[paul386]

Okay, I have used Garmin Mobile, VZNavigator, and TeleNav on the Storm. Today I used the TeleNav to drive to work and search for a gas station. The software was fast to find my location, even inside, indicating the use of aGPS. The map pans easy and downloads quickly (much faster than Garmin and maybe faster than VZNav). Unlike VZNav, which downloads the map when you finish panning, TeleNav functions much like Google Maps where it downloads the map as you pan. Searching for for "Points of Interest" is much better than Garmin and rivals VZNav. Garmin only uses Google to search for stuff meaning the results never really compare to the quality of VZNav. TeleNav must use a very similar (or the same) search database as VZNav as most of the options are exactly the same. It doesn't have a feature like VZNav for searching only in the direction you are headed or along your route. However, it does allow you to search for gas by the grade of gas you are purchasing (pretty nifty for those who buy premium or diesel fuels). Other interesting notes is that it has a "record location" feature that pinpoint wherever you are currently at, which may be useful for noting the location of your car in a parking lot. It also has a compass page, which shows your speed, direction, and location coordinates.

When I told it to Navigate to my work it found a route in about the same amount of time that the others would. What I thought was pretty cool (at first) was that you can pan the view around (and zoom in / out) in the quasi 3D map during navigation. Later it became annoying as the screen would dim and then I would touch it to get it to light up again, causing the map to pan away from my location centric view. Pressing the back button on the phone returns it to centering on your location. Later I found a setting in the options to keep the backlight on all all times or only turn it on when approaching turns, so it is sort of a null issue.

The map is the same as the one in VZNav and Garmin. It is missing the same recent construction that was done on the interstate near my house. The route it suggested was close to, but not exactly what I take everyday. One thing I noticed was that the software places you on the route by default and doesn't really follow your GPS location. It was especially obvious when I passed the recommended route for going to work and continued on my normal route. The software showed me exiting the highway like it wanted and only after about 15-20 seconds did it realize I was not going that way. This was disturbing because it would of really confused me if I was trying to navigate in an unfamiliar city and it shows me going the right way but I might not really be going the right way.

Another annoying thing I found was that if you got on a leg of the trip that was short (less than 1 mile) it would start chiming off the next instructions immediately and then it would repeat itself 3 times without pause. I am certain this has to be a glitch, it is very annoying.

Compared to Garmin, I think it is better. Compared to VZNav it has some better things about it, but I can't say it is better.

I will try to get some pictures up when I get home from work.

[CanuckBB]

The map is the same as the one in VZNav and Garmin. It is missing the same recent construction that was done on the interstate near my house.

Maps are usually 6 months behind. The map company has to be notified of a change, verify it and the issue an update.

The route it suggested was close to, but not exactly what I take everyday.

Software will never optimize the way we do in our familiar environment. We know traffic patterns. All navigation software will get you from point A to point B. Just not optimized for local quirks.

One thing I noticed was that the software places you on the route by default and doesn't really follow your GPS location. It was especially obvious when I passed the recommended route for going to work and continued on my normal route. The software showed me exiting the highway like it wanted and only after about 15-20 seconds did it realize I was not going that way. This was disturbing because it would of really confused me if I was trying to navigate in an unfamiliar city and it shows me going the right way but I might not really be going the right way.

Navigation software uses a feature call 'snap to road'. GPS is inherently imprecise. By as much as 100 metres sometimes. And maps are not quite as precise with coordinates as we think. When your position indicates you are no longer on the road, the software will still snap you back on the road it thinks you are on. It usualy does not matter, unless you don't follow it's instructions for freeway exits. It will show you on the road calculated for you until your indicated position is outside the error range of the GPS. It will then snap you on the closest road and recalculate. All software does it.