Help New Milestone owner! MOTONAV doesn't load!

[DarkSky]

I'm enjoying my phone so far, but one of the main reasons I bought it was for GPS function. My truck got broken into a couple days ago and they stole my phone (LG Shine) and GPS (Garmin C330), so i figured I'd get one that does both.

When I tap the Motonav icon, the screen goes blank for about 10 seconds, then it goes to the blue Motonav loading screen, the progress bar get to about half way (after 5 minutes of loading time), then stalls. Error message:

Sorry! Activity Motonav (in application Motonav) is not responding. [Force Close] [Wait]

???

Any ideas on what causes this or how to fix??

 

[DarkSky]

Ok... I saw that with Telus if I purchased before Mar.31 I could get a free car mount, and I had to enter my SIM card #, so I had to take out the cover/battery/sim card to get it.

After replacing it all back in and turning the phone back on and trying Motonav, it WORKS. Have NO idea why... the SIM card was obviously seated ok before because everything else on the phone worked... but for some reason taking out the card and battery and replacing, seems to have fixed everything. Or actually, now that I think of it, maybe just the turning off/on of the phone did it. ?

 

[fejker]

Maybe the reboot helped but it could also be the SD card. It works now so happy navigating.

 

[DarkSky]

NEW QUESTION: How do you turn "on" the GPS in the Milestone? It came with a 60 day trial and I need to try it out to decide what GPS software I want to go with, but whenever Motonav loads up it it say "GPS Disconnected" and in text "Your free trial will expire in 60 days". Then 2 buttons: Activate Later and Activate Now. (activate now requires you to go on the web).

Does this phone have built-in GPS hardware or am I required to still buy some kind of GPS receiver unit ?

EDIT: I just did a good search for the exact 'error' msg and found the answer. GPS satellite tracking was turned off in Settings> Location and Security (I'm a bit weary of knowing someone in some office could have the ability to track my whereabouts without me knowing). I'm generally against ANY type of tracking technologies (even my OnStar on my car) unless I personally know exactly who has access to track me. Anyhoo, i'm ranting. I turned it on and voila, my GPS became active

QUESTION ABOUT GPS SOFTWARE: Can anyone recommend some good GPS software? Before I commit to the Motonav app, I'd like to try out other ones. I've been using a regular GPS (Garmin C330) the last 4-5 years and it's worked great, but I have absolutely no idea what other products are like.

 

[Szadzik]

Settings>Location & Security>Use GPS Satellites.

 

[fejker]

QUESTION ABOUT GPS SOFTWARE: Can anyone recommend some good GPS software? Before I commit to the Motonav app, I'd like to try out other ones. I've been using a regular GPS (Garmin C330) the last 4-5 years and it's worked great, but I have absolutely no idea what other products are like.

There are several:
- Copilot (I heard it's good but haven't tried it yet)
- iGO (it's the same as Motonav ... or should I say Motonav is just a rebranded iGO ... the refresh is kinda slow and the whole software feels laggy on my Milestone)
- NDrive (have to try this, I think it's better than Motonav)
-Sygic (I have no idea)
- Google maps with turn by turn navigation (ver. 4 and above ... bad thing with this is that it constantly needs connection to the internet for downloading maps and if the signal isn't good the maps take forever to load)

I still think nothing beats a Garmin device. I've had Garmin Mobile XT on my Nokia E71 and it ran perfectly. BUT, the display on the Milestone is just too gorgeous to not run a GPS software (I do hope Garmin comes up with an Android solution fast - the Nuvi Phone is out as I've heard and it's based on Android).

I'm in the process of trying out all of the above so if you wait a month I'll be able to tell you which one I like the best.
Or you can try them yourself.

 

[DarkSky]

There are several:
- Copilot (I heard it's good but haven't tried it yet)
- iGO (it's the same as Motonav ... or should I say Motonav is just a rebranded iGO ... the refresh is kinda slow and the whole software feels laggy on my Milestone)
- NDrive (have to try this, I think it's better than Motonav)
-Sygic (I have no idea)
- Google maps with turn by turn navigation (ver. 4 and above ... bad thing with this is that it constantly needs connection to the internet for downloading maps and if the signal isn't good the maps take forever to load)

Thanks! Yes I definitely need something with built-in maps as I only have 500MB/month data on my current plan (and can't afford more right now).

The one thing I noticed I don't like about Motonav is the "continue for MORE THAN 1 kilometer". My Garmin would say 2kms or 200kms. MotoNav just says more than one, which could mean anything. GRR. I also wish MotoNav would automatically switch to night colours. In my test last night it was very bright (and distracting) in my face. And I also don't like how I don't have 3D or 2D options in settings. It looks like I have to manually 'tilt' the map to 2d which I prefer. 'Come to think of it, there's quit a bit I don't like about MotoNav! Hah.

Yes hopefully Garmin will release something for Android... I'll check out those ones you mentioned. Thanks again.

EDIT: http://www.mapdroyd.com/ This looks VERY good from the description! My Milestone game with a 16GB SD card so 1GB or so for maps is nothing, and using offline maps is EVERYTHING to me.

 

[fejker]

Look harder, there is an option in Motonav to switch between 3D+, 3D and 2D. There is also an option to switch between night and day mode automatically or manually (I'll test it tonight). I just came home from a hike and drove to the starting point using Motonav ... it worked OK apart from the constant GPS signal losses which I think is Motorola's fault and not the program.

I must say I quite like the Motonav while driving. Time to test the others.

 

[DarkSky]

Look harder, there is an option in Motonav to switch between 3D+, 3D and 2D. There is also an option to switch between night and day mode automatically or manually (I'll test it tonight). I just came home from a hike and drove to the starting point using Motonav ... it worked OK apart from the constant GPS signal losses which I think is Motorola's fault and not the program.

I must say I quite like the Motonav while driving. Time to test the others.

Your MotoNav has a default 2D or 3D? I can't seem to find it. Or auto switching colours. WHen I tap +MORE from my startup screen under "Map Colors" I can select Day: Default Daytime Colors or Night: Default Night Colors. But there doesn't seem to be anything for auto switch at night over to night colours. ( ? )

Do you know where the settings are to use 2D by default and autoswitch to night colours?

 

[fejker]

When the software is in "navigation mode" just tap the eye icon at the right border of the screen. Then you get an option for Map view (3D+, 3D, 2D), Zoom settings (Close, Normal, Far) and Color settings (Day, Night and Auto).

As I've said before, the software settings are a bit complicated and you don't get a general settings screen. You have to explore a bit. One thing I don't like about it is that the maps are a bit outdated for the region I'm using this for and you have to be very careful which route settings you choose otherwise the "GPS lady" might take you around some unwanted routes.

Yesterday I was driving along the highway and she was constantly saying "take the next exit then turn right" but I knew very well that this wasn't the right route. I then realized that I had "economical" turned on and she was trying to save my fuel and waste my time.

I think I'm quite done testing Motonav and can move on to Copilot next.

That doesn't mean Motonav is bad ... actually I think it's quite good but needs some getting used to and desperately needs a map update.

 

[DarkSky]

When the software is in "navigation mode" just tap the eye icon at the right border of the screen. Then you get an option for Map view (3D+, 3D, 2D), Zoom settings (Close, Normal, Far) and Color settings (Day, Night and Auto).

As I've said before, the software settings are a bit complicated and you don't get a general settings screen.

Heck I couldn't even figure out how to get it to full screen view until a couple days after I started playing with it! 'Didn't know you just had to tap the map.

and you have to be very careful which route settings you choose otherwise the "GPS lady" might take you around some unwanted routes.

I've noticed that. I was heading down a main street to my destination and she kept wanting me to turn left to use another main street (parallel) just because it was probably like 50m faster in the long run.

Yesterday I was driving along the highway and she was constantly saying "take the next exit then turn right" but I knew very well that this wasn't the right route. I then realized that I had "economical" turned on and she was trying to save my fuel and waste my time.

Hehe, yah that's the exact same problem I had.

I think I'm quite done testing Motonav and can move on to Copilot next.

THANKS FOR MENTIONING THIS! I was JUST checking that out 30mins ago. It's like $35 bucks but I can't seem to find a trial of it anywhere to test it. ( ? ) Not to mention I don't even know how to download it as it's not showing up in searches using the apps Market.

I'll start up a new thread for CoPilot talk: http://androidforums.com/motorola-milestone/53724-copilot-gps-softare.html#post440774