CoPilot Live North America GPS iPhone navigation app: First Look

Clever features can't overshadow key shortcomings

CoPilot Live North America from ALK Technologies ties the XRoad G-Map as the least-expensive iPhone navigation application we have tested. Engineered for Apple iPhone 3G and 3G S, the CoPilot Live North America is available through the iTunes store as a single download that includes maps, software, and points of interest. ALK Technologies also offers navigation applications for laptops and Android-equipped mobile devices.

We tested CoPilot Live North America, though there are international versions focused on specific countries or regions. (A Europe edition costs $99.99.) Monthly maintenance updates and more-comprehensive quarterly updates are free.

We paid $34.99 for version 8.0.0.331, which included a map database covering the United States and Canada, for our extensive lab and field test. It uses 1.12 gigs of memory. We have also installed and evaluated version 8.0.0.417.

Key features include:

• 29 languages
• Truck routing
• Pedestrian mode
• Landscape and portrait view
• Multi-destination routing

Initial impressions

For a low purchase price, CoPilot Live North America provides basic route guidance with some useful features and the promise of further expansion. In particular, we like multidestination routing and a direction list with the ability to exclude a road. Clever menu choices allow the guidance to be tailored for RV driving, scenic routes, and pedestrian usage.

The graphic interface and map screen have vivid colors and good contrast, though the display overall feels a bit busy. The software can be used in landscape and portrait view. (It is easier to program when rotated into the horizontal position, as the buttons are larger.) In general, iPhone integration is lacking, as is common with all early iPhone navigation apps. It does have an option to select a destination from a user's contact list, but the functionality is so poor as to be of negligible benefit. Like competing applications, CoPilot Live will be providing updates to improve integration, though we found it to be lacking on version 8.0.0.417 too.

The iPhone imposes some limitations, leading to relatively small onscreen buttons, weak volume, and poor battery life in contrast to dedicated PNDs. As we have seen with other iPhone tests, the GPS accuracy is limited. The GPS will often place the current position on a surrounding road, rather than the one on which a user is traveling. That can confuse the driver and cause the device to frequently recalculate. More troubling, we experienced limitations with the map and routing on CoPilot Live.

CoPilot Live North America had trouble finding some points of interest and more frequently, addresses. For example, it does not recognize 101 Truman Avenue (Consumers Union main office) as a destination. We could plot a return back to the GPS lab routing to 100 Truman Avenue. Similarly, we had troubles with POI searches, such as finding the local McDonald's. Both locations have been in place for many years. Unlike other software vendors, ALK Technologies combines third-party data with its own information to create the maps. The app still did not recognize the 101 Truman in version 8.0.0.417.

CR's take

Despite the high version number, CoPilot Live North America feels rushed to market like other early iPhone applications. It covers the basics, though we found several key features to be missing or lacking in the versions we have tested, such as lane assistance, reality view, speed-limit icons, and text-to-speech for spoken street names.

Of greater concern is the map accuracy. While the free map updates sound appealing, ultimately they may not be as valuable as the maps from the major providers Navteq and Tele Atlas that are bundled with competing software.

CoPilot Live North America is offered at an attractive price, and as the software evolves it may provide very good value. As with any iPhone navigation app, a windshield mount and car charger are necessary, though due to the low app cost, a total CoPilot Live package could still be less than $100.

For now, we would recommend other iPhone apps, such as iGo My Way, Navigon Mobile Navigator, Sygic Mobile Maps, TomTom iPhone application, and X Road G-Map. But for routine use, traditional PNDs may be the better choice. While a dedicated device is priced higher than most apps, it does include a mount and charger, plus it has the ability to be easily shared among family and friends. Further, top-rated units are refined, easy to use, and provide good guidance—something that CoPilot Live cannot yet claim.

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