i910 Full GPS Software and Settings Reviews

[Guest Paul_Bunyan]

I looked all over and couldn't find a thread dealing with the new i910 update and retail GPS applications, so I thought I'd start one, here goes!

I'm looking for a review of any and all GPS software that people have tried on their i910's with the official update. I've been using Google Maps so far and it works great with aGPS and full GPS, but lacks a lot of features of the retail programs.

Has anyone tried TomTom, OnCourse (the North American version of iGO8), Garmin XT? What else is there?

I have a copy of TomTom 7 that I tried to use with an XV6900, but I never got it working right and I've read a lot of people never were able to get TomTom's stuff working right, so I'm a little leary about putting it on there...

ANYWAYS, so everyone that has a full-featured retail GPS/Navigation program on your i910, post your review of it here so the rest of us can make a better descission!

;)

[Guest NickVallely]

I have not looked into other proggy's for gps, but I was wondering what settings are you using in google maps? I have allowed 'windows managed' and Com8 57600 baud, what setting works best for you to pick up satellites? I was able to pick some up for a short period of time but it took a good 10 minutes to do so. Every time I attempt to use google maps it just says searching for satellites, but doesn't find them, is there something else I need to do?

[Guest Beardedmonk]

I use iGO8. Its amazing, always gets me where I need to go, never has failed me yet ;)

[Guest bga7x]

I use iGO8. Its amazing, always gets me where I need to go, never has failed me yet ;)

+1 best ever imo

[Guest brockman04]

+1 best ever imo

i've tried TT 7.it worked but no turn by turn voice.garmin xt...same thing poi's not as good as TT.igo,navn go never worked well for me.iguidance.was erratic.mobium is good and has turn by turn.

i am ptrying the latest from zorro..seems much better.poi's have been difficult to set up.but al in all it may be my new favorite. hope that helps.

oh yes.when i set my omnia to 4800 baud it works, anything higher it takes forever to lock,even with the latest vzw update and BG's rom.

[Guest Paul_Bunyan]

When I first launched Google Maps I had everything default (except Location On) and it took a few mins to lock onto some real satelites, but aGPS worked instantly. I played with that for a while and then manually set the GPS settings to Com8 and 57600 and it seemed to take a bit longer to lock, but eventually did lock.

But the locking times aren't very consistant, but so far it's always locked on to 5-7 satelites in as many minutes (max).

I decided to go ahead and install my TomTom 7 and, refering to a different thread on getting TomTom working on the Omnia by using Google Maps to manually set my device to Com8 and 57600 (then closing Google Maps, but the settings seem to stick), then on TomTom7 settings choosing the NMEA GPS Receiver option with Com8 and 57600 again and in a couple minutes I had 7 satelites and everything was working great!

I'm in my basement right now and it's still locked onto 4-5 satelites with a pretty good signal strength.

But I may try setting all the baud rates to 4800 to see if I get faster locks like the other post mentioned.

[Guest dwallersv]

I used TomTom on my Treo for years. Good nav software.

Tried a few other "trials" on my Omnia, but in the end settled on iGO8 for car nav, and consider it the best.

For all other GPS applications (hiking, for example), I just love GPS Skinner. $11. Basically a GPS application "erector set" that allows your to make your own custom application. Here's my first "skin" that I'm working on. It's very simple, and I haven't done any of the fancy touches yet like creating a cool background to give the various elements on the screen a more elegant look. Just getting the right widgets and layout at this point. My objective with this skin is a single-page with all the infomation I'm interested in. Skins can be multipage, though:

Attached is my skin file, if anyone wants to try it out. You can use GPS Skinner free with full functionality, the only limitation is that it disconnects from the GPS after ten minutes and you have to enable it again.

I'd love to see a bunch of people here that are GPS enthusiasts get into this application and start making skins. It would be cool to share our creativity with this. Doing so doesn't require buying anything, although I have to say it's well worth the $11US. The developer is very accessible and responsive too, and he's already agreed to a few enhancement requests I've submitted.

Anyhow, my current skin, config file attached:

The three screenshots above show the 3 of 5 different map types available: Roads, hybrid, and terrain. I designed the skin with invisible hotspots over the map widget to faciliate changing the map type, and zooming in and out. The map square is divided vertically into 1/3, 2/3; the 1/3 strip is then divided into thirds down the left side, creating three square "buttons" that you can press to change the map type displayed. The left 2/3 of the map is then divided in half into two wide rectangular "buttons" -- touch the top and it zooms in, touch the bottom and it zooms out.

This skin is very, very basic and primitive. The GPS Skinner site has some much better examples. Still, when I polish this thing up, it will be pretty cool.

Screen13.bmp

Screen14.bmp

Screen15.bmp

GPS_Dave.txt