Android Navigation Apps

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Bold

36 posts

Geek

#81778 18-Apr-2011 13:42

Hi All

I'm looking for a good GPS navigation App for my Milestone.

My phone came with a 60 day trial of Motonav which was actually pretty good. I'm considering paying for a license but want to make sure I take the best option. From what I've read online people are not happy with the lack of map updates for NZ/Aus.

My requirements are:
-Up to date maps
-A nice user interface
-A good POI db
-Speed limits
-Lane guidance
-Aussie maps included (nice to have)

I've used Google navigate a bit which is not bad, but I only have 120mb of data a month and would rather save it for other things.

I tried OSMAnd as a free option, doesn't really compare to the other paid software

Co-pilot looks nice

What apps are other people using and what do you think of them?

Are TomTom ever going to release an Android App?

1eStar

1604 posts

Uber Geek

#460119 18-Apr-2011 13:54

Take a look at Ndrive. I have it on my old iPhone and love it. It comes preloaded on a droid vodafone lg phone. Has 'good' routing and accurate trip times.

valtam

396 posts

Ultimate Geek

#460178 18-Apr-2011 15:44

I wouldn't mind knowing this to, ordering an S2 so I'd like a good cached Nav maps app.

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lchiu7

6470 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#460181 18-Apr-2011 15:48

I bought CoPilot Live when I got my N1 over a year ago now. It works pretty well and is updated regularly. But now I tend to use Google Navigation since I like the street names being read out (though sometimes the pronunciation is a bit strange for Maori or Indian names).

And it works without having maps on your phone though you can apparently cache tiles if you can be bothered.

What I find annoying with CoPilot is when you are entering the destination street, you have to know the city and often the suburb. For example if you're looking for an address in Wellington, versus Lower Hutt you need to know that while Google does intelligent searches. Of course CoPilot doesn't need data which is a plus.

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blakamin

4431 posts

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Inactive user

#460202 18-Apr-2011 16:21

I have N-Drive on my LG phone... not bad, but prefer google nav.
Another free one is mapquest. It uses open maps so it's all offline if you download them. Obviously it's as only as good as the maps you get.
Co-Pilot is meant to be one of the best but expensive (compared to other apps).
TomTom used to be my favourite when I used I used winmo6.1. Never tried on Android as I can't afford it anymore.

lokhor

2858 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#460252 18-Apr-2011 18:09

lchiu7: I bought CoPilot Live when I got my N1 over a year ago now. It works pretty well and is updated regularly. But now I tend to use Google Navigation since I like the street names being read out (though sometimes the pronunciation is a bit strange for Maori or Indian names).

And it works without having maps on your phone though you can apparently cache tiles if you can be bothered.

What I find annoying with CoPilot is when you are entering the destination street, you have to know the city and often the suburb. For example if you're looking for an address in Wellington, versus Lower Hutt you need to know that while Google does intelligent searches. Of course CoPilot doesn't need data which is a plus.

I agree with you about CoPilot, I tried it out but found it too limited in finding destinations. Google Nav is the best solution but obviously requires data which is ok when you have 1gb.

All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek

#460261 18-Apr-2011 18:45

I'm using CoPilot but imho there is nothing worth spending money on currently for android as far as nav apps go, i agree with comments re: google nav, it is a good product and probably closest to TomTom which i consider a benchmark for incar gps.

One of the best features with google nav is the search, integrating with a google web search it makes life easy when looking for addresses but the data usage means cost albeit not huge

Bold

36 posts

Geek

#460395 19-Apr-2011 09:55

Cheers for the thoughts

I know what you mean about searching for addresses, Motonav which is a rebranded copy of iGO My Way also requires you to know the right suburb before it finds anything..

What is NDrive like for searching?

I did read somewhere a while ago that TomTom are porting their app to Android, no idea when it might happen though. It might be worth waiting for be for I spend money on something else.

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TheUngeek

924 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#460479 19-Apr-2011 12:46

Tried Mapdroyd?
Free maps stored offline on your SDcard.
You need to pay for the nav function. Haven't tried that but I do have the maps and it works quite well.

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek

#460481 19-Apr-2011 12:50

Since i posted last i have had a quick play with Aura by Sygic and would rate it as worthy, it is very similar in screen layout to TomTom with a blue tool bar down the bottom showing eta's, speed, directions etc, it also has lane guidance etc, menus are simple and concise, search is eash to use. was quick to lock my location and recalculate

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.sygic.aura&feature=search_result

http://aura.sygic.com/day_with_aura.html

1eStar

1604 posts

Uber Geek

#460699 19-Apr-2011 22:43

Ndrive requires city first then road, but seems pretty broad in what it will accept while searching address, ie the closest city seems to suffice.
The real reason I recommend it is because it chooses good routes when you choose the quickest time option, some of these nav guidance software are ridiculous where they send you. The mapping is good. I find it works real well when out of cell coverage too, but that might be device dependent.