At the end of last year, Telenav revealed its browser-based HTML5 turn-by-turn navigation system and made it available to a select few devs to put it to good use. For an encore, it unveiled its personalized GPS service, Scout, at CES. Now, the company has created Scout for Apps and made the service available to all developers who want it, assuming they're coding iOS or HTML5 applications (Android support is in the work, and is slated to arrive later this year). That means that apps and websites can now incorporate turn-by-turn navgation directly, as opposed to launching a separate applications to get you where you want to go. Keep in mind that telenav isn't pitching this as a full GPS replacement - more a value added proposition to developers - and after spanding some time using Scout, we can see why.
We tested the browser-based Scout service on our Android handsetto run a few errands, and we found it a useful tool, but it certainly pales in comparison to its applications counterparts. There's noticeable ;ag when attempting to swipe arround maps, no pinch to zoom (onscreen button are the only option), and at lacks features like traffic reports or a way to remember favorite locations. That said, it does do a good job of getting you where you want to go, and the rudimentary nav fungtionality is certainly more appealing than the static maps found in Apps currently. Plus, it's quite nice to not have a launch a separate applications to get directions.
