skobbler has announced what it says is an industry first for the iPhone with the launch of a free, turn-by-turn iPhone navigation app for N. America, based on a live user-editable map. Powered by CloudMade, the map leverages continual updates made by a growing community of a quarter of a million mappers worldwide.

The app builds on the recent launch of a paid premium version of skobbler in Germany, offering the same navigation technology to N. American users free of charge. It offers turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, with a map bug-reporting tool, 2.5D graphics, night/day modes, in-app iPod music playback, and bookmarks for favourite destinations.

In a separate move, Cloudmade has launched ‘It’s Your Map’, which enables consumers across America to build an up-to-date map of their local neighbourhood. To initiate a map update, a user either reports a map or routing issue while using skobbler, or joins the OpenStreetMap community and makes the changes themselves. The more updates, the better the map and resulting navigation.

If a wrong turn, bad route, new road, one-way road, blocked or missing street is spotted while using skobbler, users have two options. They can report the issue in the app by tapping on the ladybug symbol, which alerts the OpenStreetMap community to the need for its correction. Or they can resolve the issue themselves using CloudMade’s web-based Mapzen editor. Users can also add speed cameras and points of interest from hundreds of categories.