04-07-2011, 03:07 PM

One of the ONLY things I miss about my Droid Incredible was Google Navigation. I've tried to find something that is even half as good at basic GPS Navigation capabilities. I've been through Co-Pilot, MotionX GPS Drive and MapQuest, none of which were without major issues.

Today is my son's birthday and we were out and about looking for things to do. We decided on a place we had heard of, but never been to. Of course, I pulled up Co-Pilot (the lesser of all evils) and tried to find the address amongst the POIs - no dice (as usual). So, I ended up having to Google it outside of the app, found the address and manually entered it. This was a 5 minute task based on how bad the text entry is process is with this app. Eventually I got it going, but not without missing several non-existant (or not identified) turns.

Once we got there, I had some time to sit and browse the App Store and was looking at reviews. I am really hesitant to go with a $50-60 app, only because I can't return it if it turns out to be just as useless as the $5 & $1 GPS apps I have.

So, I decided to split the difference and go with the $35 Garmin StreetPilot app, which had some mixed reviews. But given what I know of Garmin and how much I've enjoyed my standalone Garmin unit, I bit the bullet.

I'm not sure what some of these reviewers are looking for in a GPS app, but this thing is excellent. It works just as well as my standalone Garmin, and is incredibly easy to use while driving. It shows my speed, maneuvers and map view in exactly the ways I'm accustomed to - and it has Google integration for destination searches. This is absolutely what I was looking for and money well spent, IMO.

I guess as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Even $35 is a little steep for an App Store app in my view, but it's well worth it to have a good, working GPS solution.

04-07-2011, 03:37 PM

We ended up going with the TomTom APP (I think it was around $50 when we got it). Installed on 2 iPhones and 2 iPads that works out to around $12ea for a backup to our Garmin unit (which stays in the car).

FWIW: we went with TomTom because we already had Garmin and wanted to see if life was different with the other provider

I decided to get the APP after the charger died on the Garmin out in the middle of nowhere.

04-07-2011, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by Razormac

We ended up going with the TomTom APP (I think it was around $50 when we got it). Installed on 2 iPhones and 2 iPads that works out to around $12ea for a backup to our Garmin unit (which stays in the car).

FWIW: we went with TomTom because we already had Garmin and wanted to see if life was different with the other provider

I decided to get the APP after the charger died on the Garmin out in the middle of nowhere.

I was eyeing up the TomTom app as well. I have limited experience with TomTom, but what I do have was not at all positive. A couple of years ago, we bought a TomTom standalone GPS for my in-laws. It was on-sale at Amazon and seemed to have decent enough reviews. When I gave it to them at Christmas, they were psyched and immediately started to play with it. It didn't find the satellites in our home (which was odd, because our Magellan did - right out of the box, not even within range of the windows) and continued to have the same problem that evening. They eventually took it home, then brought it back to me because they thought it might be defective and I could exchange it with Amazon.

I decided to try to troubleshoot it instead. Spent several hours going through FAQs, trying to get it to see the satellites in different ways, and I eventually wound up calling TomTom. I spent about 45 minutes on hold, only to be told that the call center was now closed and to call back another time. Exasperated, I returned the unit and got them a Magellan instead. That worked exactly as it should have immediately - and it didn't have the hard drive that the TomTom did (for the same price, it used flash RAM).

I still have my Garmin, but in light of all the GPS thefts, I'm hesitant to keep it or the bracket mounted in my car. It's much easier to just set my phone on the dash when I need it. Now, I'm starting to think about getting some kind of cradle for my iPhone - because this thing works great!

04-07-2011, 04:50 PM

Just to let you know....if you are jailbroken there is a cydia app that adds a "navigate here with tomtom" button to google maps. It also works with Navigon. It is called "Navigate from maps" and if I remember correctly it was $2. Well worth it.

04-07-2011, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by brairden

Just to let you know....if you are jailbroken there is a cydia app that adds a "navigate here with tomtom" button to google maps. It also works with Navigon. It is called "Navigate from maps" and if I remember correctly it was $2. Well worth it.

That's cool and would definitely be a nice feature. I'm a little shaky on Cydia though. One of my reasons for leaving the Droid was that I value the rock solid stability that tends to be common with the bog standard iOS. From what I've read, once you crack it, that can be iffy. I also have a VZW iPhone and I think that's a bit of a different beast and some of these cracks may not work.

04-07-2011, 06:47 PM

Tried to post this earlier but we were having Internet problems. We have been using a Garmin friction mount and have been very pleased with it.

Amazon.com: Garmin Portable Friction Mount: Electronics

Cost ~$15 and sets securely on the dash and then slips under a seat when parked.