Destinator 3 v Copilot 4.5 in Australia ?

Trevor_S · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 22, 2004 Posts: 3

Looking for objective opinions on whats better in Aus and why ?

I have used Oziexplorer CE for years but am looking for some vector based routing software for the odd trip through to the cities.

Dave · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 8:05 pm Post subject:

I haven't used either in Australia, but from a GUI perspective I would say that Desinator 3 would win, but CoPilot 4.5 would probaby win more on stability.

rossh51 · Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:32 pm Post subject:

I have both having had CoPilot 4 and now 4.5 for about 12 months. I recently purchased Destinator 3 as I wanted European maps and there was a good deal for European+Australian on GPSNow. Comments are for a Dell Axim X5 in a Seidio 2500 cradle and using a Haicom 204S GPS unit.
They both have advantages and disadvantages.
CoPilot
*more stable than Destinator (dependent on build number used-it pays to experiment a bit)
*starts faster than Destinator and no "nag screen". Also, can start with GPS connected....Destinator "freezes" if you do this.
*announces the street turns (personal preference). However, on main roads it won't always call the streetname but use a number. These are not widely used in Australia so is a little useless. V4 was OK in this respect so this is a mapping issue.
*does not "forget" to call out some turns as Destinator does especially when turning on to major freeways!
*more rapid re-routing but Destinator is acceptable (v3.0.65)
*PC based mapping and the ability to plan and download trips is better than Destinator where you can pre-plan (on the PPC) but not save trips.

Destinator
*very nice map appearance whiich is very easy to read and follow. Much better implemented than CoPilot. I also like the 3D mode which is great for glancing at for a quick check (especially since Destinator sometimes misses calling a turn!). Seriously, it is very clear and easy to follow. (Note, also now available for CP5 but I have not seen this yet)
*voice is very clear and the count down to turns is good. Directions are also slightly better eg keep to the left prior to a freeway exit.
*avoid roads function is easier to use
*Night mode is very good
*Map coverage of Destinator is MUCH better with almost all roads in Australia mapped. CoPilot has most major roads, all state capitals and most larger regional centres. This was a major factor for me purchasing Destinator as I do a lot of country travel where coverage is vastly superior.

Routing quality is about the same for both .... I'd give each of them about 3.5/5. They both have quirks but not the same ones! It pays to check your route before travelling it as I've found to my cost/embarrassment once or twice. They will both get you there however, which is what the software is about. I know of at least one person here with an "in-car" unit in a BMW who has similar issues so it comes down to map quality as much as software and paying (much) more does not guarantee trouble free operation.

Overall, I lean slightly to Destinator for appearance and coverage but there is not much in it.

Ross

Trevor_S · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 22, 2004 Posts: 3

Thanks Ross.

Maybe I should wait for Copilot 5 in Aus before making a decicion but then who knows, maybe by then Destinator 4 will be out.. Smile

Thanks

Trev

brain · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 3

I use both CoPL 4.5 and Destinator 3. I have to say a fully agree with Ross.

I find destinator to have better map detail and easier to read.

I have not had any major problems other than if you disconnect your PDA from the Bluetooth GPS then recomment without restarting the software the GPS is not found. If you do into the GPS aqure setting and do a acquire it gets found immediately. Just a nusiance.

Speed to start is slower becuase the maps are much larger due to the greater level of detail.

So why Destinator - Maps of Aust, Europe and US. Netter level of detail and user interface.

brain · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 3

I have been holding of making comments about GPS navigation software but thought I should now add by few more comments.

I use XDAII, Bluetooth GPS (The EMTAK GPS hardware that came with Copilot).

Firstly I bought the Copilot bundle and all worked fine. I become a little disappointed with Copilot because in the country areas of Australia the detail for may towns was quite scant. I also found the GUI for maps a little bland and hard to read. I was also after European maps. After considerable frustration I upgraded to Destinator.

I now use the Australia version of Destinator and its great but does have some problems - see further on. I also use the European maps and North American maps - many as a road directory but they work great.

And here are my few additional comments:
1. Destinator is slow to load but it has to sort through a 170Mb (map data if you use all of Oz) compared to about 65Mb for Copilot. This also indicates why Destinator has much more detail then Copilot.
2. I found stability to be OK, the odd freeze occurs and this seem to happen if my XDA has not had a soft reset in a long time - I think the memory gets cluttered and thus not really a Destinator fault
3. Destinator map detail is great but there are errors in the maps - manly due to road closures and the like that are not up to date in the map. One is the end of the street in which I live which was closed by council a few years ago but is shown as open on the Destinator maps.
4. I have changed some voice prompts and added stuff to the favourites - all works well. It would be nice is Destinator provided more voice prompts.
5. For some reason my red light and speed camera alerts stop working but I was able to fix this by upgrading to the Destinator version that support the uploading and downgrading of favourites. I put all the red light camera stuff in favourite 2 and the speed camera data in favourites 1. Some of the red light and speed camera data is missing. On Beecroft road the red light camera at the Thornleigh school is missing. The speed camera on the Hume highway past Yass going to Melb is also missing but you can add them easily yourself.
6. If the XDAII is taken away from the GPS (ie to go into shops or the like) and you come back Destinator is still there alive and well. But it does not automatically find the GPS port - I have to go into GPS settings and simply press the SET button. A nuisance. By the way this problem did not exists with Copilot or the VITO Navigator II products (which I might add is a cheap and useful little utility, it certainly has fantastic ability to acquire the GPS port under all circumstances - the developers Should take note)
7. Destinator is easy to read, many customization options, and easy to look up addresses. The one complaint I have is the line on the bottom of the screen that shows the speed, altitude, Street names, etc (it cycles though these) is very hard to read (ie Black on grey text). I would like to see this line twice as high and have text that is yellow on black or black on white..... or at least make it customizable. This is probably my biggest wish list item.

I have used Destinator around Sydney extensively, I have used it to get me from Sydney to Gold Coast, Sydney to Beulah (a little down in the very North West of Victoria. All with no major issues. Whilst it will get you to you destination it algorithms for deciding which route to use at time deserves more attention but I suspect all these products would suffer the same issues. It tends to stick to the main roads in the country when I would use more direct lower class roads. In the city it tends to use side road more than I would like rather than main routs, again the shortest route and quickest algorithm seems to be override the best route - It would be nice to have in additional a use major roads algorithm with a caveat that it only does so if the route distance or time is no more than 10% greater - this would really fix a lot of the routing issues.

Finally - and this comment seems to apply to all the GPS software developers out there there lack of recognition of suggested improvements, the lack of them providing a user forum that they own and sponsor and a simple upgrade process is in excusable.

Hope tis helps.

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