 AT&T Navigator
Let me preface by saying I have never had any GPS hardware nor software before getting the Bold. I have always used paper maps and have been very satisfied with this method.
I got the Bold on release day, US that is and one of the first applications I downloaded was Google Maps. What a cool app. I have used Google maps on the laptop for a while and I really liked being able to get the same directions on the Bold. the maps were astounding and the directions were spot on.
I am in Vegas and had a long weekend trip to LA coming up. AT&T offers 30 days of free trial on their Navigator, so I did the registration thing and got it going the day before my trip. Initially, I felt that the abilities were identical to Google Maps. I entered my start and destination and got the list of 'turn-by-turn' directions. Hmmmm. Looks just like Google. The thing that frustrated me the most was why you could see your present location, or you could see the map showing the next turn, but they didn't put it together. I mean, not having had any of this prior to this phone, I have seen the commercials showing the map moving along with you, showing your present location, and letting you know how far it was to your next turn. I could not get AT&T Navigator to do this. And I could not figure out how to get the voice directions to work either. I was very frustrated with the whole thing. I got to me destination, but it seemed like it took a lot more work than just using a paper map.
Fast forward to my return trip. I entered my data to take me back and happened to glance at the menu and I saw the 'Navigate' item. Hmmm? What is that? Remember, I have never had GPS before this, and I did go through the activation of AT&T Navigator before my trip. I selected the menu item and I had to go through another registration process, this one included the part about 30 days free and subsequent monthly fees, yadda, yadda, yadda. Got thru it and BAM! Now THIS is what I am TALKING about. It worked just like I felt it should. Sort of a 3-D moving map with voice directions and all the bells and whistles like traffic updates, finding gas stations, etc.
Once I had this working, I really loved the software. The display is crisp and clear. The voice directions are audible and concise. You get the next turn voice instruction immediately after the last turn, then again shortly before the next one. You can jump around and check other things and it just works nicely. I despise the warning, every time you run it, about not playing with the phone while driving, but I guess that is the lawyers earning their pay.
you can tell it if you want to use carpool lanes, and if you prefer highway or secondary roads. Whether you want fastest or easiest, etc. 3 times during my LA highway drive, the Navigator told me to expect 'Congestion ahead' within x miles, and to press a key if I wanted to reroute. I didn't, because I really didn't want to get bogged down in unfamiliar LA side streets, but the option was given. The first warning was correct, and we were caught up in a jam for a short time, but the subsequent warnings were cleared up before we got there, so they were old data, or short duration jams.
The software locked onto the GPS signal within seconds booting most of the time. On the morning of the return trip, it took over 10 minutes to connect, and it kept telling me to move to an open area. Well, I was on Highway 101 in downtown LA, pretty open. It finally connected and kept a lock for the remainder of the trip without issue.
My trip took me thru about 3 areas that had no cellular signal. Each time the phone audibly told me that coverage was unavailable. the Navigator map disappears, and only displays a large graphic indicating the direction of the next turn, and how far to go. Once coverage comes back, the phone tells me that, and the Navigator display goes back to full sort-of-3-D map display.
Overall, I am very impressed with the program. I don't travel enough to justify the monthly fee, but it worked just as I hoped it would...once I figured out how to get it working. I would imagine that a real GPS solution would be more convenient from a display standpoint, but if you can deal with the small screen (compared to commercial GPS units) I can see that this will do what you need.
I wish that it was included in an unlimited data plan, but since it is not, I will be removing it from my account. I liked it while it was free. Beats paper maps all the way.
I give it a 9 out of 10 on operation (screen size prevents a 10).
I give it a 5 for initial install and setup, as it is not as intuitive and I think it should be.
That is all I can think of to say about it. If you have the Bold I would suggest you at least try the 30 days free. It is a fun app.
Michael
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