So … Er … Just How do I Navigate with This Whiz-Bang GPS-Enabled Smartphone?
So you’re in the market for a smartphone and you know you want one you can use to navigate, but which one? Or you’re already the proud owner of a smartphone, and you’re confused about what kind of software you can use to help you get around. Or you’re less than impressed with your wireless provider’s nav software, and you’re wondering what third-party options are out there. I’m glad you brought this up.
These questions or some variation are not infrequent queries posed to me by friends or readers. The short answer is, you’ve got a lot of options. Just in the time it took you to finish reading this sentence, 30 new smartphones and twice as many third-party navigation packages hit the market. Okay, yes, I’m indulging in hyperbole, but the truth is there are a wealth of options that have proliferated across the market in the last few years, depending on what operating system your phone uses.
So following is a list of mobile navigation software options. One more thing I’ll note, before we jump into the list, though. Some of you are saying, “Well, Jeff, my phone is pretty smart, but it doesn’t have GPS onboard, or my carrier has it disabled – and times being what they are, I can’t shell out for a new whiz-bang phone.” Not to worry; if you still want to play around with navigation on your phone of average intellect – you still have an option. If it has Bluetooth, you can get a separate Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver, and you can find these little guys for as little as $30 bucks if you shop around. There are some well-recognized brands that make Bluetooth GPS receivers, such as Garmin; other common brands include Holux and Globalsat.
You can also use Bluetooth GPS receivers to play around with navigation on your laptop or netbook, if it doesn’t have GPS onboard. No Bluetooth onboard? You can pick up a Bluetooth USB dongle pretty cheaply.
Okay, onto the software listing, which I’ve organized this by operating system. Many of these operate on multiple platforms, particularly the Java-based ones, which will work on many smartphones, even those with proprietary OSes. Unless otherwise stated, these all provide turn-by-turn voice directions with street names.
I’ll make no claims that this is a comprehensive list, but it will provide you with the common as well as many not-so-common (at least not yet) options for mobile navigation software, along with their prices and a few features. To the best of my knowledge, all these listed here are currently available and supported by their makers, and they all offer voice directions for navigation, unless specifically stated otherwise. I’ll be updating this post in the future as well, and will provide a permanent link on the front page of GPS Maniac for future reference – I’m taking notes, so you don’t have to. Let me stress this isn’t intended as any sort of endorsement of this or that software and/or operating systems – although if any readers want to chime in with comments on various mobile navigation software packages, or the merits of a particular phone/OS, ones they like or dislike, etc., that would be fab.
One more important thing to note: some of these programs are off-board, others are onboard, meaning that some connect to the Internet to download maps and other data; some are self contained on your phone (a few can operate both ways). If you don’t have a data plan with your wireless service, or if it’s not an unlimited plan, you’ll want to investigate further if you’re considering one of these software packages.
Windows Mobile/Pocket PC
Love it or hate it, a Windows Mobile-based phone will provide you with the most navigation software options. The software listed below is organized by price – cheapest first.
- Terracrosser. Free (but you should donate if you use it and like it). This is a basic moving map program; it doesn’t provide actual navigation directions (but the price is right). map and photo modes; compatible with both Google and Yahoo maps; module to download maps from the Internet; active user forum.
- Google Maps for Mobile. Free. These are the usual Google services found online tailored for your mobile phone.
- Nav4All. Free (until 2010; then it will require a reportedly modest subscription fee). I can’t determine if this has voice directions, but it does have a simple, clean interface, social networking and tracking/tracing capabilities. North America, Brazil, Mexico, Europe, South Africa, and Australia maps (China map reportedly coming soon).
- amAze. Free (ad supported). This software does offer navigation with voice directions and mapping, as well as local search and satellite imagery. North America; Argentina, Brazil, Mexico; Europe; South Africa; Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Oman, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates; Australia and New Zealand maps.
- ZorroGPS. £16 to £35. radar/speed limit/stop alerts; route calculation options, map view options including 3D. Western Europe, North America maps.
- CoPilot. $39.99. 2D/3D views, multi-destination trips, automatic rerouting, trip info including estimated time of arrival and distance to destination. Maps stored on phone (onboard navigation; premium features available. North America; Europe; Australia; South Africa, Namibia; Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia maps. (CoPilot v8 appeared in August 2009, read more here)
- Navmii. £45.99. 2D/3D map views, safety camera alerts, social networking/friend-finder features. Western Europe map coverage, with major cities and roads in Eastern Europe. Russian, detailed Eastern European, and North American maps reportedly coming soon.
- Wayfinder Navigator. €59 (plus map) per year (5-day free trial). safety camera alerts, traffic service, points-of-interest sharing. Can also pre-load maps to save data download costs (Map Loader costs extra, however). Europe; North America; Australia and New Zealand maps; maps for parts of South America, Asia, and Southern Africa.
- Mobium GPS. $9.95 per month/$99.95 a year (1 month free trial). 15 million points of interest, cheap gas search. North American maps.
- PocketMap Navigator. $89.95. automatic rerouting, 3D map view; multi-destination trips. US (Alaska, Hawai) map only.
- Garmin Mobile Xt. $99. Google local search, access to Garmin Online website. North America map.
- TomTom/Navigator 7. TomTom says this will be coming soon; ostensibly it will feature all of the same features and map coverage as its PNDs.
Symbian
It’s strange that there is seemingly more options available for Windows-based smartphones, because Symbian has the largest share of the smartphone market, some 46.6 percent, compared to Microsoft’s 13 percent. In any event, you’ve got options here, too, in addition to what your service provider offers. Many of the apps available for Windows Mobile are also available for Symbian, thanks to the fact they are Java based.
Google Maps for Mobile. Free. These are the usual Google services found online tailored for your mobile phone.
Ovi Maps/Nokia Maps (formerly Smart2Go). Free/varies. Nokia’s mapping service for its self-branded phones is free, but if you want more than moving maps, there are subscription or one-time fees for premium services including navigation. They vary depending on the associated map/location, but they are reasonable, and Nokia gives you the option of subscribing by the day, month, or year. For example, its City Navigator for North America costs €1.79 for a day, €6.99 for one month, €5.84 for a monthly subscription, and €49,99 for one year. You can also try before you buy with a 5-day free trial. Europe; North America; Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela; Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates; Australia and New Zealand; Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand; India; Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau; Taiwan; Egypt, Morocco, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, South Africa, and Indonesia maps.
ViewRanger. Varies, starts at £17.99 (can also use over-the-air tokens to download specific map tiles directly to your phone; these start at £15.00/€16.50 with VAT). This very sophisticated software is designed specifically for navigating off road; if you just want to find the nearest coffee shop you should look elsewhere. Western Europe, Slovenia and United States
maps.
Navmii.£45.99. 2D/3D map views, safety camera alerts, social networking/friend-finder features. Western Europe map coverage, with major cities and roads in Eastern Europe. Russian, detailed Eastern European, and North American maps reportedly coming soon.
Wayfinder.€59 (plus map) per year (5-day free trial). safety camera alerts, traffic service, points-of-interest sharing. Can also pre-load maps to save data download costs (Map Loader costs extra, however). Europe; North America; Australia and New Zealand maps; maps for parts of South America, Asia, and Southern Africa.
Garmin Mobile Xt. $99. Google local search, access to Garmin Online website. North America map.
MyMobileSatNav. This mobile nav soft from Jentro, which makes software for other brands, is apparently coming soon, according to the website.
iPhone
Apple’s iPhone may be a relative newcomer to the smartphone and location-based services market, and its positioning and navigation options in its first iteration were underwhelming to say the least. Add to this the fact that Apple specifically barred the creation of real-time, turn-by-turn navigation programs in its original software development kit for the iPhone. However, with the 3.0 version of the iPhone operating system, those restrictions have been lifted. Good thing, since the iPhone accounts for some 17 percent of the smartphone market now. Third-party navigation software is still hard to come by, but there are several more options coming soon. Then there is AT&T’s own navigation software (AT&T being the carrier in the United States which offers the precious iPhone), which I’m including here, since there are so few options for the iPhone, for now.
Where. Free. This suite of apps doesn’t include navigation, but it does offer several other location-based services. Given the dearth of navigation options for the IPhone at this early point, figured I’d throw it in here.
AT&T Navigator. Free to download; $9.99 per month subscription (AT&T offers a 30-day free trial, but I can’t say if this is also included in the version available for the iPhone through iTunes). This is the iPhone version of AT&T’s homegrown navigation software (which is actually made by TeleNav), which includes traffic service and Wi-Fi location search. Map coverage corresponds with AT&T’s wireless coverage.
Gokivo Navigator. $0.99 for download; $9.99 per month subscription. Yahoo local search, real-time traffic service, embedded iPod controls, ability to automatically reroute by shaking the iPhone. Map coverage depends on carrier.
CoPilot. £25.99/£59.99 2D/3D views, multi-destination trips, automatic rerouting, trip info including estimated time of arrival and distance to destination. Maps stored on phone (onboard navigation; premium features available. Ireland, U.K maps (£25.99 version), Full European maps (£59.99 version)
Sygic Mobile Maps. $79.99/€79.99. automatic rerouting, custom points of interest, lane-assist, speed limit and speed camera indications. Europe, Australia and New Zealand, South East Asia, and North America maps.
And in the coming-soon-to-the-iPhone-App-Store department we have:
CoPilot for North America
Navigon http://www.navigon.com/site/us/en/mobile_navigator/iphone
TomTom http://iphone.tomtom.com/
Navmii http://www.navmii.com/
Android
Android is a Linux-based mobile operating system developed and promoted by a consortium of companies lead by Google, in its ongoing bid for world hegemony. There are only a few phones on the market right now, mainly from HTC and Samsung (here in the United States, T-Mo offers a couple different Android models, with more on the way). It’s so now that there’s not much out there, but Android is getting momentum, and if anything, Google has a bigger fan-boy base than Apple.
Google Maps for Mobile. Free. These are the usual Google services found online tailored for your mobile phone – and of course they work on Android.
Where. Free. This suite of apps doesn’t include navigation, but it does offer several other location-based services. Given the dearth of navigation options for Android at this early point, figured I’d throw it in here.
CoPilot. $39.99. 2D/3D views, multi-destination trips, automatic rerouting, trip info including estimated time of arrival and distance to destination. Maps stored on phone (onboard navigation; premium features available. North America; Europe; Australia; South Africa, Namibia; Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia maps.
(CoPilot v8 appeared in August 2009, read more here)
Other Stuff?
Whew, that was a long list. And I didn’t even get into related mobile software, such as Trimble Outdoors, and as Joe mentions below, tracking software. I’m going to save all that for another post for another time. …
Similar Posts
- CTIA '08: Time to Talk Chips (96%)
- Don't Like AT&T's FamilyMap? Get a Job, Slacker (10.9%)
- T-Mobile Debuts GPS-Enabled Sidekick LX (10.9%)
- Y'all Love Them GPS-Enabled Android Phones (10.9%)
- Stuck on the 101? Help Out with Waze (10.9%)
Looking for more? Try clicking on the relevant tags below, or in the tag cloud in the right-hand column to see every post with that tag.
Space Machine's PND-428A
I really think that it is amazing how much you can do with a smart phone these days. In addition to all the navigation you can do you can also do GPS tracking for free as well. There are several different applications available for this, but the availability is really subject to which type of phone you currently have (or are in the market for). Thanks for putting this list together.
Thanks Joe. We aim to please.
HI Jeff — Great article — I have been putting off getting a new phone for months…
My beloved motorolla v90s screen has been having problems and today finally went blank
I am definatley not a bandwagon guy am hesitant to ‘run out and buy an iphone’…
I would very much like a phone to do only 3 things with in this order…
1) use most importantly — make phone calls – and not callpeople when phone is in my pocket
2) check my email, at my flowershops web site for new orders when i am out of the shop…
3) use it for GPS-enablement, affordably…
knowing this.. if you were in my shoes and needed a phone that would survive a few falls to the ground —
what would you consider purchasing?
we are with ATT and would wish to stay… but based on your blessing would consider changing…
many thanks
Phil in minneapolis
Hi Phil,
Sorry to hear about your Moto. I hesitate to make any phone recommendations, because there are just so many models out there, and they change so fast, compared to dedicated to dedicated GPS devices. But I can offer some general advice. So, since you’re looking for a tough phone (I can understand this, I’m a clutz), I’d stay away from skinny, full-keyboard BlackBerry knockoffs, or the full-screen models (think iPhone and iPhone knockoffs), even if they have a slide-out keyboard. These tend to be a little more delicate than your average handset, and it’s relatively easy to bust the screen, (my last smartphone was an HTC, similar to a BlackBerry in formfactor and I broke the screen bending over a table — d’oh!).
I’d stick with a flip phone, or a candybar phone with the normal number keypad (12 keys, in a 3 column/4 row configuration) as opposed to one with a full qwerty keyboard. I did look at AT&T’s site, and you can narrow the search by the specific options and style that you want. I would add that I’ve had good luck with Nokia bar and flip phones, but AT&T doesn’t seem to have very many Nokia phones, at least not in the flip-phone/candybar style (it does offer the 6650). On the other hand, since AT&T uses GSM, you should be able to buy an unlocked Nokia phone and slap in your AT&T SIM card (you can do this with T-Mobile; I’m assuming it’s the same with AT&T, since is is a GSM carrier — but you’ll want to do some research if you go this route; please don’t take my word for it). My current Nokia flip phone has survived several drops (just this morning I managed to fumble it and drop it in the tub when someone texted me while I was brushing my teeth). The Moto Tundra and Samsung Rugby are other AT&T models I personally would consider, as these are built to military spec, and both have assisted-GPS in addition to 3G data access for e-mail.
Of course, as always, it depends on how much you want to spend. The Tundra and Rugby are more expensive than your average flip phone, and truth be told, a normal flip phone should be able to stand a few drops. You probably don’t need (or have to pay for) a military spec phone. I would add, too, that one disadvantage of a flip phone is the relatively small screen — if you think you might actually use it frequently for navigation in the car, I’d opt for something with a bigger screen (or get a dedicated PND).
Oh, one more thing — I’m not familiar with the Moto V90, is that a flip phone? If you do get a candybar phone, make sure the keyboard locks (I can’t imagine any model nowadays that doesn’t) and that you know how this works. Don’t want to accidentally call another continent while it is rattling around in your pocket. That probably wouldn’t happen, but the last candybar phone I had, I used to accidentally speed-dial someone from time to time, putting it in my pocket or backpack, if the keyboard was unlocked.
Anyway, hope this helps. Let me know what you decide, and how the new phone works out for you.
Jeff
Ok — i have sort of ‘lucked out’ a friend of mine – gave me a nokia6650 to help me get buy — it is thin — i have already dropped it — battery and cover fell out…
………
today i realised after researching this situation i am in for 3 days… ATT is selling service and i can bring a ‘phone’ to them…
i found an interesting phone — the nokia N 95 8GB
i am wondering how i can set this up with some sort of ’small keyboard’ and a GPS that will ‘tell’ me turn by turn, if i wish – how to get from point A – to B…
here is cnet review of the phone — they are 4 – 500.00 now… and no strings to ATT for service contract ! i understand this will actualy work with a 10.00 mo data plan???
http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/nokia-n95-8gb-unlocked/4505-6452_7-32581336.html
Hi Phillip,
Again, you’ll want to double check with AT&T before you buy, but you should be able to take the SIM card out of your old phone and put it in the N95 and be good to go. As for navigation, I believe AT&T’s own Navigator program will work on the N95 (it’s just a rebranded version of TeleNav software, if memory serves), or you can try out Nokia Maps. Or one of the others listed above.
Of course, you’ll want to look at your data plan and see if it will be enough to support whichever navigation program you use — most download data as needed, as opposed to housing maps on your phone, so if you use your phone a lot for navigation, an unlimited plan may be best.