back to article Traffic reports for the wrong country? There's an iPhone app for that

It's central London and it's time to go home. So you just fire up Navigon MobileNavigator before you go, to check Traffic Live for potential bottlenecks. Hmm, looks like there's congestion around the port of Dunkerque, so we'd best rule out that short cut to Hackney via Dover and Lille. But on the other hand, there are no …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Welcome

    I am Navigon, mighty galactic overlord. I shall destroy you!

    I always thought "Navigon" sounded like one of the Decepticons or maybe some Galactus-style evil supervillain.

  2. ElReg!comments!Pierre
    Coat

    Solution

    Just move to the Pas de Calais, it's not that big of a deal.

    1. Martin Galster
      Jobs Horns

      Re: Solution

      Such messages must be signed "Steve". ;-)

  3. John Lettice (Written by Reg staff)

    Re: Solution

    I've been to the Pas de Calais, and you're right, it's not that big a deal. Which is why I'm not inclined to go back.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Hmm same thing with me

    I have never been to france, but have the same issue, got the iphone navigator europe version, bought the uk traffic and all i get (when i can get them) is traffic reports for france. looks like it may be a bigger issue than just your iphone.

    1. Annakan
      Troll

      I am sorry

      I am French and I am sorry for the undue trouble my country is always causing :)

      It is all "delusion of grandeur" now since we have that mad president.

      ;)

  5. virtualkiwi

    UK's just not supported

    I think you may find it's not to do with where you first used it but rather that the UK traffic isn't supported at all. I had the same program, even through you can buy it on the App ( I had the Europe version) for whatever reason UK isn't covered. If you go to the Navigon website if gives you a list of letters which correspond to countries (dont know where they cant just list the countries). I got caught out and Navigon didn't want to know!! Why would they...I've already paid.

    1. John Lettice (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: UK's just not supported

      I hadn't thought of Navigon selling me a non-existent product as a possible explanation. Wonder what the App Store gods would make of that?

      I'll check it out tomorrow and report back.

  6. Ball boy Silver badge
    Jobs Halo

    Obvious solution...

    ...sell your phone to a guy in France and tell Mac you need to do a review of Steve's latest & greatest!

  7. BristolBachelor Gold badge
    Go

    Sale of goods act?

    Not fit for the purpose for which it was bought....

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wonderful

    Oh the joys of outsmarting /the user/ by making stupid assumptions and getting your information from questionable sources, and worse, getting essentially the same information from different sources for different, but related, questions. They could have just asked /the user/ instead, to get a single answer for both questions, at which point it would be /the user/'s fault if went wrong. Only they didn't, so it's squarely their own fault, and their unresponsiveness just adds insult to injury. Well, good luck to them, then.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    iFAIL,,,,

    theres an app for that...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Its great fun...

    driving around Calais at night lost, looking for the way to the cheap booze supermarket...

    the streets lined with houses all shuttered up like the local supermarket, all the cars off the road and locked up in similarly shuttered garages...

    hundreds of dark colourd people running around the streets lookin real shadey,

    sorta reminds me of brum ;p

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not a surprise

    Navigon's support is terrible. I ordered a car mount for my iPhone from them, the order vanished into the ether for three weeks with no reply from their so-called support desk. Only until I contacted PayPal and threatened to dispute the order did they mysteriously ship my order the very next day. Then, I got a reply from three separate support people saying it was on the way. Then, a week after I'd got it, I got another email from support saying it had been sent. They're a total disaster area if you ask me. If you look at their Facebook page you'll see a serious complaints which they don't answer, with a series of suggestions they do answer. Not the way to do customer service.

  12. Campbeltonian

    UK not covered

    I've got the UK and Ireland version, and traffic reporting isn't offered in the Extras menu at all. So I'm inclined to agree with VirtualKiwi, it's not that you've somehow been placed in the wrong country but that that Navigon doesn't provide traffic reports for the UK.

    1. David Cullen
      Thumb Up

      UK not covered YET !!!!

      Its true that Navigon don't provide traffic reports for the UK. They were supposed to release the UK traffic update in October for the Navigon British Isles application but for some reason they are having some problems and they keep on delay the release date.

      Maybe one day they will finally release it and then maybe I will miss the traffic jams when Im following my Navigon app whilst driving in the car.

  13. Alan Esworthy
    Coat

    British or Merkin?

    Dear Mr. Lettice, Why ever are you using the Merkin term? That should be "...London's road network is, as usual, a nightmare load of ballocks, multi-coloured ones..."

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Seellee EEngleesh wee?

    Ov kors now zat Eenglan eez part ov Frawns but yoo ev yet too ree-alize thees mon amee :-)

  15. Sly

    what? a company doesn't care...

    that you bought the wrong product and they don't offer the product you actually need or want and won't refund your money?

    Gotta hate those companies that won't fess up and properly report the fine print, but rather put it in code so some people will misunderstand it all.

    There should be a law against such shenanigans.

  16. John Miles

    More Info at

    PocketGPSWorld

    http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/Live-Traffic-Coming-October-for-Navigon-on-iPhone-6927.php

    The add-on will be available directly through the MobileNavigator app at a special introductory price of €19.99 (~£17.85) for European 'Traffic Live'

    1 Traffic Live is available in the following countries: A, B, CH, D, DK, E, F, FIN, I, L, N, NL, S and UK.

    1. melt
      Headmaster

      UK

      UK United Kingdom or UK Ukraine? I've been caught out by that one before...

      1. MarcF

        Ukraine

        We'd be GB still I reckon...

      2. John Miles

        re: UK

        I suspect it is vapour ware in either UK or Ukraine as the website says

        > * available in: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Danmark, Finland, France, Norway,

        > the Netherlands and Sweden.

        http://www.navigon.com/iphone

    2. Simon Says
      Boffin

      UK traffic is "coming soon"

      The press report linked to was the pre-launch stuff that was put out. Originally UK traffic was supposed to be launched at the same time as everywhere else, but for some reason (Navigon twitter/facebook updates seem to imply it is actually a legal holdup and NDA prevents them from going into details) the UK traffic data is lagging behind.

      Because you can buy both the British Isles version and the European version in the UK appstore, and traffic data is available for certain European countries, you can purchase the traffic add-on for the European version, but the British Isles version won't show traffic as a purchasable add-on until the UK traffic data is actually online. When this happens (which Navigon are still adamant will happen), users of the British Isles version will be able to purchase the add-on and receive the data, while European version users who already have the traffic add-on will get UK traffic info automatically at no additional cost.

      The reason that the author of this piece sees French traffic info has nothing to do with where he spends time using the app or where he bought it - it's simply because it is the nearest available traffic info for his location. It won't be factoring into any UK-based routing of course, and it's only there when you specifically look for traffic info. When the UK traffic info comes online it will be able to actively influence routing while in the UK and give warnings of traffic issues on the route ahead.

      I'm still quite disappointed that Navigon still haven't got the UK traffic online yet, but it still seems to be pretty good value (once it is available) at a £20-25 one-off charge for lifetime traffic info (i.e. not a yearly or even monthly cost that some other satnav providers charge).

  17. boingo
    Jobs Halo

    Complain to Steve

    Try complaining to Apple. When the UK navigon came out 1 week after the Euro version I moaned to Apple and they refunded the app cost IN FULL and let me keep it.

    Kind of makes up for being charged for non-existent traffic reports. To be fair Navigon also said GB traffic coverage was expected soon - so I think it is coming..but naughty to allow its purchase beforehand!!

    Complain to Apple... if enough people do it, they quietly give refunds.

  18. Cortland Richmond
    FAIL

    There'll always be an England ...

    but once you're French, you're stuck.

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