burnface

HEY!
So I got my Hero a couple weeks back, and love it.
I use the Sprint navigation pretty dang frequently, but it's really not the best. I know it's a phone and not a GPS, but is there anything better out there? I purchased Copilot, which is alright, but there are a LOT of stuff/addresses it can't find even with the updated maps.

So just pretending price doesn't matter for now, what's the best possible GPS for my Android?

Thanks!!!

Fadelight

Google Maps.




Someone had to say it.

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burnface

Well yeah I have that too of course, which is alright for just looking something up......
But for like turn by turn is what I'm looking for..
Thanks though

DarkTLRrider

On android 1.6 and up google maps offers google navigation. I thought I just read that the hero is updating to 2.0 or 2.1. Which would give you google navigation for free. I used telenav which you have to download from their website for android not the market and it is $9.99 per month. I was happy with their service except for the price. Check out when the hero update will be released. May make sense to just stick with co-pilot untill you get google nav.

Fadelight

Again... google maps.


Seriously... You need to do some reading. I just got back from a week and a half long trip to Phoenix. I had my TomTom with me, and about 90% of the time I ended up falling back on Google Nav because it was better by a VERY significant amount.


Check this out.

YouTube - Google Maps Navigation (Beta)

burnface

Google Maps and Google Navigation are two different things. Google Navigation is only available for Android 1.6 and up. My Hero has 1.5.

Since at this point I have no way of getting Google Navigation until I get a firmware update, Sprint Navigation and Copilot is all I have. Hopefully I can get it really soon though cause that video and the other stuff I've read about it make it look amazing!

burnface

Also, everything I could find says the 2.1 update is supposed to be tomorrow! Nothing seems for sure though.. But I'm hoping

Mama Luigi

The Hero is still on 1.5 until sometime this spring.

Fadelight

back at ya.

You are attaching my "You need to read" comment to the wrong section of my post and assuming I am bashing the guy. Calm down, take your ball and go sit in the corner.


The "you need to read" was solely about discovering an app that he obviously doesn't know much about. Anyone who hasn't read about what google maps/nav can do DOES need to read. Google has created an amazing app there, and it's only getting better with time, albeit (IMO) taking a step back by adding "buzz".


Hasn't the hero already been rooted? If the possibility exists to root a phone, then the "But we don't have the right OS" argument is a moot point. The OS... and the app... can still be had.


Just because there is another verision for older OSes that doesn't include it doesn't make it two different things. It, like buzz and Latitude, are just simply packaged into the same app... which means it is all one app. If they were two different things, you would be able to download them separately.

But anyway... If you want maps/nav and you can't currently get it due to OS restrictions, it would appear you have a reason to root your phone. Getting what you want isn't impossible... its just a case of whether or not you are willing to do something else first.

burnface

??

Me saying they're two different things really has nothing to do with any of it. My point was that just because I have Google Maps doesn't mean I have Google Navigation. So in that way, yes they are different..

I already know I could root my phone if I wanted to, but since I'm fully content waiting a few days for the actual update, that'd be a stupid thing to do.

So AGAIN with my question, is there a better navigation app available for Android 1.5 than what I currently have? Without rooting it? If I have the best till I get Google Nav, then awesome.

And I have read plenty about it. But since I don't have it and can't without rooting, then I really don't care about it at this time..

Still thanks for the info though. Appreciated.

Last edited by burnface; March 25th, 2010 at 02:03 PM.

takeshi

Best is always subjective and you need to qualify what you mean by it any time you ask a "What is best?" question, regardless of topic.

Can you confirm what you mean? You've only indicated that up-to-date maps are important and price isn't. Is that it?

From my experience, every GPS nav app is going to have map update issues. Some worse than others but even Google Nav has its share. IIRC, somewhere on this site is an "All Known GPS" apps thread. You might want to take a look at it.

Last edited by takeshi; March 25th, 2010 at 02:12 PM.

Fadelight

IMO... if you are perfectly content waiting for the OTA, then I would seriously just wait until you can get google maps. Price or no price, I would say that I like it better than any other app out there right now. Takeshi hit the nail on the head when he said "best" is subjective... so take my opinion for what it's worth. I say just settle in and wait.

TambourineMan

If you don't mind a paid GPS Nav program (that does not require an internet connection while being used), then I think the only one available for Android is CoPilot Live. I have it. It works pretty well (I have had Garmin Mobile XT for my 5800, TomTom for my 650, and iGuidance iNav for my Mogul), but I haven't been able to get live traffic to work with it.

A free offline one that works well for what I want (hiking on topo maps) is Orux maps. There is a free program (MobileAtlasCreator) where with your PC you can make and download your own maps from many sources on the internet for free. Using such maps Orux will not work for driving navigation as the maps are just big pictures of terrain. As for roads - the pictures don't know where they come from or which way they go.

But Orux does work with Google Maps (with a data connection) so it shows traffic on the map, but it would only perhaps help you get back to a location that you have already been to and for which you have set a waypoint .

burnface

Hmm I see what you mean.. Pretty much I just want up-to-date maps, good turn by turn, and a user friendly interface.. Maybe not so much that one.

My Sprint Navigation is pretty good, but it has to recalculate route all the time even with a perfect signal, so that's kind of annoying. It's also pretty behind a lot of the time.

I think I'll just stick to that for now like fadelight said till I can get Google Nav like my original plan.

Thanks!!

CriticalCritic

I'm having the exact same issue with my Samsung Moment. The trouble is, I think we will be waiting a little longer than you Hero owners

burnface

Well the date for Hero got pushed back more again, from what I heard. More like the end of April. uugggghhhhhhhh i hate waiting!

blackvyper

I have CoPilot, Navigon and iGo MyWay... all three are leaps and bounds beyond GoogleMaps (which I removed through root). If you lose your signal with GoogleMaps then you are SOL... better to have maps stored locally unless you're just using your GPS around town.

Last edited by blackvyper; March 30th, 2010 at 06:38 AM.

verticesearestas

N-Drive... The best For me...

jojitsu

I have not used them all, but I used to have sygic and found it really good.. Some reviews here..

Android Sat Nav Apps

barbatrucco

Take a look at Bring Me There. The simplest gps app for me but the most useful..... It never let me down, abroad or during my mountain excursions....

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nifritz.bringmetherelite

Bye bye

Stuntman

I've recently switched to Waze. I find that it is really good at providing me with the quickest route to places. Even though I am familiar with my city, it has shown me a few shorter cuts that I didn't know about or considered before. Waze also provides very good traffic information for various routes. If there is a slow down, it can tell you how fast traffic is moving along that route. Its driving navigation also speaks the street names.

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chanchan05

I'm on Waze as well. Awesome app. For the 3 years I've been on Android, my only complaint was that no Android mapping app could equal the Ovi Maps coverage in my country, nor was as good in navigating (paid apps excluded, never tried those. I can't make myself pay for something when I can still use my 5800 for navigating free). Then I found Waze.

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electricpete

you might want to start a new thread instead of bringing up one that has been dormant for 3 years.... the OP probably found an answer to his question by now and limitations of Android 1.5 or capabilities of 2010 version of Google Maps are no longer relevant to anyone I know of.

Last edited by electricpete; March 26th, 2013 at 10:01 PM.