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| gpspassion |
Posted - 05 mars 2005 : 20:29:00
Article on the portal
  
Questions, comments ?
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Discounts and Assistance/Réductions et Assistance (Club GpsPasSion) / Où commencer? |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Marvin Hlavac |
Posted - 16 juil. 2007 : 22:21:03
Since the software comparison article was written, each of the programs has been improved and new versions were released. A new CoPilot laptop version hasn't been reviewed here, so if you one day want to take the time to write something more about CoPilot, it would surely be very much appreciated be many readers. My CoPilot article was just a brief view of the product by a first-time user. You, however, have used CoPilot as your main navigation program for a while and you would be much better qualified to write about it. If you ever wish to do something like that, simply start a new topic and start typing ;-)
New versions of iGuidance and Streets & Trips have been reviewed here at the site. If interested here are some links:
What's new in iGuidance 3
What's new in iGuidance 4
What's new in Streets & Trips 2006
What's new in Streets & Trips 2007 |
| photon |
Posted - 15 juil. 2007 : 18:55:50
I have been a way from the forum for a long time and just peaked in. Personally I like Copilot and think it is the best all round Laptop program. It is packed with features and while the graphics may not seem so visually refined as other programs they are clear and large which is what you need when driving and glancing at the screen. As a result Copilot is simply the most easily read of the Laptop Guidance programs I own IMHO. One of the things I like about CoPilot is that the text and buttons are large so I am surprised that they don't seem so on a 7" screen. I wonder if setting a different screen resolution would rectify this. On a smaller screen I would expect the concern to be the size of the map because of the blue frame they use for text around the map taking some of the screen real estate while in guidance mode. In reality I don't generally look at the map when I want info between voice prompts. I look at the next turn text display at the top of the screen so I value that blue background with large text display.
When I first got CoPilot I did have a learning curve and some initial frustration compared to iGuidance which was so basic it took no time to learn. (Streets and Trips guidance ability couldn't compete with the others.) But iGuidance simplicity was also why I lost interest in it and went back to CoPilot. iGuidance (2.1) simply could not do more than provide basic guidance and lacked functional guidance features some other programs have. (I checked in here today see if anyone has iGuidance 4 and posted any info about it. I'll probably be looking to update one of my programs for newer map data in a year or so) Like all of the Nav programs I have used iGuidance also gets thrown off and guides you off the road then back on sometimes. The programs vary in what throws them off but they all seem to mess up on guidance somewhere. With all of the programs a glance at the map shows you the guidance error and you just stay on the road. One of my programs sometimes announces a turn that is really just a curve in the road (perhaps helpful if you are falling asleep LOL).
Once I learned CoPilot I found it is also simple and I appreciate being able to set it up to my preference. There are a lot of features to try out and preferences to set till you find the setup the you like best. All of the guidance features are accessible in Guidance mode. If you want more customization of your route beyond what guidance programs typically can do you can use planning mode to tweak your route to your preference and then send that to guidance mode to be guided along the route you have planned. I have never had a lockup with CoPilot 8 or 9 but with version 9 I did find that a dialog box for choosing your routing option would pop up underneath the active window causing CoPilot to seem locked until I hit alt tab to bring the dialog box to the front and respond to the dialog box. Tech support provided me with a fix for this. CoPilot Tech support is outstanding.
When it comes to winging it without guidance and using the programs as a map while you drive (NOT Recommended) I can't read the iGuidance map well enough while driving in daylight. The lines of smaller roads are white, are too thin, and text too small if you are zoomed wider than 1000' to show enough map for perspective. Smaller roads disappear when zoomed to 1 mile. CoPilots larger outlined graphical roads are much more readable and it doesn't loose smaller roads until zoomed to 3 miles. Mouse over a road displays the road name in readable size.
Programs that use nav tech maps such as iGuidance generally are considered to have better map data than CoPilot for some small local roads but CoPilot is very nearly as good. While Copilot can submit its GPS tracks I don't know what that does for us. |
| schneid |
Posted - 08 juin 2007 : 01:49:44
In response to, "Is Co-pilot any good?". I just completed a three-week road trip, Nevada to Maine and back. In addition to my iPAQ running TomTom 6, I used a Notebook connected to a Port Replicator under my seat. The display was a 7" Xenarc Touchscreen on the dash and for input I used/tried several OSKs and a really slick Samsung Q1 keyboard. It is very small, has all the F keys, a Win key, and a built in Touchstick Pointing Device. For PC based software I ran Co-pilot Laptop 10, iGuidance 3.01 (w iGKeys), Street Atlas 2007, and Streets and Trips 2007 (w S&TKeys).
I had just acquired Co-pilot and thought it promissing as it has Guidance and Planning in one app and was supposed to be able to use TomTom POI OV2 databases. On a 7" display Co-pilot is just too busy and several buttons and menus are to small to use. The guidance and planning apps seem to be separate uncoordinated apps that realy don't work together well. Options are hard to find as some for guidance are on the planning screen and vice versa. The learning curve is steep. My biggest complaint was that Co-pilot would crash after an hour or so of use and imported TomTom OV2 files do not work. Co-pilot support confirmed this but did not have a solution. The good news is that Co-pilot is returnable during the first thirty days.
Street Atlas has way too much going on to use with a small display and buttons and menus are too small as in Co-pilot. The Guidance Arrow was often off the road. In my opinion, it had the weakest maps.
I have used iGuidance on my iPAQ often but prefer TomTom as it is more polished. I was qite surprized at how well iG performed on a PC and how useable it is with my 7" display. The iG UMPC is perfect in this environment. Big buttons, easy to read menus, and solid guidance. Marvin's iGKeys add a lot to the useability.
I have used Streets & Trips alot for planning at home on my big PC and on the road running on a Notebook in the backseat dragging it to my lap when needed. Streets is by far the best trip planner out there. Running it on the small display for guidance was adequate although I generally set it up as a big north oriented moving map with the GPS and Guidance panes shut down. On the small screen it too suffers from too tiny buttons and menus. Marvin's Keys are a much needed and appreciated addition especially the new touchscreen elements.
For me, the winner is iG for guidance and Streets for planning running them both at the same time. If you can only run one, Streets is the hand's down winner. If you have an UMPC, iGuidance is hard to beat. Very easy to see and use interface.
Co-pilot and Street Atlas just didn't do it for me.
I can't wait to get my hands on the new iG in June (hey, it is June), and Streets in August.
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| Marvin Hlavac |
Posted - 07 juin 2007 : 22:23:32
ShaunM doesn't seem to agree. I'd suggest we leave it at that. Thanks. |
| ShaunM |
Posted - 07 juin 2007 : 21:55:01
quote:
Originally posted by Alan_
Can we find out who ShaunM is and have him thrown in jail for stealing software?
It's clowns like ShaunM that make it hard for the honest customers to get software without product activation.
 lmfao |
| Alan_ |
Posted - 07 juin 2007 : 19:53:11
If iGuidance 4 will have on-line activation procedure, I might consider not buying the new version because I have found product activation programs are often the ones that screw up and are hard to run.
Can we find out who ShaunM is and have him thrown in jail for stealing software?
It's clowns like ShaunM that make it hard for the honest customers to get software without product activation. |
| Marvin Hlavac |
Posted - 07 juin 2007 : 19:19:57
1.) Suggested reading:
[May 15, 2007] "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is pressing the U.S. Congress to enact a sweeping intellectual-property bill that would increase criminal penalties for copyright infringement, including "attempts" to commit piracy." Read more »
I have personally enjoyed the fact that iGuidance hasn't required any on-line activation procedure. Such schemes may potentially be a disaster if an emergency re-installation is necessitated during a trip or just before a vacation. Users usually blame the manufacturers for inventing these activation schemes, but the truth is that it's the users and distributors of pirated software who we can thank...
2.) Yes, the GPS unit from S&T 2007 will work with iGuidance (iGuidance doesn't use any proprietary GPS protocol to prevent you from using a third party GPS receiver. Neither does Microsoft.) |
| ShaunM |
Posted - 07 juin 2007 : 18:12:57
Downloading it from a torrent, eh?
Yea i have no morales 
*Update* Just finished downloading it, (at least i seed it and don't just leach  ) Burned the image to DVD, loaded the maps, everything seems to be working so far, but i havent had a chance to hook it up to the GPS yet. Will the SirF III from S&T 07 work on it? Anyway the interface is MUCH MUCH more simple then S&T and espescially Delorme. I figured both those out though so its not really a problem. It deffinetly has a "Cheaper" look and feel to it the the latter progz. |
| Marvin Hlavac |
Posted - 07 juin 2007 : 17:14:10
Downloading it from a torrent, eh? I've always wondered how much longer can iGuidance rely on the honor system rather than on some product activation scheme. |
| ShaunM |
Posted - 07 juin 2007 : 16:48:53
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007 It is not driver friendly.
AGREED! 
Thanx for the responses, i am currently downloading iGuidance 3.0 from a torrent and i am going to try that, i am looking for in car navagation , not trip planning. |
| Marvin Hlavac |
Posted - 06 juin 2007 : 23:35:03
"...and is Co-pilot any good?" I think CoPilot has the potential to be the best, because it has features needed for trip planning and at the same time it is easy to use for navigation. Hopefully their map quality has improved since I last looked at it few versions back.
Just like Enrique, I also recommend to most people iGuidance by iNav Corp. It is VERY good for navigation.
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007 is still perhaps the best trip planner around, but it may take a while to get used to using it while driving. It is not driver friendly.
Delorme Street Atlas is another popular choice. Some say the interface used to be better in earlier versions. I personally never used it myself because of the lack of Canadian coverage in the past. These days Canada is included in the product, but from what I've seen the map data has room for improvement.
nRoute by Garmin may be another possible choice. The Garmin map quality is good, perhaps the best of all of the above. I never used the product, though, so I cannot give first hand feedback. |
| Enrique Muyshondt |
Posted - 06 juin 2007 : 22:30:34
iGuidance is pretty good. |
| ShaunM |
Posted - 06 juin 2007 : 19:50:51
I am looking for english/united states ...i have used Delorme and streets and trips. I decided the one i like best of those is the Delorme because it speaks street names and has automatic re-route. I have not tried Co-pilot but i WOULD like a 3-d view like the one available in THAT software. Are there any "better" softwares then the ones mentioned, and is Co-pilot any good? My laptop is mounted in my 2005 Impala and i use the Sirf 3 (from streets and trips 07) on all the above mentioned softwares i have tried. THANKS ! |
| denver |
Posted - 06 juin 2007 : 15:01:16
I purchased Nagivator 7 (just out) bundled with their wireless GPS device from Directions. They were great to work with. Will advise how works after receive and am able to play with for a few weeks. |
| paulkbiba |
Posted - 06 juin 2007 : 04:52:36
Sorry, there isn't any "best". Each one has different strengths and weaknesses. It depends on what your priorities are. You need to figure out what is most important to you. Also, we can't help unless we know what country you are interested in. |
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