There are plenty of powerful GPS applications available for the iPhone platform. This segment of the market is so hot that companies such as TomTom have allocated resources to try and dominate this market as well. Let’s not forget that personal navigation devices are deeply in trouble. You can a get a GPS app for iPhone for as low as $9.99 or as high as $149. It really comes down to the brand and the features that you get in an app. Navigon is one of the companies that are trying to take the iPhone GPS market to the next level. MobileNavigator, Navigon’s iPhone GPS app, comes with a lot of features that we used to see on Navigon’s standalone GPS. It may be expensive but it does everything you would expect from your personal navigation device

While you got the amazing 3D maps, the lane assistant, and accurate directions, you didn’t get live traffic updates with the app. At least until now. Navigon has announced that you can now purchase traffic updates for your app for only $20 (introductory price) and enjoy traffic information on the go. The good news is, you’ll have even a more powerful tool to avoid traffic and get to your destination faster. The fee is also a one time one. The bad news is the app is even more expensive now, and almost as expensive as a dedicated GPS device.

Navigon is not the only player in this market. TomTom, at&t, and many other companies are working hard on their apps to grab a piece of the pie. Navigon’s move is only going to encourage other GPS developers to include more information for drivers. The personal navigation device market went the same route a while ago and now you get all kinds of information on those fancy GPS units. Many of those software features will be coming to the iPhone, so you can finally ditch that good old GPS unit you have been holding on too. But will the GPS companies keep the prices reasonable? That’s something we will have to wait and see.

If you told me a couple of weeks ago that Apple iTunes would allow an app that can show you where to find pot (legally, of course), I would have just laughed at it. Let’s not forget that Apple is known for striking down any app that is even slightly controversial. By no means I am suggesting that a pot finding app is worse than Baby Shaker, but it’s interesting to see Apple take the hit from a lot of folks and still allow such apps to make it to iTunes. Cannabis is really a simple app that can be helpful to folks who are looking for a doctor or a special type of medicine. But add the keyword Marijuana to it all, and you’ve got a viral app!

Hearing the web go nuts over Cannabis was truly eye opening. But youve’ got to give Fox News credit for jumping on the story to prove to its fans how there is a culture war in this nation, and this app may be a game changer. Those guys never miss their chance with stories as juicy as this one. And I am sure the developers behind this app are smiling for all the coverage that they have gotten in the past couple of days.

The question at this point is how long Apple will allow Cannabis to stay on iTunes. Apple is certainly not shy about removing already approved apps, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it did the same with Cannabis. I do believe that Cannabis belongs as long as it’s fully functional. Apple going around striking down any app that could be annoying some folks sets a bad precedent. To its credit, Apple has not announced anything on this issue, so Cannabis is here to stay for now. Nobody knows for how long.

Talk about an earth shattering development. According to the latest rumor discussed on AppleInsider, Apple may be softening its stance on application sharing, making it possible for iPhone users to share their applications with their family members. If you own an iPhone, you know that you don’t get to test an application before purchasing it. You probably do what I do which is trying the lite version of the app you want to buy to find out whether it’s worth spending money on. But not all developers offer lite distributions, and they are a hassle to deal with anyway as once you have bought your app, you’ll have to go and delete the lite version.

It seems the latest feature being considered by Apple will make it easy for anyone to share their applications they love with their friends or family members. But here is the catch: they won’t be able to play the full-version until they’ve bought their own license. Apple may even consider allowing people to play with the full versions but with a limit with a number of times you can use it. And to make matters even better, Apple may introduce a commission system to allow you to earn money or credit once the other side has purchased your application.

Overall, this is a wonderful development that could provide a lot of value to app buyers. I have personally bought a lot of useless applications. You can never be sure about the quality of reviews you see in iTunes, which means you can easily fall for fake reviews. With this new feature, you can test an app before purchasing it. Apple ends up selling more apps, and you and your friends end up getting the best apps. Everybody wins!

It really depends on your overall strategy. If your goal is to make quick bucks, you can just ask folks to pay for your apps right away. I personally like to think long-term. You can always give away something for free and use the goodwill and exposure you get to make folks want to buy your paid applications. You can also create standard and professional versions of your app and ask folks to pay for the premium features available with your pro edition.

Should you give away your iPhone app? It’s really up to you. If you have 3 apps ready to go, you may afford to give one away to gain exposure for the other two. But if you have spent 6 months to create an iPhone application, unless you don’t need the money you probably don’t afford to give your app away for free.

It took a while, but it seems financial companies are just getting into the iPhone app business. Financial companies are notoriously slow in adopting new technologies (except maybe Bank of America), but Chase has just joined the small group of banks that have a mobile presence on the iPhone.

What I like about this new app is the ability to check balances and paying bills online on the go. It’s not a super exciting app but Chase Mobile does the job well.

What’s been your experience with Chase Mobile?

Finally, an application that is worth the money. I know a lot of folks don’t know what a dictionary is. It’s in general a book that has a lot of words in it (OK. it’s a bad joke but you get the point). Oxford English Dictionary is very useful for immigrants and foreigners in the U.S. If you see a word that you have no idea about its meaning.

Oxford iPhone dictionary has definition for 240,000 words, and 20,000 pronunciations. I personally like the auto-complete feature as it helps finding words faster.

Now, I admit that not many people need this kind of a dictionary on their iPhones, but a lot of works who depend on dictionary to do their jobs everyday can take advantage of the Oxford iPhone dictionary. A powerful dictionary that could be overkill for most of us, but it will have its use for folks who use dictionaries on a daily basis.

Staying with the theme of the week, which is election, the U.S., and anything in between, there is an interesting application in the app store that has everything you need to pass a history exam. The Manual for the United States of America covers declaration of independence, U.S. Constitution, Federalist papers, Patriot act, and the list of U.S. presidents among others.

Now the application is not for everyone. I know a lot of folks get turned off by all history talks, but that doesn’t mean some of us who do respect history won’t put it on our iPhone. So, it’s a niche iPhone app. But a very important ones for folks who are into history.

The application is obviously one that won’t be useful after the election (unless Obama loses). But it’s a great touch. Obama has simply left no stone unturned during this election and kudos to him. I know the world wide web is still reeling from John Paul’s loss but if you can see yourself as an Obama supporter, then you should pick up this free app.

If you haven’t heard of Trulia, it’s one of the most amazing real estate mashups available on the web. Now Trulia has released its application to iPhone which allows you to go through home listings right on your phone. It’s simply brilliant, and it can definitely kill some time if you are stuck in a bad situation. In fact, you can check home listings when waiting behind red lights. Is that cool or what?

This iPhone things gets better and better.

Unless you haven’t been checking out the iPhone Apps store, you have probably had a chance to check out hundreds of cool apps that are available for your shiny iPhone. I know many of my friends have bought a ton of iPhone apps that they don’t even use on their phones. So I am curious to know how many have you bought? Have you been keeping up with the store: