The SatNav Thread

[Guest Webreaper]

So, CoPilot Live is available for US Android users. At last, an offline SatNav with proper turn-by-turn, and not a bad price either.

AndNav is still too shonky for general use (works okay in map mode, but force-closes for me when I actually try to navigate anywhere. Plus it, Telenav and Nav4All all require a connection which means a) painfully slow route recalcs if you miss a junction and :D it's completely useless in areas with no coverage.

So hopefully we'll get something decent for UK users (probably CoPilot, maybe TomTom?).

It would be so nice if GoogleMaps offered offline map caching and the ability to do directions whilst tracking 'my location' in real time. Turn-by-turn would be nicer. ;)

This thread should be the place to keep an eye on any upcoming improvements.... IMO turn-by-turn SatNav is the only major thing missing from Android.

Edited July 17, 2009 by Webreaper

[Guest Kallisti]

So, CoPilot Live is available for US Android users. At last, an offline SatNav with proper turn-by-turn, and not a bad price either.

So hopefully we'll get something decent for UK users (probably CoPilot, maybe TomTom?).

This thread should be the place to keep an eye on any upcoming improvements.... IMO turn-by-turn SatNav is the only major thing missing from Android.

I see CoPilot is available in Europe (plus individiual territories) and USA now. Personally I'd like to see Garmin as it's got great Google search integration, but CoPilot isn't bad.

[Guest Paul]

I have a copy of Co-Pilot on the way... will let you know how I get on with it! :)

P

[Guest Webreaper]

I have a copy of Co-Pilot on the way... will let you know how I get on with it! :)

Great. Would be good to know if it lives up to the hype. Comments on the market indicate it's a good start.

[Guest zippyioa]

I have a copy of Co-Pilot on the way... will let you know how I get on with it! :)

P

I was always an avid TomTom fan until I got an Omnia and it no longer seemed to work. I switched to Igo8 and it took a little while to grow into it.

Now I have Android it is hard to live without voice guided sat nav, so I need a replacement ASAP!

I nearly bought the European Copilot today, but seeing as you bought a copy, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

Where did you get it from, and how much for Paul?

Cheers

Zippyioa

[Guest Paul]

Mine was sent to me by ALK.

I haven't tested it in anger yet, but it looks pretty nice and is very responsive! :)

P

[Guest a7awo]

Does anyone know why TomTom or Garmin haven't yet developed a version for Android ... there seems to be a market for it.

I used to be totally Windows Mobile but just this week I have got the HTC Hero. Nice UI ... slightly unresponsive at times, most probably due to multi-tasking (which the IPhone doesn't do well) but its not too bad, maybe I need to tweak some settings to get it working better.

I have installed AndNav2 and having been using TomTom on my WinMobile this is a very poor alternative (but free :>) ... I might give the CoPilot app a whirl if it gets good feedback.

Edited August 6, 2009 by a7awo

[Guest norwichphoto]

My first post, so best make it a useful one.

I've just moved from a WinMo device to Android - a T-Mobile version of the Hero.

Before I was running TomTom via a bluetooth GPS unit. It was very handy having GPS in my phone as some days I could be sent almost anywhere in the country with a van and trailer to rescue a stranded classic car.

Sadly the choice of satnav systems on Android is pretty limited at the moment. Google Maps will do, but turn by turn is much more useful, especially if driving on your own. I thought AndNav was poor, so I downloaded CoPilot Live 8 today from the Android Market.

Likes:

-Voice alerts - TomTom got nicknamed "bitchin' Betty" especially when she was constantly bleating a reminder. Copilot alerts you at 2 miles, 1 mile, 500yds and a few seconds before the junction - this latter can be edited and all 4 can be switched on or off.

-Price. £ 25 is pretty reasonable.

-Maps look nice

Dislikes:

- abc keyboard layout rather than a qwerty and can't see that you can change.

- takes a lot longer to get a gps fix than google maps does. Why?

- voice is more artificial than TomTom

- location selection seems more clunky than TomToms.

Map Accuracy.

TomToms maps weren't accurate in places. CoPilots aren't accurate either but the differences are in different places.

Given the choice between TomTom and CoPilot on Android, I think TomTom would have the slight edge, but their iPhone app is quite a bit more expensive than CoPilot. I'm not sure whether to keep it or uninstall it and get a refund within the first 24hrs and then see what happens with TomTom and other systems.

I'll have a bit more of a play tomorrow morning...

[Guest norwichphoto]

Another annoyance. It keeps telling me to 'keep left' rather than 'turn left' They can mean different things.

I'm going to uninstall it and wait for TomTom to reveal its hand. Then I can evaluate that and if necessary re-purchase CoPilot.

[Guest prodigal_son]

<br />Does anyone know why TomTom or Garmin haven't yet developed a version for Android ... there seems to be a market for it.

<br /><br /><br />Garmin are going to release their own hardware with android on it, and their own gps software. If they will release the software as a standalone app, or demand people pay extra for the hardware too, is unknown. But as far as anyone knows, yes they will be getting on board android.

[Guest Rich Cranney]

Has anyone looked at NDrive yet? I've heard its like a better version of TomTom, CoPilot and Igo8. Also heard that the maps are a bit laggy though. It seems available on Android already though, suppose its a different solution to Co-Pilot

[Guest Stevie B]

I installed CoPilot 8 on my Hero on the 26th Aug. I am extremely happy with it having used it for two days at the moment. My previous experience of satnav was a borrowed TOM TOM and found it to be a real pain.

Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend CoPilot for the Hero - at £25 one off payment for the whole of the UK - BARGAIN IMO

[Guest Dr Hotdog]

Sygic now have an Android version available too, currently the only Sat Nav app for Android with Australian maps available. I haven't tried it yet though.

Copilot have been promising Australian maps for a while now, but they keep getting delayed.

[Guest Webreaper]

Google announces free turn-by-turn SatNav software in Android 2.0:

http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/10/a...gation-for.html

[Guest chucky.egg]

I just can't get excited about SatNav that requires an internet connection.

It's not that unusual for me to lose GPS signal, 3G is just folklore outside of towns in most of the UK IMO YMMV

[Guest TonyL]

Interesting one for me - finally gave up the ghost on iPhone (after getting exhausted with Winmo devices and lack of usability) and finally moved to Android / Hero! Have to say Im very impressed!!

Anyhow, I bought Navigon for iPhone... used it - worthless! Shame you cant try before you buy.. Should have realised that having a non multi tasking device means that just when you're lost in London and someone calls, you loose not only the Sat Nav screen, but the entire app closes down and you have to re start from scratch whilst trying to avoid getting lost, parking on red lines, congestion zones and takes for ever to get back to where you were - god forbid another call comes in!

So, I contacted Navigon, explained the situation and asked if I could get a ported license to my Droid device once I'd closed down my Itunes account and provided them with evidence that I no longer had the device. After all we're talking £60 here!

I got told to go back to Apple, request a refund and then re buy the license - they were otherewise not interested! Two weeks later and after many calls to Apple and support tickets, Im no further on to getting my money back!

So... any suggestions? I might give Navigon another call and ask them to help out on this one occasion, I dont expect that they'll get many requests like this and considering the onslaught of Google and free Satnav you would have thought they'd be more than willing to help retain a customer.

I can always use the "I work for THE UK's largest commercial insurer and advise/approve our thousand + field engineers mobile devices and software - guess who's application support I'll be removing from next year!"

I dont like to use the "threat card" but as I can - I possibly will ;) ;)

[Guest starfarer]

Moved from Nokia N82 to hero.

Co-pilot: GPS fix is amazingly fast. I used to think N82 is very fast but Hero beats it. I can get fix even in places (in bedroom, kitchen, sitting room) where even my TomTom one fails. Still to test it extensively, but so-far on use, it is very reliable. Only think I'm not liking at the moment is Voice quality which sounds too robotic. Could be Hero's speakers problem or program itself. Few Questions:

1) How to find current position? Is it the little "Arrow up/down" just above bar "Enter a stop for route guidance"? I mean if you scroll the map way too far, it won't come back to your place. For short distance scroll, it works fine.

2) Is the internal GPS, aGPS?

3) How to know how many satellites it's getting fix from?

Apart, not as good as Garmin (and probably is biased after long use) but slowly getting hang of the thing.

[Guest Samlock]

Just got my hands on Co-Pilot 8 today, installed fine on my Pulse. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but going out in 'bout 30 minutes so I'll report back around 5pm if it's any good! ;)

[Guest pete.major]

2) Is the internal GPS, aGPS?

I'm running Android 1.6 on an Acer Liquid, I don't know if it's the same for you but here's how I turned on aGPS

Settings > Security & Location > Ephemeris download

Hope this helps.

[Guest starfarer]

I'm running Android 1.6 on an Acer Liquid, I don't know if it's the same for you but here's how I turned on aGPS

Settings > Security & Location > Ephemeris download

Hope this helps.

nothing like that on Hero.

Cheers.

[Guest Samlock]

For anyone who is interested, Co-Pilot Live 8 works perfectly on the Pulse! Very fast to find a route, easy to use and when taking a wrong turn, a few seconds later it's found an alternative route round town. Well worth the £25 ;)

[Guest TonyL]

nothing like that on Hero.

Cheers.

Really, on my Hero its: settings > location > enable GPS Satellites

I also downloaded a widget from Market place as a shortcut for the desktop

[Guest Spook Tooth]

I purchased CoPilot for Android yesterday. I just wondered if I can load it on more than one T-Mobile Pulse and have them active at the same time? Also, is it possible to get additional voice packs, such as celebrity voices or put your own in?

[Guest TonyL]

Get this,

Finally had a reply back from Navigon about porting my Navigon from IPhone Android Hero:

Dear customer,

thank you for contacting the NAVIGON support team. Unfortunately it is not possible to transfer the license from iphone to any other platform.

Your only possibility is to sell the iphone with the NAVIGON Mobile Navigator on it and add the price of the NAVIGON Mobile Navigator to what you want for the iphone itself as that software is NON transferable from that particular iphone which you have.

In other words you CANT sell the NAVIGON Mobile Navigator software separately!!

You MUST sell the iPhone together with the NAVIGON Mobile Navigator software if you want to get your money back that you spent to purchase the NAVIGON Mobile Navigator software.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Yours sincerely

________________

NAVIGON Support Team

Now - correct me if I'm wrong, but I cant just sell my iPhone and hand it to the new buyer as they'd only have access to the Navigon software via my iTunes account and therefore I'd have to give the new buyer my iTunes account ID and therefore committing fraud!!

Comments?

[Guest Spook Tooth]

Looks like you had the typical customer service treatment with that idiotic reply. You should forward their reply to Apple and ask about the iTunes account T&Cs breach and ask for their opinion on Navigon's policy of license revocation/transference.

Why is the Navigon software license non-transferable? Because it's tied to your iTunes account? Yes, I would certainly pursue this seemingly unfair policy and ask Navigon for a straight refund or perhaps seek legal advice if it's worth your while.