when you are in a unfamiliar town. However, I found out that the traffic updates are available mostly for freeways only, unlike Google Maps, which offer them all the way down to street level for major cities. … Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

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Road test: AT&T Navigator GPS iPhone application

Tags: a-working-data, after-the-jump, current, definitely-not, download-using, dynamics-land, google, install-on-the, iPhone, navigator, phone-atlas, pilot-live, time