Recently over at PC Pro, a road test is conducted recently to find out whether there are any discernible differences between free Satellite Navigation (Satnav) softwares such as Google Maps and Ovi maps vs paid software such as TomTom and iPhone’s CoPilot 8.
I am not sure how many of our readers are currently using their smartphones as their Satnav system but I am definitely one of them. This road test is a great way for me to verify whether I am missing out on anything from not using a dedicated Satnav system, bearing in mind that such a system is NOT going to be cheap.
The premise of the test is simple enough:
- Five drivers were each given a different Satnav system for the day.
- The drivers would perform each of the four challenges at the same time, exposing them to the same road and traffic conditions.
- All the available traffic alert systems will be switched on, and the drivers will follow the SatNav’s instructions to the letter, thus eliminating inherent local knowledge or human intervention.
- All drivers were instructed to obey the speed limit, to minimise the effect of variations in car performance (and might I add, drivers’ competence level).
The Satnav systems that will be tested?
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Google Maps Navigation on an Acer Liquid Android phone
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Nokia Ovi Maps on a N97.
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TomTom Go 950 Live
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CoPilot 8 on an iPhone
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And as a control, a paper roadmap!
And the challenges?
Challenge 1: The Country Drive
Challenge 2: The Middle of Nowhere (to a golf course out in the countryside)
Challenge 3: Town to Town
Challenge 4: Traffic Jam Scenario
And.... these are the results!
Challenge 1: The Country Drive Finishing times
- Google Maps - 31 mins
- TomTom - 38 mins
- CoPilot for iPhone - 41 mins
- Nokia Ovi Maps - 43 mins
- Paper roadmaps - 75 mins
Main Feedback and Review:
For a destination that is located out in the countryside, the actual Point A to Point B navigation is straightforward enough but pinpointing the exact destination is hard for all the systems, even with the postal code. Google Maps has a Streetview photo of the destination BUT it turns out to be the wrong photo and thus leads to some confusion for the driver. Some drivers on other systems were directed to the opposite side of the village, thus making the job of finding the exact location even harder. The driver using the roadmap? Let's just say that the journey was hell for him.
Challenge 2: The Middle of Nowhere Finishing times
- Google Maps - 40 mins
- CoPilot for iPhone - 47 mins
- Paper roadmaps - 52 mins
- TomTom - 60 mins
- Nokia Ovi Maps - 68 mins
Main Feedback and Review:
The remote location does not help any of the Satnav systems in this test and elements of luck and experimentation actually let Google Maps win this challenge
Challenge 3: Town to Town Finishing times
- Google Maps - 47 mins
- Nokia Ovi Maps - 49 mins
- TomTom - 49 mins
- CoPilot for iPhone - 61 mins
- Paper roadmaps - 72 mins
Main Feedback and Review:
For all the systems, traversing from town to town is a breeze with the lane guidance systems inherent in the CoPilot, Ovi Maps and TomTom. Although Google Maps do not have a lane guidance system, according to the driver, it was still pretty easy to follow the directions provided. Point to note for the results of the CoPilot for this challenge: The delay to the timing was due to a road closure that causes havoc to the driver and the Satnav system, which has no idea why the poor driver was not following its orders. The only issue that was brought out is the relatively small screen size of the N97 which accounts for a bit of text clutter for the driver. Other than that, no point for guessing who goes horribly lost and reached the end of the challenge the slowest.
Challenge 4: Traffic Jam Scenario Finishing times
- Google Maps - 36 mins
- Paper roadmaps - 38 mins
- TomTom - 40 mins
- CoPilot for iPhone - 41 mins
- Nokia Ovi Maps - 55 mins
Main Feedback and Review:
To be fair, no Satnav systems can help you once you find yourself stuck in a traffic jam bumper-to-bumper. It would have helped if the system boasted the ability to analyze past traffic data and live traffic feeds, such as TomTom, but that is also not a given due to the unpredictable nature of the traffic. As such, the results are not that surprising since the amount of time needed for the drivers to drive through the jam will be about similar. Unfortunately for the Ovi Maps though, it somehow direct the driver to the other side of the same road, which account for an extra 15 minutes of time in the jam-packed traffic. One more thing to note is the patchy reception that you might expect to get if you are stuck at highly-clustered areas, which will block the GPS reception on your phone. This will cause the Satnav systems on your phone to give conflicting or confusing instructions due to the misalignment of your location on the phone.
After 4 challenges….Total finishing times
- Google Maps - 154 mins
- TomTom - 187 mins
- CoPilot for iPhone - 190 mins
- Nokia Ovi Maps - 215 mins
- Paper roadmaps - 237 mins
Summary
The final timings reveals that Google Maps was more than half an hour quicker than even a top-of-the-range TomTom over the course of our four challenges, suggesting that it is a serious competitor to products costing hundreds of pounds.
For the other free Satnav system, Nokia Ovi Maps, its performance does not look too good. However, bearing in mind that the testers did not download the free maps onto their Nokia N97 prior to the challenges, a fact that has been emphasized a lot by Nokia, the road test is not a true indication of the true capability of the Ovi Maps which allows for offline navigation. This actually resulted in a half hour delay at the start of challenge two. If we take that into consideration, it will actually bump the Ovi Map results to No 2 of the leadership board.
Does this then prove to us that the freebies are actually much better than dedicated Satnav system such as TomTom? Unfortunately, this might not be the case. For all the Satnav systems that are located in a mobile phone, they are still very dependent on the GPS receiver inside the phone, which normally fails to latch onto a signal as effectively as the GPS radios found inside dedicated satnav devices
It is also noted that TomTom’s advanced traffic system, which operates by providing the fastest available route via analysis of historical road data and live traffic updates does not have the chance to prove what it is worth through these 4 challenges. Perhaps, a city challenge that forces the testers to navigate within the city busy roads might prove to be a winner for TomTom
In conclusion, for those living in remote areas or people who needs to drive around a lot everyday, dedicated Satnav system like TomTom will still pay off in the long run. For those weekend drivers or normal users, it is of my personal opinion that a free solution will be more than sufficient, even if you have to wait a while for the software to pick up your location!
