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Sat nav on a mobile phone - any good?


Mel B

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Posted

Has anyone any experience of the following sat nav software for use on mobile phones:

 

http://www.amazegps.com/welcome.php

 

Hubby is thinking of putting in on my phone (as I've got free internet access) but just wondered if anyone out there has actually used it in anger - not thinking of replacing our Tom Tom system, but it would be good for when we're out and about in towns etc and can then use it plot our way back to the motorhome instead of getting lost looking for it! :D

Posted

I have Copilot uk on my iphone. Works very well, and i now use it instead of my tomtom. Bargain at £28 for the software, and rated number one in stuff magazine.

 

It uses GPS signal, so it doesnt matter if you have unlimited internet

Guest JudgeMental
Posted

I have a blackberry and have downloaded Goggle maps, my son says they are better then the supplied ones. will use it mainly for when I go cycling as I'm always getting lost. There is no voice (at least on mine) so not really a sat nav replacement I would fink.

 

But BBM is cracking, chatting away to a nephew in LA and the messaging is instantaneous and cheap effectively free ( £5 a month with data as well, on PAYG)

 

so if you wanna chat PING me!

 

But I digress......... back on topic :-D

Posted

Our Swift came with Blaupunkt Lucca sat nav. It can be unclipped from the cradle and has an internal battery so it can be used as a portable unit. Great for finding the way back to the van.

Like Judge I wanted to use it for cycling. On a trip to York where you naturally use the cycle paths it was useless - the cycle paths are not mapped onto the system.

Posted

I had sat nav on the last three of my cellphones,

 

The first had TomTom - brilliant and still works well, but software is now a little old fashioned.

 

The second had CoPilot - works well, but not as good as TomTom, but the software is more user friendly.

 

The third one has Google Maps - colleagues say it is fine, but I can't be bothered.

 

As a chauffeur I actually use a Garmin that I bought for £200 from Halfords, and I will change it after about two years. I carry the TomTom setup around as a backup, but have never needed to use it. I use either the Garmin or TomTom in the van.

 

It is possible to pay a lot of money for satnav devices, but unless you want to use it as some sort of wierd hobby and play with it all the time, I would try out the cheap ones and find one that seems friendly.

 

AGD

Posted

For goodness sake, does no-one read postings properly now!!! :D ;-)

 

We have no intention of doing away with out Tom Tom, it's just that having some form of usable sat nav on our mobile phone would mean that if we went out into the big wide world on our bikes or on foot, we could find our big white whale of a van when returning which miraculously seems to shrink to the size of a Dinky toy so we can't find it!!! We don't want to tote our Tom Tom with us, that's all. :-D

Posted

Hi Mel, I don't use sat nav on my phone but last weekend I travelled by train to the NEC. Just to kill time I was playing about with my phone and found Google maps, best it could do to locate me was 600 metres radius 8-) . If your phone doesn't have GPS built in (that's GPS as in Global Positioning System not GPRS as in General Packet Radio System and for those who don't know the difference the first forms the basis of sat nav and the second is a high speed data transmision service) then its going to be nine tenths of useless unless you're in a very built up area.

 

D.

Posted

Dear Mel

 

I agree, doesn't anyone ever read properly the input by others?

 

In my previous offering I said - TomTom on a cellphone is brilliant but a little old fashioned - CoPilot on a cellphone is very good but not as good as TomTom - and I have Google maps on my latest cellphone but I can't be bothered. Another thought, when using Google your cellphone is continually downloading data from the internet I believe. That may be a consideration for some.

 

I apologise for confusing the issue with my comments about satnav in general, I sometimes have difficulty in suppressing the thought that having done something as a professional for twenty years I might be able add to the deliberations.

 

AGD

Posted

No problemo AG! I just wanted to get the thread back on track so it didn't go a wandering about sat nav in general, which is where it looked like it was heading.

 

Doesn't look like many people have experience of it and especially the software I've suggested so we might have to have a trial run ourselves.

 

 

Posted

Mel, have downloaded the application myself and will give it a go. I have Co-pilot on my phone now and use it when I have not got my Tom Tom with me. It is ok for a back up.

Used Google on the phone this morning to find the quickest way to walk to Carcassonne Airport from a nearby hotel I was staying at, it did a very good job in directing me the safest way to walk, even though this is not exactly the shortest sometimes if there are any complicated road junctions to cross.

 

Clive

Posted

I noticed co-pilot has an option to change routing to 'rv' (it has car,rv,motorbike,bike,walking).

 

I'm presuming it will do nothing to the routing, because when you read on here, there is no mapping system with this detail?

 

Function might just be there for future map updates.

Posted

Mel, I knew where you was coming from. I was getting frustated as well,but back to the deal...I have just changed my phone contract from Three to vodafone and on my new phone it has a mapping facility.I havn't really had a good go at it yet as the phone is not live yet until 4o'clock today.

 

I have heard they are useful for finding "big whales" but in general yes they are useful. I'll try to let you know when iv'e got lost and used mine.

Posted

Hello Mel,

 

Yes.

 

A few weeks ago we were travelling to go on an narrow boat for a short break. The Sat. nav. had been left behind, the boss was driving and I was bored!

 

I have a Nokia E71 from "3" with "unlimited" Internet so I started to play. I used the "Maps" application and it work very well. I'm not sure that it would be as effective if I was driving, due to the small "screen".

 

Whilst on the boat I used the Sat. images on Google Maps to "position us", that worked well too.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Mick

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