[darkpuppet]

The following is a review of the CoPilot Live 8 GPS navigation software for Windows Mobile

I recently picked up a Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 smart phone running Windows Mobile 6.1. The phone has GPS built in and therefore would make a handy hand-held GPS navigation unit.

Unfortunately, my cell carrier, Rogers wants $10/mo for their recommended Navigation software, which ironically is not yet currently available for the Xperia.

You can go the other direction to free software such as google maps, but the text is small and there's no spoken word navigation, and requires a constant cellular connection, making it less than ideal for anything but preplanning a trip or a walking trip in the city.

Being unwilling to spend hundreds for other software optins like Garmin or TomTom software that are locked to a proprietary memory card, I searched around a bit and found the Co-Pilot Live Software by ALK Technologies.

For $35 USD, you get software that you can install on any windows media device, includes complete maps of North America, and two voice options. You can order more maps or voices which can be downloaded directly from ALK's website using your smartphone for convenience.

Now onto the software --

Installation
The bad news about this software begins and ends mainly with the installation process. It will take a few clicks through the ALK website and e-mail to discover the location of the software download. But once dowloaded, installation is a breeze. Extract the files to a memory card with 2Gb of free space, and insert it into your smart phone. Installation will commence immediately and takes only moments.

Using the software
The first time you start the software, you will be prompted for basic configuration... it's as simple as using your finger to select and enter the information requested by the software.

It has a UI uniquely suited for the smaller screens of smartphones. This means you won't be pulling out your stylus to enter an address or set your options. It offers a 3d view with bold lines and large text that make navigating easy, and the spoken voice prompts you at various distances (configurable) along your route.

Since I could rattle on for pages about the features of the software, I'll hi-light the major ones instead.

- offers day and night modes
- can be configured for use on bicycles, walking, or driving to offer information on pedestrian trails and alternate paths.
- spoken voice is configurable and other voices can be downloaded from ALK
- shows thousands of points of interest
- can store your current point, home address, and favourites for later use
- can pre-plan your routes and trips
- automatically recalculates your route when you deviate
- configurable between metric and english standards
- can configure speed alarms, and other notifications
- can download optional maps for nominal fees
- offers traffic, construction, and other services (where available)

All-in-all, the software is of the highest quality and functionality, and while, not as quick to react as some dedicated GPS systems, is more than suitable for daily driving or use.

The only caveat is that if you're using this with your smartphone, you'll want to get a car charger kit as the GPS circuits in the phones tend to eat up power.

The software is available for smartphones, the iPhone, and laptops.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars... the best GPS I've used, and a top competitor to more expensive brands.

highly recommended.

[mo_focus]

wow sweet, so would it work on BB's as well? Right now i'm using BB GPS as well as TOM TOM.

BB gps is 10$ a month thru Bell. TOMTOM, is good but the maps are getting a bit old and don't want to spend 100$ for new maps.

[darkpuppet]

It's currently available on iPhone, Windows Mobile and Android devices. I don't see any support for Black Berries -- yet.

sorry.

There's a couple of sites like this one that lists some options for GPS nav for your blackberry. If it accepts a memory card, then chances are you can find software that's not an ongoing cost to you.

[Jmountney1]

thats sweet

i have a tomtom for my car but i might have to get this for every thing ells i just got a samsung ace smart phone


i had another grate bell experience today....


i had unlimited internet on my old phone a non smart phone. so i buy a new phone. a smart phone and one would think that there contract would not change buy just changing your phone.

but today i got a nice $106 internet charge from bell apparently you cant get unlimited internet on a smart phone so they just cancel yours and don't tell you...

[mo_focus]

Jmountney1,Sep 15 2009, 01:56 AM Wrote:thats sweet

i have a tomtom for my car but i might have to get this for every thing ells i just got a samsung ace smart phone


i had another grate bell experience today....


i had unlimited internet on my old phone a non smart phone. so i buy a new phone. a smart phone and one would think that there contract would not change buy just changing your phone.

but today i got a nice $106 internet charge from bell apparently you cant get unlimited internet on a smart phone so they just cancel yours and don't tell you...
[right][snapback]294345[/snapback][/right]

yep! we had a similar experiance with rogers about txt messaging. we had corperate plan on wife's phone and included free unlimited recived txt messages, but not the case anymore. they don't have it anymore as of July, but we didnt know so we get a nice bill for 12$ for txt messages.

[mo_focus]

darkpuppet,Sep 15 2009, 12:53 AM Wrote:It's currently available on iPhone, Windows Mobile and Android devices.  I don't see any support for Black Berries -- yet.

sorry.

There's a couple of sites like this one that lists some options for GPS nav for your blackberry.  If it accepts a memory card, then chances are you can find software that's not an ongoing cost to you.
[right][snapback]294341[/snapback][/right]

thanks pupet, i looked at some of them and decided to go with Google, its not a real gps but i like the latidude option on it.

[darkpuppet]

I have google maps with google latitude as well. it's a neat app, just not the greatest for in-car navigation.