CoPilot Live 7 Released
Submitted: Thursday, Jan 31, 2008 at 22:57
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John S (NSW)
Hi All,
Just got my copy of CoPilot 7 today.
First thing I noticed is that it comes with additional maps from around the world (but to use these you need a license - costing $99 to $195 depending on the location you are after) and it comes on a DVD - around 3Gbs.
Nice new interface - very different from V6 but very usable. And upgrading the PDA was simple.
What I have noticed is the difference in detail for offroad tracks. V6 covered almost all tracks we have travelled from West of
Sydney to the Vic border. V7 shows some tracks that were missed in V6, but then misses tracks that were present in V6. Last weekend we took a run from
Sunny Corner to
Sofala via Turon River and only had to follow our nose for a few kms due to a missing track. Looking at V7, that particular track now exists, but two more tracks have disappeared. Same deal with Zig Zag to
Newnes.
I haven't had a chance to try V7 out on the road yet (this weekend sounds like a plan), and next weekend we are going to Jervis Bay for a play in the bush and will be testing both versions then to compare performance and accuracy.
On checking location accuracy, I have found that V6 showed 2 locations for our address (front & rear of the house), yet V7 shows 4, and 2 are at the other end of the street. And a friends house comes up once in V6 and twice in V7 (some 15 houses difference)
So just maybe V7 might not be as good at routing to unknown addresses as V6 has been due to multiple search results. Maybe V7 is more like street to street rather than door to door.
Reply By: Oldman - Friday, Feb 01, 2008 at 00:45
Friday, Feb 01, 2008 at 00:45
Hi I have CP6 but have been relunctant to go CP7 until I know some of the annoying problems have been fixed.
eg a trip from
Canberra to Moruya takes by dirt roads and is a good 4wd trip but not the trip you would want if at night and or in the wet. A better route would be via
Batemans Bay - much quicker as
well given the roads
There are a number of others issues where other products have got it right but CP hasn't and both use NAVTEQ maps.
From what you mention above it looks like these issues may not be fixed.
One issue thta seems to annoy many people is that they don't seem to offer any fixes to there maps - they put them in the next version which you have to pay for.
CP6 is a good product but is the upgrade cost worth it? I will be interested in what you think.
Oldman
AnswerID:
284864
Follow Up By: Patrol22 - Saturday, Feb 02, 2008 at 15:03
Saturday, Feb 02, 2008 at 15:03
This will happen in all GPS mapping systems when you simply put the destination in ....why not take one or two seconds longer and force the direction you want to go - especially on long trips.
FollowupID:
549940
Follow Up By: Oldman - Saturday, Feb 02, 2008 at 17:13
Saturday, Feb 02, 2008 at 17:13
Patrol22
Certainly can do this but can only do this if you know which is the best way to go.
I did in this case but have been in situations where I did not know (when overseas) so rely on the software to work it out.
There are also some real stupid directions in CP6. Not serious but annoying. I have a number of these
Going
Canberra to
Sydney - it sends you through Goullburn town (which is wrong as should stay on the highway) It does not do this going
Sydney to
Canberra.
Another one is where when driving up the manaro high way it gets you to turn left at a round about drive about a k up the road and go around another round about and come back - instead of driving through the first one.
I have not fallen for these but - if you were new in town or an overseas traveller you may.
To get back to your point - when planning long trips I do as you say but would like to not have to. Did a trip to
Bourke last year and added a few extra stops and it worked
well - I also use Oziexplorer at the same time so have a bit of backing - and paper maps.
No tool is perfect an CP6 is not bad toll but could be a lot better and would be if Travroute was a bit more responsive in fixing problems - would be nice if the distributed map updates between new releases.
Sorry about the rave above
Oldman
FollowupID:
549967
Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Feb 01, 2008 at 07:53
Friday, Feb 01, 2008 at 07:53
John,
Good update mate!
Ah the intricacies of computer technology eh!
I have experimented with CoPilot 6 running on a PDA and TomTom running on a Go 720.
It is interesting to observe differences between the two.
None of them are extremely accurate in all circumstances.
What I do like about CoPilot is that you can enter a place name as a destination, whereas with TomTom you need to enter a street address including a "house" number, or a cross street reference.
Now that I can swap between two applications running concurrently on the PDA (thanks Bonz!) I will probably use CoPilot more. Generally I use the PDA to run OziExplorer and the Go 720 for "street navigation".
AnswerID:
284874
Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Feb 01, 2008 at 08:00
Friday, Feb 01, 2008 at 08:00
John,
A question for you.
What is the 3D view like in the new version?
Version 6 was very ordinary compared to TomTom's 3D display.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: John S (NSW) - Friday, Feb 01, 2008 at 18:52
Friday, Feb 01, 2008 at 18:52
Sand Man,
Haven't had a chance to try it out yet - I never liked the 3D interfaces anyway, but I will take it with me tomorrow and let you know my findings.
FollowupID:
549759
Reply By: John S (NSW) - Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 23:17
Monday, Feb 11, 2008 at 23:17
Sorry for the delay in reporting on the outcome of my CP7 testing. All testing was on the road, with no pre loaded trips - just set a destination and drive. Also my results can and will vary to other people, due to my preferences and the locations I travel to.
1.. The 3D view is a bit better than CP6 - I did tend to use it more. But I found myself using 2D as you can zoom out enough to see that the routing is OK.
2.. The routing ??
Well from
Sydney to Queanbeyan was good, fast and responsive - no complaints, except that the Aussie female voice - Jessica, is too fake - you can't help but laugh at her accent.
From Queanbeyan to Jervis Bay, the routing had us zig-zaging across the country side - even with routing set to shortest distance. As we took the shortest route, it soon changed to the current road we were on, but initially it had routed almost a 260km track for a 200km run. Even after adjusting the road preferences, it was still reluctant to use some roads. Yet the desktop trip planner was spot on.
3.. Map accuracy is very good, some
trails missing that CP6 had, but as stated before, some new ones added. All streets that we came across were accurate, including newer road changes.
4.. Trip planning on your desktop PC is a breeze, and trips can be uploaded to your PDA very easily. All in all, CP7 is easier for planning trips than CP6, but falls down due to door to door issues from multiple locations sometimes appearing for a single address search or location is out by several hundred meters.
CP7 Summary - 8/10 (CP6 9/10)
If you need accurate maps for touring - then it is
well worth the money. If you constantly go to new locations, and therefore rely heavily on GPS navigation, then the upgrade expense might not be justified, maybe look at one of the other GPS products with better routing and accuracy for door to door.
I have to admit that I am disappointed in this release, as they have made major improvements to the desktop and PDA environment and GUI, whilst at the same time made the package less reliable and made it hard to trust. Not that you should ever rely 100% on just one form of navigation, but I never had issues trusting CP6 when wondering into unknown territory.
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