Converting my iPhone into a Satnav?
- Thread starter fiveub
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In my experience the iPhone(3GS at least) doesn't handle any Sat Nav software well. I've used Skobbler and friends have used a couple of other free or cheap ones. Two people I know also have TomTom on theirs.
We usually find that it becomes unstable and/or unresponsive after an hour or so of use. I would agree that buying one is the way to go.
We usually find that it becomes unstable and/or unresponsive after an hour or so of use. I would agree that buying one is the way to go.
I've got the TomTom app and cradle for my 3g and it's brilliant.
The only problems I ever had with it was when iOS 4 was first released and it was slow as hell but that applied to the whole phone, not just the TomTom app.
The cradle is brilliant as well because you can connect it to the car stereo via AUX-in and play all of your music in the car. (obviously not such an amazing feature if you already have bluetooth mp3 or no AUX input for the car stereo).
It will cost the same as a stand-alone unit but I much prefer it to having a separate device sat in the car.
The only problems I ever had with it was when iOS 4 was first released and it was slow as hell but that applied to the whole phone, not just the TomTom app.
The cradle is brilliant as well because you can connect it to the car stereo via AUX-in and play all of your music in the car. (obviously not such an amazing feature if you already have bluetooth mp3 or no AUX input for the car stereo).
It will cost the same as a stand-alone unit but I much prefer it to having a separate device sat in the car.
Navfree, I have it and works well also a big plus is it has built in maps so your not waiting for maps to load. The iPhone will never beat a dedicated sat-nav but as a push it will get you out of trouble.
I use my Nokia N900 Mobile as a Sat Nav.
I much prefer to have a Mobile that has the function than buy a seperate bit of kit like a sat nav then have to worry about where am i going to put it and wont fancy carrying it around with me even though i may need it while on foot to find somewhere
I much prefer to have a Mobile that has the function than buy a seperate bit of kit like a sat nav then have to worry about where am i going to put it and wont fancy carrying it around with me even though i may need it while on foot to find somewhere
Tomtom for iphone is very good indeed. I use it for navigation whenever i am not in a satnav equiped car, including use around california and ireland etc this year with no issues whatsoever. Kills the battery though as mentioned, so make sure you have a car charger with you if you intend on using it for lengthy periods.
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CoPilot is rubbish unless your on a motorway with no trees or tall buildings or anything else that might be higher than the car, and it doesn't handle switching between phonecalls and GPS very well.
If you're going to give one a punt, try Co-Pilot as it's only 20 quid or so. Just dont expect it to work very well in a city. I'd rather use a tourist map to navigate London than CoPilot...
TomTom is a ripoff. By the time you've bought the app and the cradle you could have bought a dedicated unit with a GPS chip that updates your location more than once a year..
If you're going to give one a punt, try Co-Pilot as it's only 20 quid or so. Just dont expect it to work very well in a city. I'd rather use a tourist map to navigate London than CoPilot...
TomTom is a ripoff. By the time you've bought the app and the cradle you could have bought a dedicated unit with a GPS chip that updates your location more than once a year..
Works perfectly fine for me, whether in a city or the middle of no-where. Phone calls work fine also - including having a Parrot bluetooth connected. I've got a cradle for the phone, so its near the radio / towards the top of the dashboard. Where is yours held?
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Navfree works a treat and its free!
Search for a "Navigo Sat Nav" it costs ~£60
It runs on Windows CE and can have TomTom installed on it. Works a treat.
I used to have TomTom installed on my old Samsung Omnia and found that the GPS reciever was weak. I'm not sure about the iPhone but I imagine it will be a similar situation. The dedicated satnav that I've mentioned has a much better signal strength.
It runs on Windows CE and can have TomTom installed on it. Works a treat.
I used to have TomTom installed on my old Samsung Omnia and found that the GPS reciever was weak. I'm not sure about the iPhone but I imagine it will be a similar situation. The dedicated satnav that I've mentioned has a much better signal strength.