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User Rating3.73/5CoPilot Live is a fully-featured GPS system for your Android device. It includes turn-by-turn directions, live traffic, local gas prices, various route options, and more.
Price: $19.99 – $59.99
Pros
Cons
CoPilot Live is a great app for anyone who finds themselves using GPS navigation often. This, of course, coming from someone who uses Google Maps often, having the offline capability was a huge plus! CoPilot sets itself apart from other navigation softwares by simply offering many services you would normally find only on a dedicated GPS device. Even better, you have more than one voice to choose from rather than the standard TTS voice (which on long trips can get annoying and causes use of the mute button) your given using Google Maps. This application is available on Android, iPhone, iPad and Windows Mobile. On your desktop, you can customize a variety of features for CoPilot Live using the free Windows software called CoPilot Central, also available from ALK.
There are several versions you can buy of this app (All available in the Android Market): North America, South Africa, UK + Ireland, Europe, and Australia. Using this app I only tested the North American maps in their most current form.
Key Features:
Live Services:
CoPilot offers a variety of different premium services that requires a data connection. Not all services are available in all areas. These are:
CoPilot is great for those who do a lot of traveling. This application feels like it wasn’t designed for just your average trip across town, however, it could easily be used for any destination no matter how far away it may be. Offline usage is a huge advantage and makes traveling in areas with limited cellular signal much easier. The additional services that CoPilot offers makes trips less of a headache and more enjoyable for you and your family.
Being used to Google Maps, this app takes on a different approach to how to use navigation software. It resembles a dedicated GPS device heavily so if your used to that platform, this should be a breeze.
If you need directions to an unfamiliar area, want up-to-date information on your common routes, or plan or traveling further than your own internal-brain-navigation can handle, this will be used often. Even though I know the route to work, I used it everyday just to keep updated on traffic.
All icons and text is large and easily readable on the screen. Menus are a bit excessive at times but that can be viewed from a positive and negative standpoint. Lots of options and settings means lots of way to customize your experience with this app.
Battery Life (Updated):
This was one of my main concerns with this app (and all GPS nav apps for that matter). I’m happy to report that battery life with this application was minimal! During most trips, I saw about half the battery usage I normally see using Google Maps or Sprint Navigation. I guess it makes a big difference to not be connected to the internet the entire time. In fact, a couple of times I used this application turning my mobile internet off completely and had no issues aside from not being able to use Live Services. Very pleased with this app’s battery usage!
( out of 5)
Should you Download CoPilot Live? For anyone who uses GPS navigation more than once a week, YES! The added features and offline capability alone are enough to justify getting this app. Skeptical at first but after a few days of use it’s definitely worth the money.
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That’s a pretty incredible-looking app. I don’t think I travel enough to warrant the price, but it sure looks slick…
Turi, I said the same thing. Justifying the price is the hardest part about this app. It has a lot of great features that make it worthwhile IF you use GPS navigation often. I still use it driving to work and other common routes just for some of the Live Services. Heck, even using multi-stops is brilliant. Oh that reminds me! I need to put a little update about battery life with this app.
Looks pretty cool.
Would love an offline GPS app for my Droid Inc.
Informative review… The offline usage seems like it would be the main advantage for this app. Large icons / buttons definitely look like a traditional GPS as mentioned. I especially like the appearance of the 3D style of navigation in the bottom left screenshot, and a choice of more than one voice is a positive.
Due to mixed reviews on Android Market though and since the standard Google Maps is available, I have never given this app a chance.
awesome app. Would love to try this. The price is a little steep. Love Android!!!!and androidtapp!!!!
I love my Google Navigation and would have a hard time giving it up. But this might be an interesting alternative. Not sure I’d pay the price thought.
This one looks good. I’m often leery about using alternatives for the Google native apps that came with my Droid (especially when I have to pay for them), and I probably don’t use GPS enough to justify spending much, but this seems to use less battery and have excellent functionality and could be a good choice anyway.
Looks nice and considering Google Maps now crashes whenever I search, it might be worth looking at.
I would love to try this app…this is awesome
As a frequent traveler, I might have to look into this app-Moto Droid
That is pretty nifty. Looks even better than my old Garmin!
Now I could find my way around while driving cross country with no cell signal.. Go AT&T!
Offline mode is what is keeping Google Nav/Maps from being the killer app it deserves and this is where CoPilot shines. Region maps should be broken down a bit more, maybe by state? 2g is a bit much of a chuck for SD card real estate. Would love to give this a try though.
It looks like a pretty complete GPS navigation software. I really like how it displays local weather and I know by experience, nothing beats the lane display. Looks solid and reasonably priced for the features. I do agree however that voice search is key missing feature. I use it daily on my phone.
@Jon: I agree that voice search is a key feature this app is lacking. Hopefully with the help of users like you as well as this review, our voices can be heard!
I get lost all the time.
This app looks fantastic! I have a horrible sense of direction, so one of the big selling points for my moto droid 1 was the navigation feature. Unfortunatly there has been several times when google navigation just is not reliable/quick enough for my needs. Overall, however, it has been a major lifesaver. The major drawback I can see with this app as mentioned previously is the somewhat steep pricing.
@Cody G: I ran into the same issue using Google Maps. My favorite feature is the use of alternate routes and automatically comparing routes based on traffic. When using it in a downtown area around large buidlings (i.e. New York, Chicago, etc..) cell coverage can sometimes become spotty and thus causes the GPS to miss turns and re-route slowly. I tried this app in the same conditions and it had no issues keeping me from point A to B. Just make sure you mount your phone on the windshield or dash!
What I’d pay money for is the Garmin navigation app found on their Garminfone; hope they make it available at some point.
@Leszek: My first and last dedicated GPS was a Garmin so I definitely love their product. Never had the opportunity to try and test the Garminfone from T-Mobile. I’ll keep an eye out if they ever release their app to the Android Market.
It is a really great app for up here in Nova Scotia where cell coverage is limited with rogers and I loose service often while traveling. Having offline maps is really helpful.
I might have to consider this for my wife’s phone, she would love the UI of this app. She always complains that google nav. menus are confusing.. Its hard to believe they don’t have voice search yet.
@lanemeyer: I’m hoping this is something that ALK is looking at including in the future. If I hear anything I will let you know!
I’ve been using this for over a year now. It was painfully slow on G1 but much better on Vibrant. Current Android version does not have the reality view – it was there in the previous version. The biggest problem with this app is their licensing strategy and support. If for any reason you don’t deactivate an installation on your device you won’t be able to activate it again after you reinstall it. If you wipe your device, get a new phone or a replacement phone for example. At that point you’ll have to contact their support. Phone support is only available for 60 days after initial purchase and then you have to put in a support request online – once you do that, good luck getting any kind of response. The Market comments for this app are full of people complaining about not being able to reinstall the app and gettting response from their support. The app is great but once you are locked out due to the convoluted licensing scheme, good luck getting it working again. Buyer beware….
@Bob: I read those comments in the Market before I started this review so I tried it myself. Kept my license key written down, uninstalled the app, and then reinstalled. No issues. Not sure how to replicate the issue on my device that others are having.
It will let you reinstall if you’re still within the 10-day trial period. After that you can reinstall the app from the Market but it won’t let you activate it again if you did not deactivate the license on your previous reinstallation. This has happened to me. I had to factory reset my Vibrant due to a different problem and forgot to deactivate my Copilot license. Since, I’m a long time user, I couldn’t just call them (well past the 60 days mark) so I had to put in a request online. I waited for over a week and there was no response whatsoever from their support team. Luckily, I found their twitter support account and contacted them that way. They responded to my tweet next day and were very helpful then to their credit. They had to deactivate my licenses (program and live traffic) from their system after which point I was able to reactivate the application. Those users that do not look for and find that twitter account though seem to be left hanging with no response from the regular support team. If they could fix the licensing and support issues, this would be a great and easy to recommend product. As it is though, a significant portion of their users end up spending the money and then few months later having no useable application that they paid for.
@Bob: Definitely sounds like an issue to be dealt with. I hadn’t heard the issue that extent but I’m glad to get this information from you.
Just to make sure I understand, this only occurs if you uninstall the app and reinstall beyond the 10-day period after activation?
I’ll see if I can reach out to ALK and get an answer on this one. Thanks for the info!
This would totally help me not get lost and increase my smug sense of satisfaction that I’m not locked into the Apple world.
This is one of those Apps that really would take advantage of the larger Droid X type Screens… Looks Great and Offline Maps are a Huge Plus..
Would be nice if Google had an option to Cache an entire Route….but that’s just silly talk..
@Rob: It looks great on my Evo. 4.3 inches of screen is a good amount of real estate. Makes it easy to view this app and the details on it even from the backseat!
i’ll comment for free stuff
The interface looks fantastic…
Sounds like a fun app. If traveling across the country, how often would I reach towns with no cell data service? Like “the middle of nowhere” areas?
@Paul: Great question! This depends on which carrier you use. Remember this: Google Maps relies on the data connection to keep your route active and updated. This means the entire time your running the application you will need a data connection. What happens when you happen to switch to roaming? Not all carriers have data roaming charges but almost all have a bandwidth limit on how much you can use before they charge you if you go over that limit. Also, not every device is capable of keeping a data connection while on the phone. Let’s say your using Google Maps and you get a phone call. If your device isn’t designed to keep a connection while on a call, your data connection is lost. Google Maps then becomes unreliable at that point versus CoPilot which will remain on track regardless of what you are doing with your device either data or call related (yes I did test it out for these features because it was a concern). For example: If I use 4G on my Evo the data connection will remain active in a 4G-supported area but what happens when 4G isn’t available? My 3G connection on my phone will get interrupted the moment I take a call and then resume after a call.
Again, great question so I gave you some food for thought.
Good review, the stand alone navigation from co-pilot is pretty good for what it is. I guess the price is reasonable, but I’d definitely have to keep android phones in the future! To keep using it of course
But it looks alot better than when it was first released for the G1
@JDea: Well why would you choose anything else other than Android?
There is several of these progrms (CoPilot is the best) like MapDroyd (its free) and iGO is very expensive because it is in 3D. Now i have MapDroyd but it is very slow and the pointer (Where i am) is slow and lags.
@Alexander: CoPilot Live allows different views including 2D, 3D, and Driver Safety. Never tried MapDroyd and this is the first time I’ve heard of iGO. From the looks of it, iGO is designed ot be installed from the manufacturer, not as an application download. Am I seeing that right?
Would be great to have something that doesn’t need a constant data connection.
@Danny: My point exactly. Many benefits to not needing that data connection.
looks pretty sweet
I really like the lane view
How do you get the lane view? It was there in the previous version but it has disappeared since I upgraded to the newest one.
@Bob: It came up when using the application automatically in a situation that required using specific lanes. If you notice the 2nd to last image from my screenshots it shows the lanes and which ones I need to take. I took all these screenshots myself.
Pick me… Pick me…
Looks better than the google maps, and if I can get it free, well, even better!
Very comprehensive and concise review on CoPilot #App IMHO
@VPWeather: Thanks for the feedback!
Love the post, but in all honesty… I’m just trying to add my name to the random selection list
@resnasty: It’s okay, at least we know you care. Everyone loves free stuff!
My parents are truck drivers. They also recently got a Droid 2, this may be a good app for them to have if it can give truck specific routs.
@PurplePenguin: Funny you mention that. it seems like the other navigation products they build are for business related driving like truck drivers. Might work well for them
Hey looks good ! I would love to try it !
Looks like a great app.
This looks like a great application. I don’t think it can get any better than this. I’ve always had trouble with my navigation gps app. This looks like a winner in my book. Unfortunatly I won’t be able to afford it.
@Daniel: Well maybe you might be one of the lucky winners
Less battery use is a big plus
Would love an offline GPS app
This is an excellent app. I like it on my WM and will be my first paid app for my android which will be coming soon.
I really like google maps but I like the idea of not paying roaming charges. Sounds like a winner.
@sportsman: They can creep up on you fast! Using data intensive phones like Androids don’t make it hard to break the bandwidth limit if you use your phone enough. I even thought 5GB was hard to break but after doing some heavy streaming one month I saw that it’s completely possible!
I also have the CoPilot and am quite happy with it. Three things though that annoy me a bit:
- It took them around 2months!!! to release an update to make it work for Froyo. That is just way to long, expecially as I could not use it in that time. (They are by the way much quicker for iPhone updates…)
- Would like more maps – like for mexico and other countries
- and the last only a minor one: drove home last week at night – the screen is always a max brightness – way to bright for night travel! a change in the settings to phone settings would automatically turn the screen off after 5min – which I don’t want it to. In the end I fixed the problem with Tasker, but still….
@Residium: I tend to have this issue because I don’t let the phone auto-correct the brightness. I always use the Power Control widget to change the brightness level for my Evo. Just a suggestion
This is a perfect app to compliment the Goggle Maps especially on Verizon. The reason is that Verizon shuts off your network (3G and WIFI) when you’re on the phone and the google maps depends on a constant connection. I’ve mulled over buying this several times. A friend who I know that is always on the phone has recently Bought the DROID X, and I think he’s planning on buying it.
@Howard: My Evo does the same unless I have my 4G turned on. Unless the device is designed to use data and voice simultaneously, you’ll lose that connection. This can be critical when travelling in places your unfamiliar with and all of a sudden Google Maps ceases to work. I’m guilty of talking via bluetooth/speaker on my phone very often when I drive so I don’t always have a constant data connection. If you try it out, let us know what you think!
Looks like I’ll need to get a larger SD card.
I was an owner of the iphone 3gs and then iphone4. I have purchased the copilot live 8 and a few other navigation software such as the TomTom and Navigon. This is perhaps my favorite. It is very intuitive and the map is very vibrant. It has always directed me precisely to all the location that i have used it for. It goes the same way with the other 2 navigation. I leaned more towards this is because it’s by far the easiest to view. However, now, i have an android and i would wish copilot would allow to transfer over the purchase of the copilot live 8 from the itune acct to my android phone.
I am just commenting for the chance of winning
Wife would certainly love a copy of this.
I am a truck driver and could really use this app. I would love to have it. I hope I win it.
This review was very helpful. I’ve been to Anroid Tapp on occasion for app info. Today I arrived here from a link off of AppBrain (http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.alk.copilot.marketplace.na.full#). I’m not affiliated with AppBrain (http://www.androidtapp.com/tag/appbrain/). Just given credit. I’ll be posting a comment on AppBrain about Android Tapp as well for the cross reference.
Been looking for an app like this since I got my Droid. Google Maps Navigation (I’ll call it that for those searching) was one of the main selling points that helped convince the wife to get Droids (although she opted to get Droid Eris at last minute). Have had little trouble with Google Maps Navigation, and even though on Verizon’s extensive coverage, I know there will be areas where a data signal is weak or non existent (no one is everywhere, look at the coverage maps).
My cons for Google Maps Navigation are:
_Big CON: no offline maps! Would be nice to be able to at lease cache a route including 5-10 mile spread. At least if wrong turn was taken, that would be good enough to get back to where you need to be. Re-routing and map update would not be possible if caught in an area without data.
_Only start and end destinations. No multi-point or on the fly mid route adjustments. Would like a feature like on maps.google.com where route can be drug and customized to go through or avoid specific areas, roads, towns, etc. This can be worked around by planning trip in advanced and storing way-points as contacts. Once nearing a pass through way-point or leaving a stop way-point, set the next way-point as destination from Contacts.
_Start point is reset to current location if re-routing occurs. Not a major con. Just a nicety.
_Cannot pause navigation if say stopping to eat, rest, or sight see along route. You’re forced to exist navigation to save battery. Resuming navigation results in plotting again, and if in area with no signal, good luck. Not a major con. Saving battery not much of an issue unless you forgot your car charger.
_Cannot change voice. Really don’t mind the default that much but would at times prefer something more relaxed sounding or a different accent, say British. Love the British accent in comedies.
BIG TIP: Be wise!
_No matter your choice of GPS navigation device or software, plan your trips in advanced if possible.
_Have a printed or written version of the trip plan with stops, road names, and exit numbers. Very easy with maps.google.com or most any other map site (MapQuest, Yahoo, Bing… yeah, I went there).
_Have real maps available.
_Have a printed or written contact sheet of your closest family or friends numbers. What are you going to do if your phone gets busted and you simply cannot remember someone’s number. Oh, I always call my friend Bill on his cell, but today he left it in his car upon returning home and now I cannot reach him cause I don’t have home number committed to memory.
I could go on I guess with my tips and opinions. Sounds like I need to start my own blog!
@emhowell: Great tips! I think you hit the nail on the head about the downfalls to Google Maps. Even with the best network, at some point you WILL lose signal. Caching the maps/route temporarily would even be sufficient however I don’t know if they will ever implement this type of functionality into the program.
It’s good to hear that AppBrain has posted a link to our review. We like AppBrain and implement links back to them often within our network.
I had too much fun going back to my Mobile Network widget and turning it off while testing this application. At first, I was shocked to see that it still worked without even the slightest hiccup. Most of the premium services don’t work once you turn data off but I’m okay with that. The essential piece is that the navigation STILL works regardless if I’m on a call or have no signal. I decided to take it one step further and stray from the suggested route. With no data signal the re-routing was seamless. I think I fell in love. After the review, I kept the application on my phone and use it daily.
Such a well written comment! Ever considered writing reviews for applications? LOL
Looks kind of cluttered from one that use to looking at a Garmin GPS but some of the additional features look nice, might have to give it a try.
@Greg: I turned on the POI’s when I did this review and took the screenshots. They are very easy to turn off in the settings menus. That may be why it looks so cluttered.