Co-Pilot GPS Navigational software review by phil-t

[Guest awarner [MVP]]

Thanks to phil-t for his review and pictures below :)

Co-Pilot Smartphone Mini Review by phil-t (edited by awarner)

This is based on a review sample of co-Pilot Smartphone.

CoPilot is not just a sat-nav solution, it has traffic/accident detection (via GRPS), and can report your position live to the CoPilot servers (via GPRS), and your details can be sen live by your colleagues, as well as messages sent to you, keeping you informed as necessary. This sounds a useful organisational tool that may really benefit some companies.

This mini review will just concentrate on the sat-nav, the details of the LIVE features can be found on the CoPilot website.

MODES OF OPERATION

CoPilot has 4 modes of operation

1. Guidance; This is the full on sat nav, with voice and graphic indications of directions on a planned trip

2. Navigation; This shows you the road you are travelling on, as well as surrounding roads, there are no directions given in this mode

3. Walking; This is for when you are on foot, and will allow you to enter a destination, and a line is drawn directly to it, you can then choose the route to travel to get there.

4. Planning; Allows you to plan your trip, adding one or more stops to your itinery

Most of the time, you will be in guidance mode, and this is where the full benefit of the software is found.

Lets fire it up;

The software greets you with the company logo'd intro screen, after a few seconds you arrive at what will be the guidance mode.

It defaults to guidance mode, but we can change modes if we wish by pressing MENU, then 6 for MODE and select the mode.. although for now, lets leave it in Guidance..

So, lets plan a trip;

When you start co-pilot, if you have no stops added to your itinery, it will immediately go to the Add Stop menu item. From here, as you can see, you have the choice of a wide range of places to add. Let's add an address, this allows you to enter a house/street number, name, and Town or Postal code, So, we can fill in the boxes.. and press DONE.

On completion of this, a list of all possible matches is shown I've been lucky here, and there is only 1 match, by selecting this, I've now added it to the Trip.

So, lets get on the road.. & Start Driving

OK.. before I've even got in the car, we can see the Safety screen which is showing the first direction.

Before we go any further, we need to decide what view mode to use

When stopped, or close to a turn, the safety screen can (set in options) goto a 2D map. Here is a roundabout in 2D mode.(first pic)

However, if this is too boring, there is a 3D view, (second pic) I have my reservations about the implementation of the 3D view, its not quite as useful as it could be, but for some it's a nice talking point.

The actual view from the car is..

Hmm.. not that close a match.. no matter, lets stick with the safety view..

This is a good example of the safety view, a nice big roundabout symbol,

Showing the road it will onto, the road I am on, and ETA/Distance to the destination.

The safety screen shows the directions much better then in the 3D or 2D Map views, the graphics are much simpler when viewed in either MAP Mode, where even roundabout directions are shown as just simple Left/Right or Straight on arrows.

You can of course add stops onto your trip, its hard to see, but I've added a Point of Interest here, in this case a close by Garage, and it even gave me the choice of BP or ESSO..

VOICE DIRECTIONS

The voice directions can be selected to announce at different time/distance markers, 1 mile before, etc, with a final reminder just a few seconds before the turn.

It uses a female voice, which is clear, and loud enough.

Voice directions IMO can be a little concise but generally accurate.

ROUTING

This is fast. I have PocketPC based packages, but on the C500 the routing seems just as quick. If you go astray, it's a couple of seconds before action is taken..

There is an RV routing option to minimise narrow roads, sharp turns, etc.. which is a boon for people with big-assed vehicles..

You can use the detour option to plan an alternative route, and from the directions list, you can select a particular road, and avoid that. Theis re-routing is a little basic, but works OK..

WALKING..

Well, this is a little basic, but it does allow you to set a destination, and it shows a direct line to your target you can zoom in/out as you need, although detail of street names can be a little lacking at times, it should just about suffice..

Here, I've zoomed out, to see the pink target line clearer..

Planning

There is a planning mode, in which you can add stops to your trip, then see the trip on the map, where you can zoom in/out and look at the directions.

CONCLUSION

Well, the software seems to work well, I have some issues with the user interface, but with some use, and knowing which bits are more useful then others, the job of navigation is made reasonably straight forward, it is fast enough to be considered real-time, and this is praise, considering we are running this on a mobile phone.. it is as fast as my PocketPC in this respect.

Its unique LIVE features will be the selling point for some businesses, and they have no competition in this respect, and provision for RV routing (Recreational Vehicle), which may prove useful for some.

I would give it 7/10, and feel it's a big step up in navigation terms from something like Mapopolis, although to be fair, Mapopolis has a niche market with its detailed map views, and use when on foot.

Positives

1. good routing/re-routing - no flies on it here, it seemed as slick as the packages I normally use

2. LIVE Features - if you need them

3. Traffic updates

4. Clear safety view - a little boring but easy to follow

5. Spoken directions are pretty good if a little concise

Negatives

1. Menus are a little confusing, the UI is not quite as slick as some

2. There is no ability to enter stops from the MAP view directly.. this is the usual back-up when addresses can't be found.

3. 3D view is not useful, IMO of course

This is a review sample of the software, and I did find some possible omissions to the feature list, so if you are listening..

1. When joining a Motorway, when I am at the end of the slip road, I suddenly get a "Bear Left" instruction.. this is either the wrong way, or it's way too late telling me to "bear left" onto the sliproad from the junction roundabout.

2. The GPS status screen needs an indication of visible satellites/locked satellites, and communications with the GPS, other then the UTC time increasing. In the shady world of Bluetooth, this can be reasurring.

3. The 3D view needs to be better if being included, I hate to say it, but TOMTOM have actually got this bit right..

4. Directions could be slightly expanded to include things like At the end of the road, turn" and "At the roundabout take the 3rd Exit, Right" if you just rely on the voice, these little extra bits of information can be godsend..

5. Better postcodes - this would be one up on the competition, I've been using this as a 3rd party add-on for TOMTOM, and whenever I go back to partial postcodes and entering road names, I really find it a pain.

[Guest Gears]

Which GPS receiver did you use mate?

[Guest phil-t]

I was using the Fortuna Clip-on.. which seems to be the defacto BT GPS at the moment..

[Guest the_ugly_north]

Philt,

many thanks. Nice review.

Co-pilot is available now at www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk

For those of you who cannot order it, I can only do so because I registered and received an e-mail with a link in it..... :)

[Guest neilg]

thanks very much for the review. v. useful

[Guest rikwebb]

Mine arrives tomorrow :) :lol: :lol:

Ordered it to arrive before 9am, but later today got summoned to a meeting at 9am in the morning (takes 1.5 hours to get there) BUGGER !!

You can bet, they will come after I have left :cry:

Oh well, i will get to play tomorrow night.

Rik

[Guest qwertyuiop2k]

Mine arrives tomorrow  :)  :lol:  :lol: 

Ordered it to arrive before 9am, but later today got summoned to a meeting at 9am in the morning (takes 1.5 hours to get there) BUGGER !!

You can bet, they will come after I have left  :cry: 

Oh well, i will get to play tomorrow night.

Rik

When you get it would you mind answering a few questions ?

Does the bluetooth unit come with a car charger & home charger ?

The kit comes with a 128mb card, can you transfer the app and maps over to a larger card ?

Does it include the PC software for transfering maps and POI to the phone ?

Thanks in advance, Andy.

[Guest rikwebb]

I am only getting the software, I have a parrot CK3300 car kit with built in GPS, so thats all I need.

As for the other questions, I have the PPC version already, so if this is anything like (which I am led to belive it is):

Software for PC is included. It is like Autoroute, but allows you to copy map data and pio's to the phone (or memory card, if you have reader) as well. The software also allows for communications and tracking of the phone software through the internet and gprs.

You can copy the contents of the memory card onto a bigger card.

Take a look at www.travroute.co.uk and check out the PPC version.

and here for screenshots http://www.alk.eu.com/products/consumer/sc...screenshots.asp

Hope this helps

Rik

[Guest mingebag]

What phones does this work with? All Smartphones?

I currently have the original SPV and the MPX200 (Upgraded to Smartphone 2003 - I know - double naughty and I'll burn in hell forever. FOREVER I tells yee!). Anyone know if this will work with them? I know bluetoothiness is out of the question already with these phones.

Also, seems a bit expensive as the TomTom one seems better and thats just around the £150 mark and this one seems to be around £240. Plus it has cash machines on it which is a bonus too.

Anyone of the 'special people' had a chance to try this with the MPX220 yet? In fact it would be good to hear from the blessed ones to see which, if any of these work with the MPX220. Possibly do us a small spreadsheet of Nav Software and Smartphones with ticks, crosses and don't knows in each box. Don't forget to include the Mpx200 twice - with each OS . I expect it on here by Thurday 5:00pm at the latest!

[Guest the_ugly_north]

The launched version (including BT GPS mouse) wont work with the MPx200, for obvious reasons (i.e. no Bluetooth)! Co-pilot can be had for £220, the cheapest I have seen tomtom is £180 so if you can get it for £150 please post a link.......

Paul (I believe) is in the process of completing a review of the available satnav solutions but these things take time.

[Guest rikwebb]

Mine arrives tomorrow  :)  :lol:  :lol: 

Ordered it to arrive before 9am, but later today got summoned to a meeting at 9am in the morning (takes 1.5 hours to get there) BUGGER !!

You can bet, they will come after I have left  :cry: 

Oh well, i will get to play tomorrow night.

Rik

UPDATE

Just arrived - as I was leaving :lol:

UNFORTUNATLY - its not Copilot - its Tom Tom - they have cocked the order up. :cry:

This is the second time I have ordered from www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk and they have messed up.

NOT HAPPY :x

Rik

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

My CoPilot should be with me today (assuming DHL do their stuff), so i'll be happy to answer any questions once it arrives.

Mine is coming directly from ALK, so if it arrives and is TomTom, i'll be worried, lol ;-)

P

[Guest mingebag]

Like I say, I know GPS won't work with non bluetooth phones but I believe you don't have to use GPS if you just want to use this software as a map!

Don't dismiss a phone just because it doesn't have Bluetooth as we should still know if the software will actually work on the phone.

It can't be that hard to scan ebay and to pick up an old SPV, E100, E200 MPX200 and other various old skool phones. If you want any money speak to Gears as he's always got loads of cash floating about!

[Guest qwertyuiop2k]

"]My CoPilot should be with me today (assuming DHL do their stuff), so i'll  be happy to answer any questions once it arrives.

Mine is coming directly from ALK, so if it arrives and is TomTom, i'll be worried, lol ;-)

P

Ok heres a question :)

How big is a full smartphone install (UK maps) ? just wondering if I'll get away with a 256mb card

[Guest jackofall]

there has been an in depth review posted on pocketgpsworld

here

And one of the issues discussed in this thread is being delt with by alk apparently

The only issue I did have is was not being able to zoom into an area of the map and pin-point this as my destination. A free upgrade patch will be available hopefully by the end of October for registered users that will add support for this, but it currently isn't available in the release version. We will re-review this as soon as the patch is available

If I hadnt had to go to a meeting this morning I would have been there to sign for my copy oh well of to the post office in the am

[Guest jackofall]

Ok heres a question :)

How big is a full smartphone install (UK maps) ? just wondering if I'll get away with a 256mb card

It comes preloaded on a 128mb card which includes all the maps

[Guest the_ugly_north]

you don't have to use GPS if you just want to use this software as a map!

True, but a lot of money for something that Mapolosis or Autoroute 2005 does for a lot less...

Don't dismiss a phone just because it doesn't have Bluetooth as we should still know if the software will actually work on the phone.

Not dismissing the MPx200. Best smartphone I have had. Apparently the software will work but not with GPS. So what is the point it of *mapping* software not *routing* software..... :wink: :wink: :wink:

[Guest rikwebb]

UPDATE

Just arrived - as I was leaving :lol:

UNFORTUNATLY - its not Copilot - its Tom Tom - they have cocked the order up. :cry:

This is the second time I have ordered from www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk and they have messed up.

NOT HAPPY :x

Rik

UPDATE

Its here :lol:

Spoke to a guy from www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk yesterday, he was very apologetic, and had read this post !! - So if your reading again - Thankyou for the quick resolution of the problem.

They have sent the correct software and refunded the postage cost for next day before 9. I am now a happy camper!!.

Rik

[Guest mingebag]

The point of it is my dear fellow is that I am waiting for the MPX220 to come out. So I could buy this software now, get used to it and get some use out of it and then stick it on my MPx220 when I get it. I think many people will be in the same position as me. If it ever comes out and I hope it does because the C500 looks like a EDIT and has issues with some software.

[Guest iainp999]

If it ever comes out and I hope it does because the C500 looks like a EDIT and has issues with some software.

phew, I'm glad you said your arse since it certainly doesn't look like one from mine!

[Guest mingebag]

In case you are wondering what the edit said. I said that the C500 looked like a defication from my rectum. I believe this is the clinical unswear version of what I said originally and I appologise for my uncouthness.

However, I believe the way I said it originally would have brought a smile to those of us who enjoy 'off the wall swearing'.

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

Somewhat off topic I think guys ;-)

So mine arrived yesterday... lovely GPS receiver (GlobalSat rebranded I think?), a car charger, a DVD box containing 2 CDs (app + maps), a 128MB MiniSD with the app preloaded and a SD->MiniSD adaptor in case you are using it in an e200 I guess.

Top stuff!

Still getting to grips with the functions, but I like it so far... especially since the CoPilot receiver is a perfect fit for my 'Otterbox 1600' indestructibe GPS box (for when I take it snowboarding!)

P

[Guest jackofall]

My copy also arrived this morning also very impreessed so far :)

[Guest rikwebb]

Paul, Jackofall,

I thought I may be going mad (going I here you say!).

When joining a motorway from the slip road, Copilot tells me to 'BEAR LEFT' not right.

Is it just me this happens to?, or is there some reason it wants me to drive on the hard shoulder?. Pehaps its a new rule on the M54 and M6TOLL :)

Paul,

I think the BT GPS thats branded Copilot is the Emtac (thats the one I have), its the same size / shape / style and uses the same BT Passcode.

Rik

[Guest the_ugly_north]

When joining a motorway from the slip road, Copilot tells me to 'BEAR LEFT' not right.

Technically that is correct. If you 'bear right' you will be facing oncoming traffic. A slip road should be treated as a junction and people on the slip road should give way to traffic on the motorway. As it is treated as a junction (remember there are give way markings!) then you must effectively bear left to go with the traffic flow.

Look at the diagram

Motorway.jpg