Looking For a Better GPS Program

[mknollman]

I am looking to use some type of GPS / Mapping software for the Redfly that allows me to store all maps locally. I like the freebies (google and live)but there are significant areas of no service when I travel.

I know there are a lot of these out there, and I was hoping some of you out there have tried them out on the Redfly. Thanks for the info.

 

[drowe]

One no-go is TomTom 6. I can't get the screen to show up on my Redfly at all. I'd love to use it so if anyone has any recommendations I'd be happy to try them. I'm also looking for a new GPS program.

David

 

[kraski]

One no-go is TomTom 6. I can't get the screen to show up on my Redfly at all. I'd love to use it so if anyone has any recommendations I'd be happy to try them. I'm also looking for a new GPS program.

I'll vouch for the TomTom issue. I have TomTom 6 on a Treo Pro. Works fine, standalone on the phone. Locks up at the splash screen on the Redfly. I thought I had seen that some had success with TomTom 7, but I don't see that it's generally available for sale. Or that it's been used on a Treo Pro.

 

[Aware]

I use WayFinder. The cool thing is that if you have multiple devices, you can transfer the license from one device to another. You can either pay a monthly fee, or pay a one-off price for perpetual license.

www.wayfinder.com

 

[jwebb56]

I use iGuidance on a Samsung EPIX and the maps will render properly on a Redfly. Non-map screens are rendered at 240x320 which is a minor annoyance. However, there is a trick to getting iGuidance to work. You see they will tell you up front it only supports 240x320, 320x240, 480x640 or 640x480 resolutions. I have it working on a 320x320 EPIX and of course the Redfly, both of which are different resolutions. Instructions are in this post:
http://forums.wmexperts.com/showthread.php?t=174830

iGuidance is one of the better stand-alone GPS navigation programs in my opinion. The current version uses NAVTEQ Q4 2008 maps, which are universally thought to be the best available for North America.

Disclaimers: I do run RealVGA on my EPIX and it may be key to making it work. I also do not use the Redfly in my car, I've just tested the app statically at home to prove to myself that it'll render properly. And finally, I did not discover this trick but found it through a Google search.

 

[jwebb56]

Oh and in regards to TomTom 7, I believe it is sold only in Europe.

 

[kraski]

Oh and in regards to TomTom 7, I believe it is sold only in Europe.

TomTom's site seems to only offer maps for TomTom 7 -- they indicate 7 is preinstalled. The list of phones seems to be HTC locked European phones.

 

[jwebb56]

And if I recall correctly the maps offered are just in Europe. I have never seen the TomTom 7 app offered for sale anywhere so it makes sense that it is pre-installed on certain devices.

 

[jwebb56]

I stand corrected, there are TomTom 7 maps for Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. But only for selected devices with pre-installed GPS software.

 

[kraski]

I stand corrected, there are TomTom 7 maps for Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. But only for selected devices with pre-installed GPS software.

Gotta keep those European tourists from getting lost in North America!

Since TomTom 7 isn't for sale, I'm stuck using TomTom 6 on my Treo Pro without my Redfly for GPS navigation. Or I give up my 16 gig card for something much smaller to use another program.

Navizon is pretty cool, but no turn-by-turn. I saw a post about Wayfinder -- that may be of interest. But Wayfinder appears to need a data connection each time you want to plan a route, which makes it pretty useless in some areas.

 

[kraski]

For Laurie or anyone else at Celio,

Is the TomTom Navigator 6 issue something you might be working on? I doubt I'm the only one who'd like to be able to use it with the Redfly. ;-)

 

[Aware]

But Wayfinder appears to need a data connection each time you want to plan a route, which makes it pretty useless in some areas.

You can download maps. Data size is not bad - with multi-Gb SD cards cheap as cheap things, a few tens of Mb for a map is easy to swallow.

Steve

 

[kraski]

You can download maps. Data size is not bad - with multi-Gb SD cards cheap as cheap things, a few tens of Mb for a map is easy to swallow.

If they allow you to pull mapping for an entire area, before you're out of data connection range.

On my Treo Pro it doesn't remain well behaved when connected to the Redfly. So, if I have to run GPS without the Redfly, there's no sense in paying for Wayfinder when TomTom does work without the Redfly.

 

[mknollman]

Just trying to get back on topic here - has anybody used a GPS mapping program with turn-by-turn and either batch downloaded ( before hand ) or locally stored maps. I am only interested in ones that work on the Redfly. I already have more than one that work on my phone itself, so alot of the above doesn't help me. Thanks in advance.

 

[Aware]

If they allow you to pull mapping for an entire area, before you're out of data connection range.
QUOTE]

You can download the maps with your PC and install then to your device. I'm not sure if it's possible to download straight to your phone, but if you're worried about data connection you won't be downloading regional maps over-the-air.

 

[laurieny]

In response to kraski's question, no, we aren't *specifically* working on a solution to the problem displaying Tom Tom for the next release (coming soon), but work planned in the release following that one may have a positive impact.

-Laurie

Director of Engineering
Celio Corp | REDFLY

 

[kraski]

In response to kraski's question, no, we aren't *specifically* working on a solution to the problem displaying Tom Tom for the next release (coming soon), but work planned in the release following that one may have a positive impact.

-Laurie

Director of Engineering
Celio Corp | REDFLY

That's very good news. And I'm crazy enough to offer myself as a beta tester. <grin>

Bill

 

[cuzlion]

iguidance

iGuidance, I use an older version, works fine. It is a very good program and North American maps take less than 2 gig on the memory card. I don't use the Redfly in the car usually but I have tested the software on the Redfly and it worked fine.

 

[kraski]

You can download the maps with your PC and install then to your device. I'm not sure if it's possible to download straight to your phone, but if you're worried about data connection you won't be downloading regional maps over-the-air.

I have an unlimited data plan. So, that's not an issue for me, but it might be for some. What I was referring to was someone taking a trip to somewhere they're somewhat familiar with, so they don't bother downloading maps ahead of time. Then they discover that plans have changed & they need maps...at about the same time they discover that cell coverage is poor or nonexistent, so map downloading is impossible. With TomTom, I've got all of North America on my phone, no need to download partial maps.

 

[Aware]

I have an unlimited data plan. So, that's not an issue for me, but it might be for some. What I was referring to was someone taking a trip to somewhere they're somewhat familiar with, so they don't bother downloading maps ahead of time. Then they discover that plans have changed & they need maps...at about the same time they discover that cell coverage is poor or nonexistent, so map downloading is impossible. With TomTom, I've got all of North America on my phone, no need to download partial maps.

Ah I see. I read some detailed info on Wayfinder data usage 3 or 4 years ago. The info stated that 2 or 3 hours of use used less than 100k of data. I also have an unlimited data plan so I have never cared about the data usage. Not sure what the effect is of using WayFinder away from home if you have limited data plan.