GPS App

[padnewbie]

Good morning,

Right before I got my IPad, my family was going to get me a Garmin for Mother's Day. I told them to hold off and put the money toward my IPad instead b/c I could use that as a GPS.

Well yesterday we used the native Maps app on the IPad and it worked great (I loaded the route on wifi before we left) - except for one thing - no voice instruction. The Maps worked fine since there were two of us in the car and I could watch the IPad, but if I'm driving by myself - that won't work.

I don't mind paying - so I'm not necessarily looking for a free app (unless it works best) but I'm looking for recommendations for a good GPS (Voice instructed, turn by turn) app.

I see MotionX on the App store got good reviews but want to make sure that's what I need. (Point - I have a 3G IPad - I haven't activated it yet b/c I haven't needed it, but have that option.)

The NavFree got awful reviews on the App store.

I see there is a very expensive TomTom app also. Wondered about that (although would love to pay a lot less!! )

Thanks in advance for your help!!
Vicki

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

It sort of depends which country you're in because several of the GPS apps are country-specific. If you let us know (approximately!) where you live then I'm sure you'll get lots of recommendations.

Tim

 

[f4780y]

MotionX is not what you are looking for, desptite being a great GPS app, rather than a navigation app.

Why not try NavFree? I use it and I think it is fine. What have you got to lose? It's free! Start with that and work your way up to a paid one if you must...

 

[padnewbie]

Sorry -

1) USA
2) I meant MotionX Drive
3) The reviews on NavFree were not good at all. Some people complained of crashing and not being able to remove it. So I was looking to see what recommendations people had.

Thanks,

 

[gwynsoft]

You might want to try Waze or Skobbler (both free, as far as I know). Waze is based on a user-updated mapbase, so it can be patchy; Skobbler is based on OpenStreetMap, another user-updated - and more widely used - mapbase. Again, it might not cover your area well, but as the apps are free you have nothing to lose. There is the added bonus of being able to update the maps yourself if you have a computer ( I haven't tried OpenStreetMap, but Waze.com cannot be edited on the iPad).

One other thing, to use either of these you will need gps when you are out and about as you cannot currently download maps of places you have not been.

Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF

 

[jwt873]

The company Motion-X makes two different GPS applications.. One is GPS HD and the other is GPS Drive HD.

'GPS Drive HD' by Motion X gives you full turn by turn, street by street navigation. The application is only 99 cents. But, if you want voice guidance, you have to 'unlock' it and pay an extra $2.99 per month, (or $19.99 per year). You get your first few weeks of voice guidance free with your initial purchase so you can hear what it's like. If you don't want voice guidance, then you don't have to pay anything.. The app will still be fully functional, but without any voice.

You must activate your 3G coverage because the app dynamically downloads the maps as you drive. You must have decent 3G coverage in the areas you want to travel.

I've had 'GPS drive' for about a year now and I found it good enough to retire my Magellan GPS unit. I use my iPad full time now for GPS navigation.

 

[twerppoet]

Thumbs up for Motion X GPS Drive, but if you want offline maps I've found the CoPilot Live Premium app for the USA on my iPhone, and it works well. There is an iPad version. The price is not bad for a full offline GPS app. Be prepared to be occasionally annoyed when it asks you if you want to pay for extra features, but everything has some downside.

Careful about which CoPilot app you buy. They recently broke with the old apps and are offering all new versions, while the old ones linger on in the App Store at the old prices. The new ones have mostly black icons, instead of the mostly red ones.

 

[Veritas4420]

Garmin street pilot app has worked out great for me. voice, traffic, and all that. And you only pay once.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

 

[f4780y]

Yup, my bad on GPS Drive guys. Good call.

 

[Bushy]

Navfree gets my vote, simple to use and so far it's been update with road alternations in my local town which even my Garmin zumo 660 does not recognise and that I update regularly.

 

[Somerled]

Thumbs up for Motion X GPS Drive, but if you want offline maps I've found the CoPilot Live Premium app for the USA on my iPhone, and it works well.

You can download the maps within MotionX before you leave wifi and use them offline. I do it all the time. you can set whatever limit you wish on the size of the maps.

 

[Yarrenbool]

Good morning,

... ... ... ....

I see there is a very expensive TomTom app also. Wondered about that (although would love to pay a lot less!! )

Thanks in advance for your help!!
Vicki

I have installed/purchased multiple GPS apps on my iPad 2. MotionX, Copiliot, NavFree, Navigon, GoogleMaps, Maps, etc.

I have not as yet found TomTom for the iPad, only for iPhone. If it has an iPad screen, not just a 2X iPhone screen then I'll get it also. I had really high hopes for TomTom and Copilot as I'd used them on previous mobile devices.

Of the bunch I keep going back to Navigon. It has things I definitely don't like, but the others have more things I don't like so in balance it's Navigon that I keep using. For me none of them come close to being a "really great" GPS app. Navigon is however "good".

If I was forced to keep but one GPS app then I'd keep Navigon.

Based in Canada using iPad 2 64GB WiFi-3G but without a SIM can in it.

I also own a Magellan GPS device - using the iPad makes you never want to go back to the 4" Magellan screen!

 

[padnewbie]

So I decided to try MotionX Drive (NavFree got some pretty bad reviews on the App Store) and I used it yesterday. I get 30 days of free voice turn by turn with it so I could really get a feel for it.
The funny thing is I didn't activate my 3G yet however, I punched in the address at home over WiFi and it still worked perfectly!! It was downloaded before I left and it got me right to my destination!! It was AWESOME!!! I will activate my 3G though because it couldn't recalculate (obviously) when I went off the route but the graffics and the voice and the timing - everything was really great!! I loved it!! I don't travel too often that I need GPS so paying $2.99 a month should work great for me!
And it's certainly a nice option for those who don't have 3G because it works off the GPS if you map it before you leave your wifi. Pretty cool!!

Now I just want to try to see if I can play it through my stereo with the adaptor I use for my music - that would be cool!!

Thanks for all your recommendations!! Love this forum!!

 

[Somerled]

You do not have to activate 3G service for the GPS chip to work. In fact, you dont even have to turn it on.

 

[jwt873]

Now I just want to try to see if I can play it through my stereo with the adaptor I use for my music - that would be cool!!

I connect the iPad to my stereo. (Voice guidance sounds great over the stereo).

The GPS Drive app integrates beautifully with the iPad's audio output... I listen to downloaded/ripped music with the iPod app and I stream internet radio via 3G with the 'Tune In' radio app when I'm in the car.

You have an option in the GPS Drive menu to have the voice guidance announcements pause the music while the voice guidance instructions take place and then resume it when it's done.. Or, you can have the voice guidance sound over top of what you're listening to. In this case, you are able to adjust the volume of your music and the GPS voice to get the right mix in levels.