Reasons not to buy CO-Pilot

[Guest darkly]

Just thought I'd pass this on.

Bought Co-Pilot for my Pulse after having it on my Win Mo phone.

Occasionally on my Win Mo phone, I had to re-build it and then re-install. Even though it was always a pig to install on the Win Mo. phone, I would always eventually manage to get it on.

As this was my first experience of using Android, I decided to buy Co-Pilot on D.V.D. as I knew I would probably have to do several re-installs. I thought I was being smart but oh my good God no. Installing Co-Pilot on an Android phone via D.V.D. has made all of my previous experience of bad software pale into insignificance. I don't think they could have made the experience worse if they tried.

The D.V.D. arrived, I plug in the Pulse and follow the instructions. The installation goes fine except for the fact that the Windows Co-Pilot central doesn't seem to think that I have purchased any maps and so won't show the maps on the D.V.D.

I run Co-Pilot 8 on my Pulse and everything is lovely, for about 10 minutes I can see the maps where I am etc.

The next time I run Co-Pilot it says that I have not installed any maps on the Pulse and would I like to install some either via my P.C. or via the internet. I figure that as I have a legitimate copy of the D.V.D. with the maps that I can physically see, I might as well try and install from that. But alas no, Co-Pilot central keeps telling me that I have not got any maps, or even a D.V.D. and that my account (despite it accepting my activation key on the first install) has no maps as registered to myself.

I decide to try to download the maps direct from the Pulse, but it tells me that there is a fault and that I have to contact A.L.K. (Co-Pilot's makers).

This I do via my 60 days support and they email me the maps direct with instructions on how to install. I follow these religiously and lo and behold Co-Pilot now recognises that I have maps installed on my Pulse... for about 10 minutes, after which it states that I have no maps and would I like to download some from the internet.

To cut a long story short, this goes on for about a week with no solutions forthcoming via A.L.K. until one day I finally managed to get an installation onto the Pulse that would let me download the maps to the pulse direct via the internet.

All is well and good for about two weeks when I have to do a revert to factory reset and begin the sorry saga again.

This time... for about two days I was lucky enough to find that my Co-Pilot Central had graciously acknowledged that I did have some maps as being registered to my account. I duly downloaded these maps to my laptop and then went to install them on the Pulse, but unfortunately Co-Pilot central didn't want to do this.

By this time I was fed up with speaking to Co-Pilot and decided to place a support ticket with them asking for help. I specified that I had bought a D.V.D. and their first question was.

Can you give us the Google Market ID for your purchase.

I reminded them that I hadn't bought this from Google and gave them the details of the website that I bought it from.

Their reply was that I had obviously bought a version for Windows Mobile and should return the D.V.D. for an Android version.

I then informed them that the version that I had bought, apart from being marked up on the front of the box as having Windows and Android installation versions, had asked me when I went to install the damn thing, whether I wanted the Windows or Android version, so therefore I hadn't purchased the wrong version.

Their reply this time was to ask me for the Google Market ID for my purchase yet again.

Again I pointed out their mistake and their reply was to ask me to.

Return the D.V.D. that I had bought and buy the version that is on the Market place.

It has become clear to me, during this terrible saga that A.L.K. seem only to like to take your money. If, as seems to be, they are telling me that in order for their software to work on an Android phone it should ONLY be purchased via the Market place, then why are they selling it on D.V.D.'s as well.

Do yourselves a favour people and buy your Sat Nav software with a more reliable company

[Guest bindi]

Just thought I'd pass this on.

Bought Co-Pilot for my Pulse after having it on my Win Mo phone.

Occasionally on my Win Mo phone, I had to re-build it and then re-install. Even though it was always a pig to install on the Win Mo. phone, I would always eventually manage to get it on.

As this was my first experience of using Android, I decided to buy Co-Pilot on D.V.D. as I knew I would probably have to do several re-installs. I thought I was being smart but oh my good God no. Installing Co-Pilot on an Android phone via D.V.D. has made all of my previous experience of bad software pale into insignificance. I don't think they could have made the experience worse if they tried.

The D.V.D. arrived, I plug in the Pulse and follow the instructions. The installation goes fine except for the fact that the Windows Co-Pilot central doesn't seem to think that I have purchased any maps and so won't show the maps on the D.V.D.

I run Co-Pilot 8 on my Pulse and everything is lovely, for about 10 minutes I can see the maps where I am etc.

The next time I run Co-Pilot it says that I have not installed any maps on the Pulse and would I like to install some either via my P.C. or via the internet. I figure that as I have a legitimate copy of the D.V.D. with the maps that I can physically see, I might as well try and install from that. But alas no, Co-Pilot central keeps telling me that I have not got any maps, or even a D.V.D. and that my account (despite it accepting my activation key on the first install) has no maps as registered to myself.

I decide to try to download the maps direct from the Pulse, but it tells me that there is a fault and that I have to contact A.L.K. (Co-Pilot's makers).

This I do via my 60 days support and they email me the maps direct with instructions on how to install. I follow these religiously and lo and behold Co-Pilot now recognises that I have maps installed on my Pulse... for about 10 minutes, after which it states that I have no maps and would I like to download some from the internet.

To cut a long story short, this goes on for about a week with no solutions forthcoming via A.L.K. until one day I finally managed to get an installation onto the Pulse that would let me download the maps to the pulse direct via the internet.

All is well and good for about two weeks when I have to do a revert to factory reset and begin the sorry saga again.

This time... for about two days I was lucky enough to find that my Co-Pilot Central had graciously acknowledged that I did have some maps as being registered to my account. I duly downloaded these maps to my laptop and then went to install them on the Pulse, but unfortunately Co-Pilot central didn't want to do this.

By this time I was fed up with speaking to Co-Pilot and decided to place a support ticket with them asking for help. I specified that I had bought a D.V.D. and their first question was.

Can you give us the Google Market ID for your purchase.

I reminded them that I hadn't bought this from Google and gave them the details of the website that I bought it from.

Their reply was that I had obviously bought a version for Windows Mobile and should return the D.V.D. for an Android version.

I then informed them that the version that I had bought, apart from being marked up on the front of the box as having Windows and Android installation versions, had asked me when I went to install the damn thing, whether I wanted the Windows or Android version, so therefore I hadn't purchased the wrong version.

Their reply this time was to ask me for the Google Market ID for my purchase yet again.

Again I pointed out their mistake and their reply was to ask me to.

Return the D.V.D. that I had bought and buy the version that is on the Market place.

It has become clear to me, during this terrible saga that A.L.K. seem only to like to take your money. If, as seems to be, they are telling me that in order for their software to work on an Android phone it should ONLY be purchased via the Market place, then why are they selling it on D.V.D.'s as well.

Do yourselves a favour people and buy your Sat Nav software with a more reliable company

My co-pilot works fine...never had any issues with it so far.

[Guest le_lutin]

My co-pilot works fine...never had any issues with it so far.

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. It's no consolation, but I use co-pilot (downloaded via market) and I think it's very good.

[Guest Neron]

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. It's no consolation, but I use co-pilot (downloaded via market) and I think it's very good.

I have also got to agree! Great app sometime lags due to low spec's of pulse as it was made to work on the hero and other high end devices!

[Guest Azurren]

I have also got to agree! Great app sometime lags due to low spec's of pulse as it was made to work on the hero and other high end devices!

I was under the impression that the Pulse > Hero.. I mean, my friends hero lags like hell even doing simple tasks. He's not that thick ever, so I know its the device not him :)

[Guest darkly]

Glad everyone's Co-Pilot is working fine... but like I said. A.L.K. appear to be quite happy to sell D.V.D.'s with the Android version of Co-Pilot on it whilst recommending that the software is actually installed via the Market Place. I have no issue with Co-Pilot when it works. Just with the business practices of the company.

Just thought I'd pass this on.

Bought Co-Pilot for my Pulse after having it on my Win Mo phone.

Occasionally on my Win Mo phone, I had to re-build it and then re-install. Even though it was always a pig to install on the Win Mo. phone, I would always eventually manage to get it on.

As this was my first experience of using Android, I decided to buy Co-Pilot on D.V.D. as I knew I would probably have to do several re-installs. I thought I was being smart but oh my good God no. Installing Co-Pilot on an Android phone via D.V.D. has made all of my previous experience of bad software pale into insignificance. I don't think they could have made the experience worse if they tried.

The D.V.D. arrived, I plug in the Pulse and follow the instructions. The installation goes fine except for the fact that the Windows Co-Pilot central doesn't seem to think that I have purchased any maps and so won't show the maps on the D.V.D.

I run Co-Pilot 8 on my Pulse and everything is lovely, for about 10 minutes I can see the maps where I am etc.

The next time I run Co-Pilot it says that I have not installed any maps on the Pulse and would I like to install some either via my P.C. or via the internet. I figure that as I have a legitimate copy of the D.V.D. with the maps that I can physically see, I might as well try and install from that. But alas no, Co-Pilot central keeps telling me that I have not got any maps, or even a D.V.D. and that my account (despite it accepting my activation key on the first install) has no maps as registered to myself.

I decide to try to download the maps direct from the Pulse, but it tells me that there is a fault and that I have to contact A.L.K. (Co-Pilot's makers).

This I do via my 60 days support and they email me the maps direct with instructions on how to install. I follow these religiously and lo and behold Co-Pilot now recognises that I have maps installed on my Pulse... for about 10 minutes, after which it states that I have no maps and would I like to download some from the internet.

To cut a long story short, this goes on for about a week with no solutions forthcoming via A.L.K. until one day I finally managed to get an installation onto the Pulse that would let me download the maps to the pulse direct via the internet.

All is well and good for about two weeks when I have to do a revert to factory reset and begin the sorry saga again.

This time... for about two days I was lucky enough to find that my Co-Pilot Central had graciously acknowledged that I did have some maps as being registered to my account. I duly downloaded these maps to my laptop and then went to install them on the Pulse, but unfortunately Co-Pilot central didn't want to do this.

By this time I was fed up with speaking to Co-Pilot and decided to place a support ticket with them asking for help. I specified that I had bought a D.V.D. and their first question was.

Can you give us the Google Market ID for your purchase.

I reminded them that I hadn't bought this from Google and gave them the details of the website that I bought it from.

Their reply was that I had obviously bought a version for Windows Mobile and should return the D.V.D. for an Android version.

I then informed them that the version that I had bought, apart from being marked up on the front of the box as having Windows and Android installation versions, had asked me when I went to install the damn thing, whether I wanted the Windows or Android version, so therefore I hadn't purchased the wrong version.

Their reply this time was to ask me for the Google Market ID for my purchase yet again.

Again I pointed out their mistake and their reply was to ask me to.

Return the D.V.D. that I had bought and buy the version that is on the Market place.

It has become clear to me, during this terrible saga that A.L.K. seem only to like to take your money. If, as seems to be, they are telling me that in order for their software to work on an Android phone it should ONLY be purchased via the Market place, then why are they selling it on D.V.D.'s as well.

Do yourselves a favour people and buy your Sat Nav software with a more reliable company

[Guest Bakes]

Simple answer: trading standards.

[Guest bindi]

Simple answer: trading standards.

Yep, complain and leave no stone unturned if they didn't deliver what they promised for.

[Guest Azurren]

*cough* *cough*

Just looking around to find some help.. All I have found are the install instructions of a *cough* version of CoPilot

"Install the .apk file on your SD-card"

"Place the map data in the copilot/save folder"

"Run the app"

I don't have a copy of co pilot so I have no idea what these files are.

Chances are you have done this already but better safe than sorry :)

[Guest darkly]

Thanks for the advice but yes I have done this several times. Always seems to work for about 10 minutes. Like I said I did manage to get the damn thing working properly for a while, but all I want is software that works as advertised not with various hacks.

*cough* *cough*

Just looking around to find some help.. All I have found are the install instructions of a *cough* version of CoPilot

"Install the .apk file on your SD-card"

"Place the map data in the copilot/save folder"

"Run the app"

I don't have a copy of co pilot so I have no idea what these files are.

Chances are you have done this already but better safe than sorry :)

[Guest Azurren]

Thanks for the advice but yes I have done this several times. Always seems to work for about 10 minutes. Like I said I did manage to get the damn thing working properly for a while, but all I want is software that works as advertised not with various hacks.

Yeah I wasn't trying to convince you to download it. I just thought installing off a DVD would be the same as installing from that.

[Guest flash2004]

Well .. I got copilot off the market and its working great so far !!

Infact I prefer to use it over my tom-tom sat nav nowadays...

[Guest danbrown162]

the only problem i have with co piliot is that it drains the battery very quickly and that it cant find house names, only numbers...

also for some reason, no matter how i configure it, it decides to take me on longer routes when i know there is a quicker way... :P

[Guest twe]

Any maps downloaded onto the memory card should surely just be backed up onto a pc and copied over again if you format the card? That's what I have done many times so it does not need to redownload them....

[Guest darkly]

Nice idea, but given the fact that when I install the damn thing the maps are there on the Pulse for about 10 Minutes, that doesn't seem to work at all. The only time I have ever got it to hold onto any maps whatsoever is when I download them via the phone. There is something fundamentally wrong with the software as released on D.V.D. but they refuse to admit it. Am still waiting for a reply to my last email sent to them on Friday.

Any maps downloaded onto the memory card should surely just be backed up onto a pc and copied over again if you format the card? That's what I have done many times so it does not need to redownload them....

[Guest twe]

Yeh that works by downloading them onto the card from the pc, not via the co-pilot software.

[Guest SoundSurfer]

I'm using nDrive :P

Edited March 30, 2010 by SoundSurfer

[Guest MarcusHenrique]

For some reason I couldn't download South America maps from Co-Pilot directly to the phone, tried to down Huawaii ones and worked perfecly.

Now I'm using iGo my way, and works great. My car is a tank now huh :P

[Guest Spook Tooth]

You can add me to the list of dissatisfied ALK CoPilot users. I went through the wringer with them for several weeks trying to get them to help me install a registered version of CoPilot on my Pulse that did not expire after 30 days all the time.

So expect a helluva lot of emailing to and from their inept support section even just to prove the simplest of things, ie, that you bought a licensed copy, in my case, from Google Checkout (Marketplace).

In the end I had to download a 'special' CoPilot install that was privately linked for me via email as no other option, be it Marketplace or CoPilot Central would work for me, and despite initially having successful Google Checkout order no. activation (always messed up after the next reloading of CoPilot).

Since I bought the app just before Xmas 09, I gave them some leeway for resolving my issue but not to the extent it took them till February 8th to fix the problem. The onus was put on me to prove I'd bought the software (told several times, even to the same adviser) and they never did explain exactly what went wrong or even apologise for all the trouble they put me through. ALK have been lambasted over their Android CoPilot application for truly dire support. I wished I had just been given a refund really since it'd been cheaper and a lot less hassle to just use google maps or other data service for my own basic navigation needs.

You're going to have to persevere I'm afraid. Keep your details simple but comprehensive in your support requests, I'm thinking they'll need to escalate the issue to someone competent once they've worked out that a] you have a license and B] the low level frontline support they're offering isn't adequate enough to fix a more complex technical issue. Until then they'll just fob you off so good luck to ya.

Edited March 30, 2010 by Spook Tooth

[Guest oOBENJYOo]

Co pilot runs fine on my pulse....I heardmobile maps will be available soon so I installed a version on my Iphone to compare...tomtom/co pilot/ mobile maps....tomtom won of course but not a lot of difference between other 2....but pushed I would choose mobile maps 10....

[Guest Dan Mullen]

Co-Pilot was the first app I bought from the market for my HTC Hero and it's run flawlessly ever since. It works so well, I bought a car holder and sold my TomTom sat-nav.

[Guest darkly]

Oh God yes ALK support are beyond anything that I've ever come across. Same questions asked over and over and the same solutions provided. All of their solutions seem to revolve around returning my legitimate disk to the company that I bought it from and then purchasing it from the market place. I fail to see why, as it is a legitimate disk, ultimately from themselves, that I should have to go through that and why the company that is re-selling their disk should have to take the pain from this as well.

I'm sure that selling a D.V.D. which doesn't work is illegal, and doing so whilst accusing the person who bought the D.V.D. of having purchased the wrong D.V.D. (Despite it being clearly marked as having an install for Android on it.) is probably even more illegal. Quite apart from the fact that If I returned the D.V.D. then the last thing I would be doing with the cash would be putting it in the grasping hands of A.L.K.

You can add me to the list of dissatisfied ALK CoPilot users. I went through the wringer with them for several weeks trying to get them to help me install a registered version of CoPilot on my Pulse that did not expire after 30 days all the time.

So expect a helluva lot of emailing to and from their inept support section even just to prove the simplest of things, ie, that you bought a licensed copy, in my case, from Google Checkout (Marketplace).

In the end I had to download a 'special' CoPilot install that was privately linked for me via email as no other option, be it Marketplace or CoPilot Central would work for me, and despite initially having successful Google Checkout order no. activation (always messed up after the next reloading of CoPilot).

Since I bought the app just before Xmas 09, I gave them some leeway for resolving my issue but not to the extent it took them till February 8th to fix the problem. The onus was put on me to prove I'd bought the software (told several times, even to the same adviser) and they never did explain exactly what went wrong or even apologise for all the trouble they put me through. ALK have been lambasted over their Android CoPilot application for truly dire support. I wished I had just been given a refund really since it'd been cheaper and a lot less hassle to just use google maps or other data service for my own basic navigation needs.

You're going to have to persevere I'm afraid. Keep your details simple but comprehensive in your support requests, I'm thinking they'll need to escalate the issue to someone competent once they've worked out that a] you have a license and B] the low level frontline support they're offering isn't adequate enough to fix a more complex technical issue. Until then they'll just fob you off so good luck to ya.

[Guest lockstock007]

Hi chaps,

searching the internet over the Easter period, trying to get some answers as to why, when I have installed Co-pilot to the T-moblile Ameo, that it repeatedly keeps telling me that I have no maps installed. I have plenty of space on the device to take the Continental maps. I have registered the software with the product key that came with the SD Micro card, no problem there whatsoever, just the fact that no matter how many times I un-install and re-install the software the maps are not showing. I have taken it out and the satellite is working, all the info that comes with that is working mph, GPS co-ordinates etc. Just, no maps!!!

Any help would be appreciated.

PS: Not looking forward to locking horns with Alk

[Guest aldaweb]

Oh God yes ALK support are beyond anything that I've ever come across. Same questions asked over and over and the same solutions provided. All of their solutions seem to revolve around returning my legitimate disk to the company that I bought it from and then purchasing it from the market place. I fail to see why, as it is a legitimate disk, ultimately from themselves, that I should have to go through that and why the company that is re-selling their disk should have to take the pain from this as well.

I'm sure that selling a D.V.D. which doesn't work is illegal, and doing so whilst accusing the person who bought the D.V.D. of having purchased the wrong D.V.D. (Despite it being clearly marked as having an install for Android on it.) is probably even more illegal. Quite apart from the fact that If I returned the D.V.D. then the last thing I would be doing with the cash would be putting it in the grasping hands of A.L.K.

Your contract is with the seller not the manufacturer, hence the advice to return it to where you bought it. ALK have not sold you the disk so could not know on what target device you wished to use it, and if they have advised returning the disk then you should approach the seller.

Having dealt with ALK in respect of Copilot for Windows Mobile, it can be frustrating trying to get a resolution but they usually get it sorted third or fourth time round.

Edited April 3, 2010 by aldaweb