[godsfantasy]

This is my first time EVER writing a review like this. Detailed and FURIOUS about a product. Since BlackBerry App world is also pathetic (WTF is "invalid characters entered., which characters are prohibited? Unhelpful error messages like these is part of what drove people away, and nope, RIM still loves these messages), I am going to post my review of Magellan Compass Maps here.

After a full day of driving with this product, I can honestly say that this program is definitely not ready for prime time, and I hope that version 4.0 will be MUCH better. This program doesn't even to a typical $70 TomTom GPS. I really wanted to like this program, REALLY REALLY WANTED TO LIKE IT, but wow... I was so infuriated by it after 3 hours of driving around with it.
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Title: ONLY native GPS solution, and it's pathetic

High rating and lots of good-will probably because it's the ONLY native GPS solution for the PlayBook.

Save yourself the grief and money and buy a real GPS instead. This program is pathetic as a GPS solution, it sucks as a map solution... what is it good for!? I just bought a car recently, so I can really test it.

Mis-represented usefulness of map caching for offline use
- Cannot do address searches if using cached maps
- You must also go through and odd interface to save a route
- Both of the above may or may not work when you need it
- Lack of voice guidance when offline (why the f would I need this if it doesn't have voice guidance?)
- Corrupts cache when it's large (over 1 GB)
- Cannot use downloaded maps from OpenStreetMaps, you MUST cache it through the program (ugh... hello... you can download the maps right from OpenStreetMap's site)
- Caching process is both uncertain (maybe it'll work when you need it, maybe it won't), and it is slow (think over a day for southern Ontario alone)
- Maybe it can save bandwidth after you cache the maps (useful when roaming?)? But no certain way to tell because it seems to pull maps from server when you're online.

Lack of handling of stress scenerios
- What about sudden lost of GPS? It goes nuts and gives wrong directions
- What about sudden lost of internet? Program stalls
- What about long loses of GPS/internet? Program stalls and doesn't tell you that anything is wrong (neither visually nor via audio, you must deduce this when the street starts to look funny)
- TIED TO O2INTERACTIVE.COM - if website goes down, address search breaks with no indication as to what might be wrong

Lack of search
- Want address to your nearest Walmart? Nope, you can't do that in the program

Lack of universal settings
- No setting to avoid toll roads by default, for example
- Lack of traffic update for many regions that started to have live traffic information

Summary
Please save yourself the grief and buy a $60 throw-away GPS. Even those are more useful than this program, and won't crap out when you need it. The chances of this program crapping out on you is more than 50% of the time (total driving time, trying to use this as a guide), from my experience.

[backfire101]

That's why I am still waiting for a good app from TomTom or Navigator with full off-line maps and great voice assist, lane assist, etc etc. But I guess we will have to wait till BB10 hits the streets

[Shanerredflag]

Come on...how do you really feel.

I also tried to like it...didn't work, however I find allot of apps from ALL platforms are not worth the money...just sayin. I really wish they would provide a trial period before purchase, would save allot of grief.

[ralfyguy]

I am with OP. I REALLY tried to like that app as well. I was excited about the caching maps, but as the OP described, caching is slow, unreliable and over 1GB gets corrupted and makes the device unable to run a backup.
I tried for weeks to get it to work right and I gave up om it. Haven't started it in months now, too frustrating.
waste of money.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the developer working with the PlayBook, but this app is not ready.
There has nit been any uodate in a long time, I assume the dev was just as frustrated as me.

[djenkins6]

I use it in conjunction with my garmin and bb traffic! Yes I have all three.

The only use for Magellan compass is a view of a large area, say 20km across, with live traffic turned on it works really nicely like this as you can see big red areas far ahead and divert way before garmin or bb traffic gives a detour.

[ralfyguy]

Oh and by thd way. I also purchased the Doris With Attitude voice and after a reinstall of the app it will not let me download it anymore, saying that there was a problem. I paid for it, but trying to get it back now since a couple of months without luck.

[mapsonburt]

I think perhaps you are being a bit harsh... the PlayBook isn't really meant for internet type work outside of a wifi hotspot. You can get wifi maps with bridging but i don't know if Magellan supports it. This isn't the only native PlayBook GPS application there are lots - I know because I wrote one myself. The dev for this particular application is quite good and worked with a lot of undocumented features. You are comparing a simple app with a device based GPS like Tom/Tom for 12-20 times the price. I know when Magellan started out he was using Google maps (too) so no way to support open maps from that. Chill buddy. It isn't like you wasted your life savings... its a cheap application and I'm happy the dev is spending the time on PlayBook.

[cdnrider]

I have to agree with OP. But with a little less feet stomping

I have learned not to trust the descriptions in app world, for the most part they are SELLING, over promising and misleading. There are some great apps out there, this is just not one of them.

[daglesj]

But I guess we will have to wait till BB10 hits the streets

I'm really surprised how many folks seem to think that BB10 is going to be akin to the second coming and all of a sudden the whole world will sit up and provide apps hand over fist for it.

If Blackberry isnt enough of a draw here and now for the major developers then it never will be.

Brace for major disappointment!

[djenkins6]

I think perhaps you are being a bit harsh... the PlayBook isn't really meant for internet type work outside of a wifi hotspot. You can get wifi maps with bridging but i don't know if Magellan supports it. This isn't the only native PlayBook GPS application there are lots - I know because I wrote one myself. The dev for this particular application is quite good and worked with a lot of undocumented features. You are comparing a simple app with a device based GPS like Tom/Tom for 12-20 times the price. I know when Magellan started out he was using Google maps (too) so no way to support open maps from that. Chill buddy. It isn't like you wasted your life savings... its a cheap application and I'm happy the dev is spending the time on PlayBook.

Per my earlier post, I use it bridged to my 9810 as I'm driving around and it shows traffic very nicely.

[Powdah]

I also owned, tried and keep trying Magellan. It should not have been released in it's present form. OsMand barely is acceptable. I, too am waiting for BB10 and Tomtom. I only can hope that it will be as good as BB Traffic.

Problem is that it will be "who knows when" next year before we get BB10 on our Playbooks.

[DocDRM]

One thing's for sure. Most dev work gets better with experience, time, and good user feedback.

Hopefully, review writers experience the same talent growth . . .

[BuzzStarField]

One thing's for sure. Most dev work gets better with experience, time, and good user feedback.

Hopefully, review writers experience the same talent growth . . .

In my own experience this is not likely to happen. There are too many review writers who think that being NOT politically correct is a virtue. It is notoriously difficult to write the perfect app that is both easy to use and functions.flawlessly in all circumstances. I know this developer and he is no slouch. He has helped me countless times by his participation in the RIM developers' forums.

I stand to be corrected, but I doubt that the OP contacted the developer and explained his problems before writing his intemperate review in this forum. I own a copy of the app in question and while it is not perfect, it is not nearly as bad as the OP suggests. As the OP himself points out, many reviewers in App World agree with me. .The developer must be fuming with repressed rage. For the record, I get more than my share of thoughtless reviews for my astronomy app.so I know how he feels . All I can say is WTF.

[DocDRM]

For those of you that don't have it - here's what the icon will look like on your PlayBook after you follow the link in Buzz's signature (and buy it);

[godsfantasy]

I think perhaps you are being a bit harsh... the PlayBook isn't really meant for internet type work outside of a wifi hotspot. You can get wifi maps with bridging but i don't know if Magellan supports it. This isn't the only native PlayBook GPS application there are lots - I know because I wrote one myself. The dev for this particular application is quite good and worked with a lot of undocumented features. You are comparing a simple app with a device based GPS like Tom/Tom for 12-20 times the price. I know when Magellan started out he was using Google maps (too) so no way to support open maps from that. Chill buddy. It isn't like you wasted your life savings... its a cheap application and I'm happy the dev is spending the time on PlayBook.

You are very correct that I was harsh. I was extremely furious that it worked the way that it did that day. Being lost, making me lose focus on the road... I am hopeful that version 4.0 will be much better. I appreciate what the developers are doing, and I wish for them good things.

The program has all the core functionalities there, and I'm not sure how difficult it is to put in the rest of the polish. The description made me expect a lot more than what it delivered, and I am just so very disappointed. I was rooting so much for the PB and the apps on it.

[godsfantasy]

I don't think I can edit the post. I was extremely furious when I wrote that (being lost many times, ). Maybe I can polish the review up, and send it off to the developer, but I'm not sure if that would help. These are not technical support issues, they're issues with the implementation? design?

I am not a professional app reviewer, and I am not used to writing reviews. If by being thoughtful, you mean choosing better words to express the same thing? Sure, I did not do that (a few days later, I thought maybe I could've). After being lost so many times, after having such a bad experience after expecting so much from this app., I was FURIOUS.

All I hope for them is that their 4.0 beta will be much better. As other threads have stated, their program gets better all the time, from version to version. I hope that BB10 will be much easier for them to develop on. This program has SOOO much potential. It seems like all the hard stuff are done (route computation, maps, highlights...etc), just lacking some polish. I would hate to see another program with such great potential go away.

[BigwhiteUK]

For what its worth I use Telmap, sideloaded, and it requires a data connection, which I use my 9900. Full voice navigation and works extremely well. I believe its only available in the UK and europe!
It is available for the 9900 and is now upgraded to include speed camera's. Its now called M8

[koxmoz]

I justo gonna say....

WAZE

[KermEd]

Opinions are OK, its people who don't speak at all that scare me.

Heck I get reviews full of hate daily (edit: mostly on free apps ironically) You get thick skin as a developer! But Buzz is right, most of the devs I know on BB answer support emails quick. And a lot of us have eachother on BBM, so sometimes we work together on complex stuff or helping someone find the right solution for that weird app they need for something.

But, give support a chance if you want. Otherwise, grab a refund. Try to be open minded if you can, but speak up somewhere - if you want to be heard Because no one will do it for you.

[Powdah]

While it is not perfect, I recently drove from close to the Canadian border to Yuma, Az and back using two different routes. The program performed adequately, never gave me a bad route, warned me adequately. I downloaded the route before leaving my wireless connections.

I do own all the GPS apps for the Playbook and consider this one the best. I have not side loaded any of the others. I do think the developer is trying to make this program the best it can be.

I am just saying. ---- Also, I do not know the developer or have any financial interest in this program.

ps --- it was more accurate than Google Nav on my wife's phone.