Htc Desire and suitable sat nav software

[Colinjewitt]

Hi please can you advise me on suitable options for using my Htc desire as sat nav with similiar if possible features as my Tomtom 710. You have recommended in the past the sygic software is this still the best one to use or are thier more options now, and if possible how is the sygic or other software you feel may be suitable, better than the google navigation the phone comes with. i admit i am a bit confused as to what the google is capable of, compared to the tomtom. Many thanks in anticipation Colin

[Duddy]

[Darren]

I'd personally recommend Navigon or Sygic. Navigon has the slight edge for me with a nicer UI.
_________________
Darren Griffin

[Colinjewitt]

Thanks for your help and advice I will look at your recommendations and go with one of them. Many thanks Colin

[Phil-w]

Just posted a reply to someone else that my interest you if you haven't already taken the plunge.

I wouldn't normally repost the exact text of a previous reply but it may save you some MONEY....

Ndrive is the app before you read further.

Throwing in my Ten peneth worth....

Have used TT for years, on PDA's, the XL units etc and have found it very good for routing. I've got Co Pilot on my work phone (HTC Hero), works OK but I do find routing can be a bit strange at times.

I also use GOOGLE Navigator on the phone, you require a small data package with your phone for that and reliable phone coverage but it works very well, no ability to add the PGPS speedcams yet !!! Shame.

Just left Windoze HTC Touch HD for a nice shiney HTC Desire as my own personal phone and wanted SatNav for that....

Google nav still works very well on that for UK but wanted a cheap backup for holidays abroad... Western Europe mainly.. Searched the Android Market and found Ndrive.

If you look on the Web at their web site, Western Europe is 59.99 Euro's but it you download and install the 7 day trial of the software off the Market with a free trial map of your choice, the whole of Western Europe is available to buy on for only 19..99 Euro !!!!

It is over 2 gig of data so would suggest wifi for that download!

Yes it does seem a little different in operation to TT etc but for the price it appears a bargain and at least it won't use roaming data when abroad.

And I have got the PGPS speed cams in it !!

They do have a lot of maps listed via the Ndrives store screen at very cheap prices, but the W.EU seems a very good deal.

Anyway, thought I would just drop yet another option for Android in the mix, just to confuse you even more !!

Cheers...

Phil

[Colinjewitt]

Hi phil thanks for your info i will give that a try as well. I have tried sygic and ive not been too impressed with its routing it seems to get a bit confused snd locks up to often, and stops responding. it also appears to stop the phone accepting calls, is this normal with all smartphone sat navs do you know.the look of sygic is preety good and everything is readable on screen but sygic say the sped cams are not availasble yet so thats areal minus for me. Nroute sound sinteresting in that it can use the pgps camera data. I suspect i have been spoilt by using the tomtom which being a dedicated sat nav does the job reasonably well. but i will try the other options, to see if they live up to thier sales pitch. Many thanks for your help. Colin

[Phil-w]

I run Co Pilot on my work phone (HTC HERO) and calls seem to come through fine. I seem to think with that, there is a slight issue if you are using a BT ear piece or similar that you may get the directions through that when on a call !!

Not found any issuses yet with the Ndrive, used it a few times now and all seems well. No doubt there will be something the annoy me...

My TT XL IQroutes unit has a habit of re starting it's self several times untill it settles down, normally after a update from TT !!! so the android stuff can't be any worse.

Phil

[peterc10]

[Colinjewitt]

hi Peter
The andriod is 2.2 and the handsfree is a parrot mini(not very good it never seems to give all its functions over and is a bit confusing for me to use.) I was initially quite impressed with the sygic because it talked to me through the hands free which was usefull . but it only seemed to work once. It is a bit frustrating as you only get a weeks trial and as it had a few quirks i was unable to really sort them out my phone is the htc desire i dont know how that differs from the hero but i assume the operating system will be similiar to mine. I was also confused by the cameras as other poeple had told me that the cameras are on the maps. They do appear but only as a black camera symbol and give no warning of thier presence or speed setting. From what your saying it may be an installation problem or operator error!. I am only an average user so struggle a bit with getting al these different things to work with each other properly. I found the sygic information quite poor in that as a complete novice to the system it was difficult to find out exactly what it should do even the difference between Aura and mobile maps and i could not find a description of what either did.In your opinion do you think you can get the phone sat navs to be resonably close to the tomtom in use and reliability I really just use it locally to guide me around I'm a gas engineer and electrician and occasionally on longer trips for holidays and picking up kids from uni. Many thanks Colin

[peterc10]

My whole reason for buying Sygic was because it provides the closest experience to Tom Tom you can get on Android.

If I remember correctly the Parrot mini does not have A2DP BT profile - I think you need their MKi range for that (it is used to stream stereo music). So I am surprised you got it to work at all for sat nav on your Desire. I never got Sygic to work with the Parrot CK3100 I had in my previous car. And that would be the same with whatever navigation software you used. I only managed to get my previous WM phone to work when running Tom Tom because I got a little WM app that changed the sat nav output to handsfree profile.

I must say that with my Hero I would not bother with a handsfree kit again. I only use the TH Bury kit because it came with the car. Instead I would use the loudspeaker system I used in the USA. My Hero works fine with that, but not sure about your Desire. Try making a phone call at home with it and switching on the loudspeaker to see if you can have a conversation with the phone in loudspeaker mode - if you can then it should work. Then just download a free app called Lite Setting Profiles from the market, and use that to set it up so that when the phone is plugged in the loudspeaker mode is activated.

You can turn on and off warnings for Sygic's own cameras by hitting the speed camera button in the first page of their menu. You can then enable or disable various settings - They call them "radar" rather than cameras. By the look of it you had them enabled for showing on the map, but you did not have the visual or audible warnings enabled.

How you install and use the PGPSW cameras are in the instructions for the camera base for Sygic. I would recomend that you use those rather than Sygic's.
_________________
Peter
HTC Sensation
Sygic GPS for Europe (No more TT "support"!)
Copilot for USA
Bury CC9060 bluetooth car kit & Brodit mount

[Colinjewitt]

hi peter thanks for all this help it really is appreciated, can i ask you do you know if the trail version is limited to what you can see as i dowloaded the sygic installation manual whic shows several screens looking very similiar to the tomtom ones but i cannnot find them on my down load when i press menu button on phone it gives a list of find, community info, settings , exit,the settings then gives a further list of sound , display connection regional battery mangement, hardware, travel book,autoclose dialog, about non of these appear in the download of instructions i have emailed sygic for advice but recieved nothing back yet.

[peterc10]

Colin

sounds like you are using Aura rather than MM10, which I have. Simple answer is I don't know much about Aura. That is much more of a guide book software and reading between the lines I think sat nav is just a bit of an add on.

Try posting a question on Aura in the dedicated Sygic forum. Or try getting Copilot on the Market - that gives you a 24 hour trial.
_________________
Peter
HTC Sensation
Sygic GPS for Europe (No more TT "support"!)
Copilot for USA
Bury CC9060 bluetooth car kit & Brodit mount

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