[RhythMick]

I'm UK based and have tried the 3 apps which came with my Storm.

Google Maps - works well, shows position, calculates routes, shows traffic delays - not bad. No POI, no spoken directions. No recalculation of route if I go off track.

BB Maps - again, works well as a GPS mapping tool, calculates routes ok. No traffic, POI, spoken directions, recalculation.

I almost dismissed Vodafone "Find and Go" out of hand, but first impressions it seems ok. Easy to use, works well with the GPS, finds POI, calculates routes ok. I haven't tried it on a real trip yet but it claims to route and reroute you based on traffic and also gives speed camera alerts. I think it's a 6-month trial then subscription.

So, what others should I take a look at in the UK ? The reason I almost dismissed VF&G is that I would naturally look to one of the established companies - I see that Garmin have a mobile product, but the Storm isn't supported (a search of these forums tells me it works though) and because of that the free 7-day trial isn't available. That's a one-off payment which I like, though I'm not sure that covers MAP/POI updates, camera alerts, traffic etc.

What is everyone else in the UK using ?

I think I'm going to remove BB maps as I cant see a need to keep it. I''ll give a more detailed report on VF&G in a few days. Many years ago I had a HP IPAQ 2210 with a Bluetooth GPS and I wrote a number of articles about the software packages available at the time. Maybe I'll sharpen my pencil again ...

[RhythMick]

... you invent a trip out just to test a Sat Nav system.

"Rats, we're out of Hoi Sin sauce", I overhear from the kitchen. Like lightning I'm in there with "the car's out - I'll be back in 5" and I'm gone.

So, first (short) trip with VF&G. I have a fairly short list of requirements for a Sat Nav, anything else is icing ...

• quick to get a location lock
• easy to find where you want to go
• fast and accurate routing
• clear spoken instructions
• crystal clear directions on screen map
• quick to re-route if something goes wrong
• speed-camera alerts
• notification of traffic problems and re-route if necessary

On this short (5 mins) trip I tested all bar the last 2. Our local garage has an excellent shop attached. I don't know it's address so I searched for "Petrol" and it quickly (10 secs or so) brought up a list of petrol stations with the nearest at the top. click on the top one, the route was calculated and downloaded. Encouragingly, it told me there were no traffic problems ! All in all, from loading the app, to getting the route underway took less than a minute.

Both the map and spoken directions are very clear. Road names are spoken properly. That reminds me of some of the early disastrous attempts at text-to-speech which pronounced "left parenthisis" etc when they were embedded in the text. So "Turn left A628(Barnsley Road)" was just a mess - LOL. The map is 3D - not cluttered, route ahead clearly laid out even on a complex junction. A nice touch, the route is marked in red but the next direction is shown in yellow. Really clear and easy to follow.

In my view the value of a Sat Nav system is really shown when you go wrong, which I deliberately did twice on my short trip home. You need it to IMMEDIATELY re-route you, as the next turn might be absolutely necessary (eg to avoid getting on a motorway as I did once in Bristol). This is something that TomTom excels at. Glad to say VF&G worked superbly. I missed the entrance to my estate but there's a second entrance within maybe 200 yards. I can't have been more than 30yds past the first entrance before it lit up the new route and spoke the new instruction at me.

OK - one short trip doesn't cover all the bases but so far I'm impressed. If it alerts properly on speed cameras and re-routes on traffic then I'll be sticking with it. I'd love to hear whether others have had same or different experiences with this software or what your preferred solution is.

Off to get a mount for my PDAir case now.

[stav]

I've been using vf&g for a few months now and on a a number of 2 to 3 hour trips. I've always found it reliable and accurate and would highly recommend it. My only issue is the �5 a month subscription once the 6 month trial is up especially when you consider the cost of stand alone sat nav units now.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Keirkhaart]

I use the free vodafone sat nav on my bold (a telmap product) which is great for voice turns and can find actual business addresses, train stations, etc. I then use googlemaps if the vodafone one can't find an address (rare, but googlemaps always finds the address, every time)

I tried amazegps and it's OK, though not as good as the vodafone one. There was a link on here months back for the vodafone one - apparently it was working on non-vodafone phones too, but I'm not sure if they stopped that or removed the link since then. Do a search for vodafone sat nav. It's well worth having if that's not the one you already have - better than the garmin i3 I was using.

[jb305]

try nav4all free basic but works

[RhythMick]

I've been using vf&g for a few months now and on a a number of 2 to 3 hour trips. I've always found it reliable and accurate and would highly recommend it. My only issue is the �5 a month subscription once the 6 month trial is up especially when you consider the cost of stand alone sat nav units now.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

OK - you can buy a new TomTom (for example) for around �100 or so. But that doesn't get you updated maps, POIs cameras etc. It doesn't get you traffic updates (you can try and get them over RDS, but you pay �30 for the aerial and it doesn't work well, sometimes at all).

Until a couple of weeks ago I was using SmartNav from Trafficmaster. Good system, same principle of central server feeding maps and updates to mobile devices. But it's expensive - including navigation, camera warnings, traffic updates and reroutes and tracker costs upwards of �200 per year.

I'm impressed with VF&G so far and I'm thinking it's reasonable value at �60 per year. Doesn't mean I wouldn't like to know about other options, particularly things like the Garmin mobile 1-off payment (does that include traffic, updates etc).

Think I'll enjoy the 6-month trial and then see what the options are, but it might take something to persuade me to move.