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Hey all,
I routinely use my Titan browser to look up the address of a business, then put that address in a GPS Navigator program to navigate to that address. I was wondering what you all think is the be all/end all program to complete this task. I've been using iGo 8 as it's got by far the best interface and maps, though you can't look up a business while in the program. I've also used Google Maps which does a great job of looking up the business address, but a crap job of navigating you to it. Finally, I've used Yahoo Go! a little bit, which is ok, but not the best. I welcome all your opinions...
Mapquest Navigator does a good job for me after using SprintNav for a long time for free....... Lots of feature and 50 bucks a year is alright.
i use tom tom 7 with maps usa & canada works great locks in 5 seconds in the basemant also names and addreses i am gettin from live search and save them in contacts list so its easy to navigate in tom tom
Not sure if its the best, but I've been very happy with iGuidance.
Once I got gpsGate and aGPS it has been flawless.
hbenz2008 said:
Mapquest Navigator does a good job for me after using SprintNav for a long time for free....... Lots of feature and 50 bucks a year is alright.
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Crud, apparently mapquest navigator does not support verizon?!?
fvultee said:
Crud, apparently mapquest navigator does not support verizon?!?
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My guess is they say that because Verizon locks down the gps so you can only use it with VZ Navigator, but if you're on this site, I'm sure you have enabled it on your XV6800, so I would still give it a try.
Microsoft Live Search.
It does a great job at searching and the routing isn't bad either. It only has a 'ding' as you approach a turn, no voice navigation.
I have TomTom and hate it. IMHO, Live Search is very good compared to TT.
I'm a Garmin XT user my self. I've loaded City guide and Topo maps on it so if I'm in the city or out in the woods I've got it covered. It uses the same maps and charts that have been produced for Garmins other devices. I haven't looked in to it yet but the Ocean navigational charts should be able to load on there also.
Due to my rural location data is not reliable. When hiking hundreds of miles from the nearest tower its not even an after thought. So i prefer to have all of the map data located on my 8gb HCSD. The entire Island of Newfoundland is ~20 mb for each map.
The Dir. on the device is 4.8 mb (for V5) the rest is on the card.
The City guide maps are the most detailed i have seen yet. Many of the smaller roads in my area were not on Tom Tom.
The down side is that it costs quite a bit. I have mapsource software from other devices so it wasn't that much for me. I have seen reference to a "re-pack" from other discussions, located on the torrent sites but that's at your own risk.
Chris
Live search and Google maps.......best free apps....I prefer Livesearch......
Sprint Navigation is also great for a free app....
TT7 is my software of choice. i dont know about anyone else, but i kinda like variety in my GPS, so i pretty much have all of them and pick and choose based on what im feelin and whichever one i press first.
I've tried a number of programs:
iGO: Beautiful maps, great interface, good voice prompts, very accurate... but it's a HUGE memory hog. You can't do anything else when running it. I've even had my phone fail because of lack of memory. Not acceptable if I can't make and receive calls.
iGuidance: Very low memory usage. Accurate. Buttons are small, hard to use when in the car. Graphics are not great looking. I had some quirks with the display when switching between Landscape and Portrait modes.
TomTom: Graphics are better than iGuidance, not as good as iGo. Buttons are large and easy to use in the car. Accurate. Memory usage is low. I was able to plot and follow a 2.5 hour trip and play my music with Media Player without an hitch in TomTom or the music.
All things considered, I'd love to use iGo, but the huge amount of memory usage makes it a not go for the Titan's wimpy 64megs. TomTom uses a lot less memory and is only a small step down from iGo's graphics.
Garmin Mobile XT with the newest patch/ver
I am useing Garmin Mobile XT and am on ver 5.00.20wp and it works great and new features integrate onling functions very well. Graphics are best I have seen and it gives gas prices, locations, speed limits, cameras, and google looks up stuff thats not in your database of poi's.
madman34 said:
I am useing Garmin Mobile XT and am on ver 5.00.20wp and it works great and new features integrate onling functions very well. Graphics are best I have seen and it gives gas prices, locations, speed limits, cameras, and google looks up stuff thats not in your database of poi's.
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Another vote here... Garmin Mobile XT seems to integrate the best of the online services (gas prices, traffic, etc) with the ability to be used as a true standalone GPS (not reliant on a data connection). I travel a few places where I lose my data connection (no phone service at all) and Garmin doesn't even blink, with all the map info stored on the microSD card.
IGo 8
IGO 8 is by far the smoothest, sexiest and quickest recalculating map and trust me I have used them all.
Cons: You must disable everything running in the background before using. I have never had a problem with receiving calls. I leave my bluetooth headset hooked up while navigating so my device can remain in holster. Just do a soft reset before you run the program run oxios hibernate and if you have about 25 megs free initially I drove 2600 miles with it recaluculating and just sitting still while I went in no problems.
Garmin XT is my second choice because I find it easy to use and very dependable.
Live Search and Google Maps require internet connection and were useless in the smokey mountains, except to prime agps.
Garmin XT
I have Garmin XT and it's great. I also use Google maps from time to time, it's better if you want to check out an area you kind of know real fast and also it has the sat maps which can be nice sometimes. But for actual naviagation Garmin blows Google away. Memory is sometimes an issue but with the latest DCD 3.2.6 it's less and less of a prob.
wasnt sure if i should put this here or in the general forum.
Disclaimer: I used igo with my winmo device (ATT tilt) so i may be a bit biased. igo was also the first navigation software i used
So i do not have a data plan, i use wifi most of the time. Does anyone have a recommendation on the best gps software for our phones (unlike most people my gps works, even though it takes about 2-3 minutes for a cold fix.
Here are the ones i know:
COPILOT 8
I got copilot 8, sweet interface (truly the best gps interface out there), runs quite smoothly. only one problem:
-It calculates the best route horribly.
-POIs are great.... if you do not like popular chains ( can you beleive it has no burger king, mcdonalds, popeyes or any of the popular fast food places).
-you need to specify a city to find the street (just never liked that)
-super fast and smooth, no lag and hardly any choppiness except when panning the map
- live weather (traffic to come soon)
- great detour options (can choose to avoid any road on your route)
- displays pois right on the map so you can see every POI right on the map without having to go searching in the menu.
kinda nice just to click an icon and see everything around you.... now only if it had half of the things around you in its database
-uses your default keyboard (could be good or bad)
* the poi issue can kinda be fixed if you have a data connection, it can do an internet search for places, then you can save them to your favorites, but next time you want to find some other place you have not been to, get ready to use the internet again. but if you want that, might as well stick with google/bing navigation
so basically copilot 8 UI : SUPERB
actual navigating: Crap
IGO
so igo has 2 navi softwares, and unfortunately for us, none work on our devices properly.
igo motonav (the one i actually tested): resolution is meant for motorola android devices, which are 54 pixels longer.
igo myway: resolution is way smaller (320 x 480 i think), only takes up about a third of our screen real estate.
there is a work around for motonav to make it fit our screen, but for some reason it still produces a very choppy/laggy experience, but still very useable.
so basically: igo has the great navigation capabilities
-, an ok UI,
-EVERY POI YOU WILL EVER WANT
-ability to search for a street without specifying a city
-also has live traffic
-NO OPTIONS FOR DETOURS, only detours i could find was traffic detour, and that it does automatically if it finds too much traffic on your route.
-has its own keyboard, kinda makes it easier for finding places since it eliminates letters while you type
-You do have alternate routes depending on how you want to travel (fast, economical, short etc)
SO OVERALL:
igo: better maps, poi and actual navigation
copilot: better UI, ease of use, smoothness/speed of software and quite a few more navigation options.
does anyone have any suggestions on a gps app that combines both igos 'actual navigation' ability and copilots 'features/smoothness'? Or a quick fix to get better POIs on copilot easily
hopes this helps anyone looking for navigation software, feel free to leave input
I don't have a data plan either. And I'm a CoPilot fan simply cause due to it's ease of use. Plug in an address, it gets you there. Usually when I need a GPS I'm in a hurry somewhere and rely on the GPS to get me there as fast as possibly so this is why I appreciate the CoPilot.
I also like how pretty it looks on the Vibrant. Very high resolution, responsive, and it has VOICE! I'm not sure if Igo has voice but for me, that is a BIG feature while driving. I integrate it with my music so I listen to music and every now and then a nice voice tells me where to go. I don't need to look at it much. I love it
I have been using Copilot since September of 2009. Earlier versions had all sorts of problems and imagine it running on G1 - slow and paiinful. It was working very well on my Vibrant pretty from the software side but the Vibrant GPS problems made it rather hit or miss as my device would accasionally freeze or reboot. So, following suggestions of many, I have finally bit the bullet and reset my Vibrant to factory settings. I reinstalled Copilot from the Market but now it tells me that my trial period has expired and I am not able to go past that to enter my product license key. Earlier this year I have even bought the live traffic for a year for $20 and I have a separate product license key for that as well. However, as a result of being completely locked out of the software by the initial activation (where you have to enter your Google checkout number and Copilot ID) screen, I am unable to use it anymore. I paid $35 for the software and $20 for the traffic addon and I am completely unable to use it as if I was a pirate that stole the darn thing - great job ALK Sofware. I opened an online support request but they are notorious for not answering these requests so I am not holding my breath at this point for ever being able to use their software again - unless I change my Google account and buy the software again I guess but that is just not going to happen. Very frustrating...
Bottom line is, Copilot is great when it works but once you have problems with it, good luck getting their support and fixing your issue.
So, since Copilot is quickly turning into a throwaway for me, does anybody else have some comparable or hopefully better suggestions? Has anybody heard of or used Sygic Aura for example? How about Destinator? Any input and reviews will be greatly appreciated since I seem to be in a market for a new navigation software. Thank you in advance...
if you search the internet hard, you could find people who have modified igo to fit our screens
I've been using Sygic Mobile Maps for some time now. Have used it on Windows Mobile and it's even better (more responsive on my Android (Galaxy S i9000).
So i take it based on whats out, google NAV is the best GPS NAV app out there on this phone. Of course being free has alot to do with it, but I find a few features that it is lacking. Does Google nav have a way to search for waypoints,POI, save custom address, change alternate routes (fastest-shortest), day/night switching, map updates or any other hidden feature that i may have missed.
I know i'm asking too much for a free app, but its google..seems like they give away apps all the time.
If there is an app better, please also recommend
Day/night switching happens automatically.. Don't know what the threshold is, but I'd imagine it's based around sunrise/sunset times for your location. Other items on your list.. Not sure about.
I have to say Google Maps has done me a multitude of good since my first Android. I have watched the app develop as I used it and heres what I think...
Recently GM added multiple subapps to GM: Latitude, Maps, Navigation, and Places. Latitude allows you to share and view you and your friends locations. Can be really handy for some.
Maps is what it is....a mapping programs.
Navigate is my favorite. Clicl this and you can speak or type or choose from a saved address. Pretty nice too and you CAN choose route information and rerouting its pretty nice. Set your gps start and end....go drive and play with you phone on the Nav portion and youll find all the options. Plus multiple methods of getting to and from as well.
Places is basically POI layed out nicely anyone can quickly find whatever they need.
I swear by gmaps and wont do anything elzeq
On the first screen of Navigation, click on the "gear" icon at the top and you can choose "Avoid highways" and/or "Avoid tolls". Not earth shattering settings, but certainly a step in the right direction. I think this was around a couple of updates ago. I have CoPilot Live installed on my phone and I always go to Google Navigation when I need directions, especially where it's integrated into the system much better (navigating to contacts, address links, etc).
Thanks guys, this makes me like the google map even more..However I don't see why google made sub applications to work with G. maps...maybe they shoulda just made 1 application to do all the functionality instead of running map, nav, location, places, and whatever else they come up with..too many apps to run instead of being a feature that should be built as one..in my opinion
Not complaining just sharing my thoughts.
Just a guess, but I'd imagine separating is so the carriers can customize the basic Maps app, without having to worry about messing with the other advanced features.
I have currently the Epic 4g Touch from Sprint and i'm using google navigation and was wondering if there were other options that are better, that post speed limits and such? I heard telenav and navigon were pretty good? Any suggestions?
Telenav is good, but not as good as Google Navugation. Neither to my knowledge post speed limits, or even give you your current speed. That would be a nice feature. I use Google Nav myself.
I've tried a number of different apps but I always come back to Google Maps + Navigation. It works just about everywhere and supports offline. I just haven't found anything that is "better enough" to switch.
Did you try NAVIGON? A friend of mine used it and he loved it..
For me GoogleMaps as a free service is still the best
Google Maps is definitely the best. If your GPS is acting wonky, I like GPS AIDS. Seemed to fix me right up on my Streak.
Navigation by Google for me .
Hi I am using Sygic Aura..it works gr8 on my SGII...you dont need an active data connection...I would really recommend this....
I aam using Sygic Mobile Maps 10 on my wildfire and it is very good!It also says the speed of the vehicle and also estimates the time remaining to arrive!
I have tried the Mapquest app for Android, but nothing beats Google Navigation Beta.
Anyone try out waze? I have it but it currently force closes on ICS, so hopefully they a fix out for ICS...lifehacker really liked it.
How about a GPS that can plan a detour for you? Often I'd like to find a good place to eat on the way to a client. I saw a couple in the market, but they were both totally broken. Yelp integration would be sweet too.
I found Trapster has pretty accurate speed limits on it's GPS system. Most everything works well and then there's the added benefit of seeing where the PoPo hide in unfamiliar territory.
Places (the big Red exclamation point) that comes on a lot of Android phones now, seems to do a good job finding restaurants in new places. Just tell it what your craving!
Hope that helps.
I vote for navigation from google maps. It's the best
Sygic Navigation is very good and has got all good features mentioned by others here. You can customize it as per your own settings and very accurate in terms of map.
Google Navigation has given me issues, but NAVIGON usually works very well for me.
Navigation by Google
I've started using waze. Haven't tried it for much, but it does seem to have been patched to work with ICS (I'm using ICS Passion on a Samsung Vibrant.)
I agree.....Navigation by Google has worked very well for me. I travel the country quite a bit.
Navigation by google the best no doubt, i recommend to use it
sygic is good
I absolutely love, love, love the Google satellite view in the Navigational GPS app. The whole app really is awesome. I'll probably never use my Tomtom again.
BUT! Unlike my Tomtom which can calculate a set of directions locally on the device the S4 appears to have Google do the calculation on their servers and transmit the info via Internet connection. That's a real problem when you're in an area that has poor service. Navigation becomes totally nonfunctional.
The GPS navigation will work through an area of no service if you start in an area with service so the app can download a set of directions. The problems come if you need to start your journey in an area with no service, or do like I did and exit the navigation app to do other things like make a phone call from a backwoods gas station. When I tried to restart the navigation app it kept waiting to download the directions set from google which wasn't going to happen out there. Lucky for me I remembered enough to get me back to an area with 3G where the service restored functionality to the navigation app. Lesson learned.
0reo said:
I absolutely love, love, love the Google satellite view in the Navigational GPS app. The whole app really is awesome. I'll probably never use my Tomtom again.
BUT! Unlike my Tomtom which can calculate a set of directions locally on the device the S4 appears to have Google do the calculation on their servers and transmit the info via Internet connection. That's a real problem when you're in an area that has poor service. Navigation becomes totally nonfunctional.
The GPS navigation will work through an area of no service if you start in an area with service so the app can download a set of directions. The problems come if you need to start your journey in an area with no service, or do like I did and exit the navigation app to do other things like make a phone call from a backwoods gas station. When I tried to restart the navigation app it kept waiting to download the directions set from google which wasn't going to happen out there. Lucky for me I remembered enough to get me back to an area with 3G where the service restored functionality to the navigation app. Lesson learned.
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A preplanned area where you will be navigating can be cached.
It caches the map and directions so you can navigate through an area of no service but it loses the cached data when you exit the app. There is no cached data when starting a trip from an area of no service.
If I'm missing something please do tell. I'd love to know.
0reo said:
It caches the map and directions so you can navigate through an area of no service but it loses the cached data when you exit the app. There is no cached data when starting a trip from an area of no service.
If I'm missing something please do tell. I'd love to know.
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Google Maps > Menu Key > Make available offline
Google Maps app =/= Navigation app.
Although you do offer a good way to at least have a map on hand.
This is why I also have CoPilot navigation. Completely offline!
Sent from my Galaxy S4
This behavior is not unique to the Galaxy S4, nor is it new. Google Navigation has always been (and almost certainly will remain) a client-server type app that does the "heavy lifting" back at Google HQ. That's not a design flaw, it's a design choice--this approach perfectly serves the needs of some huge fraction of users some huge percentage of the time, without unduly consuming the resources of the phone.
In today's world, if you're in a car in the US, you're almost always within range of a cell tower with data service. Of course, if you're not within range of a cell tower, you're probably far from civilization and that's when it'd be most helpful to have some navigational assistance...
So there's still a place for the self-contained navigators like a TomTom or similar. That market niche is simply much smaller than it was about 5 years ago before Google Maps / Navigation was ubiquitous.
MysticCobra said:
This behavior is not unique to the Galaxy S4, nor is it new. Google Navigation has always been (and almost certainly will remain) a client-server type app that does the "heavy lifting" back at Google HQ. That's not a design flaw, it's a design choice--this approach perfectly serves the needs of some huge fraction of users some huge percentage of the time, without unduly consuming the resources of the phone.
In today's world, if you're in a car in the US, you're almost always within range of a cell tower with data service. Of course, if you're not within range of a cell tower, you're probably far from civilization and that's when it'd be most helpful to have some navigational assistance...
So there's still a place for the self-contained navigators like a TomTom or similar. That market niche is simply much smaller than it was about 5 years ago before Google Maps / Navigation was ubiquitous.
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I understand its not unique or new but I certainly hope the route calculation becomes a client side option soon. It made sense to do it server side a couple phone generations ago when device processing power was limited but not so anymore. My S4 will run circles around any tomtom or garmin both in processing power as well as gps accuracy not to mention never having to do manual gps fix updates and map updates. The standalone navigational gps is going to go the way of the point and shoot camera. Its just a matter of time.
What you're calling a design choice may have been choice two years ago. Today it is a horrible flaw. There are vast areas of well traveled road that get no service around here (eg. anywhere in the mountains.) Google needs to pull their head out and recognize (or someone else will do it [be]for[e] them.) Sooner the better for them and us.
0reo said:
I understand its not unique or new but I certainly hope the route calculation becomes a client side option soon. It made sense to do it server side a couple phone generations ago when device processing power was limited but not so anymore. My S4 will run circles around any tomtom or garmin both in processing power as well as gps accuracy not to mention never having to do manual gps fix updates and map updates. The standalone navigational gps is going to go the way of the point and shoot camera. Its just a matter of time.
What you're calling a design choice may have been choice two years ago. Today it is a horrible flaw. There are vast areas of well traveled road that get no service around here (eg. anywhere in the mountains.) Google needs to pull their head out and recognize (or someone else will do it [be]for[e] them.) Sooner the better for them and us.
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Like someone said before, you can download the maps offline for whatever area you need that won't have service.
Google isn't stupid. This is why they introduced this feature. It's not that the phone doesn't have the processing power; having the entire country stored on your phone would take up tons of storage.
There are other GPS applications (in the Play Store) that do this I'm pretty sure, and that is also why standalone GPS units exist. Google doesn't have to worry about losing anything to anyone. For a huge majority of users, Google Maps works perfectly fine.
trebb said:
Like someone said before, you can download the maps offline for whatever area you need that won't have service.
Google isn't stupid. This is why they introduced this feature. It's not that the phone doesn't have the processing power; having the entire country stored on your phone would take up tons of storage.
There are other GPS applications (in the Play Store) that do this I'm pretty sure, and that is also why standalone GPS units exist. Google doesn't have to worry about losing anything to anyone. For a huge majority of users, Google Maps works perfectly fine.
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On my tomtom the map of the entire US (just roads, not sat images) is about one GB. Not prohibitive by any stretch.
And unless I'm still missing something you can't save maps in Navigation app. Only in Google Maps app which is different and not nearly as good for use while driving.
0reo said:
On my tomtom the map of the entire US (just roads, not sat images) is about one GB. Not prohibitive by any stretch.
And unless I'm still missing something you can't save maps in Navigation app. Only in Google Maps app which is different and not nearly as good for use while driving.
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I'm almost 100% positive that the Navigation app and Google Maps are the same application. Just like the other app whose name I can't recall that helps you find restaurants, etc. It's all run through Google Maps. The initial interface may be different, but they're the same thing.
I always just search my destination in Maps, then hit navigate. That takes you to the same exact thing the Navigation shortcut will eventually bring you to. I have never really used the offline feature nor do I use the Navigation shortcut, so I can't really instruct you on how to do it through either method. I remember reading the reviews when Google introduced the feature, though, so it definitely works.
Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4.
Next time, just leave Navigation running in the background while you make your call. When you hang up, pull down the status bar and tap the Navigation icon & continue on your way.
0reo said:
Google Maps app =/= Navigation app.
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Except they are. Exact same apk file. Uninstall maps... Navigation disappears.
The navigation icon is basically a maps shortcut.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Whatever is happening in the back end, I just don't see the functionality in the front end. I'll play with it more today and see if I'm missing a way.
Surprised no one mentioned the Sygic app in this thread yet -- I tried it a while back and it was pretty decent for a standalone navigation app that you can download maps to your SD card and have the app use those. It is relatively expensive since I last looked though.
I used to have a Garmin Navigation app on my Blackberry Storm. It looked and worked just like my actual Garmin GPS. All map and routing data was on the phone (<2GB) and it worked even with no cell or data signal at all.
I don't know why they don't offer the same thing as an Android app. The full City Navigator North America database is less than 2GB.
stuartv said:
I used to have a Garmin Navigation app on my Blackberry Storm. It looked and worked just like my actual Garmin GPS. All map and routing data was on the phone (<2GB) and it worked even with no cell or data signal at all.
I don't know why they don't offer the same thing as an Android app. The full City Navigator North America database is less than 2GB.
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I think they decided to not kill their company. They are trying to stay out of the race to zero. Google could kill off every other navigation company in one swoop if they wanted to by offering a free full blown offline maps for android and ios...I think they just don't want the regulatory scrutiny. And they wouldn't be able to collect data on your habits as easily, lol. NSA might get pissed.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
SuzakuTheKnight said:
Google Maps > Menu Key > Make available offline
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Does anyone know of a way to make the caching of maps cache a much bigger area than it currently does?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
i understand the op's concern. the main issue being when there is no connection to the internet you cannot get directions. even if you cache a map offline the navigation still won't provide you directions, you can only browse the map area and see where you currently are on that cached map. the reason it works this way is because when you choose directions or navigation in maps google calculates the directions from your location to the point selected. it's not something done within the application, but dynamically via google's servers.
this is almost never an issue for me, except in the rare occasion when i've been traveling and in a tunnel or some remote location where internet connection isn't available. in those cases your best bet is to calculate your directions ahead of time and email them to yourself. you can also cache a map of that area so you can at least browse it offline.
if google ever offers offline navigation/directions then every other mapping service can kiss their company goodbye.
Google built the best. I'd pay for the ability to calculate a route offline.