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CoPilot Live smooths the rough edges in nav app with new update

by Mel Martin Sep 19th 2009 at 5:00PM

I took a look at CoPilot Live [iTunes link] almost exactly a month ago, and it was a pretty good, inexpensive nav program, but it had quite a few rough edges.

Those rough edges aren't so rough now, and the app is certainly competitive at a price of US$34.99.

Improvements from the last version include:
  • The ability to dial a POI (point of interest)
  • Improved GPS performance
  • A full QWERTY keyboard (the last version was alphabetical)
The app also offers real time traffic information, gas prices, and something called live local search. Those features are an extra purchase of $19.99 and I did not have those services for my test.

As in my previous drive around, GPS acquisition was rapid. The maps look fine. The 'voice' was clear, and directions were concise.

Although the company claims maps were updated for this release, there seemed to be a lot missing in my neck of the woods, and reports from users of the new version are not positive in that regard. As I tried to navigate to my house, CoPilot Live could find the street but not any house numbers, even though my street has had houses on it for at least a decade. Continue reading for more about the CoPilot Live update.
I still think the POI database is weak in some parts of the country, but it seems to have improved, and searches for nearby restaurants, hotels, banks and gas stations were all successful.

CoPilot Live switches to night mode automatically, allows navigation to multiple destinations, and has live weather for your location or your destination, which I think is very desirable.

The app still has no text to speech, which seems to be a feature a lot of people want. Navigon has added that function to MobileNavigator, and that has probably contributed to making it the top selling nav app at the iTunes store.

Of course, CoPilot live is less than half the price of MobileNavigator, but a lot of people are willing to spring for the extra cash to get such an advanced feature set from Navigon.

If you leave the app while driving, it does not resume your navigation when you return. The developers say that is coming, but it is a pretty big missing feature at the present time. (Note: Based on a comment from a reader, I tried it again several times and it did work on my later trials, so not sure why it failed on my first try. Mea culpa)

I think CoPilot live is reasonably priced and competitive for those not wanting to spend a great deal more money. It still has some rough spots and I'm not impressed with the depth of the POI database even though it has improved, or the maps, which still seem out of date.

Even with the negatives, CoPilot live is a worthwhile app at a low price. It has been improved since the first release, and likely will continue to get better with new updates and functions.

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I took a look at CoPilot Live [iTunes link] almost exactly a month ago, and it was a pretty good, inexpensive nav program, but it had quite...
 

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Simon

Hi All,

I have the latest version of co-pilot 8 on my iphone and it seems pretty god but i have noticed that if i try and create a new route using a postcode when i try and input the house number the qwerty keyboard will not allow input of numbers so I have to choose the no numbers option which is a bit of a pain

Has anyone else seen this feature

Cheers
Simon

November 06 2009 at 4:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tom

This article missed the most important update. If you submit a map update the company promises to include it within 45 days. Not a perfect solution, but with enough user input these maps would be more updated then some other programs.

September 20 2009 at 8:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
lostboy

Feature content is important, surely, but accuracy and completeness of map data is where the rubber meets the road for a navigation app. If an app can't *reliably* show me my whereabouts or get me where I'm going, then the relevant comparison for me isn't the $55 savings from another navigator; it's the cost increase over a good paper map.

September 20 2009 at 1:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Aaargh!

Too bad the pricing for the EU version isn't nearly as competitive as the for the US version. The US version is only EUR 27,99 while the EU version is EUR 79,99. Even a subset (UK&Ireland, Scandinavia, BeNeLux, etc) is more expensive (EUR 33,99) than the whole of the US.

Would have bought it in a hartbeat if the EU pricing was similar to the US. Now, I think I'm going to get myself a stand-alone TomTom unit.

September 20 2009 at 1:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael

It's disappointing that the iPhone version of CoPilot is so weak. I used to swear by CoPilot Live on Windows Mobile PDAs. I still think my old setup with CoPilot Live on my PDA had more functionality than my current TomTom Go 720.

The WinMo version did text to speach, and had house numbers in the maps - but it didn't load all the maps for the country in it. You used the PC application to plan your route - including rest breaks every few hours and even fuel stops based on your MPG and size of your fuel tank. Then you downloaded the route to the PDA - to accomodate detours you could adjust how far out from your route and destination additional map data was downloaded. And maybe that's the issue - CoPilot is trying to store the full country data instead of just the route data on the iPhone...

September 20 2009 at 8:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
exhaust

i dont understand how these GPS software updates keep messing with the GPS reception. Obviously they can change how sensitive the software will be when interpreting the signal but...

I purchased Navigon a month or so ago, and worked fine. the new update made the reception worse...

This version of co-pilot is supposed to make the reception better...

Surely there must be an optimal setting that could be found relatively straight-forward?

September 20 2009 at 6:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Steven

I was hoping the map would be better with the update.

However, it still does not have my in laws street name (it's been there more than 10 years) and it has the old name of my cross street, which changed more than 10 years ago. I sort of gave up at after 2 for 2 failures...

September 20 2009 at 4:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Diddle

I've been using CoPilot since the week it was released and I really do like it. I haven't personally used TomTom or Navigon (the two "heavy hitters" - read "really expensive apps"), but the update is a nice touch, especially for the QWERTY! (Sweet roast beef that was frustrating to use in alpha mode.)

I can't wait for text-to-speech to land, I'll certainly pay the premium upgrade for it and still be under the costly GPS apps!

The maps for my area are okay, but there are some old streets still missing. Seems everyone has this complaint.

September 20 2009 at 3:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ldhawksmail

Actually, one of the FEW times when the verb "smoothes" [v. "smooths"] is appropriate. Always cheering for precision.

However hopeless.

September 20 2009 at 12:23 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Patrick

I got slapped here recently suggesting co-pilot as a great bargain compared to the $99+ iPhone apps...but it has been great for me and provided audible, "take the next right" directions that have been exact.

September 19 2009 at 10:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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