Best turn-by-turn GPS application?

[Munkey Boy]

OK, I know there are threads for the big turn-by-turn GPS apps here, but what's not apparent is how they stack up against each features and functionality wise.

Essentially, what I'm getting at is what am I paying for if I was to go for TomTom over CoPilot? Is it really worth double the price?

Does anyone regret their purchase of CoPilot and wish they'd gone for TomTom (or vice-versa!)?

Many thanks for any opinions.

[reforse]

I had TomTom mobile6 on a previous phone.

I got copilot a few weeks ago. No complaints. Update also puts in Speed Cam warnings.

for the price Copilot is immense value. I cant see how TomTom will be better value at twice the price.

[djjuk]

Voila

iPhone Navigation App Comparison Chart

Personally Copilot for me. No complaints & at the price it's a no brainer. Updated today with speed cams & other goodies & works fine for me.

[RobM83]

Each have their merits and problems and each have features that the others don't support. None of them are perfect, that's for sure and no doubt all will improve over time with future updates. The choice should come down to the features you consider important and the confidence you have in the software.

This last bit was a big factor in my choice. The price of CoPilot is hard to dismiss. But it's clearly not a finished product yet. The fact that people are looking forward to an application that restarts when you receive a phone call is proof of this.... having to restart the app while driving in an area you don't know (hence the need for navigation) was simply an omission too far. There is also numerous reports of crashes, needing to free up memory before you can run it and slow performance, not to mention reports of inaccurate routing. All things that will be fixed, no doubt, but this approach to development leaves me with little confidence in future releases.

In a few months and a few releases time, this will be a killer app and TomTom/Navigon will have no choice but to drop their prices. But it should come with a Beta sign at this stage.

I went for Navigon as I have a standalone Navigon SatNav and features like Lane Assist and Reality View make a huge difference. I've never had anything but spot on routing either and I know the interface has some very nice touches, such as repeating the last command on demand, excellent multiple views of roundabouts and junctions and the voice commands are always delivered in good time.

That said, it's not perfect and there are some omissions, such as no 7-digit Post Code entry, although this is soon due in an update along with free TMC.

If TomTom were available when I was buying Navigon I would have thought long and hard about this though. The interface is great, the routing great and things like IQ routes are a big plus.

So ultimately, there is no perfect Sat Nav app for the iPhone yet. Each has weaknesses and the best advice is to read up on each and pick the one that ticks most of your priority boxes.

[J7MAN]

Navigon wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't a horrible laggy mess. CoPilot for me all day long.

[RobM83]

Originally Posted by J7MAN

Navigon wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't a horrible laggy mess. CoPilot for me all day long.

Is that your own experience or what you've read?

I should qualify my comments above to say I have properly used all three of the options I mentioned and those are my personal opinions, backed up in some cases by reviews and discussion on this forum.

[J7MAN]

My own experience on a 3G. Navigon was absolute torture getting through the menus with music playing in the background, in comparison CoPilot absolutely zips along without a hitch.

[djjuk]

Originally Posted by RobM83

That said, it's not perfect and there are some omissions, such as no 7-digit Post Code entry, although this is soon due in an update along with free TMC.

That to me was a deal breaker & a major omission at release. So it could be said that they are all 'betas' of sorts at present.

All have compromises & tbh none fully replace a dedicated unit, whether that is due to the iphone hardware limitations or rushed software is a matter for debate of course.

[RobM83]

Originally Posted by djjuk

That to me was a deal breaker & a major omission at release. So it could be said that they are all 'betas' of sorts at present.

Finished software but without every feature you'll ever get isn't Beta.
Unfinished software is or should be Beta.

Probably a bad example.. but Microsoft introducing new features into Windows doesn't make every previous version a Beta. But Microsoft releasing a version of Windows that is unstable and crashes should only happen during Beta testing.

Originally Posted by djjuk

All have compromises & tbh none fully replace a dedicated unit, whether that is due to the iphone hardware limitations or rushed software is a matter for debate of course.

I think the fact TomTom and Apple deem it necessary to provide a in-car mount that offers better GPS hardware is a clear sign that the GPS hardware in the iPhone could be better.

[djjuk]

Originally Posted by RobM83

Finished software but without every feature you'll ever get isn't Beta.
Unfinished software is or should be Beta.

I am aware of the definition of Beta My point was that in my experience with Copilot on a 3G, of which I have no particular allegiance I should add (apart from price) I have experienced none of the points you raised re memory usage, slow performance, crashing & incorrect routing. So I cannot relate that to a Beta product in my direct experience to date. Your experience it seems has obviously been different.

Counter that with similar reports re Navigon & the rest if you look around (this forum included) & it becomes a tricky area to navigate if you excuse the pun. So many different configurations in play with the iPhone itself don't help when deciding.

Originally Posted by RobM83

I think the fact TomTom and Apple deem it necessary to provide a in-car mount that offers better GPS hardware is a clear sign that the GPS hardware in the iPhone could be better.

Agreed. So what does that tell us about Navigon, Copilot et all?

[berkeley384]

I have Navigon & Co Pilot

Navigon Pro's

Nice interface
Next direction repeat on request
Speed Camera database
Good GPS signal
Excellent voice instructions
QWERTY keyboard

Cons

No 7 digit post code search
Seems to lag at times when recalculating and at busy junctions


CoPilot Pro's

Since update, Very good GPS signal
Re calculates very quickly
Speed camera database
7 digit post code search

Cons

Tacky interface
Maps very clear but look almost cartoon like
Since update the routing profile system appears to be corrupt
When vehicle is stopped the arrow turns to a red circle which is lags when changing back to an arrow when you set off.
No QWERTY keyboard

I cannot pick one that I would consider better all round, tonight my experience with CoPilots GPS signal strength would maybe give it the edge , but due to Navigons superior directions its very hard to call a clear winner

[apolloa]

I had Tom Tom on my Symbian SE phone and it worked fine but Tom Tom charge for map updates and also stopped updating them. I was going to get Tom Tom for the iPhone but I also now about CoPilot and it's VERY VERY good reputation, it wins a lot of awards.
So when it came out at £26, sorry but that was just far too good to miss, plus the whole point for ME of having Sat Nav on my phone is that I want a cheaper alternative to a full blown dedicated unit, CoPilot gives me that. Tom Tom doesn't. Also any Sat Nav's interface is personal opinion if you like it or not, it isn't a bad point.

I've been very happy with it so far, just think the voices should be louder but that's about it really. As Rob has said, each one has strengths and weaknesses. You can try Navigon for free, you can't use it to guide you to a destination but it will show you a demo of the route and you get the feel of the interface.

[RobM83]

Originally Posted by djjuk

I am aware of the definition of Beta My point was that in my experience with Copilot on a 3G, of which I have no particular allegiance I should add (apart from price) I have experienced none of the points you raised re memory usage, slow performance, crashing & incorrect routing. So I cannot relate that to a Beta product in my direct experience to date. Your experience it seems has obviously been different.

Counter that with similar reports re Navigon & the rest if you look around (this forum included) & it becomes a tricky area to navigate if you excuse the pun. So many different configurations in play with the iPhone itself don't help when deciding.

My own experience wasn't tooo bad. It loaded up quickly, sent me on an obscure route avoiding an A road that was the obvious way to go and stopped responding at a roundabout once... but then kicked back into life half a mile down the road and was fine from then on.

But reading the CoPilot thread in this section you can see numerous people complaining of what I describe above.

Originally Posted by djjuk

Agreed. So what does that tell us about Navigon, Copilot et all?

Could be one of two things.... Either there is a weakness in the hardware and TomTom have got the support of Apple in developing a hardware solution that the others don't have the luxury of... or there is a weakness in the TomTom iPhone App that the others don't have.

I guess we wont know until it's released and side-by-side comparisons are available. I'll be hoping to do exactly that myself if I can smile sweetly enough at the right people

[Munkey Boy]

All good input, much appreciated guys. Bearing in mind that none of these products are the finished article then, I wonder which will keep improving via updates? I think I'm swinging to CoPilot as there's no obvious choice right now except price.

Plus I notice resume after phone call has been fixed now too.

[simon69c]

Well so far both co-pilot and navigon have had substantial featureset improvements via updates. I haven't had experience of co-pilot, but Navigon I have found to be excellent in keeping customers in the loop of what updates they have got planned, previews of those updates, and informing when they have been submitted to appstore for approval (and the subsequent release). Navigon's next update (1.2, which should be imminent as it was submitted a little over a week ago to Apple) adds spoken street names along with in-app ipod control, and they have announced that TMC (traffic) and 7 digit postcodes will follow in the update(s) after that. Once those are included I think Navigon will have just about everything I would want in a Satnav.

I believe TomTom did recently announce at long last that they would be adding some new features too, but I have no idea on the timescales they have in mind (Navigon's updates have been 1-2 months apart).