Database Users

Recommended (free?) Sat Nav

Hi all,
Now im part of the 'gang' I was wondering what the recommended Sat Nav with voice navigation was on Android for the HTC Desire HD? I come from Nokia land where we have Ovi Maps which is very good and free.
What alternatives do I have over here on Android, ideally free, that is good and has voice navigation and good UK postcode search?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Google Maps with voice, all you need my friend

Forgot to add, ideally one where you can save maps, ie, for traveling without having to use roaming?
Thanks

Isn't a free one where maps are stored. To be honest co pilot probably the best if you want no data charges but Google map rubs rings around everything
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Hi,
Yes, just tried Maps, shame about the voice!
I'd rather be able to download maps then I dont have to worry about roaming.
Do you know if you are able to, for example, set your route at the hotel/house and let it calculate the route, say on wifi, and then leave in the car and turn roaming off?
That said, i'd consider paying a small fee if I were able to access offline maps in advance.
Thanks again.

gavin watson said:
Hi,
Yes, just tried Maps, shame about the voice!
I'd rather be able to download maps then I dont have to worry about roaming.
Do you know if you are able to, for example, set your route at the hotel/house and let it calculate the route, say on wifi, and then leave in the car and turn roaming off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can do this with Maps but the problem is if you take a wrong turn somewhere then it can't recalculate the route for you without a data connection. Not ideal really.
If you want to do it though then simply calculate your route with wifi or 3G enabled then press your home button to continue using your phone, turn off your data connection then pull Maps back up again - it will still be running and will the just use GPS as you drive around... provided you don't take that wrong turn we spoke about earlier
Sent from my X10i using XDA App

Waze is much better than Google maps. No offline navigating yet, but they plan on implementing that too. And the good thing is it has crowdsourced traffic info (jams/hazards/speed cams etc), and turn by turn voice guided navigation. It's fun!

Need GPS App & Data Google stops in the rural

I left Windows Mobile Touch Pro 2 for the Droid and has been a good move. Problem I have with the Droid when I am out in the rural of Maui, Hawaii I can get GPS lock but the screen is bland, no map data because the cell service does not reach to certain areas of the rural areas. So Google Nav shows me moving but no maps to see where I am.
If I had the app like Garmin as I did on WinMo, I had the actual maps on a SD card on my device the Garmin app pull from.
If not Garmin, is there an app the offers app & map data that could reside on the SD card that I can use in country/rural areas where no cellular usage is possible?

I'm about to retire my TP2 and move on like you.
I had Garmin XT and have been looking for a replacement for the reasons you mention. It looks like the CoPilot software may be the answer.
http://www.alk.com/copilot/android/

That's strange, I install satellite and leave cell coverage frequently while Navigation still tracks. It says something about data connection lost but keeps chugging along.
Sent from my HTC Incredible using XDA app.

I believe the new google maps will fix this when it is released.

BenHolliday said:
That's strange, I install satellite and leave cell coverage frequently while Navigation still tracks. It says something about data connection lost but keeps chugging along.
Sent from my HTC Incredible using XDA app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well for me since Google maps seems to act like a streaming like function to pull the maps over the cell towers as I drive along. When I was up 6000 feet on mountain roads the maps went away and the signal bars had an 'x'. I had no cell coverage in this remote area. If I had the Garmin XT maps or something like it on my device it I feel it could have pulled the data from the device because the GPS was working but all I saw was the blue gps arrow but no background of maps. It has happened to me before in Oregon heading towards sea-side and cell coverage drops as I get away from Beaverton.

Google Maps can continue to function if you lose data coverage temporarily during your drive, since it caches data, but it will not allow you to start a new route without data coverage. (EDIT: Also, if you go off-route without 3G coverage, Maps will fail. This problem WILL be fixed in the new version).
Your best solution right now is something that uses OpenStreetMaps. It's NOT good for points of interest, but it's pretty good if you're using addresses directly.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Android#Android_software_supporting_OpenStreetMap
I recommend OSMAnd, Navit or NavDroyd. Again, they're not perfect, and can't replace Google Maps Navigation completely, but they're decent in a pinch if you don't have 3G.
Also, even the new version of Maps isn't going to support downloading maps (AFAIK). It's simply going to cache the streets around your frequently driven routes, so there's no guarantee you'll be able to pull up the route you need.

For me, cached Google maps are not an option. I seldom use routing, just look a scrolling maps, so the software has no idea what it needs to cache.
I want points of interest, so Open Source maps aren't very valuable.
Has anyone used CoPilot?

I used to use CoPilot on an old PDA. For the time, it was pretty good. You can always return it within 24 hours.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

I'm using Sygic's Aura, and have had no issues with it. I've probably tried 95% of the nav options for Android since I got this phone, and that's the one I actually kept the purchase...
http://aura.sygic.com/
If you purchase a regional map (I grabbed the full US map pack), they are giving a 10 euro discount, which also helped my decision, lol.
I think the US map pack took around 2.1gb total space on my SD card, so be prepared for that...

Google maps 5.0 will be out shortly. They are vector based can cache large amounts of area with it so that when you are off grid, you still have the map data.

how does gps work on da phone

oi guys ive had a look at a few of those suggested threads about gps and yeah nah they dont really answer my question so feel free to link me to a thread if it answers my question
ok so, what the go.. the phone has gps.. but it doesnt work like a gps device eg navman, tomtom etc.. or does it? i've tried stock froyo and cyanogenmod using that google car app and then going to navigation, but it just keeps searching for a signal for ever. i dont want to use data cause it costs money and defeats the purpose of having a gps.. that is if the phone gps actually works like a gps device. if not then thats pretty bad advertising. anyways let me know, cheers

Mine gets connected to satelites on few seconds,performs as good as my Tom Tom does,i am using Navigon app&maps.

the latest google maps has offline support so you wouldnt need data...

what??! thats rediculous! i left mine in that navigation mode where it was looking for navigation or something like that and the gps symbol was flashing for like 15 min straight as i drove to work and nothing! is it meant to take that long?
EDIT: ok i opened up maps with wifi and it went through all that first time use crap. and so it was using wifi and gps it looked like and that was working. but then when i disabled wifi none of the maps load. only the maps that i had previously loaded while on wifi. wtf? arent maps installed..????????? therefore it should just load them.. what the #%^% im starting to get really pissed off with how stupid this design is. the maps are there, cause theyre installed, and the gps is there so.............. what the ^%#* is its problem?

your right it will only save maps you have browsed while on wifi...i believe there is a setting that overrides this though...

nolook said:
your right it will only save maps you have browsed while on wifi...i believe there is a setting that overrides this though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you know where this setting is? oh and i got the gps to work ie i got it to find me and all that. i did some reading and with gps on most phones the first time they connect it takes a while cause its gotta do all this satellite scanning and then eventually it goes yep ok hes in this part of the country, lets set him up with these satellites and so from then on it connects with gps a lot faster

First of all: the design is just great, you are the stupid.
How GPS work on dah phone ? well just like any other GPS: it receives signal from a few satellites around and it find your position based on the time laps between the reception of each signal (signal come with a time sync).
Now, how WELL does the Legend's GPS work ? as good as any other GPS: very nice in a car or outdoor, but very badly indoor and if it was unable to find your position for 15 minute I'm pretty sure you were indoor (or maybe outdoor in a big city).
Also on smartphone's GPS the data connection can help the GPS itself by downloading some data which will speed up the localisation by satellite, but this is not mandatory and if you're not connected you will end up being positionned. It will only take a few minutes (less than 15)
Finally about the navigation system (which is a bit different of GPS itself) Google's is fairly different than other software because it doesn't come with maps but it download them as you need them:
pros:
-maps are always up to date
-you don't have to waste 2Gb or more on your microSD to store them
-it's free !
cons:
-requires data connection (unlimited download recommanded)
If you prefer usual navigation software, feel free to use co-pilot or navigon or tomtom or any of the other regular software. But you'll have to pay (or crack) them.

Nashan said:
First of all: the design is just great, you are the stupid.
How GPS work on dah phone ? well just like any other GPS: it receives signal from a few satellites around and it find your position based on the time laps between the reception of each signal (signal come with a time sync).
Now, how WELL does the Legend's GPS work ? as good as any other GPS: very nice in a car or outdoor, but very badly indoor and if it was unable to find your position for 15 minute I'm pretty sure you were indoor (or maybe outdoor in a big city).
Also on smartphone's GPS the data connection can help the GPS itself by downloading some data which will speed up the localisation by satellite, but this is not mandatory and if you're not connected you will end up being positionned. It will only take a few minutes (less than 15)
Finally about the navigation system (which is a bit different of GPS itself) Google's is fairly different than other software because it doesn't come with maps but it download them as you need them:
pros:
-maps are always up to date
-you don't have to waste 2Gb or more on your microSD to store them
-it's free !
cons:
-requires data connection (unlimited download recommanded)
If you prefer usual navigation software, feel free to use co-pilot or navigon or tomtom or any of the other regular software. But you'll have to pay (or crack) them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whoa whoa whoa hang on now. lets not go throwing the word stupid around especially if you didnt even understand what i meant or you assumed i didnt know how gps works in the first place.
my general question was that it wasnt connecting to gps and the maps werent showing so im thinking you need data for the maps to show even though you have the maps installed, and secondly im thinking something is wrong with my gps or maybe it doesnt work like a normal device navman, tomtom etc because its been half an hour and still no connectivity. then i answered my own question as usual via the internet from other forums i found using google which explained what i said above.
basically with normal gps devices they are already setup with a region.. thingy or whatever it is built into the gps device. this means the first time you connect its actually quite quick because it already has an idea where you are in the world. however with phones, they apparently dont have this so the process of connecting for the first time can range from 3 min, instantly or up to 3 hours like numerous people claimed it had taken for their phones. as for mine it took just over half an hour and now it works fine.
the only question left over now is apparently you can get the maps to show without a data connection through some option change in the settings as someone mentioned a bit earlier.
dont go throwing stupid around mate or assuming anything cause now who looks stupid. besides the design is quite silly since none of this was explained. when they say the phone has gps people (like me) generally go oh wow like those car gps' and expect them to work like that. so when they dont we become a bit skeptical and i was right to do so because look at all this crap ^^^that ive discovered. anyways like i said theres still one stupid thing left about all this which is why data is needed to view maps that are already installed. its like those video games that you install and require you to be on the net to play

You were the one throwing stupid at the design while you still seem to misunderstand how google nav (quit calling it GPS please) works.
Maps are not completely loaded, they're only stored in the cache and that's true only for one scale, and around one place. You can hardly use that to explore the map offline not even mentionning navigating.
The new feature only allow google nav to keep guiding you if you lose connection for a little while. But you can't really use it offline.
I think that design is just awesome, although I have an unlimited data connection. If you don't have that kind of service you should take a look at usual GPS softwares.
And I'm not assuming anything, you asked "how GPS works" not "how google nav works"

Nashan said:
You were the one throwing stupid at the design while you still seem to misunderstand how google nav (quit calling it GPS please) works.
Maps are not completely loaded, they're only stored in the cache and that's true only for one scale, and around one place. You can hardly use that to explore the map offline not even mentionning navigating.
The new feature only allow google nav to keep guiding you if you lose connection for a little while. But you can't really use it offline.
I think that design is just awesome, although I have an unlimited data connection. If you don't have that kind of service you should take a look at usual GPS softwares.
And I'm not assuming anything, you asked "how GPS works" not "how google nav works"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ugh forget it, i already answered my own question and now you're just being picky and all technical when no one really cares. i think 99% get what i mean so i dont care

GPS is working great. Google Maps is the "problem", more precisely not a real problem but the way it was designed. Unlike other GPS navigation software, the maps are not stored locally but in a cache. The latest version seems to have an offline mode but I didn't tested so I can't say if it's totally offline or not. If you want navigation without using your data connection or WiFi, switch to TomTom, iGO, or similar instead.
That's why Google Maps has only couple of MB and iGO for ex. has over 2 GB with all maps loaded...the difference is the space occupied by the maps.
P.S. And yes, first GPS lock is acquired a little bit later.

Rapier said:
GPS is working great. Google Maps is the "problem", more precisely not a real problem but the way it was designed. Unlike other GPS navigation software, the maps are not stored locally but in a cache. The latest version seems to have an offline mode but I didn't tested so I can't say if it's totally offline or not. If you want navigation without using your data connection or WiFi, switch to TomTom, iGO, or similar instead.
That's why Google Maps has only couple of MB and iGO for ex. has over 2 GB with all maps loaded...the difference is the space occupied by the maps.
P.S. And yes, first GPS lock is acquired a little bit later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you. that clears it all up
now to that other guy, wouldnt it have been easier to just say that ^

I use Igo for my offline nav. It works just like a tom tom. For my geocaching needs, I use geobeagle.
Sent from my HTC Legend using XDA App

about GPS works

I have an easy question about GPS, I am using Vibrant without network plan. So I don't know if I can use GPS with out any wifi or 3g? I am using the BV 1.3.1 now.. If that will work, how can I set up?

GPS uses military run satellites to determine you location. The network or data transfer is irreverent. Your GPS will work without network connection.
Now lets say you try to navigate to a location with Google maps. This will not work, although the phone will know your location it can not use the network to DL the maps nor calculate your route. If you use a nav app that store a maps on your SD card, then you'll be fine

SykesAT said:
GPS uses military run satellites to determine you location. The network or data transfer is irreverent. Your GPS will work without network connection.
Now lets say you try to navigate to a location with Google maps. This will not work, although the phone will know your location it can not use the network to DL the maps nor calculate your route. If you use a nav app that store a maps on your SD card, then you'll be fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 yup plus it will be slower

oka1 said:
+1 yup plus it will be slower
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will be slower? The GPS navigate will be slower or the phone will be slower? much slower?

oka1 said:
+1 yup plus it will be slower
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any nav app that we can't download free and store the maps in SD so that can navigate without network?

oka1 said:
+1 yup plus it will be slower
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pxc668 said:
It will be slower? The GPS navigate will be slower or the phone will be slower? much slower?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see how the phone would be slower, in any regard. It would not affect the phones processing speed, nor would the gps run slower. The only thing that could be slower is finding your location from a cold start, using network location can speed this, but imo it's irrelevant. Network location is too inaccurate for navigation.
There are some apps which store maps, but none that are free. Maybe someone else knows of one.

In my experience, GPS lock can be considerably slower without the network. The AGPS works by querying the network to get supplemental information like precise time and maybe ephemeris data (precise sat location) which can make a huge difference in acquiring lock. The phone is capable of acquiring lock without this network aid, but locks can take minutes, and accurate locks can take many minutes.
Of course, the other caveats about requiring off-line maps etc for navigation functions also apply.

I don't have a data plan either but my gps works just fine. It locks onto sats in about 10 sec.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=10488647
thats open source map app where u can drop locations to go turn by turn (initially the maps load over wifi, but u can choose to save them and save them according to the resolution. I live in Atlanta so i only saved the GA portion with a decent resolution, which is nice that i dont have to worry about downloading states ill never need).
i personally use copilot live more (about 1gb for USA maps with poi)
i forgot the price, but it is 100% worth it (almost better than my in car navi)
Running bionix btw if that helps with gps lockon timings
and dont forget to get apn droid from the app store to make sure it disables all cellular network data. only downside is that if you want mms then u have to turn it back on reboot and then download the mms then turn it off again, but i dont get many mms anyway so its ok.

Get CoPilot Live USA.
Its $5 on the market and it preloads the maps for the country on your phone. Works WITHOUT data and the interface is SLICK. Full 3D navigation with really good voice turn by turn.
One of the best purchases I ever made. Hope it helps you too
PS: Maps get updated about every month so they are always current as far as road names and points of interest. Note that since it isn't using any data and data triangulation, if it is the first time you use it after a phone reboot it will take up to 3-4 minutes to lock on. This is normal as it is the same if you try any 3rd party GPS receiver navigation system. Once you've used it once since the phone has booted up, lockon time will be under a minute.

GPS ... without internet?

Before buying this set I want to know something about its GPS.
1. Can it get a lock on the satellites without an internet connection.
2. If yes, how much time it takes to get an accurate position.
Please can anyone test it.

GPS has nothing to do with internet. So yeah it works without internet.
I've read reports that positioning time is around 4-5 seconds.

GPS is not dependent on the internet, but my Tmobile Sensation 4G sure needed a data connection for it to function as a navigation device. I had to download the Google maps for my area to my phone so I could navigate without a data connection.

Gavin S. said:
GPS is not dependent on the internet, but my Tmobile Sensation 4G sure needed a data connection for it to function as a navigation device. I had to download the Google maps for my area to my phone so I could navigate without a data connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. If you pre-download whatever area you will need while on WiFi, it will make it so it doesn't need a data connection in use for navigating out in the "wild".

How do you pre-download an area?

Nitemare3219 said:
How do you pre-download an area?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know Google Maps has this function now, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Personally, when I'm hiking or going to a remote place, I use Backcountry Pro. It's a little pricey for a phone app, but they have lots of topographical and aerial satellite shots of the entire North America.
In short, GPS does NOT require an Internet connection to function (find your phone). The app that uses the GPS may need an Internet connection to work though.
EDIT: I found this for instructions on how to do offline navigation with Google Maps.

Open maps and hit menu and one option will be make available offline. Choose that and delineate the area you want. I think I had like a 80mb limit to the size of the file. It was a fairly large bit of map, though.

There is a 80mb limit but you can save 10 of these squares so it's more than enough. A large city can be covered in about 3 or 4 squares.

I've used Google Maps including a lock with navigation in a car without a SIM card in foreign countries, so yes.

Gavin S. said:
Open maps and hit menu and one option will be make available offline. Choose that and delineate the area you want. I think I had like a 80mb limit to the size of the file. It was a fairly large bit of map, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried that but I don't see a way to save it with a given name and I could only save one image as the second replaced the first. Also the map when you are off line looses a lot of detail except for a small area in the center. At least it did when I tried.

donec said:
I have tried that but I don't see a way to save it with a given name and I could only save one image as the second replaced the first. Also the map when you are off line looses a lot of detail except for a small area in the center. At least it did when I tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got me. Maybe you can only have 1 image at a time. Neotekz might have more information.

you could try the app - navfreeworld - that's offline open street maps. I use it with the GPS when overseas so I don't eat up my data connection. Its a free app so if you don't like it, all you lose is time

donec said:
I have tried that but I don't see a way to save it with a given name and I could only save one image as the second replaced the first. Also the map when you are off line looses a lot of detail except for a small area in the center. At least it did when I tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can change the name, it just auto assigns the name of the area you are saving. I just checked with my gnex and I'm able to save more than one. You can go see the list of your saved maps by going to maps settings->my places->offline tab. There is an option there to add new maps too.

Seemonsters said:
GPS has nothing to do with internet. So yeah it works without internet.
I've read reports that positioning time is around 4-5 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried it yourself...GPS position without internet in just 4-5 sec is impossible...
Please give it another try ...this time without internet...and let me know...
I want to make sure without internet GPS is good on this device before I buy it
Sent from my LG-SU660 using XDA Premium App

Seemonsters said:
GPS has nothing to do with internet. So yeah it works without internet.
I've read reports that positioning time is around 4-5 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not necessarily. My epic 4g will not enable the GPS if there has been no data connection since boot. So if its in airplane mode because I'm somewhere with bad/no signal (sprint, so this was common) there's no way to use GPS with offline maps.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

zman0900 said:
Not necessarily. My epic 4g will not enable the GPS if there has been no data connection since boot. So if its in airplane mode because I'm somewhere with bad/no signal (sprint, so this was common) there's no way to use GPS with offline maps.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
I have used GPS on some samsung phones without internet...
but I am asking about Nexus 4...?
Has anyone tried GPS on it without internet?

I just tried it, phone in airplane mode and it grabbed 8/19 sats in the area in <8s. That is a HUGE improvement over my sensation which could never get a good (green) lock but it only grabbed ~3 sats in the area and it could take up to 30s with data on, it also constantly lost connection when on a drive so I'll see if that has improved later today.

threeclaws said:
I just tried it, phone in airplane mode and it grabbed 8/19 sats in the area in <8s. That is a HUGE improvement over my sensation which could never get a good (green) lock but it only grabbed ~3 sats in the area and it could take up to 30s with data on, it also constantly lost connection when on a drive so I'll see if that has improved later today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You tried it over Nexus 4?
Thanks a lot...

If the mobile is saving information every once and then, it's not useful to turn of internet. I think it should be turned off several days until the "assisted" info gets out of date (A-GPS without A).
I have a TomTom GPS, and it downloads once a WEEK the GPS information. If Nexus4 does the same, it's not useful to turn down the internet for a couple of minutes. I think

Struck89 said:
If the mobile is saving information every once and then, it's not useful to turn of internet. I think it should be turned off several days until the "assisted" info gets out of date (A-GPS without A).
I have a TomTom GPS, and it downloads once a WEEK the GPS information. If Nexus4 does the same, it's not useful to turn down the internet for a couple of minutes. I think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
threeclaws
Can you re test?
Can you delete your a-gps data before trying it again.
Use this tool
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2
Then try this software to check ur gps positioning
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chartcross.gpstest&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5jaGFydGNyb3NzLmdwc3Rlc3QiXQ..
Thanks in advance