Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review
CoPilot Live navigates to more features
CoPilot Live [iTunes link] for North American roads is becoming the little engine that could. At only US$34.99 it is quickly adding new features, and in this latest update has added the coveted text to speech capability. For drivers, that means the nav app will say "turn left on Elm street" instead of "turn left just ahead".Other new features include adding an iPhone-standard keyboard for entering destinations, instead of the one designed for the app (which was clunky). The maps have been updated, and the developer says there is better integration of the address book from the iPhone.
I took CoPilot for a drive. It acquired the GPS signal quickly and I was on my way. It looks like the POI database has been improved, and the text to speech worked as anticipated. It is a great addition, and even the TomTom still doesn't have that feature. Navigon and AT&T both have text to speech in their offerings.
I still find that the maps are way below the quality of every other navigator I have tested. Driving home it couldn't find my street so it just put me on some nearby street. That could be misleading to a driver at best, and dangerous at worse.
The developers say the maps will continue to improve, but maps are what navigation is all about and they need to be up to date. I've talked to some users of this software, and they say their region is very accurate, so it depends where you are.
At a fraction of the cost of the 'big boys' and with text to speech, CoPilot Live is becoming a very competitive driving companion.
User ratings continue to improve, and I think it is very worthwhile at the low cost (if the map coverage in your area is adequate). If you have your own experiences to share, we'd love to hear from you.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rpv said 4:51PM on 9-30-2009
What about MapSure? and 45 days promise if the address is not there?
http://www.alk.com/Maps/
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R2B2 said 5:42PM on 9-30-2009
I can't seem to find anywhere if CoPilot shows current traffic conditions. I assume that is what the "live" part means, but it's not spelled out in the bullet points on their website or in the iTunes store. Can anyone who has this tell me if it shows current traffic conditions on the map or not? Thanks!
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Tom said 6:10PM on 9-30-2009
it is a 20 dollar add on. And it only warns you of the traffic incidents on your route. Does a good job of routing around and telling you the increase in time the new route will take. 20 bucks sucks but you also get live gas prices. I figure this alone will save 20 bucks over the year.
Quadrant said 6:18PM on 9-30-2009
Live = Live weather and live notification of where your copilot 'buddies' are!
It hasn't been updated in the UK store yet, grrrr. The non qwerty keyboard drives me mad, also it's a pain to try and press the '123' change-to-number-input button as it's so small but apart from that it's awesome.
Also Live Traffic will be available via yearly subscription for about £20 extra 'soon'. Fair price I'd say.
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johnny said 6:25PM on 9-30-2009
if the maps arent great than its worthless i would think. maps are most important. sounds like you get what you pay for and if you have somewhere important to be at a certain time id rather have my navigon app so i know im getting there
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tabaks said 8:28PM on 9-30-2009
This piece is misleading. I have updated yesterday and this feature is nowhere to be found. In addition, the reporter never takes care to say how exactly did he/she enable it, leading me to believe it was just a test installation given to them by the company.
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tabaks said 8:37PM on 9-30-2009
I reply to my own post. Apparently, iTunes did not download the newest app yesterday. Why? I don't know, but my subversion shows 417 (or similar), while the latest is 421. So, I'm sure I did the update and something was downloaded. In addition, I just tried to update and was notified by iTunes there are no updates! FTW?! Now I'm downloading manually (re-purchased for free). I'll post one more time to tell the story, it is quite conceivable that iTunes serves the wrong version for download, although the listing says it is the subversion 421.
tabaks said 9:18PM on 9-30-2009
Yes, iTunes downloads the wrong version, again to .417 instead of .421. Go figure!
St3phen said 10:35AM on 10-01-2009
Same here. Page shows .421 but iTunes continues to download .417
Frequent Traveler said 10:33PM on 9-30-2009
I'm having a heck of a time getting the GPS to lock on -- some trips it works great, sometimes it doesn't. I'm off to the apple store tomorrow to see if maybe there is something wrong with my phone.
That being said, I really like the UI. It feels like a mature program. It's easy to nitpick some missing features, but the company seems committed to upgrades early and often.
One negative -- their tech support seems non-exisistant. No forum as far as I can find. There's an email address for issues, so I guess I'll try that next.
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Fitzsy said 4:27AM on 10-01-2009
The software is very good, and I like using it, but here in the UK the maps are very out of date. My street has existed for 9 years on the edge of major city and give yet it does not exist in the CoPilot maps.
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James Marshall said 12:10PM on 10-01-2009
I have to agree with you there mate. I live in an apartment complex that has been here for 15 years and the roads don't appear. I have also noticed other places that are 10 years old and the roads still don't appear.
In contrast though, there are places where the CoPilot maps are better than TomTom's and actually contain the correct traffic routes (one way systems, etc) and better speed limits for roads.
I can't wait for the update to reach the UK as some of the issues that have been fixed are really annoying. Let's hope ALK can update their maps quickly to catch up with other satnav apps.
Kelmon said 4:56AM on 10-01-2009
OK, serious question for those who know: which GPS solution provider (iPhone or otherwise) has the best quality maps and overall navigation success?
I honestly could not care less about "text-to-speech" functionality. All I want is something that can find where I am quickly, get me to where I want to go well, and can clearly show me my route and what needs to be done next. A natural sounding voice that is loud enough would also be useful.
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marcouns said 6:46AM on 10-01-2009
two updates on tuaw &still no sign in uk.
why?????????
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Richard hart said 11:29AM on 10-01-2009
There are instructions on the Copilot app screen on how to activate text to speech.
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tabaks said 2:30PM on 10-01-2009
Oh, wow, could you have been any more vague?
Richard hart said 2:49PM on 10-01-2009
How to switch-on TTS
CoPilot Live for iPhone now includes detailed Text to Speech (TTS) voice directions. To make it work you'll need to follow these instructions:
Go to iPhone Settings
Select "CoPilot NA"
Change "License Reset" to "ON"
(leave the other settings "OFF")
Exit Settings
Start CoPilot Live on your iPhone
Enter your CoPilot ID and Password
Follow the instructions on-screen to Activate
Switch on TTS in CoPilot by going to Menu > Settings > Language & Voice > Select a Voice. The Voices with a star (*) next to them are the TTS Voices.
tabaks said 9:25AM on 10-02-2009
Thank you. I followed the instructions and it did not work...at first. They forgot to say you need to re-start the application after activating the app and before selecting the voice. Pretty much expected from this app. However, at least it works (TTS) now.
soop said 11:14AM on 10-06-2009
Shame about the UK being behind with these updates. I feel like I'm missing out :)
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