Best GPS Navigation Software?

[glc650]

Hello Pocket PC Thoughts community,

I'm new to GPS and PDA and looking for the best GPS navigation software for the Pocket PC platform. I've been reading as many reveiws and forums as I can find, but I'm just not sure which software to purchase - there's just so many. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance...

-g.

[Mik]

I guess it depends where in the world you are and the map coverage where you want to use it.

I always liked tomtom and as I had a old version, the recent €69 upgrade to full European Maps was the one for me. I have subscribed to tomtom traffic in the UK (ability to download realtime traffic info and overlay onto the map) as well as have the safety camera database loaded (warns when I'm near speed camera) and use the software daily. I'm running it on a HP6515 with built in GPS.

My vote go's for tomtom 5 for map coverage, features and the add-on's

[cml]

Mik is defintely correct. It depends on where you live. I have heard great things about TomTom in Europe. It seems OK in the US, but Mapopolis has been better for me where I've used it (up and down either US coast). I used another package that people had raved about on-line, but it placed my home address over a half-mile away from where it should have been. Best bet is to go with a package that allows a trial and use it where you'll need it most to see how it matches up.

[glc650]

Thanks for the replies....

I'm located in the USA, on the west coast, and that's where I do 100% of my driving. Which software has the best California coverage?

Mik, yea, I've noticed TomTom gets lots of praise in general, but more so in Europe, which is why I'm a little hesitant.

cml, I'm trying to recall if I saw any packages with trials. Do you know of any? What's the other software you tried that didn't work as well for you?

[cschmidtner]

Hi there, I've puchased TomTom GO for my navigation needs in NJ, NY and New England States. The maps are pretty accurate, even though Campgrounds can be selected and are as good as any brochure.

Sure there are some recently new build roads missing but that problem always exist. TomTom recently updated their maps and I've the update at home but not yet installed. What've liked with the update was that I've just paid the shipping, the rest was for free! Excellent service.

I've tried mapopolis too and the maps are very precise -even some very small roads are there - good for hiking though. However the mapopolis lacks on 3D views and the user interface isn't that nice.

Give it a try, you can download it for free with demo maps of your area and see yourselve.

Still I love my TomTom GO as I can easily plug it from one car to another and if go somewhere e.g. Europe I just need to get the maps and my rental car knows exactly where to go.

Chris

[glc650]

Hi there, I've puchased TomTom GO for my navigation needs in NJ, NY and New England States. The maps are pretty accurate, even though Campgrounds can be selected and are as good as any brochure.

Sure there are some recently new build roads missing but that problem always exist. TomTom recently updated their maps and I've the update at home but not yet installed. What've liked with the update was that I've just paid the shipping, the rest was for free! Excellent service.

I've tried mapopolis too and the maps are very precise -even some very small roads are there - good for hiking though. However the mapopolis lacks on 3D views and the user interface isn't that nice.

Give it a try, you can download it for free with demo maps of your area and see yourselve.

Still I love my TomTom GO as I can easily plug it from one car to another and if go somewhere e.g. Europe I just need to get the maps and my rental car knows exactly where to go.

ChrisDo you have the Pocket PC/Palm TomTom or one of the dedicated in-car systems?

While features like 3D perspective and a fancy interface are nice to have, they are not a necessity, just a bonus. I just need accurate maps for my region with turn-by-turn directions and voice prompts. I'm gonna look into Mapopolis right now....thanks...

[cschmidtner]

I have a demo of Mapopolis on my PDA but I am using TomTomGO as a in car system. It gives me visual and audio indications before a turn. This very good and precise because there are several audio alerts. An early indication e.g. to change to the right lane, before a turn and with the turn. The visual indication is always available where you see the distance to the next turn. TomTomGO and TomTom PDA is using the same application software, so no difference here. Especially at night and with bad sight (rain, fog, snow) I love to have it on even I know where to go since it better helps me orientating e.g. like an aircrafts radar.

[Jordan Rosenwald]

glc650,
I've been using Mapopolis for a long time now, and was just recently evaluating every piece of software I could get my hands on. Bear in mind, I’m on the east coast, but here’s what I came up with…
I found that every major mapping program was good. iGuidance, TomTom, Mapopolis, and Destinator were the ones I got to play with, and found 1 key difference between Mapopolis and all the others. In my opinion, Mapopolis is a mapping program that works very nicely with a GPS. The others are GPS applications that work reasonably well as mapping software.
The difference comes in the fundamental way you interface with the software. In the case of iGuidance, TomTOm and Destinator it largely assumes you have a GPS up at all times. So setting up a route is pretty much always assumed to be from your current location. This is great except that too often I don’t have my GPS up and running, or I’m just trying to get a feel for how long a drive a trip will be. I found Mapopolis to be a lot better in those instances. It’s simply a quicker interface for that kind of work.

If you intend to always have your GPS up and running, then the others are a great route to go. Personally, I thought iGuidance and Destinator were really top knotch.
But if you prefer something that functions much like iGuidance and the others when it needs to, but functions more like Mapquest in the palm of your hand (for those times you don’t have or want to turn on a GPS), I really do recommend Mapopolis.

[glc650]

glc650,
I've been using Mapopolis for a long time now, and was just recently evaluating every piece of software I could get my hands on. Bear in mind, I’m on the east coast, but here’s what I came up with…
I found that every major mapping program was good. iGuidance, TomTom, Mapopolis, and Destinator were the ones I got to play with, and found 1 key difference between Mapopolis and all the others. In my opinion, Mapopolis is a mapping program that works very nicely with a GPS. The others are GPS applications that work reasonably well as mapping software.
The difference comes in the fundamental way you interface with the software. In the case of iGuidance, TomTOm and Destinator it largely assumes you have a GPS up at all times. So setting up a route is pretty much always assumed to be from your current location. This is great except that too often I don’t have my GPS up and running, or I’m just trying to get a feel for how long a drive a trip will be. I found Mapopolis to be a lot better in those instances. It’s simply a quicker interface for that kind of work.

If you intend to always have your GPS up and running, then the others are a great route to go. Personally, I thought iGuidance and Destinator were really top knotch.
But if you prefer something that functions much like iGuidance and the others when it needs to, but functions more like Mapquest in the palm of your hand (for those times you don’t have or want to turn on a GPS), I really do recommend Mapopolis.How do they compare in terms of map accuracy and routing/re-routing?

[rmcgrath]

I recently bought Delorme Handheld 2006 which works on Pocket PC and Palm. This is the first one that I can actually get turn by turn voice and visual directions from the PDA. The laptop version works great but I wanted to use the PDA and Earthmate GPS unit in the car. It works. I really like MS Streets and Trips maps better but the Delorme software and maps are ok. Only $40.00 US and cables can be gotten from www.thesupplynet.com for any PDA. :D

[kiwiruss]

I've ubeen using destinator 3 here in michigan for almost a year now.

I generally think its ok but am considdering switching to tomtom as the destinator website sucks and the navigation of menu's and changing options on the pocketpc are not really intuitive or easy to do while driving.

Admittedly it has nevver locked up or crashed on me so its stability is good.

But I think tomtom would be better.

[Jordan Rosenwald]

glc650,
Honestly i found them VERY comparable (almost identical) in my use.

[kellybelly]

I've been really happy with iGuidance.

The only problems I have experienced are when the GPS puts me in a place that I am not (usually a few feet off-road) and the software recalculates the route based on the wrong location. It rights itself fairly quickly though.

[Frosty Vibe]

I have iGuidance as well ( on my iPAQ 2210 ), I have experience similar problem that kellybelly mentioned but all you have to do it keep driving for maybe one block and it will be ok.

Mapopolis is another excellent choice, it is very intuitive and not very "demanding" at all... ie. it only take 2mb of RAM while iGuidance takes 10 when running.

Both are excellent, you can try Mapopolis for a free.

[glc650]

Thanks for the replies guys....

I've narrowed my search down to Mapopolis and Destinator PN. I got a chance to use IGuidance and it had some routing issues. OCN5 was in the running, but I don't like the fact that it doesn't show a quick turn-by-turn overview. Plus, I've heard a lot about performance/stability issues.

[venge]

I am currently using a PPC 6600 unit with an Iogear GBGPS201 unit. I have yet to really play with but right away in my home city it shows me as being OFF Road. I know it cannot have every city listed but i had hopes considering we are the 3rd largest (lol) city in our province.

My question is what are others using or suggest to use in Canada. I also travel a fair bit thru the US so i want the best of both worlds.

Any suggestions would be nice.

thanks

venge

[Frosty Vibe]

I am currently using a PPC 6600 unit with an Iogear GBGPS201 unit. I have yet to really play with but right away in my home city it shows me as being OFF Road. I know it cannot have every city listed but i had hopes considering we are the 3rd largest (lol) city in our province.

My question is what are others using or suggest to use in Canada. I also travel a fair bit thru the US so i want the best of both worlds.

Any suggestions would be nice.

thanks

venge

iGuidance and Mapopolis both have excellent Canadian coverage, best in the market in terms of actul map detailness ( not POI )

What city do you live?

[venge]

just outside of Winipeg, MB.

thanks for the info, i will chk them out asap. Just visited inav and it looks exactly like the software that came with my unit. lol. That tells me currently that i am OFF ROAD and head over to the Trans Can. ;-)

I wll see what the other has to offer.

Venge

[Frosty Vibe]

Is it a newer community? If so most maps have trouble with that.. perhaps even Mapopolis and iGuidance.

I live in Saskatoon and there's still no map for the "bed-room communities" around here, like Warman and Martensville.

I can check my iGudiance for coverage for your area if you like. :)

[venge]

Frosty, I have sent you a pm.

Thanks


Venge

[dyankamatsu]

im also interested in GPS ...is tomtom will work well in canada?

[tobyrne]

im also interested in GPS ...is tomtom will work well in canada?
I use both TomTom and Mapopolis. TomTom is great for city and highway driving. It includes a bunch of POIs and very detailed city maps. But if you're planning a trip up to the cottage, I'd suggest Mapopolis. Some smaller rural communities don't appear in TomTom's database, whereas they do in Mapopolis.

I also tried out Destinator for a while. It's the worse in terms of map coverage .. As soon as you leave an urban area, you're screwed. I'm not sure wether this applies for all of Canada, but thats how it is in Quebec ;)

Cheers ! :beer:

[riggerss]

Hi all
i have the hp bluetooth gps with navteq software, I live in Thompson, MB. I took a trip to winnipeg this weekend i received the "off road" message until i was 10 minutes on the perimeter, i stoped and tried to enter my hotel and low and behold not one POI for winnipeg. there was about 12 main streets listed for Winnipeg, OMG i was pissed i had to go buy a map from a service station. Yup the box says maps of usa and Canada, I emailed navteq they told me there is a update for $99 us but the company told me "where not sure what was all added to Manitoba" O yay so if anyone can tell me what softare i can buy for Canada that has good coverage for cities and some poi it would be very helpfull.

Thanks Rig