Magic Earth Pro - Navigation on Android and iPhone (formerly Route 66 Navigate)

Google is hands free rerouting. As soon as you take alternative route it switches automatically.

At each relevant junction it will tell you how much slower or faster the alternative route is. You have the option to take it or stick to the main highlighted route. No tapping needed.

I get no voice message but just an alternative route highlighted in grey on the map with a box saying "x minutes faster/slower"

That's not too bad, but an audio notification at the time would be nice. I'll keep an eye on Goodle's traffic for a while. There are a number of diversion routes on my commute where Tomtom regularly picks up traffic and I've never seen Google do so. Google are always improving, however, so I expect they'll get there eventually.

I emailed Route 66's customer support to ask about map updates. They've always been very good at replying and got back to me within the day. They confirmed that they aim for 2 map updates per year but that they are reliant on Tomtom's issue schedule. They are expecting a map update soon. Users will receive a notification in the app when an update is ready.

Route 66 had a map update today. About time.

Google maps is so flipping fantastic apart from one major issue - it's only practical in your own country where you have data allowance. Otherwise I'd use it all the time. The route alternatives feature is brilliant.

Route 66 recently released a new app called 'Magic Earth Navigation & Maps' with free navigation and speed cameras. HD Traffic from Tomtom is still an in-app purchase - £7.99 for a year's traffic throughout Europe (introductory half price).

I've given it a quick whirl. The default routing is a little different from Route 66 (probably becasue the road speed info embedded into the maps is based on speed limits rather than a historic speed database broken down by time with the TT maps). I've plotted a few test routes - looks OK but I think there may be a tendancy for it to overestimate speeds on single carriageways, leading to some odd routing decisions.

I guess the main advantage over Route 66 Navigate's Tomtom maps is more frequent map updates (latest map released supposedly from November 10th and most OSM based nav apps release updates around monthly). Also if your make corrections at http://www.openstreetmap.org/ they will eventually make it into the app.

Sadly, Route 66 Navigate is no more.

If you let Google Play update, it's been replaced by ' General Magic Pro'.

Unfortunately it seems that the new app wasn't ready for release. My early impressions aren't good. They initially released it with a UK map that had all single carriageways set to 35mph, duals to 45mph and roundabouts to 10mph. That sent the ETAs squiffy.

They've fixed that quickly but there's all sorts of things still not working properly. If you like Route 66 I'd say don't update for now. General Magic Pro is a mess - certainly not suitable to be relied on a satnav.

I let mine update by accident and ended up Magic Earth Pro Navigation and a pile off horse **** it has turned into. Half the post codes I entered could not be found, it crashed the first 4 attempts to load it after the update. I was about to wipe it off when it loaded on the 5th attempt. I dumped it anyway as half the time I use Google Maps for ease of use. I have satnav built into Pioneer head unit with android auto so google maps works off the head unit. Half the time I just use Google because it's fast and simple and does the job fairly well. Also have Tomtom on my phone. Don't know if Google will allow Tomtom to become android auto compatible but would be another good option seeing as a lot of cars are now AA and apple Carplay compatible.

To be honest, Tomtom does a better job of traffic avoidance for journeys less than an hour anyway. TomTom Go has been gradually improving, as have Google maps and Waze.

Route 66 had been my favourite option for longer journeys due to its increased traffic information horizon. The postcode issue is a real problem though. Android navigation apps need a basic level of competence to stand a chance, whatever their other features are. Magic Earth Pro seemingly fails to do the basics well, making its better features irrelevant.

Postcodes and most of the initial teething troubles after the switch to General Magic Pro have been ironed out now, making the app usuable again. They still haven't restored the ability to block part of the route in map view though.

Most of the time, I'n sticking to Tomtom Go at the moment. It seems to give more responsive traffic avoidance. The only situations where I prefer General Magic Pro now are routes to places greater than 80 miles away, where GMP takes into account more distant traffic information than Tomtom.

I used Three's 'feel at home' data sim in France this summer, and it made Google maps an absolute no brainer. Brilliant.

When I started this thread I was a fan of Route 66 because it clearly outperformed Google Maps (et al) for traffic.

Things have moved on since then. Google's traffic info is comparable with Tomtom now - better in some areas.

Both Magic Earth Pro and Tomtom Go will still do a better job than Google at finding alternative routes in some traffic situations - but most of the time Google is just as good and it's free.

Given I own both Magic Earth and Tomtom Go, I would tend to go to either ahead of Google. But Google's got so much better now than it used to be. So has Waze. Both are free. Yes, Magic Earth and Tomtom are both better at getting around traffic Google maps is more versatile and free.

If pressed - I probably wouldn't advise someone to pay for Magic Earth Pro now (given how good Google Maps and Waze are). Tomtom Go is probably still worth it. Tomtom keep on adding gradual improvements - but then so do Google...

Google navigation must have destroyed all navigation based companies by now surely?
I haven't used anything else in years.

The last few updates are amazing. Traffic is nearly perfect.
Voice control is amazing "OK Google. Find me a petrol station"
Adding an interim destination by voice.
New spoken directions are good.

Only two things is like now
More warning for roundabout lane choice
Speed cameras

I still use Google Navigation, running it concurrently with Tomtom or Magic Earth sometimes to see how they behave differently.

Basically it still misses perfectly usable routes around traffic that Tomtom or Magic Earth Pro manage to find. But Google are improving. If they improve their routing algorithm sufficiently I'm open to using Google exclusively (it is better and more versatile for all sorts of other things other than traffic avoidance).

You don't miss something better until you've tried it. It's like aircon or cruise control, or a better quality sound system. You think you'll be fine without them until you've tried them and then have to do without them.

I use Sygic - lane guidance is useful, as are safety cameras.

I was just about to let my Magic Earth Pro (formerly Route 66) traffic subscription expire but I thought I'd give one last go.

In short - it's back. The features I used to use as Route 66 are back and the routing has improved slightly (it's less prone to take stupid shortcuts via narrow roads).

At the moment for paid apps, I'd put this and Tomtom neck and neck. Tomtom is slicker overall (they use the same maps, speed cameras and traffic info) but Magic Earth has solutions for two annoying features in Tomtom.

One is the traffic horizon. If it's beyond 80 miles Tomtom doesn't take it into account. Magic Earth Pro does and if you are about to set off on holiday, with a major but distant road shut, this can make all the difference. Another is an easy to use and intuitive road block feature. It is far harder than it should be to coax Tomtom Go into realising that the road in front of you is closed. In magic earth, it's a simple screen tap.

But let's not forget. The free apps are really good these days. Tomtom and Route 66 do a great job of routing around traffic but Google and Waze both do it competently too. It's only through regularly using both at the same time (in a real car on the road) that you get any feeling for which is objectively better. And honestly - Google Maps is a better all-rounder for navigation - especially in Android where it's so well integrated.

Where Tomtom and Magic Earth Pro both fall down is their map update frequency. It's quarterly for Tomtom and unspecified for Magic Earth Pro (under Route 66 they managed about 3 in 2 years). For Google Maps and Waze, corrections go live within days.

So if you're a traffic avoidance whore - although Google includes great info - Tomtom Go and Magic Earth Pro plan routes around traffic that Google simply misses (and are less stupid / dangerous than some of the ones Waze manages). This can save you quite a bit of time sitting in a jam. If, like me, you have a pathalogical hatred of sitting in traffic you could have avoided these two are worth paying for.

Having said that - for most people that just need competent Navigation that can avoid some of the worst traffic and does pretty much everything well - you can't beat Google Maps.

I've largely given up on Sygic now because the battery drain is horrendous. Even with it plugged into the cigarette lighter the battery *still* goes down, not up or even hold steady. No such issues with Microsoft Maps on the same phone. MS Maps does a decent enough job for me except for speed cameras but it isn't traffic aware as far as I know.

This evening shows the kind of traffic situation where Magic Earth Pro comes into its own.

The M1 is currently closed in both directions south of Junction 26. Plotting a route from Chesterfield to North London:
- Google tries to go straight down the M1 even though its traffic info includes the closure.
- Tomtom Go knows about the closure and avoids it but ignores traffic jams greater than 40 minutes from Chesterfield and routes straight through them.
- Waze: Takes the closure into account but ignores traffic jams in Nottingham, planning to send you through the worst of it.
Magic Earth Pro: Recognises closure and horrendous associated traffic situation. Plots route joining the A1(M) near Newark - completely avoiding the nightmare.

Basically - you set off with Google, Tomtom or Waze and the **** is going to hit the fan part way through the journey. Magic Earth Pro takes a big detour but it's a sensible one and is likely to give the most relaxing journey.

For what it's worth - I'd usually take Google or Tomtom's routing over Magic Earth Pro's for shorter journeys. Can't beat Magic Earth Pro for taking into account more distant traffic though. Ideal nav app for journeys taking an hour or greater.

Update: The latest update of Magic Earth Pro now has an option to automatically take the fastest route when one is detected due to traffic. So no button press required. That's great - but annoyingly only brings it back on par with what Route 66 was doing last year. Map updates are still too infrequent for my liking.

Still using various navigation apps. My current order of preference is:

Magic Earth Pro (best routing engine, most detailed traffic from Tomtom but infrequent and irregular map updates)
Google Maps Navigation (Good all rounder, frequent map updates)
Waze (Good all rounder, frequent map updates, traffic inconsistent - works brilliantly sometimes but not enough info elsewhere)
Sygic (Well presented, very slick but poor routing engine compared to others and traffic redirection isn't entirely hands free).

I don't currently recommend Tomtom Go. There is a bug, meaning it misses traffic incidents at particular locations, that's been present for months. Tomtom have also changed the routing algorithm to make it mostly ignore lower category roads - IMO this is quite a setback and puts the overall routing behind Google - particularly frustrating if you know an area well or are used to Tomtom's old routing. I've complained to Tomtom about these issues and hope they'll sort them out. I have a Tomtom Go 5200 satnav, which doesn't have the traffic bug but is affected by the routing problem.

There's a free version of Magic Earth (no Pro in the name). It uses OpenStreetMap and a traffic provider I've not been able to identify (it's different from MEP so I guess not Tomtom, unless it's a different product from them - misses road closures compared to MEP). From brief usage - there seem to be too many routing errors in the OpenStreetMap info - stuff like incorrect turn restrictions. I'm keeping an eye on this but not currently happy to recommend.

The only thing I wish Google Maps would do differently is allow proper offline navigation. Really not sure sure why this hasn't been implemented yet.