All about GPS and navigation systems

Review of the GPS reviews :)

gpsreviewer — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:32:20 +0000

It won’t be long now until I’ll be able to test other versions of the software that I’ve reviewed in my past couple of posts. Then I’ll have some new material to keep me busy on this blog everyday

But until that happens, I really don’t want to neglect it… so today I’m planning a review of the small competition that ended last Friday. In the next couple of days I’ll do my best to keep you entertained with some cool and fresh news from the GPS and navigation industry.

…. this being said, in the past couple of week I began reviewing 7 of the best, biggest and most known GPS software on the market…

My first 3 reviews were:

TomTom vs Garmin
Copilot vs NavNGo
NDrive vs Route66
Sygic was going through to the semifinal, in lack of an opponent

In the semifinals, the winners of those 3 reviews met Sygic and battled it out to get into the final:

Finally, only 2, the best of the best, could reach the highest point of the competition and hope to win the big prize: the title of “GPSreviewer best GPS software”. And those 2 were:

TomTom vs NDrive

And the winner and official holder and defender of the GPSreviewer title:

NDrive!

Stay tuned and stay safe!

GPSreviewer

GPS Review – Grand FINAL: TomTom vs NDrive !

gpsreviewer — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:38:19 +0000

TomTom was waiting for his opponent in the FINAL today and, after yesterday’s semi, NDrive is here to try to match the GPS giant.

Unfortunately, although given a good opportunity for a spot in this final, Sygic Drive didn’t manage to take advantage of it and ended his run for the title.

It’s clear that TomTom and NDrive are the two best GPS software I had the chance to review. The first, a big name for many years in the industry and the second, a somewhat of a newcomer, but with great skills and a lot of innovation.

Let’s see who wins today and takes home the title! (still couldn’t find anything better that “GPSreviewer’s best GPS software” but I’m opened to suggestions)

I give you the FINAL:

1. Computer graphics / Display perforeymance

	TomTom	NDrive
In 524Mhz processor – Frames per second in routing and non routing	4 FPS	10 FPS
Support of Anti-aliasing on routing	No	Yes
Support of LandMark	No	Yes, with dynamic view on touch
3D free camera view on routing and map	No	Yes
In navigation get street or POI names by pick in LCD	No	Yes
Configurable map design based on templates	Yes	Yes
Uses real 3D aerial navigation photos	No	Yes

2. Search efficiency

	TomTom	NDrive
Search concepts accepted	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity
Search for 10, Gran Via – Madrid – No. of clicks needed	10	9
Search for POI: Tourism: Puerta del Sol – Madrid - No. of clicks needed	14	(12) 6 if at same location and using “Nearby POI”
Search for Barcelona, Gran via de los cortes catalanes / Carrer de bac de roda – No. of clicks needed	20	15
Accepts Initials for search	No	Yes
Recognizes finger movements	No	Yes
Uses POI category and subcategories	No	Yes

3. Routing

	TomTom	NDrive
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – seconds to calculate*	7	5
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – No. of clicks needed*	10	9
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – seconds to calculate*	15	9
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – No. of clicks needed*	16	14
Quality of calculation	can use IC re-routes	***
Velocity of re-routing*	3	2
Routing options accepted	fast, short, tolls, pedestrian	faster, shorter, pedestrian, tolls
Routing block possibilities	distance, roads, alternative and calculation	distance, roads, alternative and calculation
Safety camera support	Yes	Yes
Info Lane assistance	Yes	No
Add favourite while routing	Yes	Yes
Multiple routing	Yes	No
Save, import, export routes	Yes	No
* In a 524mhz processor PDA

4. Favourites

	TomTom	NDrive
Number of different categories of favourites accepted	1	Unlimited
Information accepted	Name	Name, address, web, email, phones, fax, description
Customization possibilities	None	Visibility, Scale of visualization, Icon
Search possibilities	Name	Name, Category, Distance
Import / Export	None	Compatible with Google format – KML

5. Reality view technology

TomTom:

On motorways artificial exits simulate lane assistance

On 50 European cities 2D city blocks

NDrive:

On 900 European cities, 3D Aerial photography view on 4 angles + top view and 4 zoom factors, giving perfect view of buildings, gardens, streets…

6. Conclusions:

Computer graphics / Display performance

In these analyzed parameters, NDrive surpasses TomTom with its very interesting aerial photo feature, one that makes navigation in major cities much easier and intuitive. At this chapter, NDrive also stands out through its video-like smooth navigation, clean graphics and very intuitive commands.

Search efficiency

The search engine efficiency has been proven to be satisfactory using any of the software, regarding the capability of search by concepts like: City centre, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, Coordinates, POI names, POI proximity.

But while the search engines capability is quite similar in all software, its efficiency and performance are different and the best results are achieved again by NDrive. The differentiation factor proves to be the search by initials, the user can save a lot of taps in the touch screen, and the correct search result comes out much faster in the majority of searches.

Routing

As in the rest of my reviews, we have the same two different routes by car, a medium one: 90km and a long one: 1150km, using a 524Mhz processor. The results for both of these calculations were better using NDrive.

Despite of this fact only TomTom supports Info lane assistance, multiple routing and can also Import/Export routes, while the NDrive can’t.

Both TomTom and NDrive only have a few route options: faster, shorter, pedestrian, tolls.

The re-routing calculation is also faster with NDrive but TomTom is the only with the IC re-routes capability.

Favourites

At this chapter, throughout the “competition”, NDrive was always the clear winner. With the capability to store unlimited number of categories, possibility of search by name, category, distance and the compatibility with Google’s KML file format.

Reality view technology

While TomTom has limited capability to show the real world, while NDrive manages to change the view from 2D only to 2D with 3D landmarks to Aerial photos with different perspectives. NDrive is the better option if one is seeking for a navigation solution that is capable to accurately reproduce the real world.

GPS Review – SEMIFINAL: NDrive vs Sygic Drive

gpsreviewer — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:26:58 +0000

After the first semifinal, it looks like TomTom is in for the final tomorrow. But who is going to follow him there, well, that’s a question which we can hopefully answer today.

Because today we have the second and last semifinal, where the winner of my third review, NDrive battles it out with the “lonesome software”, Sygic Drive, the one for whom I did not have an opponent for a first review of it’s own.

So, it looks like Sygic was lucky enough to get a spot in the top 4… let’s see if it is capable to take up NDrive and fly to the final:

1. Computer graphics / Display performance

	NDrive	Sygic Drive
In 524Mhz processor – Frames per second in routing and non routing	10 FPS	4 FPS
Support of Anti-aliasing on routing	Yes	Yes
Support of LandMark	Yes, with dynamic view on touch	No
3D free camera view on routing and map	Yes	No
In navigation get street or POI names by pick in LCD	Yes	No
Configurable map design based on templates	Yes	Yes
Uses real 3D aerial navigation photos	Yes	No

2. Search efficiency

	NDrive	Sygic Drive
Search concepts accepted	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity, POI near address/near destination
Search for 10, Gran Via – Madrid – No. of clicks needed	9	20
Search for POI: Tourism: Puerta del Sol – Madrid - No. of clicks needed	12	23
Search for Barcelona, Gran via de los cortes catalanes / Carrer de bac de roda – No. of clicks needed	15	21
Accepts Initials for search	Yes	No
Recognizes finger movements	Yes	No
Uses POI category and subcategories	Yes	Yes

3. Routing

	NDrive	Sygic Drive
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – seconds to calculate*	5	16
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – No. of clicks needed*	9	20
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – seconds to calculate*	9	149
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – No. of clicks needed*	14	22
Quality of calculation	***	***
Velocity of re-routing*	2	3
Routing options accepted	faster, shorter, pedestrian, tolls	fastest, economic, shortest, pedestrian, bicycle, types of vehicles and tolls
Routing block possibilities	distance, roads, alternative and calculation	distance
Safety camera support	Yes	Yes
Info Lane assistance	No	Yes
Add favourite while routing	Yes	No
Multiple routing	No	Yes, stores current position in the history
Save, import, export routes	No	No
* In a 524mhz processor PDA

4. Favourites

	NDrive	Sygic Drive
Number of different categories of favorites accepted	Unlimited	Unlimited
Information accepted	Name, address, web, email, phones, fax, description	Name
Customization possibilities	Visibility, Scale of visualization, icon	None
Search possibilities	Name, Category, Distance	None
Import / Export	Compatible with Google format – KML	None

5. Reality view technology

NDrive:

On 900 European cities, 3D Aerial photography view on 4 angles + top view and 4 zoom factors, giving perfect view of buildings, gardens, streets…

Sygic Drive:

Not available.

6. Conclusions:

Computer graphics / Display performance

NDrive multi-angle aerial photo is a cool feature that makes navigation in major cities much easier and intuitive and it’s a strong competitive advantage for NDrive. Regarding the navigation animation, Sygic Drive’s navigation frame rate is slower than NDrive’s.

Clean graphics make NDrive and Sygic Drive stand out, while video-like smooth navigation, very intuitive commands and great interactivity, like pan and tilt, even during navigation, are characteristics that give NDrive an edge toward his opponent.

Search efficiency

The search engine effectiveness has been proven to be satisfactory using any of the software, regarding the capability of search by concepts like: City centre, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, Coordinates, POI names, POI proximity. Sygic Drive has some extra POI search options, like POI near a given address and near the destination.

But while the search engines effectiveness is quite similar in all software, their performance and efficiency is quite different. NDrive search results are displayed very fast, since it can search by address initials and display the results simultaneously. The user can save a lot of taps in the touch screen and time entering the address. The results are also ranked by cities with biggest population on the top, making the result coming out even faster for most users.

Sygic Drive search engine is very slow… it’s performance is by far the worst of the test.

Routing

The results for both of these calculations were in majority better using NDrive. The re-routing calculations were also faster using NDrive. Sygic Drive time to calculate routes was disappointing, taking almost 2’30’’ to calculate an 1150 km route.

Only Sygic Drive supports Info lane assistance and multiple routing. Moreover,

Sygic Drive has the most complete routing options, while NDrive only has the most common: fastest, shortest, pedestrian and tolls.

Favourites

NDrive is the clear winner here aso because it’s capable of storing unlimited number of categories; search them by name, category, distance and it’s also compatible with Google’s .KML file format.

Reality view technology

While Sygic Drive isn’t capable to reproduce the real world, NDrive has the capability to change the view from 2D only to 2D with 3D landmarks to Aerial photos with different perspectives.

GPS Review – SEMIFINAL: TomTom vs Copilot

gpsreviewer — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:34:57 +0000

Yeaaah, that’s right… another bright day, yet another review… this blog is called GPSreviewer, so you should have expected it!

I was thinking that I have 3 reviews until now and only one other software at may disposal… soooo, I’ve decided to look at these first reviews like at a pyramid contest, meaning that the winners of the first 3 reviews are going to battle the 4th software I was telling you about. Battle for what? For the title of “GPSreviewer’s best GPS software” I guess! If I’ll think of some other, more glamorous title, I’ll change it in the meanwhile…

After this short presentation, today I have for you the first semifinal: TomTom, winner of my first review and Copilot, winner of the second one.

Let’s see who’s going through to the FINAL?!

1. Computer graphics / Display performance

	TomTom	Copilot
In 524Mhz processor – Frames per second in routing and non routing	4 FPS	4 FPS
Support of Anti-aliasing on routing	No	Yes
Support of LandMark	No	No
3D free camera view on routing and map	No	No
In navigation get street or POI names by pick in LCD	No	Yes
Configurable map design based on templates	Yes	Yes
Uses real 3D aerial navigation photos	No	No

2. Search efficiency

	TomTom	Copilot
Search concepts accepted	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity
Search for 10, Gran Via – Madrid – No. of clicks needed	10	25
Search for POI: Tourism: Puerta del Sol – Madrid - No. of clicks needed	14	30 no feedback; takes more than 20 seconds in search
Search for Barcelona, Gran via de los cortes catalanes / Carrer de bac de roda – No. of clicks needed	20	30
Accepts Initials for search	No	No
Recognizes finger movements	No	No
Uses POI category and subcategories	No	No

3. Routing

	TomTom	Copilot
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – seconds to calculate*	7	5
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – No. of clicks needed*	10	21
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – seconds to calculate*	15	7
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – No. of clicks needed*	16	20
Quality of calculation	can use IC re-routes	not optimal
Velocity of re-routing*	3	3
Routing options accepted	fast, short, tolls, pedestrian	faster, shorter, pedestrian, line, tools, type of vehicle
Routing block possibilities	distance, roads, alternative, and calculation	roads, alternative, calculation, distance
Safety camera support	Yes	Yes
Info Lane assistance	Yes	Yes
Add favourite while routing	Yes	No
Multiple routing	Yes	Yes
Save, import, export routes	Yes	No, but can save and load
* In a 524mhz processor PDA

4. Favourites

	TomTom	Copilot
Number of different categories of favourites accepted	1	1
Information accepted	Name	Name
Customization possibilities	None	None
Search possibilities	Name	None
Import / Export	None	None

5. Reality view technology

TomTom:

On motorways artificial exits simulate lane assistance

On 50 European cities 2D city blocks

Copilot:

Not available.

6. Conclusions:

Computer graphics / Display performance

TomTom and Copilot’s navigation frame rates are poor, making the navigation far from smooth, but I have to say that the 4FPS rate is better than on other software I’ve reviewed.

Search efficiency

Routing

Under this section I’ve analyzed two different routes by car, a medium one: 90km and a long one: 1150km, using a 524Mhz processor.

Both Copilot and TomTom support Info lane assistance and multiple routing but only TomTom can Import/Export routes. Copilot on the other hand has the most complete routing options, while TomTom only has a few: faster, shorter, pedestrian, tolls. But then again, TomTom is the only with the IC re-routes capability.

Favourites

Although TomTom and Copilot are both quite behind in this matter and their favourites can only store the names of favourite locations, TomTom has a small advantage on the fact that it also allows users to search their favourites by name.

Reality view technology

TomTom has a limited capability to show the real world and Copilot has none.

Stay tuned! SECOND SEMIFINAL soon!

GPS Review – NDrive: symbian and windows mobile GPS software for phones

gpsreviewer — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:32:10 +0000

Hey!

I’m back, fresher and better! Although this may come as a big surprise, today I’m not gonna review yet another GPS software (or maybe I will, later on ).

Talking about big surprises, after yesterday’s review, I was pretty impressed with NDrive’s GPS software and I decided to take a better look at what else they have to offer. So I ended up checking out their website and this is what I found:

Not only that they make the thinnest and lightest GPS on the market, the NDrive Touch, but it also comes in a XL version, with a larger 4.3″ widescreen and in the Real Navigation version, that allows you to navigate using 3D Real Photos for a big number of cities.
Browsing on, I found that they also make GPS software for symbian and windows mobile phones, smartphones and PDA’s. I’m going to list here only the compatibilities… for the numerous features, just click on the following links I’ve inserted in the names:
NDrive Symbian is compatible with:

Nokia

Nokia N95, Nokia N96, Nokia N73, Nokia E63, Nokia N81, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, Nokia 5700 XpressMusic, Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 6121 classic, Nokia 6124 classic, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 6290, Nokia 6650, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia E50, Nokia E51, Nokia E55, Nokia E61, Nokia E61i, Nokia E62, Nokia E66, Nokia E70, Nokia E71, Nokia N71, Nokia N75, Nokia N76, Nokia N78, Nokia N79, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N85, Nokia N86 8MP, Nokia N91 8GB, Nokia N93, Nokia N93i, Nokia N97

Samsung

Samsung i8910 (OMNIA HD), Samsung i550, Samsung i450, Samsung G810, Samsung i560

NDrive Windows Mobile is compatible with the following:

Asus P550, P526, P320, MyPal A639, MyPal A636, A632,
Dell Axim X51v,
Eten X500, V900, G500,
Fujitsu Siemens LOOX N560, LOOX N500, LOOX C550,
HP iPAQ hx2790, iPAQ hx2490, iPAQ hx2190, iPAQ 600,
HTC X7500 Advantage, TyTN II, TyTN, Touch Pro, Touch Dual, Touch Diamond, Touch Cruise, Touch Cruise II, Touch HD, Touch 3G, Touch, Touch Viva, P4350, P3600, P3470 Pharos, P3400,
Mio A701,
Qtek 9100,
Samsung Omnia,
Palm Treo Pro,
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1.

Oh, and you can also choose what map you want for your phone software. I can tell you that there is a variety of countries from Western and Eastern Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, Middle East… and Russia (which is in between continents ) The exact names of those countries, prices and other info HERE.

That’s it for now, hope you find it useful! Laterz!

GPS review: NDrive vs Route66!

gpsreviewer — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:36:36 +0000

I was telling you the other days that a new, “shocking” review is close. Well, the wait is over, and today I have for you a comparison between the navigation software of NDrive and that of Route66.

Why did I say “shocking”? Because the results are a little bit unexpected: NDrive is one of the best nav software that I’ve reviewed until now (I have to compare it to the big boys also, to see what’s it really capable of) and, on the other hand, Route66 which, sad to say, is one of the less performing software here at GPSreviewer.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

1. Computer graphics / Display performance

	NDrive	Route66
In 524Mhz processor – Frames per second in routing and non routing	10 FPS	1 FPS
Support of Anti-aliasing on routing	Yes	Yes
Support of LandMark	Yes, with dynamic view on touch	No
3D free camera view on routing and map	Yes	No
In navigation get street or POI names by pics in LCD	Yes	No
Configurable map design based on templates	Yes	Yes
Uses real 3D aerial navigation photos	Yes	No

2. Search efficiency

	NDrive	Route66
Search concepts accepted	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity
Search for 10, Gran Via – Madrid – No. of clicks needed	9	23, fuzzy takes more then 5 seconds searching
Search for POI: Tourism: Puerta del Sol – Madrid - No. of clicks needed	12	19, fuzzy takes more then 5 seconds searching
Search for Barcelona, Gran via de los cortes catalanes / Carrer de bac de roda – No. of clicks needed	15	Not available
Accepts Initials for search	Yes	No
Recognizes finger movements	Yes	No
Uses POI category and subcategories	Yes	No

3. Routing

	NDrive	Route66
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – seconds to calculate*	5	9
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – No. of clicks needed*	9	26
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – seconds to calculate*	9	22
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – No. of clicks needed*	14	28
Quality of calculation	***	normal
Velocity of re-routing*	2	5
Routing options accepted	faster, shorter, pedestrian, tolls	faster, shorter, pedestrian
Routing block possibilities	distance, roads, alternative and calculation	roads, distance
Safety camera support	Yes	Yes
Info Lane assistance	No	No
Add favourite while routing	Yes	No
Multiple routing	No	Yes
Save, import, export routes	No	No
* In a 524mhz processor PDA

4. Favourites

	NDrive	Route66
Number of different categories of favorites accepted	Unlimited	1
Information accepted	Name, address, web, email, phones, fax, description	Name
Customization possibilities	Visibility, Scale of visualization, icon	None
Search possibilities	Name, Category, Distance	None
Import / Export	Compatible with Google format – KML	None

5. Reality view technology

NDrive:

On 900 European cities, 3D Aerial photography view on 4 angles + top view and 4 zoom factors, giving perfect view of buildings, gardens, streets…

ROUTE66:

Not available.

6. Conclusions:

Computer graphics / Display performance

By far, NDrive surpasses Route66 in the analyzed parameters. The aerial photo is an very nice feature that makes navigation in major cities much easier and intuitive. Video-like smooth navigation, clean graphics, very intuitive commands and great interactivity even during navigation are characteristics that make NDrive stand out.

Search efficiency

On the other hand, with NDrive and it’s differentiation factor of search by initials, the user can save a lot of taps in the touch screen, and the correct search result comes out much faster in the majority of searches.

Routing

Under this section, I analyzed two different routes by car, a medium one: 90km and a long one: 1150km, using a 524Mhz processor. The results for both of these calculations were in majority better using NDrive. Despite of this fact only ROUTE66 supports multiple routing.

Both NDrive and ROUTE66 have the most common routing options.

Favourites

NDrive is the clear winner. With the capability of store unlimited number of categories, possibility of search by name, category, distance and the compatibility with Google’s .KML file format. ROUTE66 (like the other 4 software I’ve reviewed until now, I might add) is quite behind in this aspect.

Reality view technology

While ROUTE66 wasn’t capable to reproduce the real world, the capability of change the view from 2D only to 2D with 3D landmarks to Aerial photos with different perspectives makes NDrive the better option if one is seeking for a navigation solution that is capable to accurately reproduce the real world.

That’s it for now…

…you’ll be hearing (or reading) from me soon!

Laterz!

GPS review: Copilot vs NavNGo

gpsreviewer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:55:44 +0000

After the “battle of the giants” that we had yesterday, I have yet two more interesting names in the GPS world to compare. Today I give you the navigation software of Copilot and NavNGo.

You will also find after each table, 2 videos with each of the software. You can watch them like they are, go to my Youtube channel and watch them there (if you prefer) or check them out in the vodpod box in the sidebar here in the right. Your choice…

But enough talk… enjoy:

1. Computer graphics / Display performance

	Copilot	NavNGo
In 524Mhz processor – Frames per second in routing and non routing	4 FPS	2 FPS
Support of Anti-aliasing on routing	Yes	Yes
Support of LandMark	No	Yes, static
3D free camera view on routing and map	No	Yes
In navigation get street or POI names by pick in LCD	Yes	No
Configurable map design based on templates	Yes	Yes
Uses real 3D aerial navigation photos	No	No

2. Search efficiency

	Copilot	NavNGo
Search concepts accepted	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity	City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity
Search for 10, Gran Via – Madrid – No. of clicks needed	25	23
Search for POI: Tourism: Puerta del Sol – Madrid - No. of clicks needed	30; no feedback; takes more than 20 seconds in search	20
Search for Barcelona, Gran via de los cortes catalanes / Carrer de bac de roda – No. of clicks needed	30	33
Accepts Initials for search	No	No
Recognizes finger movements	No	No
Uses POI category and subcategories	No	No

3. Routing

	Copilot	NavNGo
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – seconds to calculate*	5	6
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – No. of clicks needed*	21	23
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – seconds to calculate*	7	12
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – No. of clicks needed*	20	23
Quality of calculation	Not optimal	***
Velocity of re-routing*	3	4
Routing options accepted	faster, shorter, pedestrian, line, tools, type of vehicul	short, fast, easy, economical, types of car, 8 possibilities of road to include
Routing block possibilities	roads, alternative calculation, distance	none
Safety camera support	Yes	Yes
Info Lane assistance	Yes	Yes
Add favourite while routing	No	No
Multiple routing	Yes	Yes
Save, import, export routes	No, but can save and load	Yes
* In a 524mhz processor PDA

4. Favourites

	Copilot	NavNGo
Number of different categories of favorites accepted	1	1
Information accepted	Name	Name
Customization possibilities	None	None
Search possibilities	None	None
Import / Export	None	None

5. Reality view technology

Copilot:

Not available.

NavNGo:

On 100 European cities, 3D artificial buildings view

6. Conclusions:

Computer graphics / Display performance

Just like TomTom and Garmin that I’ve reviewed in the previous post, Copilot and NavNGo’s navigation frame rate is very poor also.

Search efficiency

The search engine efficiency has been proven to be satisfactory using any of the software, regarding the capability of search by concepts like: City center, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, Coordinates, POI names, POI proximity.

Routing

Under this section I analyzed two different routes by car, a medium one: 90km and a long one: 1150km, using a 524Mhz processor.

Both Copilot and NavNGo support Info lane assistance and multiple routing and NavNGo can also Import/Export routes, while the other can’t.

NavNGo and Copilot have complete routing options also.

Favourites

Copilot and NavNGo are quite behind in this matter and their Favourites can only store the names of favorite locations.

Reality view technology

While Copilot isn’t capable to reproduce the real world, NavNGo can show 3D buildings.

My second review is again over… a next SHOCKING one follows in a couple of days!

GPS review: TomTom vs Garmin

gpsreviewer — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:58:02 +0000

I’m starting strong, comparing 2 of the “big boys” on the market, TomTom and Garmin.

This is it:

1. Computer graphics / Display performance

	TomTom	Garmin
In 524Mhz processor – Frames per second in routing and non routing	4 FPS	1 FPS
Support of Anti-aliasing on routing	No	Yes
Support of LandMark	No	No
3D free camera view on routing and map	No	No
In navigation get street or POI names by pick in LCD	No	Yes
Configurable map design based on templates	Yes	No
Uses real 3D aerial navigation photos	No	No

2. Search efficiency

	TomTom	Garmin
Search concepts accepted	City centre, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity	City centre, Street name, House number, Postal codes, Crossings, coordinates, POI names, POI proximity
Search for 10, Gran Via – Madrid – No. of clicks needed	10	23
Search for POI: Tourism: Puerta del Sol – Madrid – No. of clicks needed	14	(20) 7 if search is performed in the same location
Search for Barcelona, Gran via de los cortes catalanes / Carrer de bac de roda – No. of clicks needed	20	41
Accepts Initials for search	No	No
Recognizes finger movements	No	No
Uses POI category and subcategories	No	Yes

3. Routing

	TomTom	Garmin
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – seconds to calculate*	7	8
(Madrid / Toledo) – 90KM – No. of clicks needed*	10	24
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – seconds to calculate*	15	16
(Barcelona / Vigo) – 1150km – No. of clicks needed*	16	25
Quality of calculation	can use IC re-routes	***
Velocity of re-routing*	3	4
Routing options accepted	fast, short tolls, pedestrian	faster, shorter, pedestrial, line, tools, type of veicule
Routing block possibilities	distance, roads, alternative, and calculation	detour
Safety camera support	Yes	Yes
Info Lane assistance	Yes	Yes
Add favourite while routing	Yes	No
Multiple routing	Yes	Yes
Save, import, export routes	Yes	No, but can save and load
* In a 524mhz processor PDA

4. Favourites

	TomTom	Garmin
Number of different categories of favourites accepted	1	1
Information accepted	Name	Name
Customization possibilities	None	None
Search possibilities	Name	Name
Import / Export	None	None

5. Reality view technology

TomTom:

On motorways artificial exits simulate lane assistance

On 50 European cities 2D city blocks

Garmin:

Not available.

6. Conclusions:

Computer graphics / Display performance

Garmin’s and TomTom’s navigation frame rates are very poor, the navigation is far from smooth, which is extremely disappointing .

Search efficiency

Routing

Under this section I’ve analyzed two different routes by car, a medium one: 90km and a long one: 1150km, using a 524Mhz processor. Both Garmin and TomTom support Info lane assistance and multiple routing but only TomTom can Import/Export routes. Garmin has the most complete routing options, while TomTom only has a few route options: faster, shorter, pedestrian, tolls. TomTom is the only with the IC re-routes capability.

Favourites

TomTom and Garmin are quite behind in this matter and their favourites can only store the names of favorites locations.

Reality view technology

TomTom and Garmin have very limited capability to show the real world.

And that’s all for now…

… new review COMING SOON!

First step, first post!

gpsreviewer — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:05:03 +0000

Being my first post on this blog, but not my first one in the world of blogging, I didn’t know if to start “working” from the first minute or to take a minute tell you a little something about myself…

I guess that the most important thing anybody should know about the GPSreviewer (that’s me:) is that he likes gadgets, devices, phones, GPS and all other kind of navigation systems.

So that’s why I’ve decided that it would be a good idea if I start writing about them also and do something useful for others in the process.. that’s where the reviews and comparisons come in.

So, if you need an opinion about one of the products mentioned above, you came to the right place.

LET THE REVIEWS BEGIN!

PS: I’ll try to be as professional and objective as possible