Car GPS apps for smartphones review

01.Introduction

Most smartphone owners have the Google Maps application (or app), which shows your current position and also how to get around. However, if you are willing to spend $50 to $90, you can get an app on your phone that will work just like a car navigation device, with safety camera warning, trip planning and advanced lane guidance.

CHOICE tests 12 GPS applications available for the Apple iPhone, Android and Nokia smartphones for ease of use and their performance around the city and rural areas, as well as examines the online purchase and installation experience.

While Google Maps is free and performs well as a basic car navigation application, it’s not nearly as feature rich as the other car GPS apps on test. Also, map data is downloaded to the phone while driving rather than reading a complete map on the phone’s memory. For anything other than short distance city driving, you will need a good sized data plan to use Google Maps in order to avoid cost blowouts. Although figures can vary dramatically depending on the network used and how you view Google Maps, you can expect to use around 2MB for every 10 kilometres of driving. 

Although the iPhone comes with built-in GPS capability and Google Maps to show you where you are and how to get where you’re going, this is no substitute for voice-guided turn-by-turn instructions. 

You can download all the apps directly to your phone, but because most contain the maps required as part of the app itself, you’ll need to use Wi-Fi (wireless local area networking) – downloads over 3G phone networks are limited to 10MB. You can also download the iPhone GPS apps using iTunes on a computer and then transfer them to the iPhone.

For more information on GPS reviews, visit our GPS section.

• Co Pilot Live (iPhone)
• Google Maps Navigation (Beta) (Android)
• iGo myway (iPhone)
• Metroview (iPhone)
• NavFree (iPhone)
• Navigon (iPhone)
• Navigon MobileNavigator (Android)
• Ndrive (Android)
• Ovi Maps (Nokia)
• Sygic Aura (A) (Android)
• Sygic Aura Drive (A) (iPhone)
• Tom Tom (iPhone)

How we test

• Performance Our tester noted accuracy of the pre-planned route, points of interest, the estimated time of arrival and accuracy of voice prompts.
• Ease of use He also rated each GPS app on how easy it is to read and interact with the menu, the quality of displayed data and the supplied manuals.

City Only performance tests are carried out in Sydney, as past results in various cities showed very little difference between models in built-up areas in terms of distances and arrival times. Our tester, Scott O’Keefe, selects 10 locations from all over Sydney, and performs two sets of distance calculations for each location; one from Engadine and the other from Ingleburn. The total of the predicted distances is calculated; the more accurate the predicted distance, the better the score.

Rural performance tests are carried out where Scott selects wineries and hotels in the Hunter Valley to find out if the GPS provides accurate directions.

Ease of use Scott assesses how useful the instructions are, how easy it is to attach and remove the GPS and whether it vibrates during travel. He looks at how easy it is to use the menu structure on the touchscreen and, where supplied, whether it is necessary to use a stylus to navigate the menu.

Verbal instructions are assessed on the quality of the voice, timing of turn and other instructions, how clear the instructions are, and whether it’s possible to rely on verbal instructions without looking at the screen.

Screen quality Scott compares how easy it is to read the map, and how clear the picture is in daylight and at night.

Points of interest (POI) He selects 20 points of interest, including a hospital, medical centre, airport, police station, shopping centre, tourist attraction, and so on, and rates the models based on how the POIs are found and the accuracy of the information supplied.

Speed of map refresh He checks how long it takes the GPS to recover after a missed turn, and after coming out of a tunnel, with a planned turn-off immediately after the tunnel exit.

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