New Route 66 Navigation app offers turn-by-turn directions

A Slovakian company has developed the first Route 66 app for iPhones that offers turn-by-turn directions, and an Android version should be ready in the coming weeks.

Route 66 Navigation’s full abilities will cost $49.99 for a yearly subscription — a price that may make some roadies blanch. But its many features might lessen the price-tag sting. More on that later.

Touch Media s.r.o. released the app on the iTunes store earlier this month. It can be most easily found by searching for “Route 66 Navigation” in Apple’s app store. (Disclosure: Route 66 News allowed the use of its RSS feed for the News part of the app, and Touch Media provided a free subscription to its navigation capabilities for review purposes.)

Marian Pavel, CEO of Touch Media, said by email the company hopes to have an Android version of Route 66 Navigation available by early May.

In addition to turn-by-turn directions, the app contains more than 800 points of interest along Route 66.

Here is my screen shot of the app’s home page:

I tested Route 66 Navigation’s capabilities from my home in Tucumcari, New Mexico. In Tucumcari alone, the app listed almost 40 points of interest — an impressive number. I picked Tee Pee Curios in Tucumcari and directed it to get me there.

Below are two screen shots — one of the listing for Tee Pee Curios, and the route to it:

I tried something trickier — directions from Tucumcari to the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Here are the screen shots from that search:

While enlarging the map, I noted the suggested routes stayed along old Route 66 and away from Interstate 40, if possible. When possible, Route 66 Navigation maps two possible routes to a destination.

What was interesting is what the app suggested at Cuervo. Instead of taking the rough and remote Cuervo Cutoff path, it suggested a better road through Cuervo to Highway 156 — portions of which also were Route 66 — to Santa Rosa.

Given the primitive and unpredictable conditions of Cuervo Cutoff, this was a wise decision by the developers to seek an alternative path.

Below is part of the rest of the mapped route into Santa Rosa and to the Blue Hole.

While surfing through the app late Tuesday afternoon, I noticed one thing I appreciated. In the listing for Bill’s Jumbo Burgers in Tulsa, it was described as closed because it’s a lunch-only restaurant. That’s a smart feature.

Here’s the thing that almost prompted me to decline writing a story about the app. Downloading Route 66 Navigation is free from the Apple store, but unlocking its full navigation abilities costs $49.99 a year, also redeemed through the Apple store.

I emailed the developers, explaining $50 would be a tough pill to swallow — especially when the Route 66 Guide Pro app also offers several features and mapping for $2.99.

Pavel replied:

I agree, the price of $ 49.99 is in a higher price range, but it’s a premium product. Setting the right price is not easy, we talked to many people right on the Route 66. The price opinions were different, but most of the people rated the price as acceptable and many wanted to buy the app on the spot. […]

For $ 49.99, you’ll get an app that we’ve tested for 30 days on Route 66, from turn-by-turn instructions to a feature that shows you POIs right on the road, and you’ll never miss out on anything. Believe me, we have developed these features with great emphasis on the comfort of travelers on Route 66, which will not give you paper maps or applications containing static maps.

Also, every application has a life cycle and needs to be constantly updated. And we are ready to update not just POIs to support business on Route 66, but also maps and directions to get current information. We also want to add more practical features to the app.

We have also made a very high investment in the project, with which we want to help Route 66, it is absolutely not low-cost activity. And also because of it, it’s not easy to set the right price if you want to get back the development costs for both iPhone and Android (you’re basically developing 2 apps on a green field) in reasonable time.

Finally, we will definitely prepare some sales promotions for the community, and the app will be available for a limited offer at a lower price too. But I don’t want to promote it from the first week in the AppStore. I want to assure you that we will be watching very closely the opinions and reactions of users. […]

Comparing our application with Route 66 Guide Pro is not possible – these are two different applications with other features. Route 66 Guide Pro uses the standard navigation built into your phone (switches from app to Apple Maps). It also does not navigate Route 66, but according to other criteria, by motorway for example. I’ve prepared a spreadsheet that compares both apps – it’s in an email attachment.

Pavel also provided a list of Route 66 Navigation’s other features:

• Route planning by cities
• Three-click navigation to any Route 66 city or place
• Alternative routes
• Events records
• SOS button
• Point-of-interest and events updates / reaction time within 24 hours
• Save your itinerary
• Route 66 closures
• Offline maps
• Westbound and eastbound navigation
• Point-of-interest warnings during navigation
• Optimization for motorcycle usage

Given Route 66 Navigation’s extensive capabilities, Pavel makes a fairly persuasive case for the app’s price point. It’s not going to be for everybody, but it’s hard to fault an app that keeps you on the Mother Road in real time.

One drawback to Route 66 Navigation is it doesn’t contain points-of-interest for a few of Route 66’s older alignments — notably the Santa Fe Loop in New Mexico and the 1926-32 alignment in Illinois from Springfield to Staunton. However, Pavel said his team would begin adding those in the next few days. He also said Route 66 businesses be added to the point-of-interest lists for free or can change their existing descriptions.

Up to now, the best turn-by-turn guides have been the “Here It Is” map series or the “EZ 66 Guide for Travelers” guidebook. Pavel said his app doesn’t intend to make those publications obsolete:

We still want to remind all travellers, that Route 66 Navigation does not fully replace travel books and guides that were published for Route 66. It helps travelers navigate and enjoy their trips, but planning is essential for a full-fledged experience. […]

We are open to any cooperation to help develop Route 66. We would like to join any initiative, we are willing to work with associations, museums, public administration. At the same time, we believe that the application will help bring foreign passengers back and to reverse the unfavorable developments in the last 20 months.

We welcome any feedback to help improve the app. Although we have tried to find and publish all the interesting places on the Route 66 (POI), we know that we will surely find those that are not yet in the app. We are therefore calling on the owners of such businesses to reach out – in our system, we can add new POIs instantly to meet the incoming season.

For more information about Route 66 Navigation, go here.