Smartphone GPS navigation software

Comparisons:

Software that supports OpenStreeMap

Android GPS navigation software

Please see Android GPS navigation software.

amAze

  • + free
  • - needs data/Internet access; reduced-bandwidth mode downloads only intersection diagrams
  • + vector maps or satellite imagery, or both superimposed
  • voice guidance
  • runs on pretty much any handset, and Android soon
  • forum

Intrinsyc Destinator 9

iGuidance

Garmin Mobile XT

Mapopolis 4.71 Final

  • Windows Mobile
  • development is frozen; Mapopolis went out of business
  • can NOT edit existing POIs, e.g. to update phone numbers, or to remove them when they're no longer there1
  • user defined POIs (landmarks/maplets) are not exportable (proprietary .MLP format)
  • proprietary map format, non-interoperable, not supported by GPSBabel (see readme.mapconverter)
  • designed for stylus use, not fingertips
  • "Pocket GPS World review":http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/mapopolis471.php
  • small (328Kb + 2.74Mb voice synthesis file + 76k menu.mbp)
  • free, except the maps; no-hassle installation
  • good map architecture: can add portions easily, can overlay POIs etc. Map size for Santa Clara & Alameda, CA + Place guides: ~9Mb
  • 2004 maps for California counties Santa Clara, Alameda, Santa Cruz maps list only ONE Blockbuster Video and no Radio Shack!
  • most POIs are plotted right on the side of the street, even if you have to enter a parking to find them
  • text-to-speech voice synthesis of street names
  • auto-zoom, but not always performing well
  • auto-scroll screen to keep current location at the bottom, instead of in the center
  • GPS trail & playback
  • intelligent route log, detecting stops and generating meaningful summary (start&stop locations&time, distance, average and maximum speed, number of stops): Tools -> GPS -> Show Log
  • automatically re-routes on missed turn
  • can't calculate alternate routes, except if the user indicates a road and "Routes through"
  • can't avoid an area or a street
  • limited route customizability ("avoid freeways" is pretty much it); no preference for walking/bicycling/driving. That means for walking you'll get directions only in the right way of one way streets, which can loop you around
  • no trip planning/multiple-stop routing
  • sometimes doesn't recognize U-turns (composes directions out of forward, left, go 50ft., left)
  • no 3D mode, kinda cluttered display
  • configurable color set, with preconfigured "Night mode" and auto-switch to it based on current time and list of sunset times
  • configurable hardware buttons
  • automatically reconnects to Bluetooth GPS when back in range
  • confusingly calls ramps "To San Francisco" instead of freeway/highway name (I-880)
  • "next step" pop-up not disappearing automatically when not needed, to free up map space
  • can disable the PocketPC auto-power-off
  • can turn PPC backlight on before turns (new in 4.6)
  • can't pause other audio output; directions will be mixed over whatever sound is playing
  • how do you know which counties you need? E.g. what is the filename of the county to the left of where your map ends? See Long-Routing with Mapopolis 4.xx for easily determining counties; also Multi-state route planning procedure. County maps can be found at the US census website (e.g. for California)

Nav4All

  • free until 2010-01-01
  • runs on pretty much any phone
  • - requires data connection to download routes, but claims to need very little bandwidth (30KB for a 560km route from Bonn to Munich)

OnCourse Navigator 6

  • "Search, save, and load your own POIs and routes and share them on the Internet! (supporting Google Maps/Google Earth formats)" - features
  • 3D buildings
  • search for POI around: current position, destination, along route
  • "small forum":http://www.oncoursenavigator.com/forum/

Telenav

Teletype World Navigator

Terracrosser

  • - Windows Mobile 5+ only
  • + can download maps while online then use them offline
  • + forum(http://terracrosser.com/forum/index.php)
  • free?

TomTom Navigator 2004 USA

  • reduced functionality in comparison to TomTom Navigator 3.07!
  • review

TomTom Navigator 5

Routis

Pharos Ostia

2nd tier

Alturion GPS

  • - dead cca 2005

Beeline GPS

  • rudimentary navigation: no mapping, no routing, only GPS trail and movement/position information
  • can't zoom map; can poorly drag only from "Waypoint -> Show waypoint on map"
  • displays lat/lon/alt, sats in view/use, HDOP, VDOP, PDOP, 2D/3D mode

Destinator 3.0.25 ARM (C) 2001 Paradigm

  • messy installation: mount the ISO, rename c:\paradigm c:DestinatorApps; run the patch from http://download.destinator1.com/PocketPC2003SE_patch.zip, run C:DestinatorApps\Start\Install Program\Install.exe
  • very good map architecture: can cut rectangles from the map and regenerate only those crops
  • POIs have phone numbers
  • clearest address selection: city, Street, Number; avoids stupid 'N', 'S' or the like preceding the street name and impairing finding it
  • nice looking maps (parks, streets): 2D, 3D, bird's eye (some sort of 3D)
  • strange way to go on the map to a specific address: Destinate, Address, 'Show' from the status bar
  • semi-poor route customizability: no 'avoid toll roads', or bike/pedestrian ? trip planner mode
  • can define list of [streets?] to avoid when routing
  • routes are organized in item lists, can scroll to one and 'avoid'
  • can't search for POI just by part of name, must select category first
  • can't pronounce location names; only predefined voice clips instead of real text-to-speech
  • cannot configure hardware buttons
  • replaces the Today screen, which can be problematic when you want to enable Bluetooth, for example. You have to exit Destinator then restart it.

WinCE Monitor

Footnotes

  1. GpsPasSion Forums - Maplet Sharing ↩

Revision by Dan Dascalescu, 2009-09-23

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